BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 23|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 23
Author: Mitchell (D)
Introduced:12/1/14
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 3/24/15
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-1, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SUBJECT: CalWORKs: eligibility
SOURCES: County Welfare Directors Association
UDW/AFSCME Local 3930
Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST: This bill repeals the state's Maximum Family Grant
rule, which prohibits aid to a child born into a family
receiving CalWORKs benefits if the child was conceived after the
family began receiving aid; prohibits the denial of aid for that
child; and expressly prohibits the state from requiring an
applicant or recipient to disclose whether they were a victim of
incest or rape, their method of contraception or whether a
family used contraception, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing law:
1)Establishes the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program, which permits states to implement the
program under a state plan, (42 USC § 601 et seq.) and
establishes in state law the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids program (CalWORKs) to provide cash
assistance and other social services for low-income families
through the TANF program. Under CalWORKs, each county provides
assistance through a combination of state, county and federal
funds. (WIC 10530)
2)Establishes guidelines for determining a family's maximum aid
payment, including all eligible family members, as well as the
level of aid to be paid, as specified. (WIC 11450)
3)Prohibits an increase in aid based on an increase in the
number of needy persons in a family due to the birth of an
additional child, if the family has received aid continuously
for the 10 months prior to the birth of the child, as
specified. (WIC 11450.04 (a))
4)Exempts the prohibition in #3 above in the following
circumstances:
a) Any child who was conceived as a result of an act of
rape, as defined in Sections 261 and 262 of the Penal Code,
if the rape was reported to a law enforcement agency,
medical or mental health professional or social services
agency prior to, or within three months after, the birth of
the child.
b) Any child who was conceived as a result of an incestuous
relationship if the relationship was reported to a medical
or mental health professional or a law enforcement agency
or social services agency prior to, or within three months
after, the birth of the child or if paternity has been
established.
c) Any child who was conceived as a result of contraceptive
failure if the parent was using an intrauterine device, a
Norplant, or the sterilization of either parent.
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d) If the family does not receive aid for two consecutive
months during the 10-months prior to the child's birth.
e) Children born on or before November 1, 1995.
f) Any child who would qualify for the maximum family grant
cap if the family did not receive aid for 24 consecutive
months while the child was living with the family.
g) Any child conceived when either parent was a non-needy
caretaker relative.
h) Any child who is no longer living in the same home with
either parent. (WIC 11450.04 (b) et seq.)
5)Requires 100 percent of any child support payment received for
a child who is born under the maximum family grant (MFG) cap -
and therefore is not the recipient of aid - to be paid to the
family. Additionally, prohibits any such child support payment
from being counted as income in calculating CalWORKs benefits.
(WIC 11450.04 (e))
6)Requires each county welfare department to notify recipients
of the MFG provisions in writing at the time of application
and recertification, as specified. (WIC 11450.04 (f))
7)Requires the state Department of Social Services (CDSS) to
seek appropriate federal waivers to implement the MFG limit
and associated conditions, as specified, and directs CDSS to
implement the rule on the date the waiver is received by
declaration of the department's director. (WIC 11450.04 (g))
This bill:
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations that:
a) Scientific research has demonstrated that young children
living in deep poverty experience lifelong cognitive
impairments limiting their ability to be prepared for and
succeed in school.
b) Academic research has documented an increase in missed
days of school and in visits to hospital emergency rooms by
children who live in deep poverty.
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c) The MFG rule was adopted to limit the amount of time a
family could receive assistance and to limit the amount of
assistance received. The rule was passed before
implementation of welfare reform. At the time the rule was
adopted, there was no limit on the length of time a family
could receive aid, no work requirements and the benefits
provided were approximately 80 percent of the federal
poverty level (FPL).
d) Since the rule's implementation, lifetime limits on aid
and work requirements have been enacted in order to receive
a maximum benefit of approximately 40 percent of the FPL.
e) The MFG rule makes poor children poorer, reducing the
income of families with infants to less than 30 percent of
the FPL.
f) This legislation is necessary to protect infants born to
families receiving CalWORKs from experiencing lifelong
cognitive impairments due to the toxic stress of deep
poverty and to ready those children for participation in
California's public school system.
g) This legislation is necessary to protect the
reproductive and privacy rights of all applicants for, and
recipients of, aid under the CalWORKs program.
2)Prohibits an applicant for, or recipient of, CalWORKs aid from
being required as a condition of eligibility to do any of the
following:
a) Divulge that any member of the assistance unit is a
victim of rape or incest.
b) Share confidential medical records related to any member
of the assistance unit's rape or incest.
c) Use contraception, choose a particular method of
contraception, or divulge the method of contraception that
any member of the assistance unit uses.
3)Prohibits an applicant for or recipient of CalWORKs benefits
from being denied aid, or denied an increase in the maximum
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aid payment, for a child born into the family during a period
in which the family is receiving aid.
4)Specifies that no increased benefit will be paid for any month
prior to January 1, 2016, as a result of repealing the prior
statute.
5)Repeals WIC 11450.04 which establishes and defines the MFG
rule, including exclusions for families in which a mother
reports she is a victim of rape or incest or in instances
where specified methods of contraception fail.
6)Prohibits appropriation pursuant to WIC 15200 be made for the
purposes of this act.
Background
Poverty and CalWORKs. California has the highest poverty rate in
the nation - nearly one-quarter of residents are living at or
below the FPL, earning no more than $20,090 per year for a
family of three. During and after the Great Recession,
California saw growing rates of deep childhood poverty - those
living below 50 percent of the FPL. A critical anti-poverty
strategy is the CalWORKS program, which provides cash assistance
to approximately 540,000 families - including more than 1
million children, according to 2014 federal data. Federal
funding for CalWORKs comes from the TANF block grant. Currently,
a grant to a family of three in a high-cost California county is
$704 per month, or roughly 40 percent of the FPL.
Maximum Family Grant rule. AB 473 (Brulte, Chapter 196, Statutes
of 1994) created California's MFG rule as part of budget trailer
bill; the language has not been amended since its original
enactment. The MFG legislation was based on the belief that
increasing welfare grants for children born into AFDC families
may incentivize families to have additional children for the
explicit purpose of increasing their monthly grant. By limiting
the grant amount, policymakers argued that families would be
dissuaded from having additional children. Today, CDSS
estimates indicate that 134,900 children, or about 13.3 percent
of all children in CalWORKs households are currently impacted by
the MFG rule. According to a 2013 CDSS sampling of cases,
approximately 58 percent of MFG children are under age 6. For a
family with an MFG child, the loss in grant in 2015 is between
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$116 and $136 per month, according to CDSS data.
How the MFG rule works. California's MFG rule prohibits CalWORKs
aid payments, with certain exceptions, for a child that is born
into a family that has been receiving aid for 10 or more
continuous months, or for longer than the gestational period of
the new baby. If the family is not receiving aid for two or
more months during the 10-month period preceding the birth of
the child, the new child is eligible for aid. The MFG rule does
not apply if a family returns to aid after a break of two or
more years during which the family did not receive any aid,
provided that the family still meets eligibility requirements
and aided children are still under 18 years old.
Exceptions to the MFG rule. California's statute permits
exceptions to the MFG rule for incidents in which a child was
born as a result of rape or incest, as long as the mother of the
child can document that she reported the crime to law
enforcement or a mental health professional or social services
agency. The report must have been made prior to the child's
birth or within three months after the child was born.
Similarly, state law permits an exception to the MFG rule if the
child is born as a result of the failure of one of three types
of contraceptives specified in statute:
An intrauterine device,
Norplant (which was discontinued for use in the United
States in 2002 amid questions about its effectiveness and
lawsuits over its side-effects), or
Sterilization of either parent.
Effect on fertility rates. A number of researchers across the
country have concluded that the family cap has little to no
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effect on fertility rates. The U.S. General Accounting Office
(GAO) noted in its 2001 examination of the issue that it could
not conclude that family cap policies reduce the incidence of
out-of-wedlock births, affect the number of abortions, or change
the size of the TANF caseload, but it did find that the family
cap was effective in reducing the amount that states were paying
to families who qualified for benefits.
Effects of deep poverty on children. Numerous studies have
correlated the effects of deep childhood poverty with poor
health and outcomes including low birth weight, lead poisoning,
child mortality and hospitalization. Other studies have drawn
correlations between deep poverty and repeating a grade, being a
high school dropout and having a learning disability. A 2011
article in the journal Developmental Psychology estimated that a
$1,000 increase in annual income - less than $100 per month --
increases young children's achievement by 5 to 6 percent of a
standard deviation. In 2000, researchers writing in the journal
Child Development concluded that family caps and sanctions, such
as the MFG, appear to disproportionately affect families with
very young children who are most susceptible to adverse effects
of deep poverty. The researchers recommended policy
considerations focus on avoiding fiscal sanctions to those
families.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:Yes Local: Yes
According to a Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, this
bill will result in increases in CalWORKs grant costs in the
range of $188 million to $220 million (GF) annually.
Additionally the committee identified potential future CalWORKs
grant costs of $3.5 million to $4.1 million (GF) for every 2,500
children born into CalWORKs families each year who otherwise
would have been subject to the MFG rule, and the potential
reduction in CalFresh benefits (Federal Fund) of $5.6 to $6.6
million annually for those families who see increases in their
CalWORKs grants that require a CalFresh benefit recalculation.
The committee also identified ongoing potential cost savings of
more than $250,000 (GF) annually in averted administrative
hearings, potential minor offset to CalWORKs grant cost
increases due to child support payments considered countable
income in lieu of being provided to the CalWORKs family under
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the MFG rule and one-time automation costs in excess of $150,000
(General Fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/29/15)
County Welfare Directors Association (co-source)
UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 (co-source)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-source)
ACT for Women and Girls
ACCESS Women's Health Justice
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Alameda County Food Bank
Alliance for Community Transformations
American Association of University Women
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Association of California Commissions for Women
Bay Area Legal Aid
Black Women for Wellness
Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services
Business and Professional Women of Nevada County
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Black Health Network
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Communities United Institute
California Community College CalWORKs Association
California Family Health Council
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Labor Federation
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California National Organization for Women
California Nurse - Midwives Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Partnership
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Reinvestment Coalition
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
California WIC Association
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California Women's Law Center
Cal-Islanders Humanitarian Association
Casa de Esperanza
Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of
California, Berkeley School of Law
Child Care Law Center
Children Now
Children's Defense Fund - California
Chinese Progressive Association
Citizens for Choice
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Consumer Attorneys of California
County of Los Angeles
Courage Campaign
Department on the Status of Women
East Bay Community Law Center
Feminist Democrats of Sacramento County
First 5 Monterey County
First Place for Youth
Forward Together
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Guam Communications Network
Having Our Say
Health & Human Services Network
Help a Mother Out
Housing California
Interface Children & Family Services
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
John Burton Foundation
Korean Community Center of the East Bay
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
League of Women Voters of California
Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
Libreria Del Pueblo, Inc.
LIUNA Locals 777 & 792
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
March of Dimes Foundation, California Chapter
Monterey County
NARAL Pro-Choice California
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Center for Youth Law
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National Council of Jewish Women California
National Health Law Program
National Women's Political Caucus of California
9 to 5 California
Parent Voices
Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Pacific Islander Cancer Survivors Network
Peace Over Violence
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Public Counsel's Children's Right Project and Homelessness
Prevention Law Projects
Public Interest Law Project
Rainbow Services, Ltd.
San Francisco Living Wage Coalition
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services
SAVE
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
SEIU Local 721
Sonoma County Human Services Department
Special Needs Network, Inc.
Starting Over, Inc.
St. Anthony's San Francisco
Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition
Tehama County Department of Social Services
United Ways of California
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Western Regional Advocacy Project
Women's Foundation of California
Women's Health Specialist of California
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services
YWCA of Glendale
(Two individuals)
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/29/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author states that as a result of
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California's MFG policy, women are forced to make decisions
about the types of birth control they can use if they are
receiving public benefits. Women who are raped are required to
report that sensitive and highly personal fact to their welfare
caseworker in order for their babies to receive aid. Some
families chose to refuse assistance (and become very poor) for
the last three months of a pregnancy rather than lose the grant
for the new baby - which is less than $200 a month - but will
help pay for diapers and wipes, according to the author.
According to the author, in some extreme cases, women will
refuse a doctor's advice about when she should deliver her baby
in order to stay off aid for a full two months during her
pregnancy, which would allow her to avoid the grant cap. The
author states that this kind of desperation is unconscionable to
force upon poor women - especially considering the fact that the
maximum grant is just enough to put a family at about 40 percent
of the federal poverty line.
Prepared by:Mareva Brown / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
5/30/15 10:25:43
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