BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2057
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2057 (Mark Stone) - As Amended April 4, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill establishes an entitlement to CalFresh
expedited services for victims of domestic violence and exempts
them from mandatory employment and training requirements. The
bill further adds domestic violence shelters to the list of
locations where a county human services agency must distribute
CalFresh materials, including information on expedited services,
and requires each county human services agency to offer training
to those shelter operators regarding application procedures and
eligibility requirements for victims of domestic violence.
AB 2057
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown, likely moderate administrative costs (Fed/GF/County)
to the Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop and
provide information on CalFresh expedited services to domestic
violence shelters, including up to $100,000 for IT
modifications to accommodate new eligibility criteria.
2)Unknown, potentially significant reimburseable mandate costs
to counties to provide information and annual training to
domestic violence shelter operators on CalFresh application
procedures and services. Assuming each county spent $2,000 for
this task, statewide costs would be $116,000.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Escaping an abusive
relationship is not only difficult but can also be dangerous
for domestic violence victims. When individuals leave a
domestic violence situation, it can be the most dangerous time
in the relationship. It is important that victims are able to
focus on their safety and the safety of anyone else they may
be taking out of the household. At such a stressful and
dangerous time in their lives, victims should not have to
worry about how they will be able to eat and access their
CalFresh benefits. If victims are on the same CalFresh card
as their partners, they may worry their partners will track
their movements through shared CalFresh accounts. To protect
victims' safety, California must quickly process new CalFresh
accounts for victims so they will be better protected from
their partners and be able to access their benefits without
worry."
2)CalFresh. CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the
federal government through the Supplemental Nutrition
AB 2057
Page 3
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, work requirements, and other documentation
requirements. The maximum allowable gross income is typically
200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). CalFresh is
administered locally by county human services agencies, and
the federal, state, and county governments share in the cost
of administration.
Benefits are available on a monthly basis for food purchase
through an ATM-like electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card.
However, CalFresh benefits cannot be withdrawn in cash at
point-of-sale terminals or at ATM machines. CalFresh benefits
can only be used to purchase food items to be prepared and
consumed at home, as well as seeds and plants that can be
grown at home and produce food. The average monthly benefit
for a CalFresh recipient is $144.35 per month.
According to DSS, certain households may qualify for expedited
services for CalFresh benefits if they meet the following
criteria:
a) Have less than $150 in monthly gross income and liquid
resources of $100 or less; or
b) Contain migrant or seasonal farm workers who are
destitute; or
c) Have a combined monthly gross income and liquid
resources which are less than the household monthly rent or
mortgage and utilities.
AB 2057
Page 4
This bill adds a victim of domestic violence who is currently
a part of a certified household that also contains the abuser,
and who is a resident of, or an individual on a waiting list
to get into, a shelter for battered women and children, to
those qualified to receive expedited CalFresh benefits.
Under existing law, DSS is required to develop and make
available to homeless shelters, among other locations,
CalFresh information on expedited services targeted to the
homeless population. Each county welfare department is
required to annually offer training on CalFresh application
procedures to homeless shelter operators. This bill would
expand these requirements to include victims of domestic
violence and domestic violence shelter operators.
1)CalFresh Employment and Training Program (E&T). The CalFresh
Employment and Training (E&T) Program is California's
employment and training program for Non-assistance CalFresh
applicants and recipients. Non-assistance recipients are
those who receive CalFresh benefits each month but do not
receive a monthly cash grant under the CalWORKs Program.
CalFresh E&T was developed in order to comply with federal
legislation which requires states to established employment
and training programs for persons receiving SNAP benefits.
Participants can be assigned to a variety of activities, which
include job club, job search, workfare, and basic education,
among others. For the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the DSS
estimates a caseload of 1,989,447 for Non-assistance CalFresh
households.
This bill exempts CalFresh recipients who are victims of
domestic violence from the CalFresh Employment and Training
program.
AB 2057
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081