BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1790


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          1790 (Weber) - As Amended April 20, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          Yes


          SUMMARY:


          This bill prohibits sanctions for adult California Work  
          Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program  
          recipients who are meeting federal work requirements.  
          Specifically, this bill:


          1)Requires that an adult CalWORKs recipient who meets the  








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            minimum average per-week federal welfare-to-work participation  
            requirements is deemed to be in compliance with state CalWORKs  
            welfare-to-work requirements, as specified.


          2)Requires that necessary supportive services be provided to  
            recipients meeting federal welfare-to-work requirements, as  
            specified.


          3)Prohibits sanctioning of adults who are meeting federal work  
            participation but who fail or refuse to comply with specified  
            CalWORKs program requirements, as specified. 


          4)Prohibits the provisions of this bill from entitling a person  
            to a corrective payment, as specified, prior to the effective  
            date of those provisions.


          5)Requires the provisions of this bill to be implemented by the  
            Department of Social Services (DSS) via all-county letter or  
            similar instruction issued no later than January 1, 2018, as  
            specified.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Unknown, but not likely significant impacts to DSS for  
            increased grant amounts and required supportive services.  
            Approximately 2,200 CalWORKs recipients meeting federal work  
            requirements were sanctioned last year, with an average  
            monthly grant reduction of $120. The bill does not require  
            counties to actively seek out these recipients and it is  
            unlikely the entire caseload would report their status to the  
            county.  If from one percent to ten percent of the recipients  
            had their sanctions removed, statewide grant costs would  
            increase by $32,000 to $317,000 annually.








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          2)Unknown, but likely minor costs to counties, potentially  
            reimbursable, to arrange for necessary supportive services for  
            any client who is entitled as a result of no longer being  
            sanctioned.


          





          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  According to the author, "This bill would prohibit  
            the imposition of financial sanctions against a family  
            receiving the CalWORKs program when adults in the family are  
            meeting the federal work participation requirement.  This bill  
            streamlines the process between the federal work participation  
            requirement and the CalWORKs program and ensures families are  
            not penalized." 


          2)Sanctions for noncompliance.  If a CalWORKs participant fails  
            or refuses to comply with program requirements without good  
            cause, he or she may be subject to financial sanctions which  
            involve removing his or her portion of aid from the CalWORKs  
            grant received by the household.  Reasons an individual may be  
            sanctioned include not agreeing to a welfare-to-work plan, not  
            showing satisfactory progress in a welfare-to-work activity,  
            or quitting or refusing a job without sufficient reason.   
            Participants facing potential sanction have the opportunity to  
            claim good cause or enter into a compliance plan; failure to  
            comply with that plan or show good cause results in sanction.   
            In Federal Fiscal Year 2014, the average CalWORKs monthly  
            grant for a single-parent-headed household was $519, compared  








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            to an average grant of $399 for a sanctioned (no aided adult)  
            household.  





            This bill will exempt a recipient from sanction for failure or  
            refusal to comply with welfare-to-work program requirements  
            without the recipient engaging in a compliance plan or  
            otherwise having to cure the sanction. 


          





          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081