BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 419 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 419 (Lowenthal) - As Introduced: February 15, 2013 Policy Committee: Human ServicesVote:7 - 0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill expands the current provisions regarding the hospitalization of children in a CalWORKs family by stating that a child is considered temporarily absent from the home (and therefore still eligible for a CalWORKs grant) if they are a patient in either a public or private hospital regardless of the duration of the hospitalization. Under current law, children in a family receiving CalWORKs are considered temporarily absent from the home if they are a patient in a public hospital for less than two months. FISCAL EFFECT This situation affects very few families each year. Costs should therefore be negligible, probably less than $5,000 (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]/Maintenance of Effort [MOE]) per year. COMMENTS Rationale . According to the sponsors, the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA), counties occasionally find themselves dealing with family situations where the child requires hospitalization for a long period of time. CWDA suggests that when the family is already dealing with financial and emotional hardship caused by a child's hospitalization, the possibility of further reduced income because of the child's hospitalization exacerbates the hardship and increases stress for the family. This bill would rectify that situation by allowing children who are hospitalized at either private or public hospitals for extended periods of time to remain on the AB 419 Page 2 CalWORKs caseload. Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 319-2081