BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 309|
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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 :
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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