BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 2057 (Mark Stone) - CalFresh:  victims of domestic violence
          
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          |Version: May 27, 2016           |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 4 - 0     |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: August 1, 2016    |Consultant: Debra Cooper        |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 2057 would authorize a CalFresh recipient who is  
          resident of, or an individual on a waiting list to get into, a  
          shelter for battered women and children to be entitled to  
          expedited CalFresh services and exempt them from mandatory  
          employment and training requirements. This bill would also add  
          domestic violence shelters to list the of locations where the  
          Department of Social Services (DSS) is required to distribute  
          CalFresh materials.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Potentially significant increase in CalFresh benefits and  
            state-reimbursable administration costs. (Federal/GF)


           Unknown, but likely significant administrative costs to DSS to  
            develop materials and provide information on CalFresh  
            expedited services to domestic violence shelters. (Federal/GF)







          AB 2057 (Mark Stone)                                   Page 1 of  
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           Approximately $100,000 to DSS for IT modifications to  
            accommodate new eligibility criteria. (Federal/GF)


           Unknown, but potentially significant reimbursable mandate  
            costs to counties to provide information and annual training  
            to domestic violence shelter operators on CalFresh application  
            procedures and services. 


          Background:  California provides nutritional benefits to approximately 4.4  
          million people through the CalFresh program. CalFresh benefits  
          are funded entirely by the federal government through the USDA's  
          SNAP program, which provides food benefits to eligible  
          households nationwide. The maximum gross income allowed to be  
          eligible is 130% of the federal poverty level. The average  
          monthly benefit for a CalFresh recipient in 2014 was $141.99 per  
          month, or $4.73 per day, according to the USDA.
          According to the California Office of Emergency Services, 20,438  
          domestic violence survivors and children sought emergency  
          shelter in 2014. According to the author, "escaping an abusive  
          relationship is not only difficult but can also be dangerous for  
          domestic violence victims? 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." 


          Currently, CalFresh recipients and applicants can obtain  
          expedited service if the household has less than $150 in monthly  
          gross income and $100 or less in liquid resources, has migrant  
          or seasonal farm workers who are destitute, or the combined  
          monthly gross income and liquid resources are less than the  
          household monthly rent or mortgage and utilities. Expedited  
          CalFresh benefits are made available no later than the third  
          calendar day following the date the application was filed. 









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          Federal law requires that California must have an Employment and  
          Training (E&T) Program to assist recipients of CalFresh benefits  
          in gaining skills, training, work, and experience that increases  
          their ability to obtain regular employment. Counties have the  
          discretion about whether to offer the program to non-assisted  
          CalFresh clients. The federal government provides for a waiver  
          from this work requirement under certain specified conditions.  
          California was recently granted an extension of its current  
          waiver and that waiver is set to expire on December 31, 2017. If  
          California's statewide waiver application is denied in part or  
          in whole for 2018 and future years, mandatory participation in  
          CalFresh E&T for populations that are not otherwise exempt would  
          apply. 




          Proposed Law:  
            This bill would:
           Require DSS to develop CalFresh information on expedited  
            services, as specified, for victims of domestic violence.
           Add domestic violence shelters to the list of locations where  
            information regarding CalFresh expedited service is required  
            to be distributed.
           Require each county human services agency to offer annual  
            training on CalFresh application procedures to domestic  
            violence shelter operators, to include eligibility criteria  
            and specific information regarding the eligibility of victims  
            of domestic violence.
           Require each human services agency to provide domestic  
            violence shelters with a supply of CalFresh applications used  
            to request expedited CalFresh services, if requested by the  
            shelter.
           Require that 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 be  
            entitled to receive expedited CalFresh benefits as a separate  
            household, to the extent permitted by federal law,  
            regulations, waivers, and directives.
           Exempt CalFresh recipients who are victims of domestic  
            violence from the CalFresh Employment and Training Program.









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          Related  
          Legislation:  SB 134 (Hueso, Chapter 283, Statutes of 2013)  
          requires participating counties to exempt from the CalFresh E&T  
          program, a veteran who has been honorably discharged from the  
          United Stated Armed Forces.


          Staff  
          Comments:  The CalFresh E&T exemption would only impact domestic  
          violence victims who do not have a dependent. Under SNAP,  
          able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) are eligible for  
          benefits for only three months within a 36-month period unless  
          they participate in an E&T program. Existing law requires DSS to  
          seek a statewide waiver from the ABAWD work requirement. This  
          statewide waiver has been sought and granted every year since  
          2008. In the event that California is not approved for the  
          waiver after the current waiver expires, work requirements will  
          apply to the ABAWD population, including victims of domestic  
          violence who do not have a dependent.


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