Amended in Senate March 27, 2014

Senate BillNo. 1147


Introduced by Senator DeSaulnier

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Gordon, and Ting)

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February 20, 2014


An act to add Section 18920 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalFresh.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1147, as amended, DeSaulnier. CalFresh: customer service standards: performance goals.

Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish and maintain a plan, known as the County Administrative Cost Control Plan, whereby costs for county administration of CalFresh are effectively controlled within the amounts annually appropriated for that administration, and whereby standards and performance criteria are established and are required to be adhered to by counties.

This bill would require the department, in collaboration with key stakeholders, to establish statewide customer service standards and performance goals with regard to CalFresh, revisebegin delete andend deletebegin insert the standards and goals to reflect changes in CalFresh performance over time,end insert measure the progress made toward the execution of the standards and goals on an annual basis, and make the standards and goals publicly available for the purpose of informing the Legislature andbegin insert theend insert public. The bill would also require the department to develop abegin delete dynamicend delete data management tool that includes specified data, including, but not limited to, data regarding CalFresh applications received through multiple channels. This bill would require data from the data management tool to be made publicly available on an ongoing basis and updated at least on a quarterly basis withinbegin delete 30end deletebegin insert 60end insert days following the end of each quarter, andbegin delete authorizesend deletebegin insert would requireend insert the department to use the data from the tool to measure the progress made towards the standards and goals established pursuant to these provisions. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) Hunger and food insecurity continue to be a struggle faced
4by too many Californians. In 2011 and 2012, at least four million
5low-income adults in California experienced food insecurity.

6(b) Reduced hunger and improved access to nutritious foods
7are fundamental goals of CalFresh, the state’s Supplemental
8Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through which low-income
9Californians receive federally funded nutrition benefits.

10(c) Low CalFresh participation results in less nutrition assistance
11for eligible individuals, less economic activity, and less sales tax
12revenue for the state and local governments.

13(d) California continues to struggle with low CalFresh
14participation. In the 2009-10 fiscal year, just overbegin delete halfend deletebegin insert one-halfend insert
15 of eligible CalFresh households participated in the program.

16(e) The state and counties have made significant fiscal and policy
17investments in CalFresh and in the food security, health, and
18well-being of participants.

19(f) A number of other states have taken action to improve their
20SNAP performance and customer service by making data-driven
21policy decisions and setting statewide service expectations.

22(g) Other California public benefit programs and entities,
23including Medi-Cal and the California Health Benefit Exchange,
24have increased data transparency and established standards and
25 goals.

P3    1(h) It is the intent of the Legislature, in an effort to improve
2CalFresh participation and access, to establish statewide CalFresh
3customer service standards and performance goals and to
4periodically monitor progress toward meeting those goals.

5

SEC. 2.  

Section 18920 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
6Code
, to read:

7

18920.  

(a) The department, in collaboration with key
8stakeholders, shall establish statewide customer service standards
9and performance goals with regard to CalFresh.begin delete Theend delete

10begin insert(b)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertTheend insert department shall revisebegin insert the standards and goals to reflect
11changes in CalFresh performance over timeend insert
andbegin insert shallend insert measure
12the progress made toward the execution of the standards and goals
13on an annualbegin delete basis and shall makeend deletebegin insert basis.end insert

14begin insert(c)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertThe department shall makeend insert the standards and goals publicly
15available for the purpose of informing the Legislature andbegin insert theend insert
16 public.begin delete Theend delete

17begin insert(d)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertWhen developing the customer service standards and
18performance goals, the department and key stakeholders shall take
19into consideration what is achievable under current funding and,
20if applicable, the cost impact of improved program efficiency and
21the need for additional resource investment.end insert

22begin insert(e)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertTheend insert departmentbegin delete mayend deletebegin insert shall, when appropriate,end insert use the data
23made available in thebegin delete dynamicend delete data management tool developed
24pursuant to subdivisionbegin delete (b)end deletebegin insert (f)end insert to measure the progress made toward
25achieving the established standards and goals.

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26(b)

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27begin insert(f)end insert (1) The department shall, in collaboration with key
28stakeholders, develop abegin delete dynamicend delete data management toolbegin insert that is
29dynamic in that it presents data showing change, activity, or
30progress over time, and the data can be extracted for further
31analysisend insert
. If feasible and appropriate, the department may expand
32upon existing technology for this purposebegin insert, including, but not limited
33to, expansion of the CalFresh data dashboardend insert
. The data
34management tool shall include data presented on a statewide and
35county-by-county basis to be derived by the department from the
36Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System (MEDS), the Statewide
37Automated Welfare System, or any other appropriate information
38management systems. The data management tool shall include,
39but not be limited to, all of the following:

P4    1(A) Data regarding multiprogram enrollment, which may
2include, but is not limited to, dual eligibility and dual participation
3among CalFresh and Medi-Cal recipients.

4(B) Data regarding CalFresh applications received through
5multiple channels,begin delete including, but not limited to,end deletebegin insert which may includeend insert
6 in-person, online, and bybegin delete phoneend deletebegin insert telephoneend insert.

7(C) Data regarding CalFresh application and recertification
8outcomes, which may include, but is not limited to, disposition
9and processing times.

10(D) Data regarding CalFresh reapplication, which may include,
11but is not limited to, rate of return within 30, 60, and 90 days.

12(2) Data from the data management tool shall be made publicly
13available on an ongoing basis and updated at least on a quarterly
14basis withinbegin delete 30end deletebegin insert 60end insert days following the end of each quarter, for the
15purpose of informing the Legislature and the public about CalFresh
16enrollment, benefit retention, customer service, and performance.

17(3) The department shall, in collaboration with key stakeholders,
18identify necessary revisions to the data management tool as
19necessary to fulfill the standards and goals established pursuant
20to subdivision (a).



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