Assembly Standing Committee on Human Services

For those joining us in person, face coverings are encouraged for all members, employees, and the public in all common areas and shared spaces. For those who are for those who are planning on dialing in, we will be using a moderated telephone service through which any member of the public can testify on a bill. The call in number for this hearing is 877-692-8957 and the access code is 131-5437 you can also find this number on the committee website as well as on your TV screen.

If you are calling in, please do so now. The operator on the line will give you instructions on how to be placed in the queue based on whether you support or oppose a bill. When calling in, please be mindful of and eliminate all background noise. We have 27 bills on the agenda, seven of which are on consent. Please note that we limit testimony to two witnesses in support and two witnesses in opposition. Each witness has two minutes to testify. Each witness has two minutes to testify.

Each witness has two minutes to testify. Any additional witnesses may add on by stating their name and affiliation. We will first call up Ms. Carrillo to do her bill, and then just for everyone just to know, we will not be making any votes until a quorum is present, and so we will continue as a subcommitee until then. And Ms. Carrillo, this is AB 712 and you may begin when you are ready.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and to committee staff. And thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Chair. It's hard to be at two places at the same time. I know we will start budget very soon for those that are watching as well. I'm very proud to present Assembly Bill 712 allowing, which would allow CalFresh recipients to purchase ready to eat hot and prepared foods at grocery stores, allowing for healthier food options. For the 4.8 million Californians enrolled in the program.

That's one out of every eight people. This includes 1.5 million people in LA County who rely on CalFresh to eat, many of whom experience to many that experience food insecurity. Many recipients, including older adults, people with disabilities, college students, and people who are unhoused, face the most significant barriers in using their vital CalFresh benefits. One of the barriers is the inability to purchase hot and prepared foods with their CalFresh benefits.

Many people lack adequate kitchen facilities to prepare meals at home, such as people who are unhoused or people who are renting simple accommodations or sharing space with multiple other people. This is a basic matter of equitable access. Simply put, CalFresh recipients should be able to benefit from the same modern day grocery shopping conveniences of hot and prepared foods just like everybody else. AB 712 will create a pathway for California to seek a permanent waiver and provide permanent, healthier options for children and families.

This bill has no opposition and is sponsored by the California Association of Food Banks, GRACE End Child Poverty California, and Hunger Action Los Angeles here to testify with me today is Becky Silva, government relations director of the California Association of Food Banks, and Andrew Cheyne, managing director of public policy for GRACE End Child Poverty California.

Thank you, Chair Jackson and members of the committee. Becky Silva, director of government relations with the California Association of Food Banks. California is currently facing a catastrophic hunger crisis. With the signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, CalFresh emergency allotments came to an end last month. These emergency allotments had been boosting CalFresh benefits since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing all 3 million CalFresh households up to the maximum benefit allotment for their household size.

Statewide, this represents a loss of about $500 million in benefits per month, or about $82 per person per month. Some people have gone from receiving the maximum CalFresh benefit of $281 a month down to just $23 per month. With the skyrocketing cost of groceries and a stumbling economy, reducing people's ability to purchase food is causing hunger and hardship throughout the entire state.

It's critically important that we're doing all that we can to ensure that people can easily use their modest calfresh benefits for the foods and groceries that are right for them. This was a consistent theme in all of the listening sessions hosted last year as part of the White House conference on hunger.

It takes time, energy, cooking equipment and a functioning kitchen to cook and prepare an entire meal from scratch, and many people who rely on CalFresh to feed themselves and their families are juggling multiple aspects of life from work to school to childcare or elder care. Like I'm sure all of us are in this room. Allowing CalFresh recipients to purchase hot food and prepared foods will allow for more dignity and choice in how families choose to feed themselves and their families.

We're proud to co sponsor AB 712 and urge your aye vote today. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair and members. Andrew Cheyne with GRACE End Child Poverty, California. I'll be brief. This issue, as important as it is straightforward, I would say, other than the hunger cliff and the fact that we consistently hear that the benefit is inadequate, this is the number one issue. People understandably are angry and frustrated. "Why am I treated differently in the grocery store? Why can't I buy the rotisserie chicken, the soup, the salad bar, yet I can buy raw chicken? That might actually hurt me."

I mean, it's an outdated policy. We thank Ms. Carrillo for bringing this forward. And just very briefly, federally, we do receive a temporary waiver during disasters which we actually have right now, including in LA County and 22 other counties, through May 2. And we appreciate that the legislature actually is a key partner in trying to inform the community through the district offices. But you can imagine the stop start of, it's turned on, it's turned off, and the confusion and the anger that creates.

So, thankfully, there is a bill in Congress with bipartisan support, the SNAP Plus Act. And I actually just got a note from folks in DC asking because they know this bill is up. And I just would offer that up, that this really has national importance. While we hope Congress does the right thing in the farm bill, there's no reason why California has to wait. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. Is there any witnesses in support in the room? Please state your name and affiliation.

California Rights Organization, strong support. Thank you.

Brendan Twohig on behalf of Ed Voice, in support.

Jared Call with Nourish California, in strong support.

Okay, are there any witnesses on the phone at this time?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to make a public comment, you impress 1 and 0 at this time, be just a moment. First, we'll go to line 59. Please go ahead.

Hello, Eleana Binder with GLIDE in San Francisco, calling in support. Strong support. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 51. Please go ahead.

Hi, Chair and members. Beth Smoker with the California Food and Farming Network, in support.

Next, we'll go to line 52. Please go ahead.

Hello, this is Derek Polka with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, calling in strong support. Thank you.

And next, we'll go to line 63. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, this is Kevin Buffalino with Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, calling in support. Thank you.

At this time, there are no others in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much. Any opposition in the room? Any opposition on the phone lines?

If you would like to make common opposition, you may press 1 and 0. At this time. At this time, there is no one in queue.

All right, any questions for our committee members? Seeing none. Ms. Carrillo, would you like to close?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have been working on this policy for a few years now in my office, recognizing that there is a lot of inequity when it comes to healthy food options. The legislature does a lot of work to reduce diabetes, cardiac issues, especially when it comes to young people.

But if we don't start at the base, which is how they receive their food, and how Low income communities on this program are able to help themselves, feed themselves and feed their families, we're putting money without actually addressing the core issue. So if you can use EBT to go to a fast food restaurant, which we know causes more harm to health in our communities, why can't they use the CalFresh program to buy healthy, ready to eat food at grocery stores? It's actually pretty simple.

The work that's being done on a federal level has recognized that California is currently using a waiver that allows families to be able to receive hot foods. But we shouldn't have to wait for a disaster for that to be a basic reality for folks. And so this is a very simple but important and hugely impactful bill that would benefit the health and safety of our communities. With that, respectfully requesting aye vote.

Thank you very much, and we'll take a vote as soon as we have quorum. Thank you, Ms. Addis, come on up, AB 1147. I can tell.

Thank you, chair. And with your permission, I'd like to briefly address some of the audience very quickly in their primary language.

Sure.

Thank you. [Spanish] And with that chair, I'd like to thank you. I'd like to thank your committee staff and my own staff, and want to recognize the passionate advocates, organizers, and supporters who are with us in person and watching, who have spent countless hours working on this legislation.

Hundreds came to our virtual town hall on this bill, and dozens came to our rally outside the Capitol today. Many are here in this room, and many are on the TV watching outside of this room. So even though my name is on this bill, 1147, and I'm asking for your aye vote, I really want to say that this legislation is the product of all of the people around me who are working to fight for a just and positive future for their children and their family members.

And while California is the fourth largest economy, unfortunately, we believe that we are failing to provide our most vulnerable communities, our most vulnerable residents, with the care and services that they need. So I'm hoping today that the Disability Equity and Accountability Act passes out of committee. California's 21 Regional Centers are contracted with the Department of Developmental Services to provide assessments, determine eligibility, and offer case management for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Regional Center problems are well documented by the California State Auditor, Disability Voices United, the Little Hoover Commission, as well as public council. And while it's true that DDS has embarked on a number of initiatives over the past several years to address these problems, the disparities and lack of accountability remain profound challenges. And this is compounded by inconsistent treatment, long wait times, response delays. Some people call this denial by delay and limited, or at times, no communication.

And we saw an LA Times article, opinion article today that said that services really depend on your geography. So where you live dictates how much support and how many services you get. AB 1147 creates much needed fixes to a broken system by addressing three main areas of equity, accountability, and transparency.

Specifically, this bill would do things like create standardized individual planning, program planning, timely access to services and programs, availability of services for all persons, regardless of race or geography, coordinated statewide performance measures, improved Regional Center governance, accountability, and racial and ethnic reporting. So by enacting these essential reforms, California can help meet the needs of our most impacted residents, those individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And I'll just add, before I turn it over to my witnesses that are here to testify, that as a lifelong special education teacher, I really witnessed some of the inequities with the Regional Center System, worked with families in their fight for justice for their children. And so this is legislatively important, important for all Californians, but also personally important to me. So here to testify are Judy Mark of Disability Voices United and Fernando Gomez of the Integrated Community Collaborative. And I'll turn it over to them

Before they begin. We're going to take roll call for quorum. So, Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

We have a quorum. Thank you very much. You may begin your testimony.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Committee Members. My name is Fernando Gomez, and I'm a parent and a co-founder of the Integrated Community Collaborative. The Integrated Community Collaborative is proud to co-sponsor AB 1147. We are an organization that's composed of primary Latino parents and self advocates who at the very fabric of the intellectual and developmental disabilities communities in California. We represent the very statistics and data that we hear so much about.

The data shows that Latinos only receive $0.43 for every dollar that is spent on whites. Today with us and united in voice, there are a couple of hundred individuals who represent a very diverse group from across the state. Families who made the sacrifice, who traveled by plane, by train, by bus, and by car. My wife and my two sons, one who has down syndrome, was part of a group of 54 individuals with disabilities and family members who left Los Angeles this morning at 2:00 AM to be here for this hearing today.

We're here to represent and support the Disability Equity and Accountability Act. We have not experienced this level of community engagement since this Lanterman Act was enacted. We can no longer sit and we can no longer wait until Regional Centers fix the problem. Many in our community have gone too long without much needed services and supports. If this was your child, would you be okay waiting for five years? For 10 years? My community has already waited, in some cases, for generations.

We cannot afford to wait any longer. The time for decisive action and system reform is now. Actually, it was years ago, but our community has awakened, and we are demanding the change now. As a community, we want and we need to be part of the solution and to be active in helping the system help us. We will work collaboratively with those Regional Centers who want to work with us in making the system better.

We look to walk hand in hand with DDS in helping implement viable solutions. We extend our gratitude to Director Bargmann for the open doors she provides and the opportunity to sit around the table and engage our voices. But beyond our voices, now is the time for action. Thank you.

My name is Judy Mark, and I'm President of Disability Voices United, an organization led by people with disabilities and their family members. And we are proud to be a co-sponsor of AB 1147 and thank Assembly Member Addis for her authorship. Mr. Chairman, yesterday I read your interview in CalMatters, and one of your answers struck me. You said the most surprising thing about being in office is how much we convince ourselves that it's okay not to solve a problem that we know is hurting people.

Well, that is exactly what is going on in the developmental disability system. Somehow, many Regional Centers, service providers, and the government have convinced themselves that the status quo is okay, that disparities don't really exist, that it's the family's fault for not asking for services, or DDS's fault for making too many rules, or the Legislature's fault for not providing enough money for a system that already has $14 billion. AB 1147 will change that equation by improving equity, accountability, and transparency in the Regional Center system.

Yesterday, the Little Hoover Commission released a report rejecting the status quo and calling for urgent action. Their widespread recommendations align with AB 1147. And today, the Los Angeles Times editorial page endorsed AB 1147, saying that it could bring the Regional Centers into the 21st century and provide better and more equitable care for hundreds of thousands of Californians.

AB 1147 is a far reaching bill because for too long we have known what the problems are, but those in the system have not had the conviction to solve them. It's time for everyone to stop making excuses and admit the current system is broken. It is time to work together to create a new system that produces meaningful outcomes with equity and accountability. AB 1147 moves us in that direction. It's time for all of us to listen to the voices of the people who matter the most. On behalf of the over 400,000 individuals with developmental disabilities and their millions of family members, I urge you to vote aye on AB 1147. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And now we will have any witness in the room, anyone in support in the room at this time, please come on up and state your name and affiliation.

My name is Thomas David Forderer. I'm in support. Thank you.

Thank you.

So he basically said he's Thomas David Forderer, and he supports AB 1147, and he is representing PRAGNYA and the self advocates at PRAGNYA.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Nestor Nieves. I am from Pico Rivera, served by Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center, and I support AB 1147. We really need this. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Samantha Hutter-Cruz. I came from Northridge, California, and I strongly support the AB 1147 bill.

Hi, my name is Luis Sabana, I am from North LA, from Lancaster, California, and I strong support AB 1147. The time is now. You guys have to pass it.

Good afternoon, my name is Miguel Lugo. I am a Health Advocate served by the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center, and I strongly support AB 1147. Thank you.

Good afternoon, my name is Veronica Garcia. I am from Oceanside, California. My daughter is served by San Diego Regional Center, and I support 1147. Thank you.

Yo soy Carmen Baca de Redwood Valley. Soy madre de dos clientes del Central Regional Center. Y apoyo firmemente la AB 1147. Gracias.

Good afternoon, I'm Luca Thomas. I am the parent of a consumer of Lanterman, Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center. I strongly support this bill because the system is broken, and we need it now. Please. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Lorena Gomez. My son received the service for Regional Center the East Bay. I'm from San Leandro, and I support the AB 1147. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Kavita Sreedhar. I'm a parent of a neurodiverse young lady with other comorbidities who served by the San Andreas Regional Center. I'm also co-founder of an organization called PRAGNYA that works with self advocates like David, and we are strongly in support of AB 1147. Please, pass it now.

My name is Alison Morantz. I am the mother of a teenager served by San Andreas Regional Center and the Director of the Stanford IDD Law and Policy Project, SIDDLAPP. I'm here in strong support of 1147, AB 1147. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Drew Sansing. I'm from Santa Monica and I'm the twin brother of a youth with autism served by Westside Regional Center. And I strongly support AB 1147.

Good afternoon, my name is Evelyn Rodriguez. I am the mother of a child with autistic served by the Orange County Regional Center. I'm also Director and founder of the Latino support group Padres Mentores and independent facilitator of the Self Determination Program. I drove 800 miles today for a strong support that AB 1147. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My name is Eric Harris. I'm with Disability Rights California in strong support.

My name is Cindy Washington. I need some more money.

Right to the point.

Everybody take note. That's how you do it.

Hi, my name is Kyungshil Choi from Rancho Palos Verdes. I am parent served by Harbor Regional Center. I strongly support AB 1147. And I am also Korean SDP Network. We strong support AB 1147. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Rachel Liebert Lewis. Here on behalf of Easterseals Northern California. We strongly support AB 1147.

All right, now we will give opportunity for those in support who are in the remote location. Please, come on up and state your name and affiliation.

Yes, you're up.

Mi nombre es Juana Santa Cruz del Centro Regional Redwood Coast. Tengo dos hijos que son clientes del Centro Regional de Redwood Coast. Apoyo firmemente la AB 1147. Gracias.

My name is Dora Contreras. I'm grandmother to a male 30 year old that I've raised since he was a toddler, and he was eligible for services at 18 months. I'm here to support AB 1147.

Good afternoon, Committee Members. My name is Kishan. I'm from San Francisco Bay Area, and I represent organization called PRAGNYA, and I'm here to support AB 1147. Thank you.

Hola. Mi nombre es Rosalía. Tengo dos hijas con necesidades especiales que pertenecen al Centro Regional del Norte de Los Ángeles. Hoy apoyo firmemente la propuesta AB 1147. Muchas gracias.

Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Socorro Martínez. Vengo de representar a mi hijo con síndrome de down. Vengo del Centro Regional del Este de Los Ángeles y estoy aquí para apoyar firmemente al 1147.

Hello, my name is Shakuna Dabo from San Jose, PRAGNYA. I'm here to support AB 1147.

Mi nombre es Teresa Hernandez. Vengo de Harbor Regional Center y apoyo firmemente la ley 1147. Gracias.

Buenas tardes. Yo soy Maria Angela Flores. Soy madre de un cliente del Centro Regional del norte del condado de Los Angeles y apoyo firmemente la ley AB 1147. Gracias.

Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Maria Gutierrez. Soy del Centro Regional del Valle de la Montana y estoy aquí apoyando la ley AB 1147. Si se puede.

Good afternoon. My name is Elizabeth Gomez. I am the mother of Oscar Antonio Gomez, son with down syndrome served by the Regional Center system. I'm also the Director of the Integrated Community Collaborative in great strong support of AB 1147.

Pass it.

They were the representatives. There's 200 people out there. Well, sorry, we have one more.

Mi nombre es John Arriola. Este estoy aqui para apoyar este la ley AB 1147 Para haga una cuidado para todos y para todos sea iguales y es bien por ellos. Gracias.

All right, thank you all very much. Now we will go to witnesses in support on the phone.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in support, you may press 1 then 0 at this time. First, we go to line 77. Please go ahead. Line 77, your line is open.

Sí, buenas tardes. Mi nombre Esmeralda. Soy madre de un cliente del Centro Regional y apoyo la AB 1147, que impactaría positivamente las vidas de miles de niños y adultos con discapacidades. Gracias.

Next, we go to line 34. Please go ahead.

Gómez. Madre de una hija atendida en el Centro Nacional Valle de la Monana y apoyo firmemente la AB 1147. Gracias.

Next, we'll go to line 91. Please go ahead.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Mary De La Kumada. I am the mother of a Regional Center client in Westside and from children's hospital where my son is right now. I am begging you to please support and vote aye for AB 1147 who is going to support and make a big difference in the lives of our children in the IDD community. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 95. Please go ahead.

Buenas tardes. Soy Monica Rodriguez de la ciudad de Paramount. Mama de un cliente de escalar y apoyo firmemente la AB 1147. Muchas gracias.

Next, we'll go to line 94. Please go ahead.

Hello? Can you hear me?

We can hear you. Go ahead.

Yes.

Next, we'll go to line 26. Please go ahead.

Hola. Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Karina Saldaña. Madre de dos clientes de Centro Regional Center y estoy aquí a firmemente apoyando la a de 1147. Gracias.

Next, we'll go to line 119. Please go ahead.

Hola, buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Daisy Funes. Soy madre de una joven atendida por el Centro Regional de estado central y apoyo firmemente AB 1147. Gracias.

Next, we go to line 45. Please go ahead and.

Line 45, your line is open.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Crystal Nunez and I have two children that belong to the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center. And I'm here to support AB 1147.

Next, we'll go to line 115. Line 115, your line is open. Line 115, please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Leslie Diaz, I come from Redwood Coast Regional Center and I support AB 1147. I'm a mother of a child that serves Regional Centers. Thank you.

Line 49, please go ahead.

Hi, this is Jessica Berthold from Alameda, and I am a parent of a child served by the East Bay Regional Center. I strongly support AB 1147 on behalf of exhausted parents everywhere.

Next, we'll go to line 88. Please go ahead.

Hola. Buenas tardes. Mi nombre Elise Hernandez. [Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we go to line 105. Please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Sarahi Guzman Alvarez and I'm here from Redwood Coast. And I support AB 1149.

Seven. Close

Next, we'll go to line 128. Please go ahead.

Mi nombre Janet Samara. Soy una madre. [Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 71. Please go ahead.

Mi nombre Sylvia Hernandez. [Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 84. Please go ahead.

[Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 79. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Connie Boyer-Frinzel. I'm of past President of San Francisco Bay Area Autism Society and also with associated with Prognia. I support 1147 because it will save the state a lot of money by decreasing all of the disparities. And the different policies make it easier for DDS to work with the 21 different Regional Centers. And it's just really important that you support it. It's going to save us a lot. Thank you.

Just want to remind all the witnesses. Please just state your name and your support. Your name, affiliation and your support. Thank you.

Next.

Sorry.

Line 139. Please go ahead. Line 139, your line is open.

Hola. Buenas tardes. [Testimony in Spanish].

Thank you. Next, we'll go to line 47. Please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Anna Vatrez. I'm from down California. I'm a mother of a client from the Regional Center South Central. And I'm here supporting the AB 1147.

Next, we'll go to line 104. Please go ahead.

My name is Anori Grimes. I'm calling on behalf of the nonprofit organization Parents Helping Parents. We are in strong support of AB 1147.

Next, we'll go to line seven. Please go ahead.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Jessica Vargas and I am sister of three siblings with autism. And they are part of the North Regional Center. And I strongly support the AB 1147.

Next, we'll go to line 55. Please go ahead.

Seraphine Martinez from Los Angeles. Father of three kids with autism, served by a West Side Regional Center. And I strongly support AB 1147. Thank you.

Next, we go to line 37. Please go ahead.

My name is Brenda Allen. I have family Members who are served by the North Los Angeles Regional Center who are in current desperate need of services. I strongly support AB 1147. Please pass it.

Next, we go to line 32. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Eric Gonzalez from West Sacramento. As a family Member of someone living with disabilities, I strongly support AB 1147. Thank you.

Next, we go to line 102. Please go ahead.

Hola. Mi nombre es Juan Hernandez. [Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 134. Please go ahead.

Si, buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Mancie Gonzales. [Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 62. Please go ahead.

[Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 74. Please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Cheryl Brown. I am with the California Commission on Aging, where I chair. I'm in support of AB 1147, and I hope you'll pass it. Dr. Jackson and the rest. Thank you.

That was one of my community mamas. I know when she was speaking. We're just going to allow just a few more. We know that there's so many people that are very excited about this. Just know that I don't think you have anything to worry about. So we'll just give it three more people and then we'll go on to opposition.

Absolutely. Next, we'll go to line 101. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Christiana Morales. I'm from Autism Support Community, and we strongly support AB 1147.

Next we go to line 103. Please go ahead.

[Testimony in Spanish].

Next, we'll go to line 98. Please go ahead. Line 98, your line is open. We'll go on to line six. Please go ahead. Line six, your line is open.

Did I scare everyone off?

Line 19, please go ahead.

Soy Claudia Velasquez. [Testimony in Spanish].

Okay, thank you all very much who have called in for support. Now we're going to move on to opposition. Are there any opposition witnesses at this time? Seeing none. Is there anyone in the room in opposition? Seeing none. Is there anyone on the phone lines in opposition?

If you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. We do have someone. Just a moment.

And again, please just state your name and affiliation and your position. Thank you.

And we have line 188. Please go ahead.

[Testimony in Spanish].

Operator, you have been fooled. Witnesses in opposition.

There are no others in queue.

Okay, any questions or comments from Committee Members?

Mr. Chair.

Garcia.

Let me begin by thanking. Let me begin by thanking. Testing. Me escuchan?

Si.

Okay. Let me begin by thanking the author for bringing this proposal forward. It's clear by the amount of people who made their way here to the Capitol to raise what has been a long-standing set of issues that I believe there aren't that many offices in our side of the building, the Assembly, that is, that have not heard from constituents about the challenges that they have getting the basic services from the Regional Centers. And so thank you for bringing this proposal forward.

I have sat with parents, clients, advocates to see their frustration and disarray of not being able to move the questions, the concerns that they have raised to these Regional Centers time and time again. I can't tell you how many of those conversations we've had to the extent that even talking to the Regional Centers, talking to the Department of Development Services, almost making us feel like we had our hands tied to be able to help these families take care of some very basic issues.

What I appreciate about this Bill, the analysis breaks it down, is that we're setting a lot of benchmarks and measures of accountability as it relates to our Regional Centers. The response times to be able to let families and clients know why, and if not, why not, and what the recourse is to pursue these very basic services. I keep referring to basic services that we're talking about.

One of the things that we learned along the way when taking these cases in our local office is that some of these Regional Centers are just, the geographic areas that they cover are humongous. And when it comes to their ability to just do intake and follow through, it's just very challenging. So not to just point to Regional Centers to say they're not doing their job, they don't have the resources. There's just a huge area.

For example, the Regional Center in the Inland Empire covers all of San Bernardino County and all of Riverside County. And there aren't any satellite offices on one end of the county or the tail end of the county. The Regional Center is in San Bernardino, and the farthest point where people need to get services is Blythe and in some cases, the North Shore, Desert Shores, communities out by the Salton Sea.

It is near to impossible for many of these families to obtain a basic conversation with a social worker at the Regional Center, not to mention then the process of getting from A through Z. We've seen this firsthand time and time again. And as I mentioned, to the extent that even our office and myself feeling like our hands have been tied and not be able to provide these basic services to these families.

So this effort is a long time coming, and we appreciate you putting your hands around the multitude of issues that you're attempting to address, 100% in agreement with the direction that this Bill is going in. And on behalf of the constituents that I represent that we've heard from over the course of a long period of time. Thank you.

You are definitely bringing light at the end of the tunnel for them, for their frustrations, for their feeling of no hope that their situation with their child, their sibling, the person that they have guardianship, will never improve, and that the lives of these individuals will never get a fair shot at becoming productive members of our community because of the lack of intervention or services that we're talking about here. And they're real basic. They're real basic. So thank you for bringing this Bill forward.

I would, with your permission, love to join you in this effort and make a lot of noise in the positive way in our part of the state about this Bill and the work that you're doing. So thank you again.

Any additional Members at this time? Seeing none. Would you like to close?

Well, I'll thank Assemblymember Garcia for the closing, but really want to thank the Committee for your time, thank the Chair for your time, and for allowing so many of our witnesses to come forward. You can see that this is a very widespread issue that needs our love, needs our caring, needs our support, but most of all needs our votes. And so with that, I ask for your Aye vote today on 1147.

Do I have a motion? It's been moved. Can I get a second? Seconded. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

The motion is do pass to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll call].

We will leave the roll open for additional votes. Thank you so very much.

Thank you.

And thank all of those of you who came up here for this Bill. Your time was definitely worth it, and safe travels. Dr. Wood, AB 1568. We just ask that as witnesses, as people leave the room, just please keep it down as we still have a lot of business to take care of. But we appreciate you coming. Mr. Wood, you may begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And Members, I'd like to start by thanking you and your Committee staff for your work on this Bill. Members, it was recently brought to my attention that the Department of Developmental Services rate study included an error when it assigned rates to instructors providing independent living services. I'll refer to it as ILS. This rate resulted in a mismatch of services and set a lower wage than instructors across California earn, miscalculating the rate needed by agencies to pay their ILS instructors.

AB 1568 provides a much needed fix to this by requiring the Department on or before April 1, 2024 to revise and implement an equitable and cost effective rate setting procedure for state payment for ILS services. The implementation of that rate will be according to specified requirements, including the independent living skills services shall not be categorized as community based day program or adult day program and that the rate setting procedures shall reflect the reasonable cost of independent living skills services.

AB 1568 will also require that ILS services have functional skills training components, including, among others, cooking, money management, use of medical and dental services, and community resource awareness, and would prohibit those services from being conducted in a center based environment. It's critical for the health and independence of our most vulnerable constituents that we correct this error.

The current rate has pushed ILS agencies out of business, resulting in people with developmental disabilities being placed into services that don't give them the appropriate training to live independently, leading to a lower quality of life and an increased dependency on state services. Here to testify in support are Mark Melanson of Community Living Network and Jacquie Foss of Strategies to Empower People.

Thank you, Committee Chair and Members. My name is Mark Melanson, CEO of the California Community Living Network, CCLN, proud sponsor of AB 1568. The 2019 Department of Developmental Services rate study provided a solid roadmap to evaluate service provider rates, but the study also included an error when it assigned rates to independent living services, known as ILS. As a result of this misclassification, ILS providers will be receiving a rate cut at full implementation of the rate study.

Implementing this flawed rate will lead to further closures of the ILS provider network, home and community based compliant services, services that can be delivered in the family's home or in a home of one's own and force consumers into more expensive levels of care or put them on waiting lists to access other, more costly services. CCLN has almost 100 provider members, many of whom who provide ILS services. It is CCLN's highest priority.

The community of ILS providers are reacting right now, agencies are closing their ILS programs or are not accepting any new referrals. There is little or no incentive for any new ILS provider agencies to enter the system with a looming rate cut.

It will be impossible for ILS providers to work on improving the quality of services, measuring the individual outcomes of services, and achieving the much anticipated provider incentive payments when your rate is going to be cut below the rate you started with when the rate study implementation first began. AB 1568 includes a simple solution for this problem by drawing more appropriate parallels to Bureau of Labor Statistics job codes.

Additionally, AB 1568 would align the implementation of the revised ILS rate with the statutory timeline of the implementation of other revised Developmental Services rates. This urgent issue cannot wait for a solution any longer. Providers are closing, this essential workforce is being lost, and individuals in need of ILS programs are at risk of being propelled into crises. Thank you, Assemblymember Wood, for championing this important Bill and allowing me to provide testimony on this critical issue, and we respectfully request your aye vote for AB 1568. Thank you and happy to answer any questions.

Hello, my name is Jackie Foss. I'm the Executive Director and founder of Strategies to Empower People. I began my program- I want to give a little history- to serve folks that were deaf with developmental disabilities. And that was in 1992. In 1992, the equity and access to services for an individual that was deaf was nonexistent. So I looked at that and said, that's what I need to do.

I do want to give a slight history on independent living services that the State of California should be very proud of. The first pilot began in 1977. 1977, it allowed for people to live in their own home. Inclusion began. But what I've learned over this time is you can't reach inclusion without equity. And we don't have equity within the rates. We don't have equity within the services.

We really need to take some time and say, what are we doing to these individuals that receive the least amount of utilization? Most people in independent living services- around 20 hours a month. That's it. I have, unfortunately, I gave notice to the Department of Developmental Services that I was going to close down my program that I started in 1992. My independent living skills program cannot survive today, and in July of 2024, I would take a $5 an hour rate cut.

I have some of my ILS instructors here. They are instructors, they are teachers. They do rehabilitation. They connect generic resources for 20 hours a month. The state took a short sighted method in dealing with independent living services. When Dr. Wood talked at the last hearing, I remember him saying about preventative. What's wrong when we don't understand what we're doing is preventing people to go into a higher level of care.

I'm going to end with one little story about Rachel, and then I hope I didn't exceed my two minutes because it raised up two.

You have 20 seconds.

Oh, good. I'll talk really fast. I've been known to do that. Rachel has been with STEP for 25 years. She is someone who uses a power chair and she lives in her own home. She receives 20 hours of services. She has mental health needs. For years, she has been threatened with needing to move into a more restrictive setting. That's what the Regional Center does to her. If you do not do what we tell you, you will go into a more restrictive setting.

But for 20 hours a month, Rachel receives the support she needs. Sorry, I'm going to stop. Because she has ILS providers who meet the standards. And I will be very sad if we do not fix this rate. And I have to shut my program down. And that's what's happening across the state. Twenty seconds.

Thank you very much. No, you didn't pass, but you got close.

And I wanted to go with the last girl. Show me the money, please. No.

Hey, that always works. Okay, is there any witnesses in opposition here? No. If there's anyone in support in the room, please come on up. Please state your name and affiliation, please.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. Missy Johnson, here on behalf of the California Disability Services Association in support.

Dina Kittle, in support. Here with ILS. Would you like to say you want to support? Yeah, tell them your name. Tell them your name.

My name is Sydney Russian.

Thank you.

Daniel Savino, Association of Regional Center Agencies, also in support.

Hello, my name is Lucia Cortez, and this is my name sign. And I'm in support of this Bill, AB 1568. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Amber, and I'm an ILS facilitator, and I am also in support of AB 1568.

Hi, my name is Ruby Keefe, and I am a STEP client for STEP strategies. And I support AB 1568.

There we go. Rebecca LaBoriel, Director of ILS, in support of AB 1568. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Diana Miller. I'm an ILS manager for deaf STEP program. I support 1568. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Eric Harris, Disability Rights California, in strong support.

Good afternoon. My name is Diana Gonzalez. I am the Talent Manager at Manos Home Care, and I am here in support of 1568.

Hello, I'm Sarah Burgett, and I'm a former ILS provider in the Bay Area. Here to support 1568.

Hello, good afternoon. My name is Hubert Johnson and I do support from SLS, Supported Living, OpenDoor.

Hi, I'm Tierra Harris, OpenDoor's Supported Living Director, and I am supportive of AB 1568.

Hi, I'm Eddie Esquivez. I work with Manos, located in Oakland, California, and I'm support of 1568.

Okay, now we'll go to support on the phone lines. Any support on the phone.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to speak in support of AB 1568, please press one, then zero. An operator will provide you with your line number and place you back into queue. Once again, if you wish to speak in support of AB 1568, please press one, then zero now. One moment, Mr. Chair. We're getting line numbers now. Line number 211, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Okay. Mi nombre es María Ramos. [Speaking Spanish] Thank you, gracias.

Line number 116, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hello, this is Michelle Ramirez, CEO of On My Own Independent Living Services. I serve about 400 ILS clients in several counties in California and I'm in strong support of AB 1568.

Line number 216, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon. My name is Sophia Basra with Advanced Care Transitions. I'm an ILS vendor with Alta California Regional Center, and I'm calling in strong support of AB 1568.

Line number 179, your line is open. Please go ahead.

[Speaking Spanish]

Thank you. And at this time, Mr. Chair, we have no one else in queue.

Thank you very much. Now, are there anyone in opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Any opposition on the phone lines?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to speak in opposition of AB 1568, please press one, then zero. An operator will provide you with your line number and place you back into queue. Once again. If you wish to speak in opposition of AB 1568, please press one, then zero now. Line number 223, your line is open. Please go ahead.

Yes, this is Robert Harris with SEIU California. And I'm sorry I got in the wrong line with the opposition. Actually, we're in total support of the Bill. It's a good Bill. Thank you.

And at this time, Mr. Chair, we have no one else in queue.

Fantastic. Any questions or comments from Committee Members? Seeing none. Dr. Wood, would you like to close?

Just respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. Is there a motion? It's been moved. Is there a second? We have a second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll call]

We will leave the roll open for add ons. Thank you very much. Perfect timing. Mr. Santiago, you are up AB 11.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I'm very grateful for the work that you have done and your committee to help us make this a better bill. So thank you very much. And look, the bottom line is that we have been working on this for a number of years. We're in the fourth largest economy in the world, and people are still foot and secure.

During COVID we thought it was unprecedented that we had thousands and thousands of people show up for basic food subsidies. These are people who worked hard, who may have had a job. There are people who lost jobs.

There are people from all walks of life who showed up. But the one thing that was very evident and most difficult is those people who did not have documentation here in the United States where they could not receive some of the government funding.

And today what we're pushing for is food for all, which just basically says that anybody, whether you're document or undocument, could qualify for food assistance. Because here we are in the fourth largest economy in the world, and there are people who starve.

There are people or families who put their kids to sleep at night, and they have nowhere else to go. We've been through a historic health care crisis where there's no safety net for a certain population that does not have the documentation.

We've just now gone through the impacts of climate change, where people who would like to get back to work just couldn't. And while I'd like to make the case for a number of other benefits that this committee has helped to push through, the one we're making today is just about basic food, the ability to feed somebody.

Last year, we were successful in getting in the state budget the ability to feed those who are undocumented 55 years and above.

The proposed governor's proposal had suggested to move it out by a number of years. So we just thought we'd come back stronger than ever, proposing that everybody have the ability for food here in California, given we're the fourth largest economy in the world, and yet people go hungry.

So we're pushing forward for everybody to get food. And we respectfully ask that aye vote at the right time. Mr. Chair, we have a couple of witnesses here who would also like to testify.

Yeah. Thank you so much. Hi. Good afternoon. Chair, Members of this Committee, Betzabel Estudillo with Nourish California, and I'm joined by coalition members Martina with TODEC and another member of TODEC.

I want to start by thanking the Members of this Committee and the legislature for the budget allocations made last year to expand CFAP food benefits to immigrants ages 55 and older.

This investment is an important step towards ensuring an equitable food safety net and will make California the first state in the nation to provide food benefits to undocumented people.

So we and our co-sponsors, the California Immigrant Policy Center and the Food For All Coalition, were deeply disappointed by the governor's proposal to delay that expansion to January 2027.

We are working with CDSS, the Legislature and other people to address the reasons for the proposed delay and ensure that that implementation timeline gets moved up.

We believe it's unfair and it's cruel to make undocumented Californians, especially older adults, who are more risk of food insecurity, to wait years to receive food benefits when they are struggling today in accessing food.

According to a survey by UCLA, 45% of undocumented Californians and 64% of undocumented children are affected by food insecurity. That means that two out of every three undocumented children are going hungry. That's why we urgently need AB 311, our food for all bill that addresses hunger and poverty in immigrant communities.

Accessing food assistance is essential, especially as we continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic and now the rising cost of food because of inflation. It doesn't make sense to allow some members of a household to access CalFresh or CFAP while excluding others because of their immigration status.

The program and people's lives are designed around entire households and families, not just certain members of a family. So we urge the committee to expand CFAP to all Californians regardless of age or immigration status.

No exceptions, no exclusions and no delays. Thank you for your time and now I'm going to pass it over to Martina with TODEC.

And my name is Ishmael Cruz. I'm civic engagement of TODEC Legal Center and I'll be translating for Martina. She's going to be speaking to us in her indigenous language with Purepecha.

That is Jurish Yamindo, his arin shrink Martinez Kahishwarash Hima and Kindi Kochel haka Kahishwara.

She said my name is Martina. I am a Member of TODEC of Inland Empire of an Coachella Valley. Today I represent unprivileged farm workers like myself and my Purepecha indigenous community that live in constant struggle from paycheck to paycheck.

Kayash, Kamakuris, tuchar, anjiquarit, panhanji, quariquarish, Kuchanji, Quaritanoatiquari Tuchanotiri.

She says, harvest season just ended and I have been laid off without any type of safety net, not having access to food or unemployment benefits. I, in addition, living in a community that the water is contaminated with arsenic.

Mende and huchahimika and garcinikun hokak.

She says if I don't work, then my kids do not get to a chance to eat as well.

Kahuchangan Anjikwari Kwatarish Kanokang Kwashung paryamin DOJ angat shwaka paryamin queripojanmen no shank ban huchabiyakarin huj Nyanikan hoja Pikwak Iman Ambankan, Jaham Pikun anji kwarita, Banha beach and utaste Matinhaka.

She says being an undocumented farm worker is not easy. I harvest the food for all, but at times I can't even afford that food for my own family. I contribute to the economy every day. This is the most difficult time for my family because harvest season is over and we have to find another job to make sure that my family is fed.

We are still behind on bills due to the pandemic, but having access to food is a lifeline. So please support Food For All. Thank you and God bless.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone in support in the room? Please come on up and state your name and affiliation, please.

Yeah. Kevin Asda, Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations. Strong support. Thank you.

Hi, Benjamin Chow with the California Immigrant Policy Center. We're co-sponsors of the bill and in strong support.

Betsy Armstrong on behalf of the County Health Executives Association, representing local health departments in strong support.

Kelly Beam with Health Net of California, in support.

Abigail Alvarez with the Berkeley Food Institute, the Pesticide Action Network and Californians for Pesticide Reform, in support.

Amine El Moznine with the University of California Student Association, on behalf of the thousands of undocumented students within the UC, we support this bill. Thank you.

Martha Guerrero representing the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and we request your aye vote, thank you.

Shannon Swanson on behalf of the Cal State Student Association, in strong support.

Linda Wanner with the California Catholic Conference, in strong support.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. Janice O'Malley with the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees in support. Thank you.

Josh Gogger on behalf of the Urban Counties of California, in support.

Hello. Daniel Sanchez with CHIRLA, in support. Thank you.

Nicole Wartelman on behalf of the Children's Partnership, in support.

Andrew Shane GRACE End Child Poverty in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Becky Silva from the California Association of Food Banks in strong support.

Christopher Sanchez, the Western Center on Law and Poverty and strong support.

Is there anyone in support on the phone lines?

Gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in support? You may press one to zero this time. And we go to line 227. Please go ahead.

Hello, this is Kevin Insco, Friends Committee on Legislation of California and strong support. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 234. Please go ahead.

Hi, Beth Smoker with the California Food and Farming Network in strong support. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 237. Please go ahead.

Hi, Kristen Acosta with the Women's Building in strong support.

Next, we'll go to line 238. Please, go ahead.

Hello, Stephanie Butler with National Health Foundation in strong support. Thank you.

And next, we go to line 239. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Sarah Diaz with the California WIC Association in strong support.

Next, we'll go to line 225. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Derek Polka with the Los Angeles Regional Bank in strong support. Thank you.

And next, we'll go to line 232. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon. This is Libby Sanchez on behalf of No Kid Hungry in strong support. Thank you.

And next, we'll go to line 233. Please, go ahead.

Hi, this is Chris Carter with the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank. In strong support.

Next, we'll go to line 235. Please go ahead. Good afternoon.

This is Ezer Pamintuan on behalf of Alameda County Community Food Bank. In strong support of AB 311.

And next, we'll go to line 41. Please, go ahead.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members. Ronald Coleman Baeza, here on behalf of the California Pantothenic Health Network and the having our say coalition in strong support. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 231. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Mauricio Medina, calling on behalf of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, calling in on strong support for AB 311.

Next, we'll go to line 240. Please go ahead.

Hello. Frank Tamborello, Hunger Action Los Angeles, in strong support of AB 311.

Next, we'll go to line at 236. Please, go ahead.

Sylvia Hernandez with the National Association of Social Workers California Chapter and we are in support.

Next, we'll go to line 241. Please go ahead.

Sonia Guillasaka with Gender Justice LA. And we're in full support of AB 311.

Thank you. At this time, there's no others in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

All right, is there anyone in the room in opposition? Seeing none. Is there anyone in opposition on the phone?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press one and zero at this time, you. And we have no one in queue.

Thank you very much. Questions or comments from Members of the Committee?

No questions, just a comment. Want to recognize the work of the author and Nari Hamasaki Greeting, I think. And Perepecha is making an effort here to speak to a constituent. Bienvenida Capitolio. And I want to move the bill.

It's been moved. Second it. Any other comments? Seeing none, we have a motion. We have a second, Madam Secretary. Would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for an aye vote, Mr. Chair and members.

All right, Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

[Roll Call]

We will leave the roll open for add ons. Thank you very much. Next. Ms. Nguyen, come on up and just let us know which bill you're going to do first. All right. 372. And you may begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members. Once upon a time, women were not able to occupy certain industries, careers, positions, seats. But that once upon a time, was a long time ago. And today we have women that are leading industries, leading, managing, even sitting in elected office seats.

Today, what we have are women with children who have to decide whether or not they are going to be allowed to go to work or have to stay home and care for their children because childcare is just so expensive these days. AB 372 would ensure that we have women in an industry that has been primarily made up of men.

AB 372 would ensure that women who want to go into pre apprenticeship trade programs not have that small income increase affect any of the support services that they are currently on right now.

It would ensure that they would be able to not only go into the industry, be a part of these pre apprenticeships, but also be able to bring their child to a childcare center without having to come out of pocket.

Here with me today is Nicole Trujillo Rice from the state building trades, construction and building trades. And Timberley and she didn't bring her tow belt today, but she did bring her three-month-old baby.

And I'll end by saying this. I think any woman would rock the tow belt much better than any man can. I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to my sponsors here to speak.

Good afternoon, Chairman Jackson and Members of the Committee. My name is Kimberly Laramie, and I am a proud member of the Ironworkers Local 378 in Venetia. I've been a member for about five years.

Still an apprentice, unfortunately, but I am very proud to have been partaking in the apprenticeship training for as long as I have. I started out as a pre-apprentice. I did a construction pre-apprenticeship through women building the Bay Rising Sun Energy Center.

And they introduced me to the ironworkers and a lot of the other trades, but I settled in the ironworkers. I saw the University of Ironside right outside of the apprenticeship training center when we took a field trip there. And it just kind of stuck with me.

I was like, University. I've always wanted to go to college and everything, and it just kind of was what I wanted to do. Since then, I've been able to provide for my three children. I'm a single mother of three.

I have a three year old named Andrea. I have an almost two year old named Adrian. And my son here, Anderson, he's three months old. I've worked through my pregnancies in the trades the entire time.

And the only setback I had was returning to work and lack of childcare, which is kind of the situation that I'm in right now. I am not able to afford childcare for all three of my kids. I'm openly able to provide for two of them for right now.

And it's also preventing me from being able to return back to work, to even get the funds to be able to do so. So it's kind of just like, kind of in a circle. Just kind of running around in a circle right now. Navigating daycare in the context of being not only a single mother, it just seems like it can be a never ending battle.

And I just feel that with the right amount of support and with patience and perseverance that I've already been pushing through, I know that I will be able to eventually journey out in my training program and I will be able to really begin my career that I've already started as an Ironworker. I know that.

Just go ahead and wrap it up.

I'm grateful for Assemblymember Wynn, and introducing this bill for AB 372 is basically the answer that me and I know a lot of people in my position are waiting for. Thank you.

Maybe been a while. My youngest is four, but still have the bounce. Nichole Trujillo writes on behalf of the California State Building Construction Trades Council. We represent nearly 500,000 men, women, and nonbinary individuals in the construction trades.

That includes 70,000 in our state accredited apprenticeship programs. And we are proud to sponsor this critical piece of legislation and thank Assemblymember Wynn so much for her partnership and for really taking on this issue.

We at the state building trades strive to find more ways to reduce barriers for entry into the apprenticeship programs, and we place an emphasis not only in recruiting more women, but also retaining more women. And as you heard from Timberly, the road to journeying out is not so straight and narrow.

She has been an apprentice for five years, but because of setbacks with childcare, hasn't been able to reach that fifth year step and completely journey out.

We know from the division of apprenticeship standards that 90% of all women that are in construction graduated from one of our state apprenticeship programs. However, nationally, only 3 to 4% of folks in the construction industry are women.

So we are thankful again to Assemblymember Wynn to help really get at this disparity and increase the number of women and single parents that want to be in the construction industry and other traditionally male dominated industries. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the room that would like to come up and support? Please state your name and affiliation, please.

From California Welfare Rights Organization. Strong support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members, Matt Cremins here on behalf of the California Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers. Proud to be here today in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you. Mitch Steiger with the California Labor Federation, also in support.

Susanna Niffin with Children Now in support.

Thank you, chair and members, Don Wilcox with the California Conference of Carpenters, in strong support. Thanks.

Jay O. Dentas, on behalf of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 in support.

Is there anyone in support on the phone lines?

If you'd like to comment in support, you may press one and zero at this time. First we go to line 203. Please go ahead.

my Kuchen. Bueno, Ms. Kuchen. Cescucha minimum. So you claim to Del center.

There are no more others? There are no others in queue.

All right. Is there anyone in opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none, is there any opposition on the phone lines?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you like to comment in opposition, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. This time, there's no one in queue.

All right. Now we'll bring it up to Committee Members. Questions or comments? Mr. Bryan.

As the older brother of five, you won me over with the baby already bringing the Ironworkers to testify. I wasn't already going to do that. Happy to move the bill. And if you're looking for co-authors, happy to join you. Thank you for doing this.

Do we have a motion? Do we have a second? Second. Any other questions or comments?

I just want to thank the author for bringing forth this bill and I'd like to be added as a co-author. Thank you.

All right. Seeing no one else, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Okay, we have a motion. We have a second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

[Roll Call]

Okay, we will. You can't say I more than once though. Come on. All right, we will hold the roll open for this bill. Would you like to move on to your next bill?

Yes, sir. I think I have.

AB 1084. Okay.

Wonderful. So AB 1084, as we saw during the pandemic, not just during the pandemic. Ever since I was a young kid, I've noticed that mini documentation as far as it comes to social services program, was not in language. And as a third grader, I was the one that was translating information for my parents to understand what the document was. That was just a couple of years ago. But 30 years later, that's still happening today, where documents are not translated in the different languages.

What AB 1084 does is ensure that these languages are translated in the appropriate languages. Not just your typical documentation, but documentation and services as it relates to health care, as it relates to domestic violence, as it relates to just we saw during the pandemic when many of the documentation was not translated in many of the other languages.

What we're asking is that we ensure that nonprofit organizations who took on the grunt of the work and translating, interpretating many of these documents without the funding available because they felt the need that their community needed to know what was happening out there in the community, be compensated for the work that they do. With me here today is Faith Lee from Asian Advancing Justice Social Southern California, and Lan Lee from My Sister's House.

Not my sister's house, but an organization here in Sacramento that serves women and children who are escaping a domestic violence situation.

Thank you. Good afternoon, chair and Members. My name is Faith Lee. I am the Legislative Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, AJ SoCal. AJ SoCal is a social justice organization and legal service providers with offices in LA and OC that provides culturally competent services for domestic violence representation, immigration, housing, rights, voting protection, and more. Our community advocates assist our clientele in multiple Asian languages such as Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.

We thank Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen for authoring AB 1084, which would set up the Bilingual-Oriented Social Equity Services Grant, BOSES to deliver funding for CBO's community-based organizations to help them retain their bilingual staff and hopefully sustaining the bilingual workforce that the state needed. Boses means voices in Spanish and Tagalog because the Bill aims to amplify the voices and needs in communities with limited English proficiency. Nearly 7 million Californians are limited English proficient.

Unfortunately, the quality and extent of Californian's non-English services are inadequate for the large and diverse LEP community that exists. We have seen from time to time how Californians with LEP often face additional, much longer-lasting impacts from challenging times such as the pandemic and the economic downfall during 2008, and how community-based organizations play a critical role in connecting LEP Californians with services that they desperately need.

For example, the Governor's EDD strike team in 2020 concluded that individuals who do not speak English will face insurmountable barriers to receiving assistance during the pandemic. The Legislature allocated $21 million the following year to improve the Department language access plan. We also saw after the painful shooting in Monterey Park in Half Moon Bay earlier this year during the Lunar New Year, it was many local CBOs that provided timely in language assistance in legal and mental health services for victims and their family.

As I close, I urge your Aye vote because as California prepares for a potential recession, the BOSES grant is an urgent step we must take this year to ensure Californians with limited English proficiencies are protected and their trusted messengers are equipped with sufficient resources. And I urge your Aye vote. Thank you.

I work for My Sister's House and we help survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault, many of whom are non-English speakers. Asking for help is hard. Imagine how hard it is to ask for help in a language that you do not know. We often receive calls from children, some as young as seven, on behalf of a parent, because the survivor could not speak English and they had no one else to speak for them.

Imagine how hard it is to describe the abuse that you've suffered through your own child to a stranger. Consider how hard it is for that child who now is put in a position where they have to decide, do I help my mom or my dad? Who then feels responsible for what happens afterwards. In the case where the seven-year-old called on behalf of her mother, even when we secured the right interpreter and connected them to the right agency, it still took 15 minutes to get the mother's name transcribed into English and even longer to get her birthday due to cultural differences.

By the time the survivor even began to speak of her experience, it was time for the agency to close for the day. The lack of language access means entire groups of people are left out of conversations and prevented from accessing the services they need. It makes people more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and it adds to the isolation and trauma experienced by survivors.

Abusers who range from intimate partners to organized criminal traffickers take advantage of this vulnerability, and they feel empowered to harm with impunity as a result. This Bill is a commitment to justice, to equality and safety in our communities. And as a community service provider, we need this funding to help us do our job, to help survivors get the services they need but are unable to access. Thank you.

Is there anyone in the room who would like to come and to support? Please, come on up and state your name and affiliation, please.

Nicole Wordelman, on behalf of The Children's Partnership in support.

Okay, is there anyone in support on the phones?

If you'd like to comment in support, you may press one then zero at this time. First, we go to line 250. Please go ahead. Line 250, your line is open. All right, we're going to move on to line 251. Please go ahead.

Andrea Amavisca, on behalf of the California Immigrant Policy Center, in support.

Next, we'll go to line 137. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Eri Yun from Korean American Coalition Los Angeles, in strong support on AB 1084 because the funding will be essential in providing limited English proficiency community members, we serve with increased support to attain public benefits that they qualify for. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 43. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, this is Ivy Hang from Viet Rainbow of Orange County calling in support of AB 1084. Bilingual and multilingual skills deserve compensation for the accessibility they create for our communities. Thank you.

Next, we go to line 253. Please, go ahead.

Sylvie Hernandez with the National Association of Social Workers California Chapter and we are in support.

Next, we'll go to line 53. Please, go ahead.

Hi, this is Priscilla Hong from the Center for Asian Americans in Action calling in support.

Next, we go to line 252. Please go ahead.

This is Catherine Porter with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative calling in support of AB 1084. Thank you.

Next, we go to line 254. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Carrie Cha from Pacific Asian Counseling Service. I'm calling to urge you to vote yes on AB 1084, the BOSES Grant Program. Thank you so much.

At this point, there's no others in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

All right, now we'll go to opposition. Is there any opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Is there any opposition on the phones?

If you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press one then at this time. Just a moment, we do have someone. We'll go to line 213, please go ahead.

Hello? You hear me?

Yes, we can.

Yes, go ahead.

Okay. Yes, I'm calling from San Diego and a mother, and I'm supporting the AB 1147.

At this time. There's no others in queue.

All right, thank you very much. Any questions or comments from Committee Members? Seeing none, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

All right. Do I have a motion? It's been moved. Is there a second? It's been second. Madam Secretary. Please call the roll.

The motion is do pass to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll call].

And we will hold the roll open for more members. Thank you, Ms. Petrie-Norris. And as she comes on up, we have a shout-out to members of the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color here to do some observations. So welcome.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members. I am here today to present AB 366, which will help California grow our understaffed county human services departments help our understaffed county human services departments grow their workforce. These departments do some of the most important work in our communities for our most vulnerable citizens, children, the elderly, the poor, disabled, and disadvantaged. However, all across California, they face huge vacancy rates. If a factory can't hire enough staff, then it simply can't make as many products as they would like.

But if a county human services department doesn't have enough staff, the work must still get done. The need does not go away. They are serving people who are often on the edge, on the edge of poverty, on the edge of survival. The work has to get done for the folks who are counting on it. AB 366 addresses this critical workforce shortage in three ways.

First, it will allow counties with vacancy rates of 20% or more to use an alternate hiring qualification outside of the merit system services requirement under CalHR. Second, it expands the already existing Title Four E federal stipend for social work students to encompass a broader range of students, including at the community college level. This will better help us draw down federal dollars. Third, it creates a grant program for counties to work with local universities, colleges, community colleges, and community nonprofits to provide career pipelines.

There is no one right way to build workforce capacity. It is going to take moving a number of different levers to give flexibility, support, and incentives to sustain and grow this critical workforce. AB 366 takes a common sense approach and builds on already existing programs to help move our workforce forward and help counties continue to provide these vital services. Pleased to be joined today by Amanda Kirchner from the County Welfare Directors Association and by Cori Allen, who is the Director of the Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members. Amanda Kirchner, on behalf of County Welfare Directors Association, we're the sponsor of AB 366. We know that there are workforce shortages throughout California, but as members said, when county human services agencies don't have enough staff, it affects members getting and their clients getting food assistance, employment assistance, and medical coverage. So counties are doing their best with limited resources. But AB 366 puts into place some flexibility for us. It puts in some infrastructure and some financial resources to give educational supports.

Every month we hear from our directors about the staffing challenges that they face, not just in recruiting candidates, but also trying to make sure that they can navigate through the hiring process and system. And we want our county human services agencies to be well-staffed so that we can also well serve our clients. With me is Cori Allen, who is one of our directors, and I'll let her go ahead now.

Good afternoon. Cori Allen, Health and Human Services Agency, Calaveras County. We operate several programs within human services at the local level. That includes your child welfare, your CalFresh, Medi-Cal services, to name a few. In my rural community, we have 34,000 people and 13,000 receive medical. 6000 receive food benefits. Under Cal Fresh, we also have higher rates of child abuse than the state average. My staff handle, in addition to their normal duties that we're talking about here, the local disasters and extreme weather conditions. In the last two years, we juggled 15 of them.

We provide the shelter needs for countless people and we do this in addition to making sure people have their food, their Medi-Cal, and their basic needs met. The vacancy rate while doing this work is at 24% today. We wonder why that is. We train people. We give them skills and abilities well. They will take them to counties, the public entities, to school entities and hospitals, where they will be paid greater amounts and they will receive the training that they look for.

We are also not near a local institute of education, so it's very difficult to find and keep people who not only want to get a master's degree in social work, but are required to have it in order to conduct their work. Other hiring challenges do come from the lengthy process that comes when going through a merit system process. It does, on occasion, cause individual recruits to turn to the public sector where processes are faster. Let's face it, the work is hard.

We cannot overlook that access to this extra funding to improve a social worker and eligibility worker's chance with families to improve their well-being would make a tremendous impact. We at the local level believe in the work. We take pride in doing the very best for the communities we serve. And we do believe that this bill will make great impact.

Thank you all very much. Is there any support in the room at this time? Please state your name and affiliation.

Good afternoon, I'm Susie Smith. I'm deputy director for policy planning and public affairs at the San Francisco Human Services Agency. And the City and County of San Francisco also supports this bill.

Okay, is there any support on the phones?

Gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in support of AB 366, you may press one and zero. At this time. At this time. There's no one in queue.

Any opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Any opposition on the phones?

If you like to comment in opposition of AB 366, you may press one and zero at this time. This time, there's no one in queue.

Any questions or comments from committee members? It's been moved. It's been second. All right. Would you like to close?

Well, thank you. And as Cori noted, this work is hard. This work is also incredibly important. And AB 366 takes practical steps to bolster our county workforce in such an important area. So respectfully ask for your aye vote today.

We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

We will leave the bill open for additional members to add on. Ms. Ortega. And this is item 12, AB 857. You may start when you're ready.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and members, for the opportunity to present AB 857 today. AB 857 would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide each inmate, upon release, with informational materials about vocational rehabilitation services and independent living programs. An enrollment form for vocational rehab services. These services are aimed at helping individuals with disabilities integrate into society and lead independent lives. Nearly two in five of state and federal prisoners had at least one disability in 2016.

Reintegrating back into society is one of the most common struggles amongst people exiting the prison system. And for people with disabilities, the challenge to find support services makes it even more difficult. By providing a bridge between former inmates with disability and support services already offered by the Department of Rehabilitation, ABA 57 works to rehabilitate our communities and steer them away from continuing the pattern of recidivism. My witness today testifying in support is Gregory Fidell with Initiate Justice.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. My name is Gregory Fidell and I'm the policy director with Initiate Justice. It's a pleasure to be here today to speak about this important bill. The best tools the state has to fight recidivism is stable employment and economic mobility. As the author is mentioning, California's recidivism rate has remained high over the past decade, in part because of a lack of a pipeline into quality jobs.

Upon leaving incarceration, recent data has shown that up to 75% of people with a criminal record are still unemployed a year after their incarceration. When we don't set people up for success, we all fail. But this bill offers a chance to correct that. Ensuring that formerly incarcerated people are aware of all opportunities and essential services is critical to facilitating successful reentry.

I've met many formerly incarcerated people who have transformed their lives and are thriving in the community, but are doing so despite the system, not because of it. Providing incarcerated folks with resources before they leave prison is the best way to ensure they are fully aware of support and services instead of leaving it to them to navigate on their own.

In order to drop the recidivism rate and improve public safety, we need to get to a place where folks that are leaving incarceration are earning competitive salaries and not just scraping by on minimum wage or poverty salaries. We want folks to come home and become good and productive neighbors, and a good job leads them in that direction. We need to be lifting folks out of poverty, and this Bill does exactly that. For these reasons, I strongly support this bill. Thank you.

Is there any support in the room at this time? Please come on up and state your name and affiliation.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. This is Eric Harris, Disability Rights California. Strong support.

Is there any support on the phone lines?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in support, you may press one zero at this time. We do have someone. Just a moment. We'll go to line 111. Please go ahead.

Yes, my name is Steven Echor. I represent Hunger Action Los Angeles, and we are involved with assisting recent releases from state prison system in strong support of this bill.

At this time, there's no one else in queue.

Is there any opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Is there any opposition on the phone lines?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press one and zero at this time.

And we have no one in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

Then we will bring it up to Committee Members. Any questions or comments? It's been moved. We have a second. Would you like to close?

Thank you. Committee Members, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll call]

The roll will be open for additional add-ons. Mr. Bennett, AB 551. Item number 8. It's been moved. We have a second.

Thank you very much, Chair. This Bill sort of just delays the implementation of an important fix we made last year. And since I believe that there's strong support for the Bill and no opposition, I'll leave it at that.

Okay. Any support in the room at this time?

Oh, I'm sorry. I have two witnesses. Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry.

You got some witnesses. Witnesses, we were almost voting on this Bill before you came up here.

I was overwhelmed by the early support of the Assemblymember here on the right making a motion. So I have Gail Gronert, she's with County Behavioral Health Directors, and Tyler Rinde, California Alliance of Child and Family Services. And so I'll turn it over to my esteemed witnesses.

Thank you. Thank you, Assemblymember Bennett. Hello, my name is Gail Gronert. I'm with the county Behavioral Health Directors Association. So when foster youth need specialized care, the placing agencies look to our short term residential therapeutic programs, our STRTPs, who offer that specialized care. Some counties do not include any STRTPs, so when a youth needs that specialized care, the county must work with another county to care for the youth.

Last year, we partnered with the California Alliance with regard to last year's Bill, AB 1051, to clarify roles and processes related to providing services for youth when they are moved to another county. Since the signing of our Bill last year with Mr. Bennett, our joint venture partner, California Mental Health Services Authority, or CalMHSA, announced updates underway to the fiscal portal used to transmit eligibility information and funding. The automated process to confirm and provide the fiscal transfer is now being updated and streamlined.

These critical updates will streamline the administrative process necessary to permit eligibility information and payments between counties for services provided in the county where the youth is placed through presumptive transfer. Additionally, many CalAIM reforms to Medi-Cal are also set to take effect this year. Because this automated process is so critical, we are requesting a one year delay in the implementation to ensure a seamless transition. We request your support for AB 551. Thank you and I will turn it over to my colleague from the Alliance.

Good afternoon, Chair Jackson and Members. Tyler Rinde on behalf of the California alliance of Child and Family Services. The California Alliance represents over 160 nonprofit, community based organizations serving children, youth and families across the state and public human services systems, including providing services to youth in foster care.

Part of our membership are short term residential therapeutic programs, or STRTPs, which provide a 24/7 therapeutic environment with onsite mental health services for foster youth that require that residential care through an independent assessment, with the goal of the intervention being time limited and stepping youth down into a family based setting. STRTPs often serve youth from multiple counties, and we were the sponsor of AB 1299 back in 2015, which created presumptive transferring the responsibility of specialty mental health services for foster youth placed out of county.

We are in strong support of AB 551 to delay the implementation of AB 1051 enacted last year. Sorry. We work closely with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association to agree on language on AB 1051 that the county of origin would retain responsibility to range and provide services while ensuring that there would be timely payment to providers for the critical services that they provide, and we are strong supporters of that Bill. However, since the implementation of the Bill, or, sorry.

Since the Bill was signed, we have learned that additional IT work is needed through the county's joint powers authority, CalmesA, to update the payment portal between counties and additional time is needed between our members and CBHDA's members to ensure that the payment structures are set up. Delaying implementation of this Bill will not delay any timely services to youth. It's all things that are on the back end that need to have additional time.

We respectfully request your support on the Bill and thank you and happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone in the room in support? Please come on up and state your name and affiliation. That's okay, we'll wait for you. This is the patient Committee.

Josh Gauger, on behalf of the Urban Counties of California and the Rural County Representatives of California, both in support.

Awesome. Is there any support on the phone lines?

If anyone would like to comment in support, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. And we have no one in queue.

Is there any opposition in the room? Seeing none. Is there any opposition on the phone lines?

If you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. And there's no one in queue.

Sorry, I was distracted. Any questions or comments from Committee Members? Okay. Thank you so much for your patience and working with the Committee on this Bill. Glad that we were able to make this happen. Would you like to close?

Yeah. For the benefit of- We have two Members here that weren't here last year when we did this Bill. If I just very quickly summarize what the intent here. We don't want to create a disincentive for counties to create specialized programs and larger counties create specialized programs.

And the way the thing was set up before, is sometimes somebody would go from a county that doesn't have a specialized program to a county with a specialized program, and then that county would have to pay for that foster youth. If that was the case, why would a county try to create specialized programs themselves if they could just transfer the youth and all the expenses with that? So that's why there was overwhelming support for that last year.

And I really appreciate the partners here catching sort of a technical problem that developed as they tried to implement this, and so appreciate the support of the Committee. Thank you very much.

Fantastic. We have a motion with Bryan, a second with Calderon. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do pass to the Assembly Health Committee. [Roll call]

Okay. We will leave the roll open. Thank you very much.

And now we have assemblymember Wilson for AB 649. And you may begin when you're ready.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. I'm pleased to present AB 649, the restoration of access to disability services bill. When The Great Recession struck, California took major steps to address the sudden and massive short and long term revenue effects it caused. The Regional Center System, a community based model of care for people with developmental disabilities, saw roughly $1.0 billion in funding cuts. A number of the cuts were made at the expense of access to services disproportionately falling on diverse and low income communities.

Consistent with federal funding requirements, Regional Centers are the payer of last resort for services. This means that before providing funding for needed services, Regional Centers must identify other options, if any, to pay for them. Additionally, the state created a requirement blocking Regional Centers from buying services unless in many cases, the individual or their family member goes through a formal appeal at the other funding agency, such as Medi-Cal.

After being denied funding. By forcing the administrative appeal mandate on those served and their families, an unnecessary hurdle is created. Now, for those families who rely on the greatest number of safety net programs, the burden is greatest. Those who are better able to navigate bureaucratic systems are more likely to succeed. They are the families with the greatest resources, whether that be time, knowledge of bureaucracy, et cetera.

Meanwhile, historically underserved communities become significantly less likely to ultimately obtain services they are entitled to, in part because they are not able to jump through these hoops. By reversing this mandate, California can invest in more equitable access to services, reducing barriers that disproportionately harm underserved communities. With me today to discuss this further are Daniel Savino from the Association of Regional Center Agencies and Kate Kinnamont from the San Diego Regional Center, who I believe is on the phone.

Honorable Chair Committee Members Daniel Savino, Association of Regional Center Agencies. We're deeply honored to be sponsoring this Bill. Assemblymember Wilson is championing this worthy cause. Access to services is something that Regional Centers are deeply committed to, especially improving equity of access. This type of change is a tremendous step forward for that type of access.

This is a barrier that was created purely as a cost saving measure, because you can save no limit of money when you prevent people from getting the services they deserve and need. Forcing people to go through a generic services appeal is purely a hurdle to make it difficult so that people give up, because outside of that service request, they have entire lives that they're living with diverse challenges that they face. So people give up.

It's complicated, it's hard, and then they go without when they should be going with. We strongly urge support of this worthy measure. Appreciate your time. Pass my time back to the ... to Kate Kinnamont from San Diego, who should be on the phone at this time.

We'll go to our witness on the phone.

Good afternoon. [Speaking Filipino]. Good afternoon. Chair and Members of the Committee. I'm Kate Kinnamont, Associate Executive Director at the San Diego Regional Center. San Diego Regional Center serves over 39 individuals with developmental disabilities residing in San Diego and Imperial counties. 39,000 individuals with developmental disabilities residing in San Diego and imperial counties. Services for individuals with developmental disabilities are determined through a person centered plan called an Individual Program Plan.

The services and supports identified in this document help the family and their individuals achieve their goals and objectives. Having families go through the process of formally appealing a denial from programs or agencies that fund generic services before Regional Centers can fund services places undue burden on families trying to obtain necessary services for their loved ones. As you have heard today, families caring for a loved one with the developmental disabilities are already experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, physical exhaustion that was mentioned, stigma and discrimination.

This process delays access to critical services that are lifelines for most families, which adds to the stress they're already experiencing. Moreover, this process disproportionately affects families in underserved communities. The barriers that exist for families in underserved communities is magnified due to the lack of limited resources that was already mentioned. Time, lack of knowledge on how to navigate the process, lack of access to materials in their native language, language barriers, just to name a few.

This may mean loss of income for parents who have to choose between putting food on the table and paying rent or having services for their child. Some families choose to go without services in order to provide daily necessities for their family. Passing AB 649 will lift this significant burden off families, eliminate a tremendous barrier to accessing services, and increase timely access to vital services and supports for individuals with served by the Regional Centers. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today, and thank you to Assemblymember Wilson for your support. Good afternoon.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone in support in the room at this time? Please come on up and state your name and affiliation, please.

Rachel Liebert Lewis with Easter Seals Northern California, in support. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there any support on the phone lines at this time.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment on support, you may press 1 and 0. We'll go to line 261, please. Go ahead.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Jessica Moran with the California Dental Association in support.

At this time there's no others in queue.

Is there anyone in opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Is there any opposition on the phone lines?

If you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press 1 and 0. At this time. There's no one in queue.

Any questions or comments from Committee Members? Seeing none, would you like to close?

Sounds good. Thank you. In a time of unprecedented challenges, these vulnerable families, and I'll quote Mr. Savino, are going without when they really should be going with. And so I would appreciate, an aye vote and respectfully ask for that from both the chair and the Members.

Is there a motion? We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Secretary. Please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call].

Okay, we will hold the roll open. Thank you very much.

Thank you, chair.

Okay, who's up? Who wants to go? We'll do the consent calendar first. Is there a motion? And a second for the consent calendar. It's been moved. It's been seconded.

Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

We will hold the roll for the consent calendar. And while we're waiting for other members, Mr. Bryan, would you like to do yours?

Can we start with 1324?

Okay, we will start with AB 1324.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and colleagues. Today I come before you to present AB 1324. It's a common-sense bill that will provide relief to some of the most vulnerable parents in California. AB 1324 is a natural continuation of a bill I authored and had signed by the governor last year, AB 1686. AB 1686 ended an archaic and harmful practice of billing parents for their child's time in foster care.

In fact, when we passed that bill in California, the Federal Government changed the rules across the country, so no counties will have to collect those funds from those families. Unfortunately, that only applies to families going forward, that they won't be assessed a bill for their children's time in foster care. What it doesn't clear is the outstanding debt here in California. There are families who have been assessed these payments for their children's time in foster care.

If they are unable to make these payments or fall behind, they can face a 10% interest accrual rate. I know the Chair is familiar with that. They can also have a negative hit on their credit score, leading to difficulty finding an apartment, a job, a car loan, and other things. State reports show that for every dollar we spend trying to collect these debts, we receive about $0.27. It's ineffective government. It punishes poverty. We will not do it going forward.

All this bill does is authorize for the state to clear the outstanding debt for the families that are being crushed by it. Joining me today to provide testimony and support are Kristin Power, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Alliance for Children's Rights, and Catherine Ahern, an impacted parent.

Good afternoon, Chairman Jackson and members. I'm Kristin Power at the Alliance for Children's Rights here, is a co-sponsor of AB 1324, which would make complete California's commitment to ending the damaging and inefficient practice of charging parents for their children's time in foster care. The Alliance for Children's Rights co-sponsored Assemblymember Bryan's AB 1686 last year, which he just referenced, which narrowed the circumstances in which counties can recoup foster care cost from parents.

Around the same time, the Federal Government issued clear guidance encouraging states to reform their policies to ensure that family reunification and stability, not debt collection, remain the focus of our child welfare system. While these federal and state reforms are exciting, they are only prospective thousands of parents still have debt referred by the child welfare system from before AB 1686 went into effect. Like any other type of debt, this can result in driver's license suspensions, wage garnishments, withholding of disability and veteran benefits, and more.

Families whose children have returned home continue to be saddled with this debt. That could increase the risk of future systems involvement, and even for those children whose families, whose children, like many of our clients, now have a permanent home with another caregiver, those children, and their caregivers never see a dime of that debt that gets collected.

AB 1324 wipes that slate clean and requires state and local agencies by 2025 to rescind and cease enforcement of prior orders and cancel all arrears owed to the state and any accrued interest. This would only apply to debt accrued as a result of a child welfare agency referral, not any other type of child support debt. Thank you. We respectfully request an aye vote.

And now we'll go to our witness on the phone.

Hello, Chairman Jackson and members of the committee. My name is Catherine Ahern. I am the parent of my seven-year-old daughter and I am a survivor of California CPS and child support systems. My child was removed from me in 2019 and not returned to me until recently. I have been told that I was responsible for the costs of my daughter's foster care. I continue to lose sleep to this day, knowing they could still come after me for tens of thousands of dollars.

My current income now barely covers the cost of food and shelter that my daughter and I need to survive. I'd lose my housing due to the financial implications, and my daughter and I would likely end up in a shelter eating instant soup every night for dinner. I can cope and am coping, but many of the parents I went through the program with are even more vulnerable.

I have heard horror stories from similar parents in other counties where CPS is even more aggressive in coming after the parents for foster care money. Many of the parents in the dependency system are there specifically because we couldn't effectively deal with the stressors in our lives. We learned better ways of coping. And happily, some of us succeeded in getting our children back by putting the tremendous pressure of crushing debt on us after we've reunified increases the chances of parents failing again.

I'm determined not to let this happen to me. And if you really care about the children and families in dependency cases, you'd put a stop to this. Please help us. As I understand it, you all passed the bill last year which ended this nightmare for CPS cases going forward. But thousands of parents from past cases need the same assistance. Please end this nightmare for all parents who have successfully regained their children back. Please vote yes on AB 1324. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Is there those in support in the room? Please come on up. State your name, affiliation, please.

Kevin Aslainan, Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations. It's high time support. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members. Christopher Sanchez, our policy advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, in strong support.

Nicole Wordelman, on behalf of the Children's Partnership, in support.

Susanna Kniffin, with Children Now, in support.

Andrew Cheyne, Grace End Child Poverty California, in support.

Is there any additional support on the phone lines at this time?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to comment in support, you may press one and zero. With line 258. Please go ahead.

Sylvia Hernandez with the National Association of Social Workers California Chapter, and we are in support.

Next, we'll go to line 263. Please go ahead.

Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, proud co-sponsor.

At this time, there's no others in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

Is there any opposition in the room at this time? Seeing none. Is there any opposition on the phone lines?

If you'd like to comment opposition, you may press one and zero. At this time, there's no one in queue.

Any questions or comments for members of the committee? Can I get a motion?

So moved.

It's been moved and it's been seconded. Mr. Bryan, would you like to close?

Sure. When we come into the Legislature, we think about all of the problems that we'd like to solve. And we get here and we realize that for many of these problems we might just take many steps forward in the right direction and then pass the baton off to the next generation to take it even further in hopes that one day we solve it. This is one of those problems we can literally solve. This year we ended punishing families with this debt. Going forward, we have a responsibility to clear the backlog of harm behind us. But once we do, we are done with this problem, and we can focus on the other needs of California. I've respectfully asked for your aye vote.

Okay, we have a motion. We have a second. Oh, I'll move.

You can second it, though.

Mr. Garcia, can you please move the bill? Move. It's been moved. I will second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Okay, we'll hold the roll open. Thank you so very much. We will now go to Ms. Quirk-Silva. And this is AB 1506 item number 16.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. First, I want to thank your wonderful consultant, Jessica, for working with our office on this Bill. And we do accept the Committee amendments. Assembly Bill 1506 is a simple Bill which expands a foster youth's Bill of rights related to education. As a teacher for over 30 years, one of the very most difficult things was when I had a foster youth student and we would receive notice that they had moved on. Always, we would never have closure or a goodbye.

And as a teacher, you would be asked to get their student work, artwork, other things that they had done, and put it in an envelope and send it off to wherever they had moved on to. The students in the class never had a chance to say goodbye. And of course, the foster students themselves never had a chance to say goodbye.

One of the things that we knew and that I've known throughout my years of teaching is it's not just the trauma of being moved from one place to another. It's also being not able to say goodbye to a teacher, to their friends in that separation, and to gather the belongings. The students belongings were often, just, as I said, put into a box or a bag and moved on. So this Bill, AB 1506, would bring back some type of dignity to this process of leaving.

In order to promote their social and emotional well being, foster youth should have the opportunity to return to their school with an adult of their choosing, to accompanying the student in a traumainformed manner to collect their belongings when a move or change in placement requires the student to change schools.

And as I said, to say goodbye many times, we know that students or foster students move many times, and the trauma they carry with them with not being able to have that closure, is something that we should do at the least. And today, my witness is not able to join us.

Thank you very much. Is there any support in the room at this time? Seeing none. Is there any support on the phone lines?

To comment in support, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. There's no one in queue.

Any opposition in the room at this time? Is there any opposition on the phone lines?

If you'd like to comment on opposition, you may press 1 and 0.

Okay. Any questions or comments from Members of the Committee? Move the Bill. It's been moved. We have a second. Would you like to close?

Just that. Moving with dignity, I think is an important part for our foster students to be able to have at the least, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[roll call]

We will hold the roll open. Thank you.

Thank you, Members.

And what Bill are you doing next?

274.

AB274. Item number 20.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's good to be back. And colleagues. First, I'd like to accept the Committee amendments. And I want to thank the staff, the consulting team. Incredible work, as always. It was a pleasure for my team to work with you. And your diligent work made this Bill better. Today I rise to present AB 274, a Bill that will simplify our state's CalWORKS and CalFresh frameworks.

Currently, CalFresh and CalWORKS include all need based educational funding under its list of income exclusions, but it does not explicitly exempt merit based private scholarships, grants, loans and fellowships. AB 274 will clarify that all educational funding, including scholarships, grants and fellowships for students, especially student parents, will be exempt from income calculations under CalFresh and CalWORKS. It will also bring parity to CalFresh and CalWORKS by applying all income exclusions under CalWORKS to CalFresh to the extent allowed under federal law.

Simplifying our benefits calculation system will eliminate confusion and save time and resources for both students and the Department of Social Services. In a time when students and student parents face rising tuition costs, housing prices, persistent food insecurity, and expensive and inaccessible childcare, we must do all that we can as a state to support them when they enter college and to ensure that they thrive and successfully complete their degree.

Last year, thanks to the work of one of our colleagues, Assemblymember Calderon, we prohibited universities from continuing the practice of reducing a student's need based financial aid because they received a merit based private scholarship. It's time for our state to practice what we preach and stop punishing students who are excited to accept a scholarship that they worked hard for, only to find out that it will adversely affect the aid they receive from the state.

Joining me to provide testimony are Christopher Sanchez, with the Western Center of Law and Poverty, and Andrea Dargo, a fellow with uAspire. Also here with us is Kevin Aslanian from the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations to provide technical support.

Hi, my name is Andrea Dargo and I'm a reentry student at Cerritos College. I am a psychology major. I am also a mother of three children and a uAspire fellow. And during the pandemic, as a single mom, I really relied on federal assistance to help keep a roof overhead and keep food on the table.

And when I returned to college to further my degree, I was doing very well, excelling, getting good grades, and I got a lot of scholarships and I took a position with uAspire as a fellow. And all of the income that I came through with the Cal Grants, scholarships, and whatever pay stipend I received was counted against me for my CalWORKS. So my benefits were extremely affected and so my CalFresh was reduced and my CalWORKS was terminated.

I no longer qualified for that, so I'd no longer received childcare, which made it hard to go back to campus. And it's not just me. There's a lot of other students who are suffering from the same issues. So I'm really hoping that we can get support in this Bill to help us empower our futures.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. Christopher Sanchez, Policy Advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Proud to be here in strong support and as a co sponsor of AB 274, given the motion, and I'll keep my comments brief just to say, college is too expensive, it's not obtainable, and it's not affordable right now for many of our students who are CalWORKS students, and we have to keep in mind that CalWORKS students are.

You have to be a family, you have to be a parent to be a CalWORKS recipient. For those reasons, we shouldn't limit them in their ability to be able to apply for any type of scholarship to assist them and their families, to prioritize what's best for them. For those reasons, we ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else in support in the room at this time? Please come up. State your name and affiliation, and then we will move on to opposition witnesses.

Nicole Wardelman, on behalf of The Children's Partnership in support.

Parshan Khosravi with uAspire. We're in strong support. Happy to be a co sponsor. Thank you Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, you're a homie.

Out of order. Out of order. Andrew Cheyne, GRACE & End Child Poverty. This also is important for graduate students. Thanks.

Shannon Swanson, on behalf of the Cal State Student Association in strong support.

Janice O'Malley with AFSME, California in support.

Kathy Mossberg with Nourish California in support.

Amine El Moznine with the University of California Student Association. Strong support.

Daniella Rodriguez with the Student Aid Commission, also in support.

Susanna Kniffen with Children Now in support.

Becky Silva with the California Association of Food Banks in support.

Kelly Beam on behalf of Healthnet of California in support.

Is there any additional support on the phone lines?

Ladies and gentleman, if you'd like to come in support, you may press 1 and 0. Next, we'll go to line 264. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Sarah Diaz with the California WIC Association in support.

Next, we go to line 265. Please go ahead.

Tony Hernandez with the National Association of Social Workers, California chapter. And we are in support.

Next, we'll go to line 267. Please go ahead.

Hello, this is Mauricio Medina calling on behalf of the San Diego Hunger Coalition calling in strong support of this Bill. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 225. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Derek Polka with the Los Angeles Regional Food bank calling in support. Thank you.

Next, we'll go to line 266. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon ... on behalf of Alameda County Community Food Bank in strong support.

And at this time, there's no others in queue. Back to you, Mr. Chair.

All right. I understand you're in support.

That's correct, yeah.

Okay. Just state your name and affiliation.

Kevin Aslanian. Coalition California Welfare Rights Organization. Proud co sponsor and support. I'm just here for technical reasons.

Oh, sounds good. Okay. Anyone in the room in opposition saying none. Anyone in opposition on the phone?

If you'd like to comment in opposition, you may press 1 and 0 at this time. And we have no one in queue.

Okay. Any questions or comments from Members of the Committee? Is there a motion? All right, I'll second that. Okay. Would you like to close?

Sure. Imagine growing up on CalFresh and CalWORKS and the critical social safety nets that we provide in California to sustain families working incredibly hard, tirelessly to matriculate into an institution of higher learning, receiving merit based support for all of your hard work and having that support then offset the foundational support that you've needed from the state to survive and continue to need from the state to survive. Now, imagine that not being the case because we passed this Bill. That's what will happen. And I respectfully ask your aye vote.

We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Clerk. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do pass as amended, to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call].

Now, we will hold the roll open. Thank you very much. Mr. Ting, you're up. And this is item number 15, AB 1387. And you may begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. AB 1387 establishes a grant program to address the current shortage of in-home supportive services providers. As you know, in-home supportive services is one of our most cost-effective and efficient ways that we take care of our seniors, but also our disabled family members. We really want to ensure that we are expanding the pool of those people who are eligible. This bill would establish a three-year grant-based pilot program of $3 million from the general fund.

We believe this would help increase the pool providers, allowing recipients to select providers that know their language, culture, traditions, and practices. Quite often, we don't always have the most culturally competent pool of providers. With that, I have two witnesses, Kelly Dearman from San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services and Amanda Kirchner from the County Welfare Directors Association.

Okay, good afternoon again. Amanda Kirchner on behalf of County Welfare Directors Association, we are one of the co-sponsors of AB 1387. In-home supportive services is an essential tool for the state to meet the goals of the master plan for aging and keeping older and adults and those with disabilities in their home and out of institutional care settings and with individuals that they trust provide the care.

California has made great strides to ensure that all of those individuals, regardless of immigration status, have access to care via full-scope Medi-Cal. As of February of this year, there were over 704,000 authorized IHSS recipients, which was a 5% increase from February of last year. But unfortunately, we only have about 613,000 providers. 46% of our recipients have a primary language other than English.

The vast majority of our IHSS providers are family members, and we know that recipients do better when they are assisted by providers who know the needs of their communities. As our eligible population grows for immigrant communities, there will be a greater need for individuals that can provide services for recipients in their primary language. The outreach campaign will target historically underrepresented communities to encourage individuals to become providers for their communities. AB 1387 allows the state to begin to bridge these gaps in equity and inclusion and allow stakeholders to formulate the best outreach methods to participate in this essential program.

Good afternoon. My name is Kelly Dearman. I have both professional and personal experience with caregiving. Professionally, I'm the director of San Francisco's Department of Disability and Aging Services. My cepartment operates San Francisco's In-Home Supportive Services Program and solicited San Francisco to become a proud sponsor of AB 1387. Personally, I live with my 87-year-old mother, who has MS and needs 12 hours of home care a day to remain living in her home of 60 years.

From both perspectives, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of providing people the care they need to age at home with dignity. It is both the right thing to do and the cost-effective policy choice. This is exemplified by the case of Daniel. Daniel is a 97-year-old San Franciscan with cognitive impairment. He lives in a nursing home but wants to return to his home. He qualifies for IHSS and could live at home if only he had a caregiver.

Unfortunately, Daniel's adult children are unable to care for him due to their own medical issues. He has not been able to find an alternative provider, so Daniel remains in a nursing home, taking up a scarce and costly resource that he does not truly need nor does he want. To put this in a financial perspective, the cost of institutionalized care borne by medical for people like Daniel averages $140,000 a year. In contrast, the annual cost of IHSS is about $30,000 in San Francisco.

In a recent data pool, over 2000, San Franciscans like Daniel were unable to find an IHSS provider, let alone one who speaks their language or understands their culture. A culturally specific campaign to increase the number of immigrant providers is an important first step to address our workforce crisis and save money. Thank you, Assemblymember Ting, for championing this very important issue.

All right, do we have any support in the room? Please come on up and state your name and affiliation, please.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members, Lynn Peralta, Alameda County Social Services Agency, policy director, County of Alameda, in support.

Chair and members, Kathy Mossburg, with the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging, in support.