BILL NUMBER: AB 1107	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Garcia

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Section 11495.25 of, and to repeal and add Section
11495.15 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to domestic
violence.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1107, as introduced, Garcia. CalWORKs eligibility: domestic
violence.
   Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and
other social services to needy families through the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using
federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant
program, state, and county funds. Existing law authorizes each county
to waive a program requirement at any time for a recipient who is a
past or present victim of abuse, as specified.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
establish a standard, statewide notice and process to ensure that
applicants for, or recipients of, CalWORKs aid who are past or
present victims of domestic violence are not placed at further risk
or unfairly penalized by program requirements or procedures. The bill
would also require, with specified verification, the county to
waive, for applicants or recipients, program requirements that make
it more difficult for the victim to escape domestic violence,
unfairly penalize the victim or family, or place them at further risk
or encourage them to remain with the abuser. The bill would require
counties to use the standard, statewide notice and process to inform
all CalWORKs applicants and recipients of their rights and how to
secure a waiver. By increasing the duties of county human services
agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   Existing law makes sworn statements by a victim of past or present
abuse sufficient to establish abuse unless the county human services
agency finds the person not credible and allows other specified
forms of evidence, including official reports or documentation.
   This bill would make a sworn statement by the person sufficient to
establish abuse unless the county human services agency finds the
person not credible and other prescribed forms of evidence are not
available.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) In enacting this act, the Legislature recognizes
that some individuals who are in need of public assistance are, or
have been, victims of abuse.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that applicants
and recipients who are past or present victims of abuse are not
placed at further risk or unfairly penalized by program requirements
or procedures.
   (c) The Legislature intends that, in implementing this act, a
standard, statewide notice to CalWORKs applicants and recipients will
be established, informing them of rights for domestic violence
victims and survivors and instructing them how to secure these
rights, as well as referrals for counseling services.
   (d) It is also the intent of the Legislature that program
requirements for aid under the CalWORKs program shall not be created
or applied in such a way as to make it more difficult for a victim to
escape domestic violence or unfairly penalize the victim.
   (e) Finally, it is the intent of the Legislature that the county
human services agency refer victims of domestic violence to support
services, including those provided by the victim's health care
provider.
  SEC. 2.  Section 11495.15 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed. 
   11495.15.  A county may waive a program requirement for a
recipient who has been identified as a past or present victim of
abuse when it has been determined that good cause exists pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 11320.3. Until
implementation of the regulations required pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 11495.1, a county may utilize standards, procedures,
and protocols currently available, and shall identify them in its
county plan. Waivers shall be reevaluated in accordance with other
routine periodic reevaluations by the county. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 11495.15 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   11495.15.  (a) The State Department of Social Services shall
establish a standard, statewide notice and process to ensure that
applicants for, or recipients of, aid under this chapter who are past
or present victims of domestic violence are not placed at further
risk or unfairly penalized by program requirements or procedures.
   (b) A county shall, with verification provided pursuant to Section
11495.25, waive a program requirement at any time for an applicant
or recipient who is a past or present victim of abuse when it has
been determined that the requirement makes it more difficult for the
victim to escape domestic violence, would unfairly penalize the
victim or the victim's family, places the victim at further risk of
abuse, or encourages the victim to remain with the abuser. Waivers
shall be reevaluated by the county human services agency when
necessary, but in no case more often than every six months.
   (c) County human services agencies shall use the standard,
statewide informing notice and process to inform all CalWORKs
applicants and recipients of their rights established in this
section. The informing notice shall be given, orally and in writing,
at application, recertification, during the welfare-to-work planning
process, in each notice of action for sanction resulting from failure
to participate in a program requirement, and whenever an applicant
or recipient discloses that he or she is a victim of abuse. Proof
that the applicant or recipient received each notice shall be
retained in his or her case file.
   (d) The informing notice required by subdivision (c) shall be
developed by the department, in consultation with the county human
services agencies, domestic violence and CalWORKs advocates, and
CalWORKs caseworkers, and it shall include the rights and
responsibilities established in this section, county-specific
instructions for securing a waiver, county domestic abuse resources,
including Medi-Cal mental health services, confidentiality and the
limits thereof, family violence option waivers available for abuse
victims, the good cause exemption to the child support cooperation
requirement, general abuse information such as safety planning,
county assistance in tailoring welfare-to-work plans to meet the
needs of victims, and remedies available for immigrant domestic
violence survivors.
   (e) Proof that an informing notice was given and received shall
never be a reason to deny a waiver when a waiver is requested at a
later date or as a basis for requesting additional evidence of abuse
under Section 11495.25. Abuse may be disclosed at any time.
   (f) No applicant or recipient of aid shall be required to disclose
his or her status, or the status of another member of the authorized
unit, as a domestic violence victim.
   (g) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of a county
to waive a program rule retroactively.
  SEC. 4.  Section 11495.25 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   11495.25.   Sworn statements by   When
determining eligibility for program waivers established in Section
11495.15, either of the following shall be accepted: 
    (a)     A sworn statement by  a victim
of past or present abuse shall be sufficient to establish abuse
unless the  county human services  agency documents in
writing an independent, reasonable basis to find the recipient not
credible  and none of the corroborating evidence listed in
subdivision (b) can be secured by the worker  . 
Evidence may also 
    (b)     Evidence that abuse occurred at any
time in the past shall  include, but is not limited to: police,
government agency, or court records or files; documentation from a
domestic violence program, legal, clerical, medical or other
professional from whom the applicant or recipient has sought
assistance in dealing with abuse; or other evidence, such as a
statement from any other individual with knowledge of the
circumstances that provide the basis for the claim, physical evidence
of abuse, or any other evidence that supports the statement  in
subdivision (a)  .
  SEC. 5.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.