BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                  SENATE HUMAN
                               SERVICES COMMITTEE
                            Senator Jim Beall, Chair


          BILL NO:       AB 1516                                      
          A
          AUTHOR:        Gonzalez                                     
          B
          VERSION:       May 23, 2014
          HEARING DATE:  June 24, 2014                                
          1
          FISCAL:        Yes                                          
          5
                                                                      
          1
          CONSULTANT:    Mareva Brown                                 
          6

                                        

                                     SUBJECT
                                         
                        Public social services: diapers

                                     SUMMARY  

          This bill, the Healthy Baby Bottom Act of 2014, creates an  
          $80 special needs supplement within the CalWORKs program  
          for children younger than age 2. It also creates an Unmet  
          Diaper Need Financing Fund in the State Treasury to be  
          distributed to entities that serve low-income children, as  
          specified, to address the unmet diaper needs in those  
          communities. 

                                     ABSTRACT  

           Existing law:

              1)   Establishes in Federal law the Temporary Assistance  
               to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide assistance  
               to needy families so that children may be cared for in  
               their own homes or in the homes of relatives, and to  
               end the dependence on government benefits by promoting  
               job preparation, work and marriage. (45 CFR 260.2)

                                                         Continued---




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             2)   Establishes in California the California Work  
               Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Act,  
               administered by the Department of Social Services  
               (CDSS) to provide cash benefits, employment training  
               and other supports to low-income families through a  
               combination of state and county funds and federal  
               funds through the TANF block grant. (WIC 11200, et  
               seq.)


             3)   Establishes income, asset and real property limits  
               used to determine eligibility for the program,  
               including net income below the Maximum Aid Payment  
               (MAP), based on family size and county of residence,  
               which is approximately 40% of the Federal Poverty  
               Level.  (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)


             4)   Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs  
               benefits for eligible adults, including 24 months  
               during which a recipient must meet federal work  
               requirements in order to retain eligibility.  (WIC  
               11454, 11322.85)


             5)   Requires that aid be paid for each needy family,  
               which shall include all eligible brothers and sisters  
               of each eligible applicant or recipient child and the  
               parents of the children, as specified, and provides a  
               formula for the calculation of aid. (WIC 11450 (a))


             6)   In addition to the amounts payable under  
               subdivision (a) and other specified aid, a family  
               shall be entitled to receive an allowance for  
               recurring special needs not common to a majority of  
               recipients, as defined. Prohibits the recurring  
               special needs allowance from exceeding $10 per  
               eligible member of the family's assistance unit per  
               month. (WIC 11450(e))


             7)   Requires that under specified circumstances, if a  





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               family has used all available liquid resources in  
               excess of one hundred dollars ($100), the family shall  
               also be entitled to receive an allowance for  
               nonrecurring special needs. (WIC 11450(f))


             8)   Requires necessary supportive services be made  
               available to every participant in the welfare-to-work  
               program in order to participate in the program  
               activity to which he or she is assigned or to accept  
               employment or requires that the participant be given a  
               good cause waiver. (WIC 11323.2)


             9)   Requires that those supportive services include  
               child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses,  
               as defined, personal counseling and case management,  
               if the county provides it. (WIC 11323.2)


           This bill:
           
             1)   Establishes this act as the Healthy Baby Bottom Act  
               of 2014.

             2)   Makes various legislative findings and  
               declarations, including:

                  a.        Existing federal law classifies diapers  
                    with cigarettes, alcohol, and pet food as  
                    disallowed purchases under CalFresh and the  
                    California Special Supplemental Food Program for  
                    Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
                  b.        Low-income parents cannot take advantage  
                    of free or subsidized child care if they cannot  
                    afford to leave disposable diapers at child care  
                    centers, a requirement for most child care  
                    centers.
                  c.        Without access to child care, these  
                    parents are less able to attend work or school on  
                    a consistent basis, leading to increased economic  
                    instability and a continuation of the cycle of  
                    poverty.
                  d.        In addition, the severe health and social  
                    consequences for babies and families who do not  





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                    have access to diapers cannot be underestimated  
                    or overlooked.
                  e.        Lack of sufficient diapers can lead to  
                    multiple problems for families in need, including  
                    unhappy babies, unhealthy communities,  
                    undereducated toddlers, and underemployed adults.
                  f.        Access to diapers can make the difference  
                    for a family to become financially  
                    self-sufficient.
                  g.        Therefore, it is the intent of the  
                    Legislature to enact legislation that would  
                    empower beneficiaries of public assistance  
                    programs with young children in diapers to return  
                    to the workforce by removing unnecessary  
                    obstacles to obtaining diapers to the extent  
                    permitted by federal law, thereby ensuring the  
                    health and welfare of diaper-wearing children and  
                    their families.

             3)   Establishes the right of a CalWORKs participant to  
               request supportive services, as defined, through the  
               Internet Web site of the county if the county is  
               capable of accepting those requests through its  
               Internet Web site. If the county is not capable of  
               accepting requests through its Internet Web site, the  
               county shall accept those requests in the manner  
               necessary to ensure that participants are able to  
               request the supportive services they need.

             4)   Adds to the list of special needs supplements, an  
               $80 per month special needs supplement   to any child  
               under two years of age who is in an assistance unit in  
               addition to any other special needs supplement a  
               family may be receiving.

             5)   Requires the amount of supplement to be adjusted  
               annually pursuant to cost of living changes, as  
               specified. 

             6)   Establishes an Unmet Need Diaper Financing Fund,  
               overseen by the California Department of Public Health  
               (DPH), and requires that the fund consist of money  
               accepted by the department from grants and donations  
               from private entities and of public moneys transferred  
               to the fund.





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             7)   Requires that money be distributed by (DPH), upon  
               appropriation by the Legislature, to entities that  
               meet both of the following requirements:

                  a.        Serve low-income children living in  
                    census tracts within the state in which 50  
                    percent or more of the population of children are  
                    living below the federal poverty guideline.
                  b.        Have identified dollar-for-dollar  
                    matching funding from the federal government, the  
                    private sector, or any other available source.

             8)   Requires DPH to give priority in distribution from  
               the fund to entities that serve communities in census  
               tracts with the highest poverty and highest racial and  
               ethnic diversity.

             9)   Requires money distributed from the fund to be used  
               by the recipient to meet the unmet diaper needs of the  
               communities served by the recipient.

             10)  Requires all interest earned on the moneys that  
               have been deposited into the fund to be retained in  
               the fund and used for purposes consistent with the  
               fund, as specified.

             11)  Establishes a sunset date of January 1, 2019,  
               unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before  
               January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.


                                  FISCAL IMPACT  

          An analysis by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations  
          projected this bill would impact approximately 19% of  
          CalWORKs children, or approximately 189,000 children per  
          month. A monthly special needs payment of $80, would  
          therefore cost approximately $90 million in 2014-15 and  
          $181 million in on-going costs. The analysis also noted  
          that there would be partial offsetting savings to the  
          extent an increased use of childcare better enables parents  
          to work and thus come off of assistance earlier, and that  
          healthier babies decrease healthcare costs to Medi-cal.






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                            BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION  


           Purpose of the bill:
           
          According to the author, by providing $80 per month per  
          child to eligible children on public assistance, this bill  
          will ensure families are not deciding between food on the  
          table or paying rent and whether or not they can afford to  
          change their child's dirty diaper. Additionally, the author  
          states that a central priority for this bill is removing  
          barriers to employment for low-income parents. Diapers are  
          a major impediment for welfare-to-work participants who are  
          seeking self-sufficiency because without diapers, parents  
          cannot take advantage of subsidized childcare for their  
          children. 

           CalWORKs

           The CalWORKs program provides a monthly cash benefit for  
          employment-related services aimed at moving children out of  
          poverty and helping families meet basic needs.  Funding for  
          the CalWORKs program is a combination of state general fund  
          dollars and a federal TANF grant.  According to recent data  
          from CDSS, 554,292 families rely on CalWORKs, including  
          more than 1 million children. A family of three receiving  
          the average grant amount of $463 per month would have an  
          annual household income at $5,556 per year -- about one  
          quarter of the Federal Poverty Guidelines level for the  
          same size family of $19,790.   

          Child care is among the supportive services that are  
          required to be available to participants in the  
          welfare-to-work program. However, the author argues that in  
          order to participate in free or reduced child care, parents  
          must be able to provide disposable diapers for their  
          children.

           Diaper need

           According to the National Diaper Bank Network, disposable  
          diapers cost up to $100 per month per child and cannot be  
          purchased through any government assistance program. One in  
          three families struggle to purchase diapers, and many  
          families buy diapers at nearby convenience stores rather  





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          than at large discount stores, driving up the per-diaper  
          price. According to the Network, infants require up to 12  
          diapers and toddlers require an average of 8 diapers per  
          day. For sanitary reasons, coin-operated Laundromats often  
          don't allow customers to wash cloth diapers.<1>

          According to The Diaper Bank, a different organization,  
          most licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers,  
          and require parents to provide disposable diapers.  
          Low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or  
          subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave  
          disposable diapers at childcare centers. If parents cannot  
          access daycare, then they are less able to attend work or  
          school on a consistent basis.<2>

          A 2013 study published in the journal, Pediatrics,  
          concluded that unmet diaper need was an issue of medical  
          concern. The study's authors wrote that emerging research  
          suggests indicators of material hardship are increasingly  
          important to child health. The study supports this premise  
          with the suggestion that an adequate supply of diapers may  
          prove a tangible way of reducing parenting stress, a  
          critical factor influencing child health and development.  
          Authors concluded there is potential for pediatric  
          providers to ask about diaper need and refer families to a  
          local diaper distribution service to reduce parenting  
          stress.<3> 

           
                                    COMMENTS
          
              1.   Due to a number of information technology changes  
               to welfare systems statewide, staff recommends moving  
               the implementation date of this bill to April 1, 2015,  
               to allow the Office of Systems Integration sufficient  
               time to make program changes. Staff recommends the  
               following amendment: 
          
                Section 8:
                (a) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act  
               ----------------------
          <1> http://diaperbanknetwork.org/
          <2> http://thediaperbank.org/index.php/facts_and_impacts/
          <3> Smith, Megan, et al. "Diaper Need and Its Impact on  
          Child Health," Pediatrics, July 29, 2013.





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               (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1  
               of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the  
               State Department of Social Services shall implement  
               this act through an all-county letter or similar  
               instructions from the director no later than April 1,  
               2015.

               (b) The department shall adopt regulations as  
               necessary to implement this act no later than July 1,  
               2016.
           
             2.   The author requests an amendment to strike Section  
               1 of the bill, which is the title, and to add  
               coauthors.
               
                                  PRIOR VOTES  

          Assembly Floor           55 - 23
          Assembly Appropriations       12 - 5
          Assembly Human Services           4 - 1




                                    POSITIONS  

          Support:       California Association of Food Banks
                         California Food Policy Advocates
                         California Immigrant Policy Center 
                         Children Now
                         County of Santa Clara
                         Help a Mother Out.Org.
                         LA Diaper Drive
                         National Diaper Bank Network
                         Peninsula Family Service
                         UWD/AFSCME Local 3930
                         Western Center on Law and Poverty

          Oppose:   None received.











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