BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1790 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1790 (Weber) - As Amended April 20, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1790 Page 2 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. AB 1790 Page 3 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 AB 1790 Page 4 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