BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1640
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          Date of Hearing:   March 20, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                Jim Beall Jr., Chair
                AB 1640 (Mitchell) - As Introduced:  February 13, 2012
           
          SUBJECT  :  CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits:  pregnant mothers

           SUMMARY  :  Enacts the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act of 2012, 
          requiring payment of California Work Opportunity and 
          Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs) aid and CalFresh benefits 
          to otherwise eligible pregnant women or teenagers at any time 
          after verification of pregnancy.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)States legislative findings and declarations, including the 
            following:

             a)   By not ensuring uninterrupted supportive services to the 
               mothers who are experiencing multiple stressful situations 
               during their pregnancies, very poor women are more likely 
               to experience premature and low birth-weight babies, and 
               children are more likely to experience short- and long-term 
               health and behavioral challenges that can interfere with 
               their parents' long-term economic sufficiency.

             b)   Prenatal care during pregnancy can reduce risk factors 
               and diminish the effects of stress.  Receiving earlier care 
               provides benefits for both the mother and the fetus.  The 
               current third trimester CalWORKs eligibility test not only 
               impacts these beneficiaries basic needs grants, but also 
               impacts health care and prenatal services. 

             c)   With limited economic resources, pregnant women are less 
               able to afford healthy diets.  As a result, many are not 
               getting the nutrients they need for better fetal 
               development, which puts them at risk for low infant birth 
               rate and other abnormalities.

          2)Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in a 
            family without a needy child qualified for aid upon 
            verification of pregnancy and without regard to her 
            eligibility for the Cal-Learn Program.

          3)Prohibits, to the extent permitted by federal law, a pregnant 
            woman or teenager from being denied or made ineligible for 







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            CalFresh benefits, or from being required to participate in 
            the CalFresh Employment and Training (E&T) program, at any 
            time after verification of pregnancy.

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Establishes, under federal law, the Temporary Assistance for 
            Needy Families (TANF) program, providing block grants to 
            eligible states as part of a welfare-to-work program for 
            qualified low-income families.

          2)Establishes, under state law, the CalWORKs program, which is 
            funded through a combination of state and county funds and 
            federal funds received through the TANF program, to provide 
            eligible low-income families cash assistance and employment 
            services.

             a)   Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in 
               a family without a needy child qualified for aid for the 
               month in which the birth is anticipated and for the 
               three-month period immediately prior to the month in which 
               the birth is anticipated.

             b)   Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in 
               a family without a needy child qualified for aid upon 
               verification of pregnancy if the pregnant woman is also 
               eligible for the Cal-Learn Program (providing intensive 
               case management and other services to teenagers under age 
               19 without a high school diploma or equivalent, who are 
               pregnant or parenting).

          3)Establishes California's CalFresh program to administer the 
            state's allocation of federal funds under the Supplemental 
            Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food 
            stamps.  

          4)Establishes the CalFresh E&T program, under which counties 
            that choose to participate may require nonexempt CalFresh 
            recipients who do not receive cash grants under the CalWORKs 
            program to participate in work activities to remain eligible 
            for CalFresh benefits.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS :  Under current law, a pregnant woman with no other 







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          eligible children in the household is not eligible for basic 
          needs cash assistance through CalWORKs until the third 
          trimester.  Established in 1993 (SB 35 (Committee on Budget), 
          Chapter 69, Statutes of 1993, and SB 1078 (Watson), Chapter 
          1252, Statutes of 1993), the Cal-Learn Program addresses, 
          through CalWORKs, the unique educational, vocational, training, 
          health, and other social service needs of pregnant teens and 
          teenage parents to help them achieve self-sufficiency.  
          Low-income, pregnant women are also eligible to receive 
          pregnancy Medi-Cal, which is a fee-for-service health benefit 
          that covers pregnancy related healthcare.  Once a woman becomes 
          eligible for CalWORKs or Cal-Learn, she receives 1931(b)-linked 
          Managed Care Medi-Cal.  As the author points out, under current 
          law, women who become eligible for CalWORKs in their third 
          trimester must switch healthcare programs and often their 
          provider. 

           Need for this bill  :  According to the author, the 
          delayed-eligibility rule to receive CalWORKs cash aid "is over 
          two decades old and pre-dates  many recent academic studies 
          showing that instability and stress felt by a pregnant woman can 
          have long-lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of infants 
          and children."  According to the Urban Institute, California is 
          in the minority of states that require women to wait until the 
          third trimester to be eligible for grants through TANF, the 
          federal program that funds the state's CalWORKs program.  This 
          policy, the author notes, not only impacts eligibility for basic 
          cash assistance for very low-income pregnant women, it also 
          means they lack continuity in their healthcare services.

          The Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP), this bill's sponsor, 
          notes that "though women in their first and second trimesters of 
          pregnancy may be eligible for county benefits provided under 
          Welfare & Institutions Code § 17000 cash aid, many counties 
          limit this assistance to 3 months for people who are employable 
          and there is no statewide standard of employability for these 
          programs."  According to WCLP, "it is the experience of many 
          applicants that these programs will not enroll a pregnant woman 
          until they verify that she is not in her third trimester, and 
          therefore eligible for CalWORKs."  Therefore, women with very 
          little resources and no or little income may go without any cash 
          assistance.  WCLP also notes the complicated patchwork of state 
          and federal policy with respect to work requirements for 
          pregnant women.  This bill, WCLP notes, "makes it clear that 
          California elects to protect the CalFresh benefits for pregnant 







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          women to the maximum amount allowed under federal law."

          In California, all low-income pregnant women with income below 
          200% of poverty are eligible for Medi-Cal.  However, the type of 
          health care coverage a woman receives when she is pregnant 
          depends on whether or not she is participating in the CalWORKs 
          program.  As a result, the author says, "these mostly first-time 
          mothers with incomes below poverty are asked to transfer their 
          healthcare coverage at the third trimester, when they become 
          eligible for CalWORKs and Medi-Cal Managed Care at the time when 
          pregnant women are just settling into the routine of regular 
          bi-monthly or weekly visits to their doctor."

          The author concludes:

               By not ensuring uninterrupted supportive services to 
               the women who are experiencing multiple stressful 
               situations during their pregnancies, very poor women 
               are more likely to experience premature and 
               low-birth-rate babies and children are more likely to 
               experience health and behavioral challenges which may 
               have lifelong impacts on the children's development.  
               These challenges may also interfere with the parent's 
               ability to achieve self-sufficiency.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Western Center on Law & Poverty (sponsor)
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 
          (AFSCME) AFL-CIO
          California Catholic Conference, Inc.
          California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
          California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
          California WIC Association
          Catholic Charities of California United
          Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
          County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
          JERICHO
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          Public Counsel Law Center, Children's Rights Project
          St Anthony's Foundation, San Francisco
          Western Center on Law and Poverty








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           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089