BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1579
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Date of Hearing: March 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1579 (Stone) - As Introduced: January 30, 2014
SUBJECT : CalWORKs: pregnant women
SUMMARY : Establishes the Healthy Babies Act of 2014
Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares the following legislative findings:
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; and
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.
1)Deletes the requirement that a pregnant woman seeking aid with
no aided children only receive CalWORKs assistance during the
month in which the birth is anticipated and for the three
prior months, and instead requires CalWORKs aid to be provided
to an eligible pregnant woman for each month that she is
pregnant, beginning the month after verification of her
pregnancy is submitted to the county, provided that she does
not already have a CalWORKs aided child.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for
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Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and
welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in
California, provides that TANF funds for welfare-to-work
services are administered through the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.
(42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)
2)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 11250 et seq.)
3)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)
4)Establishes the Cal-Learn program to provide intensive case
management, support services, a comprehensive range of health
and social services and other services to teenagers under age
19 without a high school diploma or equivalent, who are
pregnant or parenting. (WIC 11331)
5)Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to an eligible pregnant minor
at any time after verification of pregnancy, provided that she
is without a needy child qualified for aid and the Cal-Learn
program is operative. (WIC 11450 (b))
6)Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to an eligible pregnant woman
for 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 if the woman provides verification of
pregnancy and is in a family without a needy child qualified
for aid. (WIC 11450 (b))
7)Exempts specified categories of recipients from participation
in welfare-to-work activities, including a pregnant woman who
has medical verification that her pregnancy impairs her
ability to be regularly employed or participate in
welfare-to-work activities or a pregnant woman for whom the
county has otherwise determined that, at that time,
participation in welfare-to-work activities would not lead to
employment or a training activity is not appropriate. (WIC
11320.3(b))
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Under current law, a pregnant woman without
CalWORKs-aided children cannot receive CalWORKs assistance until
she is in the third trimester of her pregnancy. This bill seeks
to ensure healthier babies are born to women who are pregnant
and in need of assistance by granting CalWORKs aid to eligible
women upon submitting verification of their pregnancy to the
county.
The CalWORKs program provides monthly income assistance and
employment-related services aimed at moving children out of
poverty and helping families meet basic needs. Federal funding
for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant. The average monthly cash grant for
a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is
$463. According to recent data from the California Department
of Social Services, 554,292 families rely on CalWORKs, including
over one million children. Nearly 80% of the children are under
age twelve.
In addition to aiding eligible needy families with children,
CalWORKs provides assistance to eligible pregnant women, without
other children in the household qualified to receive aid, who
are in their third trimester of pregnancy and have provided
verification of pregnancy to the county office. During these
three months preceding birth, the pregnant woman is eligible for
CalWORKs aid for an assistance unit of one (for herself) plus a
$47 benefit to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy.
Poverty and pregnancy : Numerous studies have revealed the
correlation between poverty and stress, as well as the higher
incidence of problems during pregnancy and birth due to maternal
stress. A 2008 study published in the American Psychological
Association's Health Psychology journal showed correlations
between the psychological state of a pregnant woman and the
health of the fetus. Women experiencing a high amount of stress
during pregnancy deliver their infants earlier and at lower
birth weights, with both factors leading to a higher risk for
"infant mortality, infant morbidity, and health problems that
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may persist into childhood, adolescence and adulthood."<1> The
study also found that stress directly related to concerns about
the pregnancy and associated life changes is an even more
powerful contributor to birth outcomes than general stress. The
effects of stress during pregnancy multiply when a lack of
financial resources results in an inability to afford a healthy
diet, thereby impeding healthy fetal development.
Other states : California is one of 31 states that provide TANF
benefits to eligible pregnant women with no other aided
children, according to July 2012 data from the Urban Institute's
"Welfare Rules Databook." That same year, there were 11 states
that provided benefits earlier than California's third trimester
policy, 10 of which, including New York, Washington, and Kansas,
provided benefits as early as the first month of pregnancy.
Need for the bill : In addition to providing benefits that can
help needy pregnant women lead healthier lives during pregnancy
and decrease stress levels due to financial instability, the
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV) also
notes the correlation between financial stability and freedom
from domestic violence. In support of this bill, CPEDV states,
"Domestic violence often contributes to the stress that many
women eligible for CalWORKs, basic needs grants experience, but
this stress may be exacerbated by pregnancy. Often domestic
violence begins or escalates in severity during pregnancy. The
University of California San Francisco (UCSF) reports that
domestic violence is more common than any other health problem
among women during pregnancy. Also according to UCSF, pregnancy
is the second most likely time that an abuser will kill their
victim, thereby increasing the risk of death for both the mother
and the unborn child. Financial dependence often forces women
to remain in abusive relationships, and during pregnancy that
financial dependence increases. In some cases, abusers will
intentionally impregnate their partners to exploit this
financial control and assert their power."
Also in support of this bill, the Western Center on Law and
Poverty states, "Delaying basic needs cash assistance for very
low-income pregnant women not only impacts the health of
children born into deep poverty, but it also endangers the
health and wellbeing of pregnant women. By not ensuring
---------------------------
<1> Lobel, Marci, et. al. "Pregnancy-Specific Stress, Prenatal
Health Behaviors, and Birth Outcomes." Health Psychology 27.5
(2008): 604 -615.
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uninterrupted supportive services to women who may be
experiencing multiple stressful situations during their
pregnancies, very poor women are more likely to experience
complicated pregnancies and premature labor. Pregnant women are
more likely to experience workplace discrimination and lose
their jobs during pregnancy than at any other time, making
CalWORKs assistance even more necessary?Because many low-income
workers are not aware of their rights vis-à-vis their employers,
they may need the help of the CalWORKs program to remain housed
if they lose their income as a result of discrimination."
PROPOSED AMENDMENT : Under current law, CalWORKs aid can
commence for an eligible pregnant minor at any time after her
pregnancy is verified. This bill provides that an eligible
pregnant woman can receive CalWORKs aid beginning the month
after she provides verification of pregnancy to the county. In
order to align the provisions of this bill related to women age
18 or older with the provisions in current law for pregnant
minors, Committee Staff recommends the following amendment:
1) On page 4, line 14, strike "after" and insert:
in
DOUBLE REFERRAL . At the request of Assembly Rules Committee
should this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred
to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
ACCESS Women's Health Justice
American Civil Liberties Union of CA
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Women's Shelter
Building Futures with Women and Children
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Communities United Institute
California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA)
California Nurses Association (CNA)
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (the
Partnership)
California Primary Care Association (CPCA)
Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice (UC Berkeley, School
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of Law)
Equal Rights Advocates
Family Violence Law Center
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)
March of Dimes California Chapter
My Sister's House
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
Peace Over Violence
San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Shanti Project, Inc.
St. Anthony Foundation
W.O.M.A.N., Inc. (Sponsor)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (Sponsor)
Women's Foundation of California
Worksafe
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Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089