BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 371
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
371 (Mullin) - As Introduced February 17, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill streamlines the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) eligibility standards for
two-parent families by requiring that aid be granted to a family
AB 371
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that meets applicable eligibility requirements, without regard
to the employment status of the parent. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the eligibility requirement for CalWORKs benefits:
a. That either parent be unemployed
b. That a child be deprived of parental support due to
unemployment
c. That a parent work less than 100 hours per month
1)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.
2)Replaces that language with the requirement that aid,
services, or both be granted under this chapter, and subject
to the regulations of the department, to families with related
children under 18 years of age, with exemptions already stated
in statute, if the family meets the eligibility requirements
including income and work requirements.
3)Establishes that the absence of a parent is not a condition of
eligibility to receive benefits, and defines absence of a
parent to mean the continued absence of a parent from the home
due to divorce, separation, desertion, or any other reason.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Ongoing increase in CalWORKs grant, services, and administrative
costs in the range of $1million to $2 million (GF) to the extent
this bill results in additional eligible cases and fewer cases
discontinued from the CalWORKs program. This will be partially
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offset to the extent the newly eligible cases will no longer
receive a CalFresh stipend available only to non-assistance
households.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. 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 for low-income two-parent homes, we
will also strengthen family unit. "
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 regardless of income. This "deprivation
standard" was originally enacted to comply with the now
outdated AFDC rules (repealed in 1996) which required that
two-parent families take additional steps to prove deprivation
in order to receive aid. Now in direct conflict with the TANF
goal of two-parent family maintenance, many states began
modifying or removing special requirements for two-parent
units shortly after the 1996 repeal of AFDC. By 2001, just 14
states still had laws in place with restrictions on two-parent
households. As of 2011, California was one of just four states
that retained the 100-hour working limit for two-parent
families. This bill repeals the 100-hour standard while
maintaining all resource and income eligibility requirements.
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2)Background. In 1996, federal legislation repealed the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and created the
block-granted Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program. The new approach emphasized integrating parents into
the workforce, and encouraged the formation and maintenance of
two-parent families. In California, TANF funds are
administered through the CalWORKs program.
CalWORKs: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to 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 puts the annual household income at $6,078 per year. The
poverty level for a family of three is $20,090 per year
according to the 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Two parent families make up about 8.6% of total CalWORKs
cases. Two parent families with a wage earner working 100 or
more hours per week at minimum wage are unlikely to qualify
for a CalWORKs grant (especially if the family size is smaller
than four) or will qualify for a reduced amount ($124 -
$165/month), even with the $225 income disregard. They are
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also unlikely to be using welfare-to-work activities beyond
employment and are less likely to use child care services than
the average recipient. They may, however, use other CalWORKs
supportive services such as transportation. Assuming a monthly
average of 320 newly eligible cases and 400 cases no longer
discontinued, and based on utilization rates reasonable for
two parent households, total annual costs under this bill
would be in the range of $1million to $2 million (GF). This
cost will be partially offset to the extent the newly eligible
cases will no longer receive a CalFresh stipend available only
to non-assistance households.
3)Prior Legislation. AB 1502 (Mullin), 2014, was similar to this
bill. It included removal of the deprivation standard, but
also included changes to work requirements for relative
caregivers within the CalWORKS program. The latter changes are
not included in this bill. AB 1502 was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081