California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1579

Introduced by Assembly Member Stone

(Principal coauthor: Senator Mitchell)

January 30, 2014

An act to amend Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1579, as introduced, Stone. CalWORKs: pregnant mothers.

Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law provides that when a family does not include a needy child qualified for aid under CalWORKs, aid shall be paid to a pregnant mother for the month in which the birth is anticipated and for the 3-month period immediately prior to the month in which the birth is anticipated.

This bill would instead provide that when a family does not include a needy child qualified for aid under CalWORKs, aid shall be paid to a pregnant woman each month that she is pregnant, beginning the month after which she submitted verification of her pregnancy to the county.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Healthy Babies Act of 2014.

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Women who experience multiple stressful situations during
pregnancy, such as homelessness, hunger, violence, and deep
poverty, are more likely to have premature and low birth weight
babies, or to experience high rates of mother and infant mortality.
The cost of medical care for pre-term births is much higher than
for full-term births, and the human costs of infant mortality are
immeasurable.

(b) Children whose birth mothers experience the harmful stressor
of deep poverty are more likely to suffer poor health and less likely
to succeed academically.

(c) Domestic violence causes more health problems among
pregnant women than any other single cause. Without the support
of the CalWORKs program, low-income pregnant women have
few alternatives and are more likely to endure abuse that will cause
long and short-term harm to both themselves and their unborn
fetus.

SEC. 3.  

Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
as amended by Section 37 of Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2013,
is amended to read:

11450.  

(a) (1) Aid shall 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, but
shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this
chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding
the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section
11452, the family’s income, exclusive of any amounts considered
exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section
11453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period
pursuant to Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then
calculated pursuant to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from
the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for
cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph
(2). In no case shall the amount of aid paid for each month exceed
the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for
cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph
(2), plus any special needs, as specified in subdivisions (c), (e),
and (f):

 

Number of  eligible needy  persons in the same home	Maximum aid
1	$  326
2	535
3	663
4	788
5	899
6	1,010
7	1,109
8	1,209
9	1,306
10 or more	1,403

 

If, when, and during those times that the United States
government increases or decreases its contributions in assistance
of needy children in this state above or below the amount paid on
July 1, 1972, the amounts specified in the above table shall be
increased or decreased by an amount equal to that increase or
decrease by the United States government, provided that no
increase or decrease shall be subject to subsequent adjustment
pursuant to Section 11453.

(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted
for cost of living for the 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94,
1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98 fiscal years, and through
October 31, 1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base
for calculating any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year
thereafter. Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant
to this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section 11453.05,
and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.

(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified
for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant begin delete mother end delete
begin insert child end insert who is 18 years of age or younger at any time after
verification of pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be
paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if the begin delete mother, end delete
begin insert child, end insert and begin insert her end insert child, if born, would have qualified for aid under
this chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a
condition of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.

(2)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not
include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall
be paid to a pregnant begin delete mother end delete begin insert woman end insert for begin delete the month in which the
birth is anticipated and for the three-month period immediately
prior to the month in which the birth is anticipated end delete begin insert each month
that she is pregnant, beginning the month after which she submitted
verification of her pregnancy to the county, end insert in the amount that
would otherwise be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision
(a), if the begin delete mother end delete begin insert woman end insert and child, if born, would have qualified
for aid under this chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be
required as a condition of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program
is operative.

(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be
paid to pregnant mothers qualified for aid under subdivision (a)
or (b) to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the mother,
and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under
this subdivision to a local provider of the Women, Infants and
Children program. If that payment to pregnant mothers qualified
for aid under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal
law in the first five months of pregnancy, payments under this
subdivision shall not apply to persons eligible under subdivision
(a), except for the month in which birth is anticipated and for the
three-month period immediately prior to the month in which
delivery is anticipated, if the mother, and the child, if born, would
have qualified for aid under this chapter.

(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there
shall be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as
income, an amount of aid each month which, when added to the
child’s income, is equal to the rate specified in Section 11460,
11461, 11462, 11462.1, or 11463. In addition, the child shall be
eligible for special needs, as specified in departmental regulations.

(e) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a)
and Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an
allowance for recurring special needs not common to a majority
of recipients. These recurring special needs shall include, but not
be limited to, special diets upon the recommendation of a physician
for circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of
transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and
utilities. The recurring special needs allowance for each family
per month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying
the sum of ten dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the
family who are eligible for assistance.

(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both
exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100),
with the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account
described in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2, the family shall
also be entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special
needs.

(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs shall be granted
for replacement of clothing and household equipment and for
emergency housing needs other than those needs addressed by
paragraph (2). These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual
circumstances beyond the control of the needy family. The
department shall establish the allowance for each of the
nonrecurring special need items. The sum of all nonrecurring
special needs provided by this subdivision shall not exceed six
hundred dollars ($600) per event.

(2) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family
seeking shelter when the family is eligible for aid under this
chapter. Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available
to homeless families which are apparently eligible for aid under
this chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented
by the applicant, or which is otherwise available to the county
welfare department, and the information provided on the
application documents indicate that there would be eligibility for
aid under this chapter if the evidence and information were verified.
However, an alien applicant who does not provide verification of
his or her eligible alien status, or a woman with no eligible children
who does not provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not
apparently eligible for purposes of this section.

A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this section,
when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or
the family has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised
publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary
living accommodations; or the family is residing in a public or
private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also
considered homeless for the purpose of this section if the family
has received a notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall
demonstrate that the eviction is the result of a verified financial
hardship as a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their
control, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family
is experiencing a financial crisis that could result in homelessness
if preventative assistance is not provided.

(A) (i) A nonrecurring special need of sixty-five dollars ($65)
a day shall be available to families of up to four members for the
costs of temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this
paragraph. The fifth and additional members of the family shall
each receive fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum
of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare
departments may increase the daily amount available for temporary
shelter as necessary to secure the additional bedspace needed by
the family.

(ii) This special need shall be granted or denied immediately
upon the family’s application for homeless assistance, and benefits
shall be available for up to three working days. The county welfare
department shall verify the family’s homelessness within the first
three working days and if the family meets the criteria of
questionable homelessness established by the department, the
county welfare department shall refer the family to its early fraud
prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit, for
assistance in the verification of homelessness within this period.

(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit
shall be extended for a period of time which, when added to the
initial benefits provided, does not exceed a total of 16 calendar
days. This extension of benefits shall be done in increments of one
week and shall be based upon searching for permanent housing
which shall be documented on a housing search form; good cause;
or other circumstances defined by the department. Documentation
of a housing search shall be required for the initial extension of
benefits beyond the three-day limit and on a weekly basis thereafter
as long as the family is receiving temporary shelter benefits. Good
cause shall include, but is not limited to, situations in which the
county welfare department has determined that the family, to the
extent it is capable, has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort
to secure permanent housing while receiving temporary shelter
benefits.

(B) A nonrecurring special need for permanent housing
assistance is available to pay for last month’s rent and security
deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing
a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when
these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction.

The last month’s rent or monthly arrearage portion of the
payment (i) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family’s total
monthly household income without the value of CalFresh benefits
or special needs for a family of that size and (ii) shall only be made
to families that have found permanent housing costing no more
than 80 percent of the family’s total monthly household income
without the value of CalFresh benefits or special needs for a family
of that size.

However, if the county welfare department determines that a
family intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing
housing costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate
circumstances, set aside the condition specified in clause (ii) of
the preceding paragraph.

(C) The nonrecurring special need for permanent housing
assistance is also available to cover the standard costs of deposits
for utilities which are necessary for the health and safety of the
family.

(D) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance
shall be issued no later than one working day from the time that a
family presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing.
If an applicant family provides evidence of the availability of
permanent housing before the county welfare department has
established eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare
department shall complete the eligibility determination so that the
denial of or payment for permanent housing assistance is issued
within one working day from the submission of evidence of the
availability of permanent housing, unless the family has failed to
provide all of the verification necessary to establish eligibility for
aid under this chapter.

(E) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility
for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing
assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to one period
of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and
one payment of permanent assistance. Any family that includes a
parent or nonparent caretaker relative living in the home who has
previously received temporary or permanent homeless assistance
at any time on behalf of an eligible child shall not be eligible for
further homeless assistance. Any person who applies for homeless
assistance benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter
benefit of up to 16 consecutive days is available only once in a
lifetime, with certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive
use of the benefit constitutes permanent exhaustion of the
temporary benefit.

(ii) A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary
result of a state or federally declared natural disaster shall be
eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance.

(iii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and permanent
homeless assistance when homelessness is a direct result of
domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or
mental illness that is medically verified that shall not include a
diagnosis of alcoholism, drug addiction, or psychological stress;
or, the uninhabitability of the former residence caused by sudden
and unusual circumstances beyond the control of the family
including natural catastrophe, fire, or condemnation. These
circumstances shall be verified by a third-party governmental or
private health and human services agency, except that domestic
violence may also be verified by a sworn statement by the victim,
as provided under Section 11495.25. Homeless assistance payments
based on these specific circumstances may not be received more
often than once in any 12-month period. In addition, if the domestic
violence is verified by a sworn statement by the victim, the
homeless assistance payments shall be limited to two periods of
not more than 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance
and two payments of permanent assistance. A county may require
that a recipient of homeless assistance benefits who qualifies under
this paragraph for a second time in a 24-month period participate
in a homelessness avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility
for homeless assistance benefits. The county welfare department
shall immediately inform recipients who verify domestic violence
by a sworn statement pursuant to clause (iii) of the availability of
domestic violence counseling and services, and refer those
recipients to services upon request.

(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic
violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness
avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii), the plan shall include
the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.

(v) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based on domestic
violence pursuant to clause (iii) has previously received homeless
avoidance services based on domestic violence, the county shall
review whether services were offered to the recipient and consider
what additional services would assist the recipient in leaving the
domestic violence situation.

(vi) The county welfare department shall report to the
department through a statewide homeless assistance payment
indicator system, necessary data, as requested by the department,
regarding all recipients of aid under this paragraph.

(F) The county welfare departments, and all other entities
participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the
right in their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the
permanent housing. However, if an emergency requires the family
to move within the 12-month period specified in subparagraph
(E), the family shall be allowed to use any refunds received from
its deposits to meet the costs of moving to another residence.

(G) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent
housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting
these payments.

(H) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special need for
homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the current
year’s Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance and
appropriating the funds therefor.

(I) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless
the provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or
person in the business of renting properties who has a history of
renting properties.

(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring
the uniform application statewide of this section.

(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of
aid through the standardized application form that these benefits
are available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to
apply for the funds quickly and efficiently.

(i) Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts
payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not
constitute part of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision
(a).

The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1
shall not constitute income to recipients of aid under this section.

(j) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing
with Section 11385) there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount
considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which,
when added to the child’s income, is equal to the rate specified in
Sections 11364 and 11387.

(k) (1) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2013.
A county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements
in accordance with the act that added this section no later than
October 1, 2013.

(2) Upon implementation described in paragraph (1), each
county shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that
semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.

(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a
county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of
this section.

SEC. 4.  

No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of this
act.