BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1579
A
AUTHOR: Stone
B
VERSION: May 27, 2014
HEARING DATE: June 10, 2014
1
FISCAL: Yes
5
7
CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
9
SUBJECT
CalWORKs: pregnant women
SUMMARY
This bill would, beginning July 1, 2015, require that a
pregnant woman who qualifies for CalWORKs benefits be
eligible for aid beginning for the month in which the birth
is anticipated and for the 6-month period immediately prior
to that.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1) Establishes in Federal law the Temporary Assistance
for 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---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1579 (Stone)
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2) Establishes the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Act, 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) Requires that CalWORKs benefits be paid to an
eligible, childless pregnant woman beginning in 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.(WIC 11450 (b)(2))
4) Requires verification of pregnancy as a condition
of eligibility. (WIC 11450 (b)(2))
This bill:
1) Entitles this act the Healthy Babies Act of 2014.
2) Declares legislative findings that:
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
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1579 (Stone)
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alternatives and are more likely to endure abuse
that will cause long- and short-term harm to both
themselves and their unborn fetus.
3) Provides that CalWORKS aid shall be paid to a
pregnant woman for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the six-month period immediately
prior to the month in which the birth is anticipated,
as specified in existing statute.
FISCAL IMPACT
An analysis by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations
estimated this bill would result in ongoing CalWORKs grant
and administrative costs of $2 million to $4 million in
federal and state funds in 2014-15 and $6 million to $12
million beginning in 2015-16. Actual costs will depend on
the number of eligible women who apply for the earlier
benefit and the number of additional months of benefit they
receive. The analysis also noted potential savings in out
years to the extent affected recipients remain on CalWORKs
for the entire amount of time they are eligible and are
merely receiving their benefit earlier.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, AB 1579 helps ensure that poor
pregnant women are healthier and can prepare for a new baby
by allowing eligible pregnant women who do not have any
other children to access CalWORKs benefits beginning in the
second trimester of their pregnancy instead of waiting
until the third trimester. The author further states that
the delayed eligibility rule to receive CalWORKs cash aid
is more than two decades old and fails to take into account
the many academic studies showing that instability and
stress felt by a pregnant woman can have long-lasting
impacts on the health of infants and children.
Writing in support of the bill, the Legal Aid Society
Employment Law Center, a co-sponsor, notes that pregnant
women with inadequate financial support are less able to
afford healthy diets which prevents them from getting the
nutrients necessary for proper fetal development. The
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sponsor also notes that domestic violence often begins or
escalates during pregnancy and that financial dependence
often forces women in abusive relationships to remain in
them. "This measure will increase the financial stability
of poor California women, providing greater safety and
better health outcomes."
CalWORKs
The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
(CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and
employment-related services to move children out of poverty
and help families meet basic needs. Federal funding for
CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant. The average monthly CalWORKs
cash grant for a family of three is $463, or $15.43 per day
to meet basic needs such as rent, clothing, utilities and
other necessities. A family of three receiving the average
grant amount 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.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women who do not have other children in their
household also may qualify for CalWORKs assistance once
they reach the third trimester of pregnancy and have
provided verification of pregnancy to the county welfare
office. During those three months, 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. Approximately 3,000 women in 2013
were qualified for the pregnancy benefit from an overall
caseload of more than 500,000 families.
Domestic violence
According to information from the University of California
San Francisco Medical Center, domestic violence is more
common than any other health problem among women during
pregnancy. It greatly threatens both the mother's and
baby's health. Domestic violence is a pattern of assault
and coercive behavior, including physical, sexual and
psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion that
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1579 (Stone)
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adults use against their partners.<1>
According to UCSF, in addition to physical and
psychological trauma that the mother may face, effects of
domestic violence on an unborn child have been linked to
low birth weight, trouble nursing or taking a bottle,
sleeping problems, delayed walking and speech and lasting
emotional problems. All of these effects have been linked
to other chronic health problems and to long term health
costs. According to the March of Dimes, nearly 1 in 6
pregnant women have been abused by a partner. A World
Health Organization study, reported in Reproductive Health
Matters magazine in 2010, found that one-third of pregnant
domestic violence victims suffered blows to the abdomen.
Other states:
California is one of 32 states that provide TANF benefits
to eligible pregnant women with no other aided children,
according to July 2011 data from the Urban Institute's
"Welfare Rules Databook." Among those states, 20 provided
benefits earlier than California's third trimester, or 7th
month, policy, including New York, Tennessee and Nevada.
Related legislation:
AB 1640 (Mitchell) Chapter 778, Statutes of 2012 required
that CalWORKs aid would be paid to a pregnant mother in the
month in which the birth is anticipated, and the 3 months
immediately prior to that month. The bill also requires
CalWORKs aid to be paid to a pregnant mother who is 18
years of age or younger at any time after verification of
pregnancy, when the Cal-Learn Program is operative,
regardless of whether she is eligible for the Cal-Learn
Program.
COMMENTS
The author may wish to consider adding language to permit
the Department to implement this bill through an all-county
letter until regulations are in place.
-------------------------
<1>
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/domestic_violence_and_pr
egnancy/
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PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor 59 - 15
Assembly Appropriations 13 - 4
Assembly Human Services 6 - 0
POSITIONS
Support: The Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center
(co-sponsor)
Access Women's Health Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Law alliance
Asian Women's Shelter
California Food Policy Advocates
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Nurses Association
California Partnership to End Domestic
Violence
California Primary Care Association
California State Association of Counties
Center for Reproductive Rights and Justice
at
UC Berkeley School of Law
City and County of San Francisco, Office of
the Mayor
Coalition for Women and Children
Coalition of California Welfare Rights
Organizations
Communications Workers of America, District
9 AFL-CIO
Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO,
CLC Local 9003
Community United Against Violence
Crittenton Services for Children and
Families
Equal Rights Advocates
Family Violence Law Center
Filipina Women's Network
My Sister's House
National Association of Social Workers
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
Office of the District Attorney, City and
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County of San Francisco
Peace over Violence
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Rally Families Visitation Services
San Francisco Department on the Status of
Women.
San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium
Shanti Project
St. Anthony Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Women's Foundation of California
WorkLife Law
Worksafe
Y- Empowerment, Inc.
Oppose: None received.
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