BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 608
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
608 (Gordon) - As Introduced February 24, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill adds specific information about school-based nutrition
programs and other programs intended to serve children to the
information counties are required to provide to households
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applying for CalFresh benefits. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a county human services agency to compile a list of
emergency and supplemental food providers, including local
child feeding and summer feeding programs, and requires that
list to be updated with information the county receives from
emergency and supplemental food assistance providers, cities,
school districts, summer lunch providers, the State Department
of Education, and the California Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Program.
2)Requires that list to be made available to households applying
for CalFresh and deletes the requirement for households to
receive the information only upon request.
3)Requires the county human services agency to inform households
applying for CalFresh that if the household is certified for
CalFresh, any child under age five in the household is
income-eligible for the WIC Program, and that all children in
the household are directly certified for the National School
Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program without further
application.
4)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to inform all
CalFresh households annually, prior to the end of the school
year, about the summer meal program, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Likely minor state-reimbursable local costs (GF) for counties to
update their emergency food provider lists and provide
information to applicant families with children.
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COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill seeks to make existing child nutrition
programs more accessible to families with children by
guaranteeing they receive information about existing programs,
including application and eligibility requirements, upon seeking
food assistance benefits at the county CalFresh office.
The author states, "According to the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, approximately 81% of households applying for
CalFresh have children. Children in households determined
eligible for CalFresh are also eligible for the National School
Lunch Program. However, the application for CalFresh
eligibility can take up to 30 days to process and, in the
meantime, a child can go hungry. Additionally, many families do
not know that their CalFresh certification can qualify them for
the school meal program or how to apply for the program if their
child is in need of a school day meal before their CalFresh
eligibility is determined. This is especially true when a
family's change in circumstance, like loss of job or family
illness, makes the family newly eligible after the school year
begins. This bill would better inform households applying for
CalFresh of resources. These important changes would provide
struggling families with the ability to reduce the incidences of
child hunger."
Background: CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the
federal government through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP), and the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) sets specific eligibility requirements for SNAP programs
across the United States, including a gross and net income test,
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work requirements, and other documentation requirements. The
maximum allowable gross income is 130% of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL). Households with elderly or disabled members are
not subject to gross income criteria but must have a net monthly
income at or below 100% of the FPL. Other households must meet
both gross and net monthly income tests. CalFresh is
administered locally by county human services agencies, and the
federal, state, and county governments share in the cost of
administration of the program.
Public and non-profit private schools can choose to participate
in the National School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs.
Both programs provide schools with cash subsidies from the USDA
for each meal served. Children from families who meet federal
SNAP guidelines are eligible for free meals through the national
school meals programs. If their household incomes are between
130% and 185% of the poverty level, they are eligible for
reducedprice meals, for which students can be charged no more
than 40 cents.
Prior Legislation. AB 2115 (Bradford), 2014, was substantially
similar to this bill. It was held on the Senate Appropriations
Committees Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 608
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