BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 371
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
371 (Mullin)
As Introduced February 17, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Human Services |7-0 |Chu, Mayes, | |
| | |Calderon, Lopez, | |
| | |Maienschein, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Mark Stone, | |
| | |Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
AB 371
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Streamlines California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (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 funds, and instead ties eligibility to standards in federal
regulations, as specified.
3)Defines parent as a natural or adoptive parent with whom an
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
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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 United States Code 601 et seq.,
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 11200 et seq.)
2)Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to
determine eligibility for the program, including net income
below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family size and
county of residence, which is around 40% of the Federal Poverty
Level. (WIC Section 11450 and 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 Section 11201)
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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 United
States armed services. (WIC Section 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 Sections 11454 and 11322.85)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
committee, ongoing increase in CalWORKs grant, services, and
administrative costs in the range of $1million to $2 million
(General Fund) to the extent this bill results in additional
eligible cases and fewer cases discontinued from the CalWORKs
program. This will be partially offset to the extent the newly
eligible cases will no longer receive a CalFresh stipend available
only to non-assistance households.
COMMENTS:
CalWORKs: The 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 TANF block grant. The average 2015 to
2016 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one
parent and two children) is $506.55, and the maximum monthly grant
amount for a family of three, if the family has no other income
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and lives in a high-cost county, is $704. 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
almost 40% are under age five.
Maximum grant amounts in high-cost counties of $704 per month for
a family of three with no other income means $23.46 per day, per
family, or $7.82 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 $8,448 per year, or 42% of poverty.
Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 show that 100% of poverty for
a family of three is $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 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
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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 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
for low-income two-parent homes, we will also strengthen family
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unit. "
Analysis Prepared by:
Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN:
0000602