Amended in Assembly April 1, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 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 amended, 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 monthbegin delete afterend deletebegin insert inend insert 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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known and may be cited as the 2Healthy Babies Act of 2014.

3

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

4(a) Women who experience multiple stressful situations during
5pregnancy, such as homelessness, hunger, violence, and deep
6poverty, are more likely to have premature and low birth weight
7babies, or to experience high rates of mother and infant mortality.
8The cost of medical care for pre-term births is much higher than
9for full-term births, and the human costs of infant mortality are
10immeasurable.

11(b) Children whose birth mothers experience the harmful stressor
12of deep poverty are more likely to suffer poor health and less likely
13to succeed academically.

14(c) Domestic violence causes more health problems among
15pregnant women than any other single cause. Without the support
16of the CalWORKs program, low-income pregnant women have
17few alternatives and are more likely to endure abuse that will cause
18begin deletelongend deletebegin insert longend insertbegin insert-end insert and short-term harm to both themselves and their unborn
19fetus.

20

SEC. 3.  

Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
21as amended by Section 37 of Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2013,
22is amended to read:

23

11450.  

(a) (1) Aid shall be paid for each needy family, which
24shall include all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible
25applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but
26shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter
273 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this
28chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding
29the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section
3011452, the family’s income, exclusive of any amounts considered
31exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section
3211453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period
33pursuant to Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then
P3    1calculated pursuant to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from
2the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for
3cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph
4(2). In no case shall the amount of aid paid for each month exceed
5the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for
6cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph
7(2), plus any special needs, as specified in subdivisions (c), (e),
8and (f):


9

 

 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

P3   24

 

25If, when, and during those times that the United States
26government increases or decreases its contributions in assistance
27of needy children in this state above or below the amount paid on
28July 1, 1972, the amounts specified in the above table shall be
29increased or decreased by an amount equal to that increase or
30decrease by the United States government, provided that no
31increase or decrease shall be subject to subsequent adjustment
32pursuant to Section 11453.

33(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted
34for cost of living for the 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94,
351994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98 fiscal years, and through
36October 31, 1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base
37for calculating any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year
38thereafter. Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant
39to this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section 11453.05,
40and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.

P4    1(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified
2for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant child who
3is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of
4pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be paid to one
5person, as specified in subdivision (a), if the child, and her child,
6if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification
7of pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid
8under this subdivision.

9(2)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not
10include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall
11be paid to a pregnant woman for each month that she is pregnant,
12beginning the monthbegin delete afterend deletebegin insert inend insert which she submitted verification of
13her pregnancy to the county, in the amount that would otherwise
14be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if the woman
15and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
16Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a condition of
17eligibility for aid under this subdivision.

18(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program
19is operative.

20(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be
21paid to pregnant mothers qualified for aid under subdivision (a)
22or (b) to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the mother,
23and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
24County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under
25this subdivision to a local provider of the Women, Infants and
26Children program. If that payment to pregnant mothers qualified
27for aid under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal
28law in the first five months of pregnancy, payments under this
29subdivision shall not apply to persons eligible under subdivision
30(a), except for the month in which birth is anticipated and for the
31three-month period immediately prior to the month in which
32delivery is anticipated, if the mother, and the child, if born, would
33have qualified for aid under this chapter.

34(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there
35shall be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as
36income, an amount of aid each month which, when added to the
37child’s income, is equal to the rate specified in Section 11460,
3811461, 11462, 11462.1, or 11463. In addition, the child shall be
39eligible for special needs, as specified in departmental regulations.

P5    1(e) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a)
2and Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an
3allowance for recurring special needs not common to a majority
4of recipients. These recurring special needs shall include, but not
5be limited to, special diets upon the recommendation of a physician
6for circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of
7transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and
8utilities. The recurring special needs allowance for each family
9per month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying
10the sum of ten dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the
11family who are eligible for assistance.

12(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both
13exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100),
14with the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account
15described in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2, the family shall
16also be entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special
17needs.

18(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs shall be granted
19for replacement of clothing and household equipment and for
20emergency housing needs other than those needs addressed by
21paragraph (2). These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual
22circumstances beyond the control of the needy family. The
23department shall establish the allowance for each of the
24nonrecurring special need items. The sum of all nonrecurring
25special needs provided by this subdivision shall not exceed six
26hundred dollars ($600) per event.

27(2) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family
28seeking shelter when the family is eligible for aid under this
29chapter. Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available
30to homeless families which are apparently eligible for aid under
31this chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented
32by the applicant, or which is otherwise available to the county
33welfare department, and the information provided on the
34application documents indicate that there would be eligibility for
35aid under this chapter if the evidence and information were verified.
36However, an alien applicant who does not provide verification of
37his or her eligible alien status, or a woman with no eligible children
38who does not provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not
39apparently eligible for purposes of this section.

P6    1A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this section,
2when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or
3the family has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised
4publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary
5 living accommodations; or the family is residing in a public or
6private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
7sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also
8considered homeless for the purpose of this section if the family
9has received a notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall
10demonstrate that the eviction is the result of a verified financial
11hardship as a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their
12control, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family
13is experiencing a financial crisis that could result in homelessness
14if preventative assistance is not provided.

15(A) (i) A nonrecurring special need of sixty-five dollars ($65)
16a day shall be available to families of up to four members for the
17costs of temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this
18 paragraph. The fifth and additional members of the family shall
19each receive fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum
20of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare
21departments may increase the daily amount available for temporary
22shelter as necessary to secure the additional bedspace needed by
23the family.

24(ii) This special need shall be granted or denied immediately
25upon the family’s application for homeless assistance, and benefits
26shall be available for up to three working days. The county welfare
27department shall verify the family’s homelessness within the first
28three working days and if the family meets the criteria of
29questionable homelessness established by the department, the
30county welfare department shall refer the family to its early fraud
31prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit, for
32assistance in the verification of homelessness within this period.

33(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit
34shall be extended for a period of time which, when added to the
35initial benefits provided, does not exceed a total of 16 calendar
36days. This extension of benefits shall be done in increments of one
37week and shall be based upon searching for permanent housing
38which shall be documented on a housing search form; good cause;
39or other circumstances defined by the department. Documentation
40of a housing search shall be required for the initial extension of
P7    1benefits beyond the three-day limit and on a weekly basis thereafter
2as long as the family is receiving temporary shelter benefits. Good
3cause shall include, but is not limited to, situations in which the
4county welfare department has determined that the family, to the
5extent it is capable, has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort
6to secure permanent housing while receiving temporary shelter
7benefits.

8(B) A nonrecurring special need for permanent housing
9assistance is available to pay for last month’s rent and security
10deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing
11a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when
12these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction.

13The last month’s rent or monthly arrearage portion of the
14payment (i) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family’s total
15monthly household income without the value of CalFresh benefits
16or special needs for a family of that size and (ii) shall only be made
17to families that have found permanent housing costing no more
18than 80 percent of the family’s total monthly household income
19without the value of CalFresh benefits or special needs for a family
20of that size.

21However, if the county welfare department determines that a
22family intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing
23housing costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate
24circumstances, set aside the condition specified in clause (ii) of
25the preceding paragraph.

26(C) The nonrecurring special need for permanent housing
27assistance is also available to cover the standard costs of deposits
28for utilities which are necessary for the health and safety of the
29family.

30(D) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance
31shall be issued no later than one working day from the time that a
32family presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing.
33If an applicant family provides evidence of the availability of
34permanent housing before the county welfare department has
35established eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare
36department shall complete the eligibility determination so that the
37denial of or payment for permanent housing assistance is issued
38within one working day from the submission of evidence of the
39availability of permanent housing, unless the family has failed to
P8    1provide all of the verification necessary to establish eligibility for
2aid under this chapter.

3(E) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility
4for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing
5assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to one period
6of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and
7one payment of permanent assistance. Any family that includes a
8parent or nonparent caretaker relative living in the home who has
9previously received temporary or permanent homeless assistance
10at any time on behalf of an eligible child shall not be eligible for
11further homeless assistance. Any person who applies for homeless
12assistance benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter
13benefit of up to 16 consecutive days is available only once in a
14lifetime, with certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive
15use of the benefit constitutes permanent exhaustion of the
16temporary benefit.

17(ii) A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary
18result of a state or federally declared natural disaster shall be
19eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance.

20(iii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and permanent
21homeless assistance when homelessness is a direct result of
22domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or
23mental illness that is medically verified that shall not include a
24diagnosis of alcoholism, drug addiction, or psychological stress;
25or, the uninhabitability of the former residence caused by sudden
26and unusual circumstances beyond the control of the family
27including natural catastrophe, fire, or condemnation. These
28circumstances shall be verified by a third-party governmental or
29private health and human services agency, except that domestic
30violence may also be verified by a sworn statement by the victim,
31as provided under Section 11495.25. Homeless assistance payments
32based on these specific circumstances may not be received more
33often than once in any 12-month period. In addition, if the domestic
34violence is verified by a sworn statement by the victim, the
35homeless assistance payments shall be limited to two periods of
36not more than 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance
37and two payments of permanent assistance. A county may require
38that a recipient of homeless assistance benefits who qualifies under
39this paragraph for a second time in a 24-month period participate
40in a homelessness avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility
P9    1for homeless assistance benefits. The county welfare department
2shall immediately inform recipients who verify domestic violence
3by a sworn statement pursuant to clause (iii) of the availability of
4domestic violence counseling and services, and refer those
5recipients to services upon request.

6(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic
7violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness
8avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii), the plan shall include
9the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.

10(v) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based on domestic
11violence pursuant to clause (iii) has previously received homeless
12avoidance services based on domestic violence, the county shall
13review whether services were offered to the recipient and consider
14what additional services would assist the recipient in leaving the
15domestic violence situation.

16(vi) The county welfare department shall report to the
17department through a statewide homeless assistance payment
18indicator system, necessary data, as requested by the department,
19regarding all recipients of aid under this paragraph.

20(F) The county welfare departments, and all other entities
21participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the
22right in their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the
23permanent housing. However, if an emergency requires the family
24to move within the 12-month period specified in subparagraph
25(E), the family shall be allowed to use any refunds received from
26its deposits to meet the costs of moving to another residence.

27(G) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent
28housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting
29these payments.

30(H) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special need for
31homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the current
32year’s Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance and
33appropriating the funds therefor.

34(I) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless
35the provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or
36person in the business of renting properties who has a history of
37renting properties.

38(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring
39the uniform application statewide of this section.

P10   1(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of
2aid through the standardized application form that these benefits
3are available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to
4apply for the funds quickly and efficiently.

5(i) Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts
6payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not
7constitute part of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision
8(a).

9The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1
10shall not constitute income to recipients of aid under this section.

11(j) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5
12(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing
13with Section 11385) there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount
14considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which,
15when added to the child’s income, is equal to the rate specified in
16Sections 11364 and 11387.

17(k) (1) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2013.
18A county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements
19in accordance with the act that added this section no later than
20October 1, 2013.

21(2) Upon implementation described in paragraph (1), each
22county shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that
23semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.

24(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a
25county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of
26this section.

27

SEC. 4.  

No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the
28Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of this
29act.



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