BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                  SENATE HUMAN
                               SERVICES COMMITTEE
                            Senator Carol Liu, Chair


          BILL NO:       SB 43                                       
          S
          AUTHOR:        Liu                                         
          B
          VERSION:       As introduced
          HEARING DATE:  April 12, 2011                              
          4
          FISCAL:        Appropriations                              
          3
                                                                     
          CONSULTANT:                                                
          Park
                                        

                                     SUBJECT
                                         
                   Food Stamp Employment and Training program

                                     SUMMARY  

          Makes changes to the administration of the Food Stamp 
          Employment and Training program, including rules governing 
          mandatory and voluntary placements into the program, as 
          well as exemptions.  Requires FSET counties to demonstrate 
          how they are effectively using FSET funds, as specified, 
          and to allow work registrants who are mandatorily placed 
          into the FSET program to meet work requirements through 
          self-initiated workfare.

                                     ABSTRACT  

          Existing federal law:
          1.Establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
            (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program, administered by 
            the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which imposes 
            specified rules on specified program participants and 
            limits benefits based on those rules.  Generally, one 
            group of participants, able-bodied adults (age 18 to 49) 
            without dependents, known as ABAWDs, are limited to three 
            months of food stamp benefits within a 36-month period 
            unless they comply with work requirements.
                                                         Continued---



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          2.Establishes the Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) 
            program, administered by the USDA, which requires state 
            agencies to implement an employment and training program 
            to assist food stamp recipients who are able-bodied to 
            gain skills, training, work or experience to help them 
            obtain employment.
          
          Existing state law:
          1.Establishes a statewide program, CalFresh, administered 
            by state and local agencies, that enables recipients of 
            aid and other low-income households to receive federal 
            food assistance benefits.

          2.Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), to the 
            extent permitted by federal law, to annually seek a 
            federal waiver of the existing food stamp program 
            limitation that stipulates that an ABAWD participant is 
            limited to three months of food stamps in a three-year 
            period unless that participant has met the work 
            participation requirement.

          3.Requires all eligible counties to be included in and 
            bound by this waiver unless a county declines to 
            participate in the waiver request, as specified.
          
          This bill:
          1.Requires counties to screen work registrants to determine 
            whether they will participate in, or be deferred from, 
            the FSET program.  Requires an individual to be deferred 
            from mandatory placement in the FSET program if he or she 
            satisfies any of the federally mandated criteria, or if 
            he or she resides in a federally determined work surplus 
            area.  Allows a work registrant, who is deferred, to 
            request to enroll in the FSET program as a voluntary 
            participant.

          2.Requires a county that participates in the FSET program 
            to demonstrate how it is effectively using FSET program 
            funds for each component that the county offers, 
            including but not limited to: self-initiated workfare, 
            work experience or training, education, job search, and 
            the support services or client reimbursements needed to 
            participate in these components, as allowed by federal 
            law and guidance.  Clarifies that a county is not 




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            required to offer any particular component.

          3.Requires a county that elects to participate in the FSET 
            program, beginning October 1, 2012, to allow work 
            registrants who are mandatorily placed in the FSET 
            program to meet work requirements of that FSET placement 
            through self-initiated workfare and requires the county 
            to notify the work registrant of the option.

          4.Provides that a county has no duty to provide for 
            workers' compensation coverage for an FSET participant 
            who elects to participate in self-initiated workfare, and 
            that nothing in this measure shall limit a county's 
            ability to condition nonmedical benefits under Section 
            17000.

          5.Defines "self-initiated workfare" as a public service 
            placement in a public or private nonprofit agency that is 
            initiated by the CalFresh recipient, for which the 
            recipient is responsible for documentation of hours.  
            Requires self-initiate workfare to be verified in the 
            same manner as other work activity verification, and must 
            meet other federal requirements.

          6.Expresses the intent of the Legislature to increase 
            meaningful opportunities for employment and training in 
            the FSET program and to assist CalFresh recipients in 
            meeting the work requirements under the CalFresh program.


                                  FISCAL IMPACT  

          Unknown

                            BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION  

          Author's statement
          The author states that SB 43 will help CalFresh recipients 
          retain their eligibility for federal food benefits in tough 
          economic times and increase meaningful opportunities in the 
          CalFresh Employment and Training (CFET) program.  The 
          author believes that during periods of high unemployment, 
          when meeting work requirements is most difficult, waiving 
          CFET work requirements when federal SNAP work requirements 
          are waived can help vulnerable Californians maintain their 




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          access to federal food benefits and help retail businesses 
          weather economic downturn.  The author points out that, 
          according to the USDA, every $5 in new SNAP benefits 
          generates $9 in total community spending. Additionally, the 
          author states that, by allowing people who are assigned to 
          CFET to meet their work requirements by volunteering at a 
          public or private nonprofit agency, such as a school, food 
          bank, or fire department, the bill encourages individual 
          initiative and helps local communities benefit from these 
          volunteers.

          SNAP/CalFresh
          In California, 3.6 million people participate in 
          CalFresh/SNAP.  In the last federal fiscal year, California 
          received $6.8 billion in federal food assistance benefits; 
          yet, only about half of eligible persons in California 
          participate in CalFresh.  Some advocates argue that the 
          state could be receiving billions more in food assistance 
          benefits and the state should take actions to improve food 
          stamp participation for the benefit of low-income 
          individuals and the state's economy.

          To qualify for SNAP benefits, households must meet income 
          tests, and some households must meet specified work 
          requirements.  SNAP requires all recipients, unless 
          exempted by law, to register for work at the appropriate 
          employment office, participate in an employment and 
          training program if assigned by a state or local 
          administering agency, and accept an offer of suitable 
          employment.  SNAP beneficiaries are exempted from 
          registering for work and engaging in employment and 
          training activities if they are under age 16 or over age 
          59; physically or mentally unfit for employment; caring for 
          a child under the age of 6 (or 12, in some cases); employed 
          30 hours a week; or subject to and complying with work 
          requirements for other programs, such as those required by 
          CalWORKs.  Additionally, others are exempted because they 
          are receiving unemployment insurance compensation, 
          participating in a drug and alcohol treatment and 
          rehabilitation program, or are students enrolled at least 
          half time (these students must meet other work 
          participation requirements).

          Food Stamp Employment and Training Program
          The USDA provides annual funding for program administration 




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          for the FSET program, which is designed to help food stamp 
          participants gain skills, training, work experience, and 
          secure work.  There are two types of funding from USDA: a 
          100 percent federal amount for states that is capped; and 
          an uncapped 50-50 (percent) federal/state/other 
          reimbursement program.  The 100 percent funds are allocated 
          to states based on a formula that takes into account the 
          number of work registrants in the state. Under the 50-50 
          formula, the federal government reimburses states fifty 
          cents of every non-federal dollar spent on allowable 
          employment and training services or activities.  
          Non-federal dollars can come from state, county or city 
          revenue; foundation grants; employer paid costs; private 
          tuition payments and private funds raised by 
          community-based organizations.  USDA Food and Nutrition 
          Services guidance indicates that non-governmental revenue 
          is subject to federal approval for the purposes of 
          obtaining the 50 percent reimbursement.  

          In California, counties determine which individuals in a 
          non-assistance (i.e., non CalWORKs) food stamp household 
          must participate in the FSET program.  Federal law provides 
          for certain exemptions, but counties can additionally 
          determine who must participate in FSET or be exempt beyond 
          the population determined to be exempt by federal law.  
          FSET programs can include a variety of services and support 
          for training and employment activities, such as employment 
          search; general education development; high school 
          equivalency; job skills training; short-term vocational 
          training; and supportive services.  In California, 
          individual counties determine the range of services as well 
          as the rules governing mandatory and voluntary placements 
          and exemptions. 

          For FFY (federal fiscal year) 2010, 23 counties in 
          California participated in the FSET program, which totaled 
          $94.5 million.  Of that amount, 100 percent federal funds 
          accounted for $7.5 million; 50/50 federal/county funds (for 
          overmatch for administration cost and participant 
          reimbursements) accounted for the remainder.  Job search 
          and job club accounted for the vast majority of 
          expenditures, followed by modest expenditures in workfare, 
          vocational training, education, and job retention.  On the 
          job training and self-initiated workfare accounted for 
          negligible amounts. Of the $7.5 million in 100 percent 




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          federal funds, DSS withheld $808,000 from the federal 
          allocation for covering state administrative costs and for 
          providing workers' compensation coverage for FSET 
          participants, which DSS typically budgets at around 
          $408,000. For federal fiscal year 2010, DSS reported more 
          than 791,850 work registrants.  Of this population, about 
          73,859 individuals were expected to participate in at least 
          one FSET program component. 

          Prior legislation
          SB 1322 (Liu) of 2010, in its final version, was nearly 
          identical to this measure.  The measure was vetoed by 
          Governor Schwarzenegger, with the following message:

                While I support the state's Food Stamp Employment and 
                Training
                program and the economic benefits that federal food 
                stamps bring to
                California, I am troubled that this bill reduces 
                county flexibility
                and instead requires that they offer self-initiated 
                workfare.
                Self-initiated workfare weakens the "work-first" 
                message of the
                program by allowing recipients to self-direct their 
                own volunteer
                work.  While I wholeheartedly support volunteer work 
                in local
                communities, it does not build the skills and work 
                experience that is
                the primary objective of this particular program. For 
                these reasons, I cannot support this measure.

          Arguments in support
          Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP), the sponsor of 
          the measure, writes that participation in CalFresh has 
          almost doubled since the recession began; yet California 
          has the worst food stamp participation rates according to 
          the USDA.  WCLP believes that one of the most efficient and 
          humane ways to address under-participation in the program 
          is to ensure that people who are eligible and currently 
          receiving CalFresh benefits can easily retain them when 
          they are eligible under federal law.  WCLP notes that 
          aligning federal and local work rules associated with the 
          CalFresh Program and offering new ways




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          for people to meet these work rules will help achieve that.

          WCLP points out that, during times of high unemployment, 
          the federal government relaxes the mandatory work rules by 
          allowing states to waive work requirements and time limits 
          for Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), because 
          it is unfair to keep food assistance from people who cannot 
          meet work rules when unemployment is high, and because 
          communities depend on federal funds to continue to infuse 
          their local economies when they are struggling through bad 
          economic times.  WCLP notes that, over the past several 
          years, all counties have chosen to 'opt in' to the federal 
          ABAWD waiver, relieving its food stamp participants of this 
          work rule; yet 20 counties imposed harsher sanctions on the 
          same population of unemployed Californians who are required 
          to participate in their CalFresh E&T Programs.  WCLP 
          believes that, because work rules and accompanying 
          sanctions are applied disproportionately across the state, 
          unemployed Californians are losing federal food benefits 
          and going hungry.

          Further, WCLP believes that self-initiated workfare will 
          allow an individual to select a community based nonprofit 
          or public agency that better fits with his or her 
          employment goals or skills training needs, and also 
          benefits his or her community.  WCLP believes that the bill 
          will help end hunger and get people back to work when jobs 
          return.

          The Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB) writes that, 
          in the last fiscal year, 83 people served as volunteers 
          through the county's self-initiated workfare program, 
          contributing 6,502 hours to the food bank.  ACCFB notes 
          that, as the need for its services grows due to the 
          struggling economy, so does the need to grow its volunteer 
          workforce. ACCFB states that without the workfare 
          participants and other volunteers, it wouldn't be able to 
          serve the growing number of people in the county who need 
          food assistance.


                                     COMMENTS  

          1.Food Stamp Employment and Training program should be 
            renamed.  Based on the renaming of California's food 




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            stamp program to CalFresh, (initiated by the enactment of 
            AB 433, Beall, Chapter 625 of 2008, and the federal 
            renaming of the food stamp program to SNAP), staff 
            recommends all references to the Food Stamp Employment 
            and Training program and FSET be likewise renamed to the 
            CalFresh Employment and Training program. 

          2.Clarifying amendment.  Staff recommends the following 
            change, to account for the requirement in subdivision 
            (d), which is the requirement for counties who elect to 
            participate in FSET to allow self-initiated workfare for 
            mandatory placements. 

            Page 3, lines 14-32:
            14       (c)  (1)  A county that elects to participate in 
            the FSET program
            15    shall be required to demonstrate in its FSET plan 
            how it is
            16    effectively using FSET funds for each of the 
            components that the
            17    county offers, including, but not limited to, any 
            of the following:
            18       (A)  Self-initiated workfare.
            19       (B)  Work experience or training.
            20       (C)  Education.
            21       (D)  Job search.
            22       (E)  The support services or client 
            reimbursements needed to
            23    participate in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, 
            as allowed by
            24    federal law and guidance.
            25       (2)  Nothing in this section shall be construed 
            to require a county
            26    to offer a particular component as a part of its 
            FSET plan, except as it meets the criteria in subdivision 
            (d).
            27       (d)  Commencing October 1, 2012, a county that 
            elects to
            28    participate in the FSET program shall allow work 
            registrants who
            29    are mandatorily placed in the program to meet the 
            work
            30    requirements of the mandatory placement through 
            self-initiated
            31    workfare, as defined in paragraph (2), and shall 




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            inform the work
            32    registrant of this option.

                                    POSITIONS  

          Support:  Western Center on Law and Poverty (sponsor)
                    AARP 
                    Alameda County Community Food Bank
                    California Association of Food Banks
                    California Food Policy Advocates
                    California Grocers Association
                    California Hunger Action Coalition
                    California Retailers Association
                    Catholic Charities of California United
                    Coalition of California Welfare Rights 
               Organizations
                    County Welfare Directions Association 
                    Hunger Action Los Angeles
                    JERICHO
                    Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
                    Los Angeles Regional Foodbank
                    Sacramento Hunger Coalition

          Oppose:None received
                                   -- END --