BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 402
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 402 (Skinner)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Bonilla, Carter, Eng, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Williams | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Norby, Hagman |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes a school district or a county office of
education (COE) to incorporate CalFresh program information in
the School Lunch Program (SLP) application. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Authorizes each school district or a COE to enter into a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the local agency that
determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its designee, to
share information provided on the SLP application with that
agency, if the applicant consents to the sharing of that
information. Authorizes the information to be shared
electronically, physically, or through whatever method is
determined appropriate. Specifies that the MOU shall set
forth the roles and responsibilities of the school district or
COE and the local agency and the process to be used in sharing
the information.
2)Specifies that the local agency that determines CalFresh
program eligibility shall only use information provided on a
SLP application for purposes directly related to the
enrollment of families in the CalFresh program.
3)Specifies that after a school district or COE shares
information provided on a SLP application with the local
agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its
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designee, for the purpose of determining the applicant's
eligibility for the CalFresh program, the school district or
the COE and the local agency, or its designee, shall not share
information about the applicant or his or her household with
each other, or any entity, unless specifically authorized to
do so pursuant to other provisions of law.
4)Requires each county to use the procedure established pursuant
to this bill to determine CalFresh program eligibility for
children whose information is shared with the county and, if
the child is eligible, requires the county to enroll the child
in the CalFresh program, upon receipt of a signed CalFresh
program application.
5)Specifies that upon receipt of a SLP application pursuant to
this bill for a pupil who is not already enrolled in the
CalFresh program, the county shall treat the application as an
application for the CalFresh program. Specifies that for
purposes of administration of the CalFresh program, the
application date shall be the date that the application is
received by the county human services department. Provides
that if the county determines the pupil is already enrolled in
the CalFresh program, it shall not take any further action.
6)Specifies that if the county determines from the SLP
application and supporting documents that the child or his or
her family meets the income eligibility requirements for
participation in the CalFresh program, the county shall notify
the parent or guardian of the child that the child or his or
her family has been found eligible for the CalFresh program.
7)Specifies that if the county is unable to determine from the
information on the application whether the child or his or her
family is eligible for the CalFresh program, the county shall
contact the parent or guardian of the child to seek any
additional information regarding income, household
composition, or deductions that the county may determine to be
necessary to complete the CalFresh program application.
Provides that if the county determines the child or his or her
family does not meet the eligibility requirements for
participation in the CalFresh program, the county shall notify
the parent or guardian of the child of the determination.
8)Requires each county to request the parent or guardian of each
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child whom the county determines meets the eligibility
requirements for participation in the CalFresh program to
provide additional documentation as required by current law
necessary for retention of eligibility in the CalFresh
program.
9)Specifies that if a parent or guardian of a child does not
provide the documentation required for retention of CalFresh
program eligibility, the county shall deny or discontinue
CalFresh program benefits in accordance with existing
regulations and laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one time General Fund/Proposition 98 cost pressure,
likely less than $150,000 to school districts and COEs to revise
the SLP application. There were 1,021 districts and COEs in the
state in 2009-10. If this process leads to increased
eligibility in the CalFresh program, the state will receive an
increase in federal funds to implement this program.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "As families continue to
feel the impacts of the recession, federal programs such as the
Free or Reduced Price Meal Program and CalFresh (formerly Food
Stamp) provide a safety net to help ensure that low-income
children get adequate nutrition. Recent U.S. data found that in
2009 nearly 17.2 million children, or almost one in four, lived
in food insecure households where their families faced a
constant struggle against hunger. In California between 2008 and
2010, an alarming number of children became newly eligible for
free and reduced-cost meal programs in nearly every county.
Although 3.4 million children are now eligible for school meal
programs, a large number of these children and their families
are not participating in CalFresh. California loses nearly $5
billion in federal food benefits and $1.7 billion in generated
economic activity due to low CalFresh participation rates."
This bill proposes to utilize information contained in the
school meal program application to initiate the determination of
eligibility for the CalFresh program.
Existing law requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to
provide one nutritiously adequate free and reduced-price meal to
needy children once a day during each schoolday. A needy child
is defined as a child who meets the federal eligibility for free
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and reduced-price meals. School meal programs are funded
predominantly by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) through its National School Lunch and School Breakfast
programs (SBPs) and supplemented by state funds. These programs
are federal entitlement programs, which mean that allocations
are not fixed; federal funds will be provided as long as
recipients meet eligibility criteria. In 2009-10, the state
received $341.3 million for SBP and $1.2 billion for SLP. State
funds augmented the program by $40.6 million for SBP and $93.8
million for SLP. According to the CDE, on an average day, more
than 4.7 million nutritious meals are served at approximately
43,000 locations. Income eligibility is 130% of federal poverty
guidelines for free meals ($28,665 for a family of four) and
185% of federal poverty guidelines for reduced-price meals
($40,793 for a family of four). Current law also establishes a
direct certification process whereby children who are enrolled
in certain public benefits programs such as the California Work
Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids and CalFresh are
automatically enrolled in the free and reduced-price meal
program, and a categorically eligible process whereby migrant,
homeless and foster care children are also automatically
enrolled. Existing law requires a LEA to make applications for
free or reduced price meals available to students at all times
during each regular schoolday. According to the CDE, 1,013 of
1,047 districts in the state offer SLP while 866 districts offer
SBP.
CalFresh is another food program for low-income individuals
funded through the USDA. Similar to the SBP and the SLP,
CalFresh is also an entitlement program. CalFresh is available
to individuals with maximum gross income of 130% of federal
poverty level ($28,665 for a family of four) and a net income of
100% of federal poverty guidelines and who meet one of the
following: 1) applicant has lived in the country for five
years; 2) applicant is receiving disability-related benefits,
regardless of how long s/he has lived in the country; or, 3)
applicant is a child under 18 years of age regardless of how
long s/he has lived in the country. Each individual/household
amount of benefit varies depending on income. According to the
California Department of Social Services, the average amount per
household per month is $200. The benefit amount is deposited
into a debit card which can be used to purchase food or seeds
and plants to grow food from grocery stores, convenience stores,
and even some farmer's markets. Children are eligible for
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benefits even if their parents are not eligible. Over two
million Californians receive CalFresh benefits. However,
according to the California Food Policy Advocates, there are an
estimated three million eligible individuals who are not
receiving CalFresh benefits.
This bill is modeled after an existing program commonly called
the Express Lane Eligibility program, which seeks parental/legal
guardian consent through the SLP to enroll children in the
Medi-Cal program (California's Medicaid program) based initially
on information on the SLP provided by school districts or county
superintendent of schools to county social services agencies
responsible for determining Medi-Cal eligibility. County social
service agencies are required to participate in a state pilot
program to determine Medi-Cal eligibility based on the
information provided by LEAs.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001137