BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 492|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 492
Author: Gonzalez (D) and Gomez (D), et al.
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 5/10/16
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS: 7/0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 64-9, 1/28/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services
SOURCE: Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
DIGEST: This bill provides a $50 per month diaper benefit for
every child 2 years of age or younger in the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) program who is
enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent
participating in welfare-to-work (WTW) beginning October 1,
2020. It requires that the diaper benefit be issued to
participants through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT)
system. This bill also specifies that the diaper benefit is not
income for purposes of determining CalWORKS eligibility or
benefits.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
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1)Establishes in Federal law the Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families (TANF) program to provide assistance to needy
families so that children may be cared for in their own homes
or in the homes of relatives, and to end the dependence on
government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and
marriage. (45 CFR 260.2)
2)Establishes the rights and liabilities of consumers as well as
the responsibilities of all participants in electronic funds
transfer activities under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer
Act. (15 USC 1693, et seq.)
Existing state law:
1)Establishes the CalWORKs program, administered by California
Department of Social Services (CDSS), to provide cash
benefits, employment training and other supports to low-income
families through a combination of state and county funds and
federal funds through the TANF block grant. (WIC 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, based on family size and county
of residence. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)
3)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)
4)Requires necessary supportive services be made available to
every CalWORKs participant in the WTW program in order to
participate in the assigned program activity or to accept
employment, as specified. Requires that those supportive
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services include child care, transportation costs, ancillary
expenses, as defined, personal counseling and case management,
if the county provides it. (WIC 11323.2)
5)Establishes in the EBT Act a system for the distribution and
use of public assistance benefits and requires EBT access to
be provided through automated teller machines (ATMs),
point-of-sale devices and other devices that accept EBT
transactions. (WIC 10072, et seq.)
6)Sets standards of operation for licensed child care providers.
(CCR, Title 22, 101151, et seq.)
7)Requires that infants in licensed care centers shall be kept
clean and dry at all times; the infant care center shall
ensure that the infant has sufficient changes of clothing and
diapers so that his/her clothing and diapers can be clean and
dry at all times; and each infant's clothing and diapers shall
be changed as often as necessary to ensure that the infant is
clean and dry at all times. (CCR Title 22, 101428 (b))
This bill:
1)Adds a diaper benefit in the amount of $50 per month for
diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in
child care as a supportive service for a parent participating
WTW, commencing October 1, 2020.
2)Requires that the diaper benefit may be used by the
participant only to purchase diapers.
3)Requires that the diaper benefit shall be issued to
participants through an EBT system commencing October 1, 2020,
as specified.
4)Requires that the diaper benefit shall not be considered
income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or
benefits.
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5)Permits the diaper benefit to be implemented through a
contract or subcontract, including extensions of that contract
or subcontract, that results from a request for proposal or
bid that occurred prior to the effective date of this bill,
but not if implementation violates the specific terms of the
contract or the Agreement on Government Procurement of the
World Trade Organization.
Background
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 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs
(typically one parent and two children) is $497. These funds
are provided to help families meet basic needs, such as rent,
clothing, utility bills, food, and other items. Per the
2016-2017 Governor's budget, the average monthly grant for a
CalWORKs household is $497.35 and the maximum aid payment for a
family of three is $704, or 42 percent of Federal Poverty Level.
According to recent data from CDSS, around 497,000 families will
rely on CalWORKs in Fiscal Year 2016-17. The program serves
more than one million children. Nearly 60 percent of cases
include children 6 years old or younger, and about 12 percent of
cases include children younger than one year old.
Child Care. Child care is among the supportive services
available to participants in the CalWORKs WTW program.
Regulatory standards for licensed child care centers are set
forth in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, which
includes a mandate that child care center shall ensure each
infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that
each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as
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necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at
all times. According to The Diaper Bank, most licensed child
care providers require the parent to provide sufficient diapers
to keep a child clean and dry as a condition of attendance.
Cost of Diapers. According to the National Diaper Bank Network,
infants require up to 12 diapers per day and toddlers require
about 8 diapers per day. The Network also reports that
disposable diapers cost $70 to $80 per month per baby and one in
three families struggles to purchase diapers. Currently, no
state or federal child safety-net program allocates dollars
specifically for the purchase of diapers, per the Network.
The Diaper Bank, a different organization, reports that most
licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers.
Additionally, for sanitary reasons, coin-operated Laundromats
often don't allow customers to wash cloth diapers. According to
the Diaper Bank, most licensed child care centers require
parents and caregivers to provide a steady supply of disposable
diapers. The Diaper Bank also reports that low-income parents
cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they
cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at childcare centers.
Without access to daycare, parents are less able to attend work
or school on a consistent basis.
A 2013 study published in the journal, Pediatrics, concluded
that unmet diaper need was an issue of medical concern.
According to the study, emerging research suggests indicators of
material hardship are increasingly important to child health.
The study supports this premise with the suggestion that an
adequate supply of diapers may prove a tangible way of reducing
parenting stress, a critical factor influencing child health and
development. CDSS estimates this bill would impact approximately
26,000 CalWORKs children per month.
Use of EBT cards to Distribute Public Assistance. CalFresh
recipients are distributed funds for food benefits through an
EBT system, which allows recipients to access funds at
point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and other electronic fund transfer
devices. EBT cards look similar to ATM debit cards, and are
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swiped through the same machines using magnetic strips to
transfer information. While California's EBT system was designed
to deliver CalFresh benefits, all of California's 58 counties
also deliver either CalWORKs and/or General Assistance benefits
through the EBT cards.
According to CDSS, in 2013 (the most recent time for which data
was available) there were 35.5 million EBT transactions. Of
that, 17 million transactions were used for direct purchases,
2.5 million were for cash back only from a purchase of service
location and nearly 5.5 million transactions were purchases with
cash back. According to the CDSS Internet Web site, EBT food and
cash aid benefits can be redeemed at more than 80,000 locations
in California.
In 2010, the federal Department of the Treasury mandated that
federal benefit payments such as social security, veterans'
benefits and others be delivered through an electronic transfer.
Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture is
requiring that benefits for the WIC program, which is a
nutrition assistance program for low-income pregnant,
breastfeeding and post-partum women and children under age five
who are at nutritional risk, must be issued via EBT cards by
October 1, 2020. California's Department of Public Health (DPH)
has begun the process of developing the information technology
systems and the policies necessary to meet this federal mandate.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1516 (Gonzalez, 2014) would have provided CalWORKs
recipients an $80 per month young child special needs
assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for every
child age 2 years of age or younger in the assistance unit.
This bill did was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1614 (Stone, Chapter 720, 2014) required users of EBT cards
to be provided access to transaction history via toll-free
telephone hotline and Internet Web sites, among other methods.
This bill required users of EBT cards to be informed of where
they can use their cards to withdraw funds without fees, and
other information regarding fees. This bill also specified that
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CDSS is prohibited from being held liable for authorizing a
direct deposit of child support payments into an account that is
not a qualifying account.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to an analysis prepared by the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill would have the following fiscal effect:
Beginning fiscal year 2020-21, ongoing costs to CDSS in the
range of $14-18 million per year for a $50 voucher for
children in CalWORKs under age 3. Currently, approximately
26,000 children in CalWORKS are under age 3 and would be
eligible for benefits under this bill. It is unknown whether
the caseload that would be impacted by this bill would
increase or decrease significantly in 2020 and following
years.
Minor one-time state costs for updating an EBT system to
deliver the diaper benefit.
Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for
administering the diaper benefit.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (source)
Access Women's Health Justice
ACT for Women and Girls
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
American Academy of Pediatrics
Baby2Baby
Black Women for Wellness
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California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Primary Care Association
Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of
California, Berkeley, School of Law
Common Sense Kids Action
Courage Campaign
Forward Together
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
National Diaper Bank Network
NARAL Pro-Choice California
Parent Voices California
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest
Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura, & San Luis Obispo
Counties
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
San Diego Hunger Coalition
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Starting Over, Inc.
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Women's Foundation of California
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
California Department of Social Services
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Coalition of
California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc. "For low-income
parents trying to stay employed or in school, diaper need is a
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potential crisis on any given day. Not being able to leave a
young child in daycare because of insufficient diaper supply can
disrupt a parent's job, possibly resulting in workplace
discipline. A study available from the National Institutes of
Health has documented access to childcare as the number one
barrier to employment for single mothers. Yet, the food
assistance and health care programs that are crucial to helping
California's struggling families provide no relief for diaper
need?. Knowing that diaper need is a barrier to childcare, it is
easy to see how the high price of diapers could have a big cost
to the success of CalWORKs. AB 492 will help to keep children
and parents healthy, and keep parents on track with their work
plans by increasing access to childcare."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: CDSS writes, "In each of the Fiscal
Years' 2013-14 and 2014-15 budget, CalWORKs maximum grant
amounts were raised by five percent, for a cumulative increase
of 10 percent. Further, given the ongoing General Fund costs of
approximately $15.4 million per year that would result from this
bill, it is appropriate that this measure be considered along
with recent budget augmentation and other CalWORKs proposals
recently approved or currently pending in the Legislature.
Providing what equates to an additional increase to CalWORKs
grants for families with young children should instead be
carefully considered as part of a comprehensive analysis of
potential unmet needs facing CalWORKs families, and the most
effective means to address families in deep poverty."
Department of Finance writes, "Finance opposes this bill because
it expands the current level of services and supports required
in the CalWORKs program, which is estimated to increase annual
General Fund costs by $15 million at a minimum. Increased
program costs would place pressure on the state's budget, which
remains precariously balanced after funding existing
obligations."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 64-9, 1/28/16
AYES: Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
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Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Beth Gaines,
Harper, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Gallagher, Grove, Kim, Mathis,
Steinorth
Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/15/16 20:01:54
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