BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1640 Page 1 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 AB 1640 Page 2 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 AB 1640 Page 3 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 AB 1640 Page 4 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 AB 1640 Page 5 Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089