Amended in Assembly April 4, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2058

Introduced by Assembly Member Mayes

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(Principal coauthor: Senator Bates)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow and Mathis)

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February 17, 2016

An act to add Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 11340) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to begin delete CalWORKs. end delete begin insert CalWORKs, and making an appropriation therefor. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2058, as amended, Mayes. begin delete CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program. end delete begin insert CalWORKs: education incentives. end insert

Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal, state, and county funds. Under existing law, a recipient of CalWORKs is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities for a specified number of hours each week as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law authorizes certain welfare-to-work participants to engage in adult basic education in satisfaction of these work requirements.

Existing law establishes the Cal-Learn Program, under which a recipient of CalWORKs aid who is under 19 years of age and who does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent is required to participate in the program as a student attending school on a full-time basis. Existing law provides for a supplement to, or a reduction in, a Cal-Learn participant’s aid grant based on his or her performance in school.

This bill would create the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program to provide CalWORKs recipients with begin delete an end delete begin insert a monthly end insert education begin delete bonus, in an unspecified amount, each month after the attainment of end delete begin insert incentive grant of $100 for attainment of end insert a high school diploma or its equivalent, begin insert $200 for attainment of end insert an associate’s degree, or begin insert $300 for attainment of end insert a bachelor’s degree, if the diploma or degree was earned while the recipient was receiving CalWORKs assistance. begin insert The bill would require the education incentive grant to be provided on an ongoing basis if the recipient meets certain eligibility criteria. end insert The bill would require a recipient, when applying for an education bonus, to submit evidence of completion of the educational program to the county. begin delete The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to develop a process for verifying educational achievement. The bill would establish the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Support Fund, and would provide that moneys in the fund be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to support the program. end delete begin insert The bill would require the county, upon verification of completion of the educational program, to certify that the recipient is eligible for an education incentive grant and ensure that the recipient’s monthly cash grant is increased. end insert By imposing additional administrative duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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Existing law establishes the CalWORKs Recipients Education Program in the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires, to the extent that funding is provided in the annual Budget Act, a community college district to receive funding for purposes of providing special services for CalWORKs recipients, including job placement and workstudy.

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This bill would appropriate $20,000,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to fund services provided under that program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 11340) is
added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:

 

Article 3.7.  CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and
Attainment Program

 

11340.  

(a) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as
the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

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(1) California is expected to spend one hundred thirty-six billion
dollars ($136,000,000,000) on health and human services programs
in 2016, which is by far the largest state budget expenditure, while
total education spending for kindergarten, grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
and higher education programs is less than seventy billion dollars
($70,000,000,000) per year.

(2) California has the fifth largest Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) cash grant in the nation, and the second
largest amongst the 10 largest states, yet poverty remains a
persistent problem.

(3) We must recognize that California’s problems of poverty
and inequality do not stem from a lack of safety net programs.

(4) California needs to invest in programs that elevate people
out of poverty rather than helping people live better in poverty.

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(1) In California’s high-skill economy, it is very difficult to get
a good, middle-class job without vocational education or a college
degree, let alone a high school diploma.

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(2) This is a significant barrier to socioeconomic mobility for
California’s highly vulnerable CalWORKs recipients, because as
many as 65 percent of CalWORKs recipients do not have a high
school education.

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(3) Research has consistently shown that postsecondary
education boosts social mobility, particularly for those at the
bottom of the income distribution scale, and that a parent’s level
of education has positive effects on his or her child’s level of
success into middle adulthood.

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(4) California has the seventh-largest federal Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families cash grant in the nation, and the
second largest among the 10 largest states.

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(5) Poverty remains a persistent problem.

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(5)

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begin insert (6) end insert  This act is intended to provide incentives for CalWORKs
recipients to pursue education, thereby improving the opportunities
and outcomes for adults and children in the CalWORKs program.

11341.  

(a) A CalWORKs recipient may apply to receive an
education begin delete bonus end delete begin insert incentive grant end insert in the following amounts:

(1)  begin delete ____ dollars ($____) end delete begin insert One hundred dollars ($100) end insert per month
for completion of high school or its equivalent.

(2)  begin delete ____ dollars ($____) end delete begin insert Two hundred dollars ($200) end insert per month
for completion of an associate’s degree.

(3)  begin delete ____ dollars ($____) end delete begin insert Three hundred dollars ($300) end insert per
month for completion of a bachelor’s degree.

(b) The amounts listed in subdivision (a) are not cumulative. A
recipient shall begin delete receive end delete begin insert receive, on an ongoing basis, end insert the highest
monthly bonus to which he or she is entitled.

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(c) The amounts listed in subdivision (a) constitute ongoing
adjustments to the recipient’s monthly cash grant.

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11342.  

(a) When applying for an education begin delete bonus, end delete begin insert incentive
grant, end insert a recipient shall submit evidence of completion of the
educational program to the county. A recipient is not eligible unless
begin delete both end delete begin insert all end insert of the following criteria are satisfied:

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(1) The recipient completed an educational program included
in the recipient’s welfare to work plan approved by the county.

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(1)

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begin insert (2) end insert  The recipient begin delete graduated from end delete begin insert completed an educational
program offered by end insert an accredited educational institution.

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(2)

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begin insert (3) end insert  The recipient begin delete attained the diploma or degree end delete begin insert completed the
educational program end insert while receiving CalWORKs assistance.

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(b) The State Department of Social Services shall develop a
process for verifying educational achievement.

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(b) Upon verification of completion of the educational program,
the county shall certify that the recipient is eligible for an education
incentive grant, and shall ensure that the recipient’s monthly cash
grant is increased as prescribed in Section 11341.

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11343.  

The CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and
Attainment Support Fund is hereby established in the State
Treasury. The moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, for the support of CalWORKs Educational
Opportunity and Attainment Program.

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begin insert 11343. end insert   

(a) A CalWORKs recipient who is receiving an
education incentive grant and then ceases to receive CalWORKs
assistance shall not be eligible for the same education incentive
grant if he or she begins receiving CalWORKs assistance in the
future. The recipient is eligible, however, to receive a different
education incentive grant if he or she attains a higher level of
education while receiving CalWORKs assistance.

(b) A CalWORKs recipient is permanently ineligible for an
education incentive grant under all of the following circumstances:

(1) The recipient has exhausted his or her CalWORKs benefits.

(2) The recipient has been sanctioned.

(3) The recipient has committed public assistance fraud, as
described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 11475.2).

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges to fund services
provided under the CalWORKs Recipients Education Program
(Article 5 (commencing with Section 79200) of Chapter 9 of Part
48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code), including, but
not limited to, education and career counseling services,
employment development services, including job development staff
positions, and workstudy positions. end insert

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.