BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 309| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 309 Author: Mitchell (D) Amended: 6/25/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/11/13 AYES: Yee, Berryhill, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : CalFresh: homeless youth SOURCE : MAZON - A Jewish Response to Hunger National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth DIGEST : This bill clarifies that there is no minimum age requirement for CalFresh eligibility and requires information and training about CalFresh that is developed for the homeless to include information about unaccompanied homeless children, as specified; requires county welfare departments (CWDs), upon receipt of a signed CalFresh application from an unaccompanied minor, to determine eligibility of benefits without delay; and requires CWDs to notify the child or youth in writing of the reason, if the application is denied. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED AB 309 Page 2 Existing law: 1.Establishes under federal law the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, to provide food benefits to needy families and individuals. 2.Establishes in California statute the CalFresh program to administer the provision of federal SNAP benefits to families and individuals meeting specified criteria. 3.Provides in California law that the eligibility of households shall be determined to the extent permitted by federal law. 4.Generally, provides in federal law that participation in SNAP shall be limited to those households whose incomes and other financial resources, held singly or in joint ownership, are determined to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting them to obtain a more nutritious diet. 5.Defines "household" as an individual who lives alone or who, while living with others, customarily purchases food and prepares meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others; or a group of individuals who live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption. 6.Specifies in federal law that parents and their children 21-years of age or younger who live together are to be treated as a group of individuals who customarily purchase and prepare meals together for home consumption even if they do not do so. 7.Under federal law, the term "unaccompanied youth" includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. 8.Defines "homeless individual" as an individual who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, an institution, a temporary accommodation for not more than 90 days in the residence of another individual, or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. CONTINUED AB 309 Page 3 9.Requires the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop CalFresh information on expedited services targeted to the homeless population to be made available to homeless shelters, emergency food programs, and other community agencies that provide services to homeless people. 10.Requires each CWD annually to offer training on CalFresh application procedures to homeless shelter operators. 11.Requires local educational agencies to designate an appropriate staff person as a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths. 12.Requires each local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths to ensure that homeless children and youths are identified. This bill: 1.Requires, in determining eligibility for CalFresh, that no minimum age requirement be imposed other than those that exist under federal law. 2.Requires DSS, in its existing outreach program that provides targeted information about expedited benefits for the homeless, to specifically include information about homeless children and youths, as defined. 3.Requires DSS to make CalFresh information available to local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths, as specified, in addition to existing outreach targets. 4.Requires each CWD to include eligibility criteria and specific information regarding the eligibility of unaccompanied homeless children and youths in the established annual training on CalFresh application procedures. 5.Requires each CWD to determine CalFresh eligibility without delay upon a signed application from an unaccompanied youth under age 18, as specified. Requires this determination to include whether the youth is eligible to apply as a household of one or if he/she must apply with members of a household with whom he/she is regularly purchasing and preparing foods. CONTINUED AB 309 Page 4 6.Requires each CWD to screen an application from an unaccompanied youth under age 18 for entitlement to expedited service, as specified. 7.Requires a CWD to provide the child or youth a written notice explaining the reason for the denial, if the application of the child or youth for CalFresh benefits is denied. 8.Deletes redundant language in the Welfare and Institutions Code. Background CalFresh . The SNAP program, known in California as CalFresh, is a federal food benefit administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and, at the state level, by DSS. Overall caseload for the program in California has grown steadily since 2001, and approximately 4 million people are currently receiving CalFresh, up from just over 3 million in 2010. According to USDA data, California has the lowest participation rate in the country - only 55% of all eligible persons receive CalFresh benefits. Household . Federal law requires states to consider parents with a child under 21-years of age to be treated as a group of individuals who customarily purchase and prepare meals together for home consumption, even if they do not customarily do so. However, this household definition does not apply if the child does not live with their parent. In that circumstance, a child may apply for benefits as head of household. Under federal law, unaccompanied youth are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. Homeless Youth . According to a report by The California Youth Project, every year, about 200,000 young people in California become homeless. By definition, homeless individuals lack a fixed and regular nighttime residence; have a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, or in an institution; live temporarily (for 90 days or less) in the residence of another individual, or in a public or private place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. Unaccompanied youth include young people who have run away, have CONTINUED AB 309 Page 5 been forced out, and/or have been abandoned by a parent or guardian. Many unaccompanied youth flee their homes as a result of physical and sexual abuse or neglect, are forced out because they are pregnant, gay or lesbian, or are leaving the child welfare or juvenile justice system. According to the author, some of these youth have reported being denied CalFresh food benefits although they are eligible under state and federal law. McKinny-Vento Liaisons . The McKinney-Vento Act requires school district liaisons to ensure that homeless children and youths are identified by school personnel and through coordination with other agencies. The purpose of identification is to offer appropriate services to the family, child or youth, including assisting in applying for CalFresh benefits. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 6/21/13) MAZON - A Jewish Response to Hunger (co-source) National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (co-source) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees California Association of Food Banks California Black Health Network California Catholic Conferences of Bishops California Coalition for Youth California Communities United Institute California Federation of Teachers California Food Policy Advocates California NAACP California School Employees Association California State PTA Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization, Inc. County of San Diego County Welfare Directors Association of California Housing California Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee National Association of Social Workers San Diego Hunger Coalition San Francisco Unified School District Service Employees International Union Silicon Valley Community Foundation CONTINUED AB 309 Page 6 United Way of California Western Center on Law and Poverty ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, AB 309 will end the denial of CalFresh benefits to unaccompanied homeless minors by clarifying state law. The author states that CalFresh food benefits are denied to these minors inconsistently across the state. According to the author, the federal SNAP does not place age restrictions on a head of household applying for or receiving benefits under the program and unaccompanied youth can apply for and receive food assistance benefits without a parent's or guardian's signature. However, the author states, in practice many CWAs are unaware that a youth under 18 years can receive SNAP benefits through the CalFresh program and may deny these benefits to youth under 18, including unaccompanied homeless minors. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooley, Lowenthal, Nazarian, Vacancy JL:ej 6/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 309 Page 7 CONTINUED