BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1041
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1041 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
As Amended June 26, 2012
Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect Immediately
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
SUMMARY : Contains necessary statutory and technical changes to
implement changes to the Budget Act of 2012 relating to human
services. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes changes to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to Kids (CalWORKs) program, as administered by the Department of
Social Services (DSS), as follows:
a) Exempts a CalWORKs assistance unit that does not include an
eligible adult from periodic reporting requirements other than
annual redetermination.
b) Extends the current temporary exemptions provided in relation
to the reduction in the county single allocation from July 1,
2012, until January 1, 2013, when these exemptions will sunset.
These temporary exemptions are provided to a parent or other
relative who has primary responsibility for personally providing
care to one child who is from 12 to 23 months of age, inclusive,
or two or more children who are under six years of age. These
exemptions are called "temporary" or "young child" exemptions.
c) Requires counties to reengage recipients who had received the
young child exemption in welfare-to-work activities starting
January 1, 2013. The recipient is not required to participate
until the county welfare department reengages the recipient in
welfare-to-work activities.
d) Creates a similar, one-time young child exemption for
caregivers of a child 24 months of age and younger and would
provide that a month during which this exemption applies would
not be counted as a month of receipt of aid for the recipient.
e) Modifies the number of welfare-to-work participation hours to
conform to certain federal requirements and eliminates the
requirement for a participant to participate for at least 20
hours per week in core activities.
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f) Changes welfare-to-work requirements applicable to CalWORKs
recipients, on or after January 1, 2013, creating a new 24-month
time limit. Applicants and recipients would receive 24 months of
specified welfare-to-work services and activities, under current
state rules, and would then be required to meet federal work
participation requirements through the remainder of their
48-month lifetime time limit, unless they are exempted from
participation pursuant to current law.
g) Provides that the 24-month time limit is a prospective change
only, and provides that all months of assistance prior to January
1, 2013, shall not be applied to the 24-month time limit.
h) Provides that the 24-month time limit starts after the
development of the welfare-to-work plan. Months in which the
recipient is developing a plan, is in sanction status, has been
excused from participation for good cause, qualifies for an
exemption pursuant to current law, or is a custodial parent who
is under 20 years of age and who has not earned a high school
diploma or its equivalent do not count toward the 24-month time
limit.
i) Provides that any month in which the recipient is meeting
federal work and activity requirements shall not count as a month
of activities for purposes of the 24-month time limit.
j) Provides for notice requirements to recipients regarding the
24-month time limit that explain the process by which recipients
may claim exemptions from, and extensions to, the 24-month time
limit when the individual applies for aid, during the recipient's
annual redetermination, and at least once after the individual
has participated for a total of 18 months, and prior to the end
of the 21st month, that count toward the 24-month time limit.
aa) Requires the DSS, in consultation with stakeholders, to
convene a workgroup to determine further details of the noticing
and engagement requirements for the 24-month time limit, and
shall instruct counties by way of an all-county letter, followed
by regulations, no later than 18 months after the effective date
of January 1, 2013.
bb) Provides that counties may provide extensions of time for
recipients upon the expiration of the 24-month time limit equal
to or no more than 20% of the welfare-to-work eligible caseload
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who are within their 24th and 48th months of aid. The DSS shall
develop and issue instructions on the application of this 20%.
cc) Requires a county to grant a six-month extension, which can be
renewed, to a recipient who provides evidence to the county that
he or she meets any of the following circumstances, allowing for
others to be determined by the DSS: a) is likely to obtain
employment within six months; b) has encountered unique labor
market barriers preventing employment; c) has achieved
satisfactory progress in an educational or training program; d)
needs additional time to complete a welfare-to-work activity
included in the case plan due to a diagnosed learning or other
disability; or, e) has submitted an application to receive
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits with an
established hearing date. An extension is subject to the 20%
limitation and to a determination made by the county that the
evidence does not support the existence of the circumstances.
dd) Provides that a county may, again subject to the 20%
limitation, grant an extension of the 24-month time limit if, as
a result of information already available to a county, including
the recipient's welfare-to-work plan and verifications of
participation, the county identifies that a recipient meets the
circumstances described above.
ee) States that it is the Legislature's intent that the state work
with the counties and other stakeholders to ensure that the
extension process be implemented with minimal disruption to the
impending completion of welfare-to-work plans for recipients.
ff) Provides that for a recipient who is not exempt or granted an
extension pursuant to the above, and who does not meet the
federal participation requirements between their 24th and 48th
month time limits, the same policies regarding the removal of the
adult portion of the grant and opportunities for engagement and
curing are available pursuant to current law. For purposes of
this new policy, states that the procedures referenced shall not
be described as sanctions.
gg) States that reduced funding, including a reduction to the
county single allocation, for the period between July 1, 2012,
until January 1, 2015, will result in insufficient resources to
provide the full range of welfare-to-work services during that
time period.
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hh) Extends through January 1, 2015, the option for a county to
redirect funding, both from and to, the amounts appropriated for
CalWORKs mental health employment assistance services and
CalWORKs substance abuse treatment services, from and to other
CalWORKs employment services that are necessary for individuals
to participate in welfare-to-work activities.
ii) Restores the earned income disregard policy to that which
existed prior to the enactment of the 2011-12 Budget Act,
allowing a participant to retain $225 and $.50 of each dollar
thereafter of monthly earnings, altering the current policy that
allows for a participant to retain $112 and $.50 of each dollar
thereafter of monthly earnings. This policy will apply to the
entire caseload with earnings and will take effect October 1,
2013.
jj) Delays the effective date for the Work Incentive Nutritional
Supplement (WINS) program until January 1, 2014, and reduces the
amount of the WINS benefit, which is an additional food
assistance benefit for each eligible food stamp household, from
$40 to $10 per month.
aaa) Delays dates associated with the development of policy toward
a pre-assistance employment readiness system (PAERS) program and
any other program options that may provide benefit to the
CalWORKs program.
bbb) Requires the DSS to annually update the Legislature regarding
the changes made by this bill to the CalWORKs program, and to
contract with an independent, research-based institution for an
evaluation and written report, with specified contents, which
would be provided to the Legislature by October 1, 2017.
1)Child Support County Share. Extends the suspension of the county
share of child support collections through 2012-13, providing
General Fund (GF) savings of $31 million in the budget year.
2)Child Support Payment Trust Fund. Authorizes money in the Child
Support Payment Trust Fund accounts, for the 2012-13 fiscal year
only, to be invested in specified securities or alternatives that
offer comparable security, including mutual funds and money market
funds. The provision does not authorize an investment or transfer
that would interfere with the objective of the Child Support Payment
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Trust Fund.
3)Continued Suspension of Child Support Incentive Payments. Extends
the suspension of performance incentive and health insurance
incentive payments to local child support agencies (LCSAs) through
the 2014-15 fiscal year. Existing law, in the absence of a
suspension, would award the 10 highest performing counties with an
additional share of collections and would require the state to
provide payments to LCSAs of $50 per case for obtaining third-party
health coverage or insurance of Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The
suspension results in GF cost-avoidance.
4)Continued Suspension of Fingerprint Fee Exemption. Extends the
suspension of the prohibition of the state from charging fees for
the fingerprinting of an applicant for a license to operate a
community care facility that will provide nonmedical board, room,
and care for six or fewer children, the fingerprinting of a day care
facility applicant that will service six or fewer children, or any
family day care applicant, or for obtaining a criminal record of
these applicants. The continued suspension of the prohibition
results in GF cost-avoidance.
5)Extension of Sales Tax to Homecare Services. Changes the date for
which the state can implement an extension of a sales tax to
homecare services, with a supplementary payment to be provided to
providers of those services, from a date of July 1, 2010, to January
1, 2012. With this change, implementation of the sales tax could be
applied retroactively to the revised date.
6)Repeal of Statewide Eligibility and Enrollment Processing. Repeals
a 2009 statute that was enacted as part of that year's budget
agreement that required the administration to develop a statewide
eligibility and enrollment determination process for the CalWORKs
program, the Medi-Cal program, and the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as CalFresh), and directed the
development of a centralized eligibility and enrollment process,
including the development of a comprehensive plan. The statute
authorized the departments to implement the plan, subsequent to
receiving statutory authorization and an appropriation. Since
implementation of these provisions, subsequent statute has obviated
these requirements. This repeal resolves statutory conflict on
state direction in relation to eligibility and enrollment for these
programs.
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7)Cal-Learn Phase-In and Reporting. Provides that from July 1, 2012,
to March 31, 2013, inclusive, counties be provided full or partial
year funding, depending on the pace of their progression to full
implementation, of the Cal-Learn program by April 1, 2013. Requires
the DSS to submit a report to the budget committees of the
Legislature with specified information related to the program on an
annual basis. The phase-in approach as included in statute provides
for savings in 2012-13 of $10 million GF.
8)Group Home Moratorium. Continues the moratorium on group homes and
limits exceptions for any program with a rate classification level
(RCL) below 10 to exceptions associated with a program change.
9)Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Dual Agency Rates. Revises the
requirements relating to the adjustment of the enhanced rates
payable for children who are dually eligible to instead require
those rates to be annually adjusted by the percentage change in the
California Necessities Index, beginning with the 2011-12 fiscal
year.
10)Repeal of the Medication Dispensing Machine Pilot. Repeals statute
that had required the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to
establish a medication dispensing machine pilot project for certain
at-risk Medi-Cal recipients, associated with, if savings from the
pilot had not been achieved, a reduction, with some exceptions, in
authorized hours of service for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
recipients.
11)3.6% reduction in IHSS Authorized Hours. Extends the 3.6%
reduction in IHSS authorized hours currently in effect through the
2012-13 fiscal year. The reduction ceases on July 1, 2013, and
hours will then be restored to the level authorized pursuant to the
recipient's most recent assessment and increased by the previously
deducted 3.6%. This will produce savings of $58.9 million GF in
2012-13.
12)Criminal Offender Record Information Sharing. Authorizes local
public authorities or nonprofit consortia to share Criminal Offender
Record Information (CORI) with DSS if the state makes such a
request.
13)Kids' Plates Funding. Amends existing requirements related to
distribution of funds in the Child Health & Safety Fund that are
derived from the Have a Heart, Help Our Kids specialized license
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plate program (Kids' Plates). Specifically, redirects $501,000 from
child abuse and injury prevention programs to support specific DSS'
responsibilities related to child day care licensing.
14)Rehabilitation Appeals. Eliminates the Rehabilitation Appeals
Board, which currently serves as the entity within the Department of
Rehabilitation that hears appeals by applicants for, or clients of,
the department. Instead provides for fair hearings to be held
before an impartial hearing officer and establishes standards,
training, and due process requirements related to those fair
hearings.
15)Rate-Setting for IHSS Public Authorities. Extends by one year--to
the 2013-14 fiscal year--the required time by which DSS, in
consultation with designated stakeholders, must develop a new
rate-setting methodology for estimating the costs of public
authorities with respect to administration of requirements related
to the state's IHSS program.
16)Child Welfare Services Automation System. Requires DSS to use
specified funding included in the Budget Act of 2012 for the next
steps necessary to move forward with the recommendation of the Child
Welfare Automation Study Team (CAST) to proceed toward procuring a
new information technology system to replace the existing Child
Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS). Further,
requires the Office of Systems Integration (OSI) and the department
to report the results of these activities, in addition to key
milestones and anticipated timelines, to the Legislature by March 1,
2013, for review during 2013 budget hearings.
17)Assessment of Automation Costs. Requires DSS and OSI to have a
qualified third party conduct a cost-reasonableness assessment of
specified costs related to changes in the Statewide Automated
Welfare System (SAWS). More specifically, requires this assessment
with respect to costs that will be proposed by the project vendor in
order to consolidate two of the three existing consortia systems
into one new consortium (leaving the state with a two-consortium
system). This migration will consolidate the counties currently
served by Consortium-IV into the newly developed Los Angeles
Eligibility, Automated Determination, Evaluation and Reporting
(LEADER) Replacement System. The cost reasonableness assessment is
intended to assist the state in determining whether the proposed
overall costs are within range of reasonableness, based on specified
factors.
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18)Contains an appropriation allowing this bill, related to the Budget
Bill, to take effect immediately upon enactment.
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole Vazquez / BUDGET/ (916) 319-2099
FN: 0004208