AB 1653, as amended, Garcia. CalWORKs: victims of domestic violence.
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant program, and state and county funds. Existing law authorizes a county to excuse a participant from the welfare-to-work requirements for good cause if the person is a victim of domestic violence and participation would be detrimental to or unfairly penalize the individual or his or her family. Existing law also authorizes each county to waive a program requirement at any time for a recipient who is a past or present victim of abuse, as specified.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to establish a standard, statewide notice to inform all CalWORKs applicants and recipients that victims of domestic violence have a right to request a waiver of program requirements. The bill would also require the county to waive, for applicants or recipients, program requirements if the county determines that good cause to waive those requirements exists, as specified. The bill would also require counties to use the standard, statewide noticebegin insert,end insert or an approved county notice, to inform all CalWORKs applicants and recipients of their rights and how to secure a waiver. By increasing the duties of county human services agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a) In enacting this act, the Legislature
2recognizes that some individuals who are in need of public
3assistance are, or have been, victims of abuse.
4(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that victims of
5abuse and recipients who are past or present victims of abuse are
6not placed at further risk or unfairly penalized by program
7requirements or procedures.
8(c) The Legislature intends that, in implementing this act, a
9standard, statewide notice to CalWORKs applicants and recipients
10will be established, informing them of rights for domestic violence
11victims
and survivors and instructing them how to secure these
12rights, as well as referrals for counseling services.
Section 11495.15 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
14 is amended to read:
A county shall waive a program requirement for a
16recipient who has been identified as a past or present victim of
17abuse when it has been determined that good cause exists pursuant
18to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 11320.3. Waivers
19shall be reevaluated in
conjunction with the annual and semiannual
20determinations of eligibility completed by the county.
Section 11495.20 is added to the Welfare and
22Institutions Code, to read:
(a) The department, in consultation with county
2human services agencies, domestic violence and CalWORKs
3advocates, and CalWORKs caseworkers, shall develop a standard,
4statewide notice to inform all CalWORKs applicants and recipients
5that victims of domestic violence have a right to request a waiver
6of program requirements. The notice shall include all of the
7following:
8(1) Examples of the types of program requirements that may be
9waived.
10(2) Space for county-specific instructions for securing a waiver
11and a domestic violence service plan.
12(3) Space
forbegin insert a list ofend insert county domestic abuse resourcesbegin insert,end insert such as
13local hotlines, domestic violence counseling agencies, and mental
14health services.
15(4) A statement addressing the scope of confidentiality.
16(5) A definition of abuse, and other general information
17regarding abuse, such as safety planning.
18(6) Information about how to receive county assistance in
19tailoring welfare-to-work plans to meet the needs of victims who
20do not have a waiver of the welfare-to-work requirements.
21(7) A description of the remedies that are available for immigrant
22domestic violence survivors.
23(b) A county shall inform all CalWORKs applicants and
24recipients that a victim of domestic violence has the right to request
25a waiver of program requirements, using the statewide notice
26described in this section or a county notice that has been approved
27by the department. The county shall give the notice, orally and in
28writing, when a person applies for CalWORKs and during the
29welfare-to-work planningbegin delete process. The county shall also give the begin insert processend insert, when the county redetermines eligibility
30notice, in writingend delete
31or sends a notice of action for a sanction resulting from failure
to
32participate in a program requirement, and whenever an applicant
33or recipient voluntarily discloses that he or she is a victim of abuse.
34The county shall retain, in a person’s case file, proof that the county
35provided the person with this notice.
36(c) The department shall not approve a county’s notice unless
37the notice contains, at a minimum, all of the information described
38in this section.
39(d) An applicant or recipient shall not be required to disclose
40his or her status, or the status of another member of the assistance
P4 1unit, as a victimbegin delete orend deletebegin insert ofend insert domestic violence in order to be eligible for
2aid. If the
recipient of a notice fails to immediately disclose abuse,
3the county shall not use this fact as an independent basis to find
4that the recipient is not credible or treat his or her subsequent
5request for a domestic violence waiver with prejudice.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
7this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
8local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
9pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
104 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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