BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 423
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
423 (Cooley) - As Amended April 23, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill requires counties to take certain steps to
assist foster youth placed with relative caregivers in obtaining
foster care benefits, and further expands eligibility for the
receipt of an infant supplement. Specifically, this bill:
AB 423
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1)Requires counties, immediately upon placing a child who has
been removed from his or her home into the home of a relative,
to initiate an application for California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) assistance on behalf of the
child.
2)Requires county welfare departments, at the same time the
CalWORKs application is initiated, to evaluate and approve or
deny the relative's home for purposes of Aid to Families with
Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) eligibility.
3)Requires counties, in cases where a child is found to be
ineligible for AFDC-FC, to initiate and complete an
application and determine eligibility for the Approved
Relative Caregiver Funding Option (ARC) Program, where
applicable. States that ARC program payments shall begin
immediately upon determination that a child is not eligible
for AFDC-FC.
4)States that the application date for AFDC-FC, ARC, or CalWORKs
benefits shall be the date the child was placed with the
relative.
5)Requires a county social worker or eligibility worker to
explain the eligibility requirements and benefit amounts for
AFDC-FC, CalWORKs, and the ARC program to a relative who has
requested placement of a child, and to explain any actions the
relative could take to affect the child's eligibility for
those programs.
6)Entitles a teen parent who is detained or placed in the home
of a relative caregiver to an infant supplement.
AB 423
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7)Requires the county to screen every youth who is in foster
care and who has been determined to be ineligible for AFDC-FC
benefits for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program
eligibility, and to submit an SSI application on behalf of a
youth if potentially eligible.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Potentially major ongoing state costs (GF*) to immediately
initiate applications and determine eligibility for AFDC-FC,
CalWORKs, or ARC program benefits for foster children placed
with relative caregivers.
2)Ongoing potentially significant increase in AFDC-FC, CalWORKs,
and ARC payments due to mandating eligibility for aid from the
date of placement. Every one additional month of aid for 8,500
relative placements could cost in the range of $2.9 million to
$7.3 million (GF*) depending on whether the county has opted
into the ARC program.
3)Potentially significant ongoing state costs for CWDs to
provide an explanation of the eligibility requirements and
benefit amounts of the programs to relative caregivers.
Assuming 30 minutes of social worker time for 8,500 relative
placements would cost about $325,000 (GF*).
4)Potentially significant ongoing state costs of about $235,000
(GF*) for CWDs to screen for SSI eligibility, assuming 30
minutes of social worker time. As existing law requires
counties to screen for SSI for foster youth between the age of
16 and 17 years, no additional costs are assumed for this
age group.
5)Potentially significant ongoing state costs of about $250,000
(GF*) to provide the infant supplement of $411 per month to an
estimated 50 cases statewide.
AB 423
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*Pursuant to Proposition 30 (November 2012) any legislation
enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of
increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for
programs or levels of service mandated by realignment (including
child welfare services and foster care) only apply to local
agencies to the extent that the state provides annual funding
for the cost increase.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Foster children are some
of the most vulnerable in our state. It is vitally important
that we do everything we can to help them succeed. The ARC
program is an important step forward in making sure that
relative caregivers are given the same funding as
nonrelatives, but not all counties have opted into the
program. In counties that don't opt in, those children who do
not qualify for federal foster care benefits are still
eligible to receive CalWORKs, but often their relative
caregivers do not understand how to navigate the system in
order to ensure the benefits these children are entitled to.
[This bill] clarifies procedures and application requirements
for counties that opt into the ARC program, as well requiring
counties that do not opt into the program to screen foster
children in relative placements to see if they qualify for
CalWORKs funding."
2)Background: When a child is removed from his or her home,
placement with a relative is often favored. Like other foster
care providers, relative caregivers are eligible to receive
certain benefits on behalf of children in order to provide for
their support; however, eligibility rules differ for relatives
in comparison to nonrelatives.
AB 423
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For nonrelative caregivers providing care for a child who does
not meet federal income limits, there is a state-only AFDC-FC
option available, with rates equal to those of the federal
program. This option is not available to relative caregivers,
however. Non-federally-eligible relative caregivers can
instead apply for CalWORKs for the child, which offers a
benefit significantly lower than that provided through the
basic federal or state-funded foster care rate. The 2014 basic
foster care rate for a 12-year-old is $800, while the CalWORKs
maximum aid payment for that child is $369 in a high-cost
county.
Established in 2014, the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding
Option (ARC) Program uses state funds to provide the basic
foster care payment to foster children placed in the homes of
relatives. The ARC program is optional for counties, and 35
counties have opted in thus far.
The ARC program, however, does not provide certain components
included in AFDC-FC foster care benefits, including an infant
supplement for parenting foster youth.
3)Prior
Legislation:
AB 423
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a) AB 1882 (Cooley), 2014, was similar to this bill. It
was held on Senate Appropriations Committee's Suspense
File.
b) SB 855 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter
29, Statutes of 2014, among other things, established the
ARC program.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081