BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2151


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          Date of Hearing:  March 29, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES


                                Susan Bonilla, Chair


          AB 2151  
          (Chu) - As Introduced February 17, 2016


          SUBJECT:  CalWORKs:  special diet or food preparation needs  
          allowance


          SUMMARY:  Adopts a special diet or food preparation needs  
          allowance for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to  
          Kids (CalWORKs) participants, and modifies the current CalWORKs  
          allowance for recurring special needs.  


          Specifically, this bill:


          1)Removes, under the existing recurring special needs allowance,  
            the requirement that a physician recommend a recipient receive  
            a special diet allowance as a condition of receipt.


          2)Includes food preparation needs in the definition of the  
            recurring special needs allowance.


          3)Entitles CalWORKs participants to a special diet or food  
            preparation needs allowance of $20, or actual verified  
            expenses, provided need is verified, as specified, and  
            verification has been signed by a licensed physician, dentist,  








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            dietician, nutritionist, or other qualified health  
            practitioner.


          4)Requires the special diet or food preparation allowance be  
            provided in the form of a supplemental food benefit.


          5)Stipulates that no appropriation shall be made for purposes of  
            implementing these provisions, as specified.


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for  
            Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and  
            welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in  
            California, provides that TANF funds for welfare-to-work  
            services are administered through the CalWORKs program.  (42  
            U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)


          2)Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to  
            determine eligibility for the program, including net income  
            below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family size and  
            county of residence.  (WIC 11250 et seq.)


          3)Establishes that a needy family be entitled to receive an  
            allowance for recurring special needs not common to a majority  
            of recipients, as specified.  (WIC 11450)


          4)Requires that a physician recommend a special diet for  
            circumstances other than pregnancy.  (WIC 11450)


          5)States the special needs allowance for each family per month  








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            shall not exceed that amount from multiplying the sum of ten  
            dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the family who  
            are eligible for assistance.  (WIC 11450)


          6)Establishes the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Act, and  
            defines the EBT system as the program designed to provide  
            benefits to those eligible to receive public assistance  
            benefits such as CalWORKs and CalFresh.  (WIC 10065 et seq.)


          7)Establishes under federal law the Supplemental Nutrition  
            Assistance Program (SNAP) pursuant to the Food Stamp Act of  
            1964 and establishes, in California statute, the CalFresh  
            program to administer the provision of federal SNAP benefits  
            to families and individuals meeting specified criteria, as  
            specified.  (WIC 18900 et seq.)


          FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.


          COMMENTS:


          CalWORKs:  The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to  
          Kids (CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and  
          employment-related services aimed at moving children out of  
          poverty and helping families meet basic needs.  Federal funding  
          for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy  
          Families (TANF) block grant.  The average 2015-16 monthly cash  
          grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two  
          children) is $506.55, and the maximum monthly grant amount for a  
          family of three, if the family has no other income and lives in  
          a high-cost county, is $704.  According to recent data from the  
          California Department of Social Services, over 497,000 families  
          rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children.  Nearly  
          60% of cases include children under 6 years old.









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          Maximum grant amounts in high-cost counties of $704 per month  
          for a family of three with no other income means $23.46 per day,  
          per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet basic  
          needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and  
          anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for  
          at home and safely remain with their families.  This grant  
          amount puts the annual household income at $8,448 per year, or  
          42% of poverty.  Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2016 show that  
          100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,160 per year.  


          Current law allows, for families demonstrating special needs not  
          common to a majority of CalWORKs recipients (such as unusual  
          costs of transportation or laundry), a monthly $10 allowance for  
          each member of the household who is eligible for assistance.   
          This allowance can also be granted for needs related to special  
          diets, for circumstances other than pregnancy, upon the  
          recommendation of a physician.


          Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT):  EBT is an electronic system  
          that automates the delivery, redemption, and reconciliation of  
          issued public assistance benefits such as CalWORKs.  EBT is also  
          the method for distributing Cal Fresh benefits (formerly known  
          as Food Stamps and currently known federally as Supplemental  
          Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)).  EBT is currently used in  
          all 50 states.  In California, CalWORKs and CalFresh recipients  
          access their benefits via what has been named the Golden State  
          Advantage EBT card.  Like a bank-issued automated teller machine  
          (ATM) card, the cardholder slides this card through a  
          point-of-sale (POS) device, or uses the card at an ATM.


          Need for this bill:  According to the author, "Individuals in  
          low-income households are often more likely to experience  
          chronic conditions such as diabetes, and face significant  
          challenges to balancing the cost of special nutrition needs.  In  
          addition, many Medi-Cal beneficiaries struggle to gain access to  








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          their primary care physicians due to shortage of physicians and  
          lack of transportation.  [This bill] will address this reality  
          by adopting a CalWORKs special foods allowance of $20 a month,  
          issuing the allowance as a food benefit rather than as cash, and  
          permitting verification for the allowance to be signed by  
          qualified health professionals in addition to a physician.   
          Doing so will improve the health of very poor children and  
          parents who face diet-related diseases, while also leveraging  
          downstream savings associated with reduced Medi-Cal expenses,  
          reduced school absences and improved likelihood of achieving  
          self-sufficiency, a core goal of the CalWORKs program."


          Staff comments:  The bill as currently written may cause some  
          confusion upon implementation, as both the current recurring  
          special needs allowance and the proposed special diet or food  
          preparation needs allowance include "special diets" as one  
          permitted use.  However, these two allowances have differing  
          requirements and are offered in different forms (cash benefit  
          versus a food supplement).  This confusion could be avoided by  
          removing reference to "special diets" in the existing recurring  
          special needs diet, and having a supplemental benefit for these  
          needs fall solely under the allowance proposed by this bill.


          Additionally, the bill currently states that food preparation  
          needs shall be covered by the proposed special diet or foods  
          needs allowance; however, this allowance is a supplemental food  
          benefit, and not a cash benefit, and therefore can only be used  
          for the purchase of food.  Making "food preparation needs" an  
          allowable use for the currently existing recurring special needs  
          and removing it from the proposed food supplement would fix this  
          issue.


          Recommended amendments: In order to address the concerns  
          described above, committee staff recommends the following  
          amendments starting on line 34 of page 4 of the bill:









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              30


            (e)(1) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision 


              31


          (a) and Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive  
          an 
              32


          allowance for recurring special needs not common to a majority 
              33


          of recipients. These recurring special needs shall include, but  
          not 
              34


          be limited to,  special diets upon the recommendation of a  
          physician 
               35


           for circumstances other than pregnancy,   or  food preparation  
          needs, 
              36


           as described in paragraph (2),  and unusual costs of  
          transportation, 
              37










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          laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and utilities.  The  
          Except 
               38


           as provided in paragraph (2)  , the recurring special needs  
          allowance 
              39


          for each family per month shall not exceed that amount resulting  

             Pg  
            5  1


          from multiplying the sum of ten dollars ($10) by the number of 
               2


          recipients in the family who are eligible for assistance.
               3


            (2)Each recipient is entitled to a special diet  -related food  
          needs   or food 
                4


           preparation needs  allowance of twenty dollars ($20) per month, 
               5


          or actual verified expenses related to the special diet  -related  
          food needs   or food  
               6


           preparation needs  , whichever is greater. The allowance shall be 








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               7


          provided in the form of a supplemental food benefit upon a  
          county's 
               8


          receipt of verification that a recipient has a special dietary  
          need 
               9


          caused by a permanent or temporary medical condition, other than  

              10


          pregnancy. This verification shall be signed by a licensed 
              11


          physician, dentist, dietician, nutritionist, or other qualified  
          health 
              12


            practitioner.
          








          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:









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          Support


          Alameda County Community Food Bank


          CA4Health


          California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)


          California Association of Food Banks 


          California Catholic Conference


          California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA) 


          California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) 


          California Partnership


          Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (CCWRO)


          Disability Rights Legal Center


          Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano










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          Hunger Action Los Angeles


          Mandella Marketplace


          National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)


          National Associations of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)


          Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles


          Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County


          St. Anthony Foundation


          Western Center on Law and Poverty


          Women's Foundation of California Policy Institute - sponsor 





          Opposition





          None on file.










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          Analysis Prepared by:Kelsy C. Castillo / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089