BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 510
A
AUTHOR: Evans
B
VERSION: April 2, 2009
HEARING DATE: June 23, 2009
5
FISCAL: To Appropriations
1
0
CONSULTANT:
Lane
SUBJECT
CalWORKs: aid amount calculation
SUMMARY
Suspends the timeclock for CalWORKs aid when there are a
lack of county supportive services due to insufficient
funding in the annual Budget Act.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1)Establishes the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility for Kids (CalWORKs) program to provide
cash aid and welfare to work activities to eligible
families.
2)Limits an adult's eligibility for cash aid to 60
cumulative months.
3)Provides five specific conditions when county welfare
workers have the authority to suspend a CalWORKs
participant's 60-month time clock.
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 510 (Evans) Page
2
4)Requires that a single-parent CalWORKs recipient work a
minimum of 32 hours per week, and that a recipient in a
two-parent household work at least 35 hours per week in
order to maintain their cash grant and supportive
services.
This bill
1) Provides that any month in which a recipient has been
excused from participation for good cause due to a lack
of necessary supportive services resulting from
insufficient funding for CalWORKs services in the annual
Budget Act will not be counted as a month of receipt of
aid.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, for
every 1,000 cases that receive a good cause exemption,
rather than participating in the welfare to work program,
counties will save approximately $2 million per month in
employment services and child care cost; and, for every
1,000 cases where an adult stays on the caseload one month
longer than they would have otherwise, due to a good cause
exemption, it will cost the state $139,000 in increased
CalWORKs grant costs at the end of those families'
five-year time limit.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Program overview
According to the County Welfare Directors Association
(CWDA), the sponsor of this bill, counties provide the
following supportive services to CalWORKs participants:
1) Counseling and treatment: for domestic violence,
mental health, and substance abuse.
2) Child care.
3) Transportation: mileage for use of a personal car
and fares for public transportation.
4) Work, education, and training-related expenses,
such as learning-disability services, job-related
tools, uniforms, books, and school supplies.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 510 (Evans) Page
3
CalWORKs funding
While counties administer the cash aid and arrange for or
provide supportive services for a participant, the state
and federal governments provide most of the funding. State
support of CalWORKs services is determined annually through
the Budget Act. According to the author and the bill's
sponsor, budget reductions have left counties short
millions of dollars for support services; as a result,
counties are no longer able to provide the supportive
services necessary for some CalWORKs recipients to
participate in welfare-to-work activities.
Good cause exception to work requirements
In January of 2009, the California State Association of
Counties and CWDA advised DSS that counties will, on a
case-by-case basis, be granting voluntary "good cause" for
non-participation to recipients for whom the necessary
supportive services cannot be provided. This authority is
allowed under current law. However, CWDA believes that
legislation is needed to suspend the 60-month lifetime
clock for CalWORKs recipients, who would be participating
in welfare-to-work activities if the necessary services
were available.
AB 510 would stop the 60-month time clock for any person
granted "good cause" for non-participation if the county
cannot provide necessary supportive services due to the
impact of the budget cuts on the program.
Suspending the time clock
The CWDA believes that suspending the time clock for some
CalWORKs recipients is prudent and fair. When the program
began ten years ago, there were sufficient funds to meet
clients' needs for welfare-to-work services. In an era of
fiscal austerity and budget shortfalls in counties, the
author and the sponsors argue that suspending the time
clock while clients wait to receive needed services
recognizes that clients who follow the rules should not be
penalized.
Previous votes
Assembly Floor 50-28
Assembly Appropriations 12-5
Assembly Human Services 4-2
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 510 (Evans) Page
4
POSITIONS
Support: County Welfare Directors Association of
California (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Communities United Institute
California State Association of Counties
National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Oppose: None received
-- END --