BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 371
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Date of Hearing: March 24, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Chu, Chair
AB
371 (Mullin) - As Introduced February 17, 2015
SUBJECT: CalWORKs Family Unity Act of 2015
SUMMARY: Streamlines CalWORKs eligibility standards for
two-parent families.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the deprivation standard used to determine CalWORKs
eligibility for needy two-parent families by deleting the
following eligibility requirements for CalWORKs benefits:
a) That either parent be unemployed;
b) That a child be considered deprived of parental
support due to the unemployment of his or her parent or
parents; and
c) That a parent work less than 100 hours per month.
2)Removes consideration of the state deprivation standard for
determining a minor dependent or nonminor dependent's
eligibility for Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster
Care (AFDC-FC) funds, and instead ties eligibility to
standards in federal regulations, as specified.
3)Defines parent as a natural or adoptive parent with whom an
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eligible child is living.
4)Deletes the eligibility requirement that a child must be
deprived of parental support or care due to the death,
physical or mental incapacity or incarceration of a parent,
the unemployment of one or both parents or the continued
absence of a parent from the home due to divorce, separation,
desertion, or any other reason, as specified.
5)Requires that CalWORKs aid, services, or both be granted,
subject to the regulations of the Department of Social
Services, to families with related children under 18 years of
age, with exemptions already stated in statute, if the family
meets the eligibility requirements specified in this chapter,
which include income and work requirements.
6)Requires a parent to be excluded from the assistance unit if
he or she is absent from the home due to divorce, separation,
desertion, or any other reason, if his or her absence
interrupts or terminates the parent's functioning as a
provider of maintenance, physical care, or guidance for the
child, and the known or indefinite duration of the absence
precludes counting on the parent's performance of the function
of planning for the present support or care of the child.
Provides that, if these conditions exist, the parent may be
absent for any reason, and may have left only recently or some
time previously.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for
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 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
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below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family size and
county of residence, which is around 40% of the Federal
Poverty Level. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)
3)Provides that a child whose parent is applying for CalWORKs
assistance shall be considered deprived of parental support or
care due to the unemployment of his or her parent when the
parent has worked less than 100 hours in the preceding four
weeks, as specified. (WIC 11201)
4)Grants CalWORKs aid, services, or both to families with
related children under 18 years of age, except as specified,
if they are deemed needy and deprived of parental support or
care due to the death, physical or mental incapacity or
incarceration of a parent; the unemployment of a parent or
parents; or the continued absence of a parent from the home
due to divorce, separation, desertion, or any other reason,
except occasional absence due solely to the parent's active
duty with the US armed services. (WIC 11250)
5)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)
6)Requires all individuals over 16 years of age, unless they are
otherwise exempt, to participate in welfare-to-work activities
as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. (WIC 11320.3,
11322.6)
7)Establishes the number of weekly hours of welfare-to-work
participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, including
requirements for an unemployed parent in a two-parent
assistance unit, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
CalWORKs: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
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Kids (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 2015-16 monthly cash
grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two
children) is $506.55. According to recent data from the
California Department of Social Services, over 540,000 families
rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly
80% of the children are under age twelve and 40% are under age
five.
Average grant amounts of $506.55 per month for a family of three
means $16.88 per day, per family, or $5.62 per family member,
per day to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility
bills, food, and anything else a family needs to ensure children
can be cared for at home and safely remain with their families.
This grant amount puts the annual household income at $6,078 per
year. Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 show that 100% of
poverty for a family of three is over three times that at
$20,090 per year.
Welfare-to-Work requirements: Welfare-to-work activities within
the CalWORKs program include public or private sector subsidized
or unsubsidized employment; on-the-job training; community
service; secondary school, adult basic education and vocational
education and training when the education is needed for the
recipient to become employed; specific mental health, substance
abuse, or domestic violence services if they are necessary to
obtain or retain employment; and a number of other activities
necessary to assist a recipient in obtaining unsubsidized
employment.
Unless they are exempt, single parent adults must participate
for at least 30 hours per week in welfare-to-work activities,
whereas the minimum participation requirement for two-parent
families is 35 hours per week. After receiving aid for up to a
maximum of 24 months, adults without an exemption must work in
unsubsidized employment or participate in community services
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activities for the minimum number of hours listed above. If a
CalWORKs recipient who is not exempt from participation does not
meet his or her welfare-to-work requirements, the recipient is
sanctioned for noncompliance, and that recipient's portion of
the family's grant subtracted from the amount provided to the
family to meet basic needs.
Need for this bill: The Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), which was the
final piece of federal welfare reform legislation, repealed the
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and
created the block-granted Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program. The new approach emphasized
integrating parents into the workforce, and one of the resulting
four core purposes of the federal TANF program is to encourage
the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. However,
current state law prevents a poor two-parent family from
receiving aid if the primary wage earner has worked more than
100 hours in a month. This policy mirrors AFDC provisions
included in the Code of Federal Regulations, which haven't been
updated since before PRWORA was implemented, making California
one of only eight states that still implements this standard.
While the 100-hour policy is based on the assumption that an
average of 25 hours of work per week can generate enough income
for a parent to provide for his or her family and set the
family's income above the eligibility threshold for CalWORKs,
this is often not the case. In direct conflict with the TANF
goal of two-parent family maintenance, this policy encourages
parents to split, as the same family would be eligible for aid
if the primary wage earner left the home. This bill repeals the
100-hour standard while maintaining all resource and income
eligibility requirements, all of which reveal a CalWORKs
applicant family's need for assistance.
According to the author, "The CalWORKs Family Unity Act of 2015
is a modest effort to strengthen the safety net for low-income
working families of California, who today endure the highest
poverty rate in the Nation. By improving economic opportunities
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for low-income two-parent homes, we will also strengthen family
unit. "
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 1502 (Mullin), 2014, was similar to this bill. It included
removal of the deprivation standard, in addition to changes to
work requirements for relative caregivers within the CalWORKs
program. It died on the Senate Appropriations Suspense File.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Partnership
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization
County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
St. Anthony Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared
by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
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