BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 402
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 402 (Skinner)
As Amended August 17, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |51-24|(June 1, 2011) |SENATE: |24-10|(August 22, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
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 child is approved for free meals, or if included in the MOU,
and 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 the SLP is confidential and with the exception of
forwarding the information on the application for use in the
CalFresh program enrollment, the school district, county
superintendent of schools, or CalFresh program administrators is
prohibited from sharing the information with any other
governmental agency, including the federal Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) and the Social Security
Administration (SSA), or using the information for any other
purpose other than enrollment in the CalFresh program.
4)Specifies that after a school district or COE shares information
provided on a SLP application with the local agency that
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determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its 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.
5)Authorizes, in the Education Code section dealing with information
in the SLP application packet, school districts and county
superintendents of schools to release information on the SLP
application to the local agency that determines eligibility under
the CalFresh program or to an agency that determines eligibility
for nutrition assistance programs, if the child is approved for
free or reduced-price meals and if the applicant consents to
sharing the information.
6)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.
7)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.
8)Specifies that unless otherwise prohibited by federal law or
regulation, for purposes of expedited service processing, a county
shall request information necessary for processing an application
at the first point of contact following receipt of information.
If information is provided to determine whether the household
meets the criteria for expedited service, the expedited timeframe
processing timeframes shall apply from the point of first contact.
For the processing of other households, the processing timeframes
shall apply from the point at which the county has received
sufficient information in order to process the application.
9)Specifies that if the county determines from the SLP application
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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.
10)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.
11)Requires each county to request the parent or guardian of each
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.
12)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.
The Senate amendments reinstate two provisions that were deleted in
a prior amendment specifying that the SLP is confidential and
prohibiting local educational agencies (LEAs) and CalFresh program
administrators from sharing the information with any other
governmental agency, including the INS and SSA, or using the
information for any other purpose other than enrollment in the
CalFresh program, and establishing timeframes for processing
CalFresh applications through the process established by this bill.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to
the version of the bill passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel. However, according to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one time General Fund/Proposition 98 cost pressure,
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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. Amendments also authorize LEAs to
release information on the SLP application to the local agency that
determines eligibility for nutritional assistance programs.
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 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 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. 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
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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 California Department of Education (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 she or he has
lived in the country; or, 3) applicant is a child under 18 years of
age regardless of how long she or 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
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001978
AB 402
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