BILL NUMBER: SB 1147 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Ammiano, Gordon, and Ting )
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, revise and
the standards and goals to reflect changes in CalFresh
performance over time, 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 and the public. The bill would also
require the department to develop a dynamic 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 within 30
60 days following the end of each quarter, and
authorizes would require 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:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Hunger and food insecurity continue to be a struggle faced by
too many Californians. In 2011 and 2012, at least four million
low-income adults in California experienced food insecurity.
(b) Reduced hunger and improved access to nutritious foods are
fundamental goals of CalFresh, the state's Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) through which low-income Californians
receive federally funded nutrition benefits.
(c) Low CalFresh participation results in less nutrition
assistance for eligible individuals, less economic activity, and less
sales tax revenue for the state and local governments.
(d) California continues to struggle with low CalFresh
participation. In the 2009-10 fiscal year, just over half
one-half of eligible CalFresh households
participated in the program.
(e) The state and counties have made significant fiscal and policy
investments in CalFresh and in the food security, health, and
well-being of participants.
(f) A number of other states have taken action to improve their
SNAP performance and customer service by making data-driven policy
decisions and setting statewide service expectations.
(g) Other California public benefit programs and entities,
including Medi-Cal and the California Health Benefit Exchange, have
increased data transparency and established standards and goals.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature, in an effort to improve
CalFresh participation and access, to establish statewide CalFresh
customer service standards and performance goals and to periodically
monitor progress toward meeting those goals.
SEC. 2. Section 18920 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18920. (a) The department, in collaboration with key
stakeholders, shall establish statewide customer service standards
and performance goals with regard to CalFresh. The
(b) The department shall revise
the standards and goals to reflect changes in CalFresh
performance over time and shall measure the progress
made toward the execution of the standards and goals on an annual
basis and shall make basis.
(c) The department shall make the
standards and goals publicly available for the purpose of informing
the Legislature and the public. The
(d) When developing the customer
service standards and performance goals, the department and key
stakeholders shall take into consideration what is achievable under
current funding and, if applicable, the cost impact of improved
program efficiency and the need for additional resource investment.
(e) The department may
shall, when appropriate, use the data
made available in the dynamic data management
tool developed pursuant to subdivision (b)
(f) to measure the progress made toward achieving the
established standards and goals.
(b)
(f) (1) The department shall, in collaboration with key
stakeholders, develop a dynamic data management
tool that is dynamic in that it presents data showing change,
activity, or progress over time, and the data can be extracted for
further analysis . If feasible and appropriate, the department
may expand upon existing technology for this purpose ,
including, but not limited to, expansion of the CalFresh data
dashboard . The data management tool shall include data
presented on a statewide and county-by-county basis to be derived by
the department from the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System (MEDS), the
Statewide Automated Welfare System, or any other appropriate
information management systems. The data management tool shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Data regarding multiprogram enrollment, which may include, but
is not limited to, dual eligibility and dual participation among
CalFresh and Medi-Cal recipients.
(B) Data regarding CalFresh applications received through multiple
channels, including, but not limited to,
which may include in-person, online, and by phone
telephone .
(C) Data regarding CalFresh application and recertification
outcomes, which may include, but is not limited to, disposition and
processing times.
(D) Data regarding CalFresh reapplication, which may include, but
is not limited to, rate of return within 30, 60, and 90 days.
(2) Data from the data management tool shall be made publicly
available on an ongoing basis and updated at least on a quarterly
basis within 30 60 days following the
end of each quarter, for the purpose of informing the Legislature and
the public about CalFresh enrollment, benefit retention, customer
service, and performance.
(3) The department shall, in collaboration with key stakeholders,
identify necessary revisions to the data management tool as necessary
to fulfill the standards and goals established pursuant to
subdivision (a).