BILL NUMBER: AB 2631 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Santiago
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to CalWORKs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2631, as introduced, Santiago. CalWORKs: housing assistance.
Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a
combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides
cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families.
As part of the CalWORKs program, a homeless family that has used all
available liquid resources in excess of $100 may be eligible for
homeless assistance benefits to pay the costs of temporary shelter.
The CalWORKs program also provides permanent housing assistance to
pay rent or a security deposit, as specified, in order to secure
housing for the family or prevent eviction. Under existing law,
eligibility for homeless assistance is limited to one period of up to
16 consecutive days in a lifetime, and eligibility for permanent
housing assistance is limited to one payment of assistance, subject
to specified exceptions for homelessness caused by domestic violence,
illness, or sudden or unusual circumstances beyond the control of
the family. Existing law authorizes a county to require certain
recipients of homeless assistance to participate in a homelessness
avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility for homeless
assistance benefits.
This bill would increase the duration of homeless assistance
benefits to 30 days and would delete the limitation on the number of
times a recipient may receive homeless assistance or permanent
housing assistance benefits. The bill would also delete the authority
for the county to require a homelessness avoidance case plan as a
condition of eligibility for homeless assistance benefits. Because
this bill would increase the administrative duties of counties, it
would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General
Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would, instead, provide that the continuous
appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the
bill.
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: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11450. (a) (1) (A) Aid shall be paid for each needy family, which
shall include all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible
applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but
shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this
chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding
the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section
11452, the family's income, exclusive of any amounts considered
exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section
11453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period pursuant to
Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then calculated pursuant
to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from the sum specified in the
following table, as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to
Section 11453 and paragraph (2). In no case shall the amount of aid
paid for each month exceed the sum specified in the following table,
as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453
and paragraph (2), plus any special needs, as specified in
subdivisions (c), (e), and (f):
Number
of
eligible
needy
persons
in Maximum
the same home aid
1.............................. $ 326
2.............................. 535
3.............................. 663
4.............................. 788
5.............................. 899
6.............................. 1,010
7.............................. 1,109
8.............................. 1,209
9.............................. 1,306
10 or more...................... 1,403
(B) If, when, and during those times that the United States
government increases or decreases its contributions in assistance of
needy children in this state above or below the amount paid on July
1, 1972, the amounts specified in the above table shall be increased
or decreased by an amount equal to that increase or decrease by the
United States government, provided that no increase or decrease shall
be subject to subsequent adjustment pursuant to Section 11453.
(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted for
cost of living for the 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95,
1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98 fiscal years, and through October 31,
1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base for calculating
any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year thereafter.
Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this
paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of Section 11453.05, and no
further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.
(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified
for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant child who
is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of
pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be paid to one person,
as specified in subdivision (a), if the child and her child, if born,
would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification of
pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid
under this subdivision.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not
include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall
be paid to a pregnant woman for the month in which the birth is
anticipated and for the six-month period immediately prior to the
month in which the birth is anticipated, in the amount that would
otherwise be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if
the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this
chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a condition
of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program is
operative.
(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be
paid to pregnant women qualified for aid under subdivision (a) or (b)
to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the woman and
child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under
this subdivision to a local provider of the Women, Infants, and
Children program. If that payment to pregnant women qualified for aid
under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal law in the
first five months of pregnancy, payments under this subdivision shall
not apply to persons eligible under subdivision (a), except for the
month in which birth is anticipated and for the three-month period
immediately prior to the month in which delivery is anticipated, if
the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this
chapter.
(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there shall
be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as income, an
amount of aid each month that, when added to the child's income, is
equal to the rate specified in Section 11460, 11461, 11462, 11462.1,
or 11463. In addition, the child shall be eligible for special needs,
as specified in departmental regulations.
(e) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a) and
Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an allowance
for recurring special needs not common to a majority of recipients.
These recurring special needs shall include, but not be limited to,
special diets upon the recommendation of a physician for
circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of
transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and
utilities. The recurring special needs allowance for each family per
month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying the sum
of ten dollars ($10) by the number of recipients in the family who
are eligible for assistance.
(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both
exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), with
the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account described in
subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2, the family shall also be
entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring
special needs.
(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs
shall be granted for replacement of clothing and household equipment
and for emergency housing needs other than those needs addressed by
paragraph (2). These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual
circumstances beyond the control of the needy family. The department
shall establish the allowance for each of the nonrecurring
special needs items. The sum of all nonrecurring
special needs provided by this subdivision shall not exceed
six hundred dollars ($600) per event.
(2) (A) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family
seeking shelter when the family is eligible for aid under this
chapter. Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available
to homeless families that are apparently eligible for aid under this
chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the
applicant, or that is otherwise available to the county welfare
department, and the information provided on the application documents
indicate that there would be eligibility for aid under this chapter
if the evidence and information were verified. However, an alien
applicant who does not provide verification of his or her eligible
alien status, or a woman with no eligible children who does not
provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not apparently eligible
for purposes of this section.
(B) A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this
section, when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime
residence; or the family has a primary nighttime residence that is a
supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide
temporary living accommodations; or the family is residing in a
public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also
considered homeless for the purpose of this section if the family has
received a notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall demonstrate
that the eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship as a
result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, and not
other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing
a financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative
assistance is not provided.
(3) (A) (i) A nonrecurring
special needs benefit of sixty-five dollars ($65) a day
shall be available to families of up to four members for the costs of
temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this paragraph.
The fifth and additional members of the family shall each receive
fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum of one hundred
twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare departments may increase
the daily amount available for temporary shelter as necessary to
secure the additional bedspace needed by the family.
(ii) This special needs benefit shall be granted or denied
immediately upon the family's application for homeless assistance,
and benefits shall be available for up to three working days. The
county welfare department shall verify the family's homelessness
within the first three working days and if the family meets the
criteria of questionable homelessness established by the department,
the county welfare department shall refer the family to its early
fraud prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit,
for assistance in the verification of homelessness within this
period.
(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit
shall be extended for a period of time which, when added to the
initial benefits provided, does not exceed a total of 16
30 calendar days. This extension of benefits
shall be done in increments of one week and shall be based upon
searching for permanent housing which shall be documented on a
housing search form, good cause, or other circumstances defined by
the department. Documentation of a housing search shall be required
for the initial extension of benefits beyond the three-day limit and
on a weekly basis thereafter as long as the family is receiving
temporary shelter benefits. Good cause shall include, but is not
limited to, situations in which the county welfare department has
determined that the family, to the extent it is capable, has made a
good faith but unsuccessful effort to secure permanent housing while
receiving temporary shelter benefits.
(B) (i) A nonrecurring special needs benefit
for permanent housing assistance is available to pay for last month's
rent and security deposits when these payments are reasonable
conditions of securing a residence, or to pay for up to two months of
rent arrearages, when these payments are a reasonable condition of
preventing eviction.
(ii) The last month's rent or monthly arrearage portion of the
payment (I) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family's total monthly
household income without the value of CalFresh benefits or special
needs benefit for a family of that size and (II) shall only be made
to families that have found permanent housing costing no more than 80
percent of the family's total monthly household income without the
value of CalFresh benefits or special needs benefit for a family of
that size.
(iii) However, if the county welfare department determines that a
family intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing housing
costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate
circumstances, set aside the condition specified in subclause (II) of
clause (ii).
(C) The nonrecurring special needs benefit for
permanent housing assistance is also available to cover the standard
costs of deposits for utilities which are necessary for the health
and safety of the family.
(D) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance shall
be issued no later than one working day from the time that a family
presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing. If an
applicant family provides evidence of the availability of permanent
housing before the county welfare department has established
eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare department
shall complete the eligibility determination so that the denial of
or payment for permanent housing assistance is issued within one
working day from the submission of evidence of the availability of
permanent housing, unless the family has failed to provide all of the
verification necessary to establish eligibility for aid under this
chapter.
(E) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility
for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing
assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to one period
of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and one
payment of permanent assistance. Any family that includes a parent
or nonparent caretaker relative living in the home who has previously
received temporary or permanent homeless assistance at any time on
behalf of an eligible child shall not be eligible for further
homeless assistance. Any person who applies for homeless assistance
benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter benefit of up
to 16 consecutive days is available only once in a lifetime, with
certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive use of the
benefit constitutes permanent exhaustion of the temporary benefit.
(ii)
(E) (i) A family that becomes
homeless as a direct and primary result of a state or federally
declared natural disaster shall be eligible for temporary and
permanent homeless assistance.
(iii)
(ii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and
permanent homeless housing assistance
when homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence by a
spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or mental illness that is
medically verified that shall not include a diagnosis of alcoholism,
drug addiction, or psychological stress; or, the uninhabitability of
the former residence caused by sudden and unusual circumstances
beyond the control of the family including natural catastrophe, fire,
or condemnation. These circumstances shall be verified by a
third-party governmental or private health and human services agency,
except that domestic violence may also be verified by a sworn
statement by the victim, as provided under Section 11495.25.
Homeless assistance payments based on these specific circumstances
may not be received more often than once in any 12-month period. In
addition, if the domestic violence is verified by a sworn statement
by the victim, the homeless assistance payments shall be limited to
two periods of not more than 16 consecutive calendar days of
temporary assistance and two payments of permanent assistance. A
county may require that a recipient of homeless assistance benefits
who qualifies under this paragraph for a second time in a 24-month
period participate in a homelessness avoidance case plan as a
condition of eligibility for homeless assistance benefits.
The county welfare department shall immediately inform recipients who
verify domestic violence by a sworn statement of the availability of
domestic violence counseling and services, and refer those
recipients to services upon request.
(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic
violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness
avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii), the plan shall include
the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.
(v)
(iii) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based
on domestic violence pursuant to clause (iii)
(ii) has previously received homeless avoidance services based
on domestic violence, the county shall review whether services were
offered to the recipient and consider what additional services would
assist the recipient in leaving the domestic violence situation.
(vi)
(iv) The county welfare department shall report
necessary data to the department through a statewide homeless
assistance payment indicator system, as requested by the department,
regarding all recipients of aid under this paragraph.
(F) The county welfare departments, and all other entities
participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the right in
their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the permanent
housing. However, if an emergency requires the family to move within
the 12-month period specified in subparagraph (E), the family shall
be allowed to use any refunds received from its deposits to meet the
costs of moving to another residence.
(G) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent
housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting
these payments.
(H) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special needs
benefit for homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the
current year's Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance
and appropriating the funds therefor.
(I) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless the
provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or
person in the business of renting properties who has a history of
renting properties.
(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring
the uniform statewide application of this section.
(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of
aid through the standardized application form that these benefits are
available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to apply
for the funds quickly and efficiently.
(i) (A) (1)
Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts payable
to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not constitute part
of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision (a).
(B)
(2) The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to
Section 11453.1 shall not constitute income to recipients of aid
under this section.
(j) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing with
Section 11385) there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount
considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which, when
added to the child's income, is equal to the rate specified in
Sections 11364 and 11387.
(k) (1) A county shall implement the semiannual reporting
requirements in accordance with Chapter 501 of the Statutes of 2011
no later than October 1, 2013.
(2) Upon completion of the implementation described in paragraph
(1), each county shall provide a certificate to the director
certifying that semiannual reporting has been implemented in the
county.
(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a
county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this
section.
(l) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.
SEC. 2. No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of this act.
SEC. 3. 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.