BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 521
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|Author: |Liu |
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|Version: |February 26, 2015 |Hearing |April 21, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Mareva Brown |
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Subject: CalFresh employment and training program
SUMMARY
This bill would make several changes to the CalFresh Employment
and Training (E&T) program. It would require the California
Department of Social Services (CDSS) to request a federal waiver
to permit counties to provide post-employment services of the
CalFresh E&T program, for a period of up to five months. It
would require CDSS to issue annual guidance for county human
services agencies wishing to partner with a community college in
the administration of its CalFresh E&T program, as specified.
Additionally, it would prohibit a county from assigning a
CalFresh penalty to a client who has been sanctioned in CalWORKs
for noncompliance with their welfare-to-work plan until the
county has taken steps to ensure the recipient does not qualify
for an exemption to the CalFresh work requirement, or has the
opportunity to cancel the sanction by registering for work, as
specified. The bill also would require the CalFresh E&T program
to be included in the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act
state plan, and it makes related findings and declarations.
ABSTRACT
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.)
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2) Establishes in state law the CalWORKs program 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 TANF funds. (WIC 10530)
3) Establishes under federal law the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) within the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to promote the general welfare and to
safeguard the health and wellbeing of the nation's
population by raising the levels of nutrition among
low-income households. It establishes SNAP eligibility
requirements, including income that is at or below 130
percent of the federal poverty level and is determined to
be a substantial limiting factor in permitting a recipient
to obtain a more nutritious diet. (7 CFR 271.1; 7 CFR
273.9)
4) Establishes in California statute the CalFresh program
to administer the provision of federal SNAP benefits to
families and individuals. (WIC 18900 et seq.)
5) Establishes under the CalWORKs benefit, a
welfare-to-work program and requirement that adults
participate in work or employment-related activities for
specified amounts of time. (WIC 11320, et seq.)
6) Establishes a process for sanctioning adults in the
CalWORKs program who do not comply with their
welfare-to-work plan, as specified. (WIC 11327.4)
7) Requires that a CalFresh sanction be imposed when an
individual is sanctioned for failing to comply with
CalWORKs welfare-to-work program requirements, as well as
other sanctions. (MPP 63-407.21)
8) Requires that each county welfare department provide
transitional CalFresh benefits to households terminating
their participation in the CalWORKs program for five
months, and to the extent allowed by federal law. (WIC
18901.6)(MPP 63-504.132)
9) Establishes within CalFresh the federal E&T program to
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assist members of CalFresh households in gaining skills,
training, work, or experience that will increase their
ability to obtain regular employment. (7 CFR 273.7, WIC
18926.5)
10) Requires that an educational program that could qualify
under federal regulations as an E&T program must be
considered an E&T program unless prohibited by federal law.
(WIC 18901.11(a))
11) Defines in federal statute, approved activities under
the E&T program including education, as specified,
participation in a Workforce Investment Act program, and
other activities. (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2015(e)(3)(B)
12) Requires CDSS in consultation with the office of the
chancellors of the California Community Colleges,
California State University, University of California, the
California Workforce Investment Board, counties and
advocates to establish a protocol to identify and verify
participation in educational programs that would exempt a
student from CalFresh E&T requirements. (WIC 18901.11 (b))
This bill:
1) States various Legislative findings, including:
a. According to the Employment Development
Department, Labor Market Information Division, there
were over 600,000 long-term unemployed persons in
California in February of 2014, well above pre-Great
Recession levels.
b. Counting people who are out of work and have
stopped searching, California had the highest "U6"
unemployment rate in the country, 15.8 percent, in
late 2014.
c. The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program Employment and Training Program offers a
dollar for dollar federal match of allowable expenses
to fund employment training and post-employment
support for CalFresh recipients for the purposes of
increasing future earnings in order to reduce their
dependence on CalFresh.
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2) Adds a section to existing statute that prohibits a
county from penalizing the benefit of a CalFresh recipient
because the recipient has been sanctioned for
non-compliance with their CalWORKs Welfare to Work plan
until the county has taken several actions:
a. Determined that the recipient is not eligible
for an exemption and has not registered for work, as
required, and
b. Notified the recipient that the recipient is
ineligible for an exemption, and
c. Instructed the recipient about how to comply
with the requirements or verify an exemption from the
CalFresh work requirements.
3) Requires that if a recipient complies with the
requirements during the notice of adverse action period,
and has registered for work with the Employment Developemnt
Department, the proposed CalFresh penalty shall be canceled
and shall not count as an occurrence for the purposes of
determining the length of future CalFresh disqualification
periods.
4) Requires that if a county elects to administer a
CalFresh E&T program, as defined in existing statute, it
must screen the recipients pursuant to paragraph (b) of
18926.5 before placement into the program.
5) Specifies that receipt of CalWORKs cash aid by another
person in the recipient's household does not impact the
eligibility of a CalFresh recipient to participate in a
CalFresh E&T program.
6) Requires CDSS to seek a federal waiver to allow county
human services agencies to extend CalFresh E&T program
benefits to up to five months, matching the length of
service for transitional CalFresh benefits, as specified,
with the post-employment services of the CalFresh E&T
program for a period of up to five months.
7) Requires the state to include the CalFresh E&T program
in the state's Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) state plan in order to improve coordination between
established workforce training programs.
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8) Requires CDSS to annually issue guidance through all
county letters for county human services agencies wishing
to partner with a community college in the administration
of its CalFresh E&T program in order to improve employment
opportunities and increase wages of CalFresh recipients by
increasing access to adult and post-secondary education and
vocational training programs at California community
colleges.
9) Additionally, requires CDSS to support any county
seeking approval by the USDA to include a community college
component in its approved CalFresh E&T program plan.
10) Requires that the guidance include:
a. A list of approved sources of that can be used
to match state funding for community college CalFresh
E&T programs.
b. A list of federally approved education
courses, as defined, which are either:
i. Part of a program of career and
technical education, that may be completed within
four years at an institution of higher education,
as defined, or
ii. Limited to remedial courses, basic
adult education, literacy, or English as a second
language.
c. The additional outcomes that are required to
be reported beyond those required in existing law,
when a county's CalFresh E&T program includes a
community college component.
d. The process for verifying that a student is
eligible to participate in the CalFresh E&T program at
a community college.
11) Specifies that a student is eligible to be assigned to
participate in the program by the county human services
agency or designee of the agency only as a volunteer, not
as a mandatory participant.
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12) Prohibits a CalFresh recipient who is also receiving
CalWORKs benefits from participating in the CalFresh E&T
program, but declares that the recipt of CalWORKs cash aid
by other people in his or her household shall not impact
his or her eligibility for the CalFresh E&T program.
13) Specifies that counties are not required to offer a
particular component as a part of its CalFresh E&T plan,
and that this section does not restrict the use of federal
funds for the financing of CalFresh E&T programs.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, more than 4 million Californians
receive food assistance through CalFresh, with the majority of
recipients either unemployed or underemployed. According to the
California Employment Development Department's Labor Market
Information Division, in January 2015 there were more than 1.3
million unemployed individuals in California. The author states
that the CalFresh E&T Program is intended to improve employment
skills and work opportunities, reducing reliance on CalFresh
benefits in the future. However, the author states this program
has gone underutilized, leaving dollar-for-dollar federal funds
intended for employment training unspent while CalFresh
recipients remain unemployed and underemployed.
Food Insecurity
An estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food
insecure at least some time during 2012, meaning they lacked
access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all
household members.<1> During the last decade, and especially
during the Great Recession, the number of families experiencing
---------------------------
<1> USDA "Household Food Security in the United States in 2012,"
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-155) September 2013
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food insecurity has increased. According to data from the
California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), at least 4 million
low-income Californians struggled with food insecurity during
2011-12. A research brief published in 2012 by UCLA's Center for
Health Policy Research and the California Food Policy Advocates
noted that in 2009, at the height the Recession, more than four
in 10 Californian adults, roughly 3.8 million people, who were
at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
suffered from food insecurity. Of those, more than one third -
1.4 million people - reported very low food security. This is
defined as having to cut back on food. Nationally, about 5.7
percent of Americans suffered from very low food security.
CalFresh
California currently provides nutritional benefits to
approximately 4.4 million people through the USDA's SNAP
program, which funds 100 percent of food benefits to eligible
households nationwide. California, its 58 counties and the
federal government share the cost of administering the program,
which is known as CalFresh. Specific eligibility requirements
are set by the USDA, including gross- and net-income asset tests
for most recipients, work requirements and specific
documentation requirements. The maximum gross income allowed to
be eligible is 130 percent of FPL, or $26,117 for a family of
four in 2015. The average monthly benefit for a CalFresh
recipient in 2014 was $141.99 per month, or $4.73 per day,
according to the USDA.
Transitional CalFresh benefits
Federal and state law require counties to provide up to five
months of transitional CalFresh benefits to a family leaving the
CalWORKs program without requiring the family to reapply or
submit additional paperwork or information. States are
prohibited in federal law from providing transitional benefits
to families that are removed from TANF, or CalWORKs, because of
a sanction, or to households disqualified from the CalFresh
program.
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During the transitional period the household's food stamp
benefit level is frozen at the amount it received prior to its
TANF case closure, adjusted for the loss of TANF income. There
are two possible exceptions to this freeze: 1) a household may
reapply in order to have its benefits adjusted, and 2) the state
may opt to adjust benefits based on information it receives from
another program in which the household participates. If a
household is due to reapply for benefits during the transitional
period, the state may push back the reapplication or
recertification until the transitional period is over.
According to a brief published by the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities in 2003, shortly after federal passage of the
enabling legislation, most families that leave TANF programs
remain income eligible for food stamps when they go to work.
However, research by both the US Department of Health and Human
Services and the Urban Institute has shown that fewer than half
of the individuals who leave TANF cash assistance continue to
participate in the Food Stamp Program despite earning low wages
and (in most cases) remaining eligible for benefits. The
transitional food stamp benefit was intended to help families to
transition to work with more stability, ensuring families are
better off working.
Work requirements
SNAP requires all recipients, unless exempted by law, to
register for work at the appropriate employment office,
participate in an employment and training program if assigned by
a state or local administering agency, and accept an offer of
suitable employment. SNAP beneficiaries do not have to work or
participate in employment and training activities if they are
under age 16 or over age 59, are physically or mentally unfit
for employment, are caring for a child under the age of six,
already employed 30 hours a week, or, subject to and complying
with work requirements for other programs, such as CalWORKs,
among other exemptions.
CalFresh E&T program
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The CalFresh E&T program is a federally subsidized, optional
program administered by counties. It is designed to help
CalFresh participants gain skills, training, work experience,
and to find jobs. Federal law provides for certain exemptions,
but counties can additionally determine exemptions to program
requirements. CalFresh E&T programs can include a variety of
training and employment activities, such as job search; general
education development (GED) attainment; high school equivalency;
job skills training; short-term vocational training and
supportive services. Each county has discretion to determine the
range of services, as well as the rules governing mandatory and
voluntary placements and exemptions.
For federal fiscal year (FFY) 2015, 24 counties in California
participated in the CalFresh E&T program, which totaled nearly
$106 million. One year earlier, there were 26 participating
counties and $101 million in funding. Of the FFY 2015 dollars,
100% federally funded activities accounted for $7 million and
federally matched funds accounted for the remainder. For FFY
2014, CDSS reported more than 1.2 million work registrants. Of
this population, 77,427 individuals were participating in at
least one CalFresh E&T program component.
CalWORKS
One of California's most essential anti-poverty strategies is
the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
program (CalWORKs), which provides cash assistance to
approximately 540,000 families - including more than 1 million
children. Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the TANF block
grant. TANF requires that families participate in federally
allowable work activities in order to receive benefits through
the program. A grant to a family of three in a high-cost
California county is $704 per month in 2015, which equates to
slightly more than 40 percent of FPL.
CalFresh sanctions under CalWORKs
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Food stamp sanctions must be imposed when an individual is
sanctioned for failing to comply with work requirements of the
CalWORKS Welfare-to-Work Program, according to the state's
manual of policies and procedures and a directive from CDSS to
counties. A one-, three-, or six-month food stamp sanction will
be imposed unless the sanctioned individual qualifies for one of
the defined food stamp work registration exemptions, according
to federal legislation and regulations.<2> The sanctions are
progressive: They increase with each violation.
WIOA
The July 2014 federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) makes significant changes to vocational rehabilitation
and independent living programs and is designed to help job
seekers - including those with barriers to employment - access
jobs, education, and support services to succeed in the modern
labor market. The law also encourages workforce development
programs to help match employers with skilled workers needed to
compete in the global economy. WIOA emphasizes quality training
that leads to credentials, regional planning and service
coordination, and the use of targeted sectorbased strategies and
career pathways.
WIOA makes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) a
mandatory partner, unless the governor of a state specifically
excludes the program in writing.<3> WIOA requires a single,
unified, fouryear state plan covering all core programs
---------------------------
<2> Department of Social Services, All County Letter No. 10-11,
July 27, 2010
<3>
http://www.aphsa.org/content/dam/NASTA/PDF/WIOAOpportunities%20fo
r%20Human%20Services%20Final.pdf
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authorized under the bill. The plan must describe the state's
overall strategy for workforce development and how the strategy
will meet identified skill needs for workers, job seekers and
employers.
Per California's Workforce Investment Board website, the state
board approved creation of the WIOA Implementation Work Group in
September 2014. Over the next 12 months, the group will ensure
that California's implementation of the new law reflects state
strategies and aligns resources accordingly. The group's work
includes developing WIOA performance measures and multi-agency
metrics, developing policy, catalyzing systems alignment and
regional collaboration, and determining any needed governance
changes.
This bill mandates the additional inclusion of the CalFresh E&T
program in the crafting of California's state WIOA plan.
CalFresh and postsecondary education
Federal law prohibits students enrolled at least half-time in
institutions of higher education from eligibility in the federal
SNAP program, unless the student qualifies for an exemption.
Among the exemptions is participation in an employment and
training program. AB 1930 (Skinner, Chapter 729, Statutes of
2014) required that an educational program identified by CDSS as
having a component of a CalFresh E&T program is able to fulfill
the federal requirements of an employment and training program.
This opened the door for students in specified programs at
community colleges to qualify for food benefits.
That bill also required the community colleges, with the
voluntary involvement of the CSU and UC systems, work with CDSS
to establish guidelines to identify categories of students that
could qualify for an exemption as well as identifying the
programs in which enrollment might satisfy the E&T training
requirement.
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Related legislation:
SB 306 (Hertzberg, 2015) would require all counties to
participate in the CalFresh E&T program, and would direct each
county to provide a placement in the program for every ABAWD
that requests one, among other provisions.
AB 1930 (Skinner, Chapter 729, Statutes of 2014) exempted
students in community college from the student work requirement
under CalFresh if they participated in the EOPS program, as
specified. It also required the state to establish a protocol to
screen students for all potential exemptions to the work rule,
as defined.
SB 999 (Liu, 2014) would have required CDSS and the California
Community Colleges to identify categories of students who might
qualify for federal exemptions that would allow them to receive
CalFresh benefits and to provide students with documentation to
assist in getting waivers. It died in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SB 43 (Liu Chapter 507, Statutes of 2011) permitted counties to
defer able-bodied working adults from CalFresh E&T participation
in high unemployment areas, as specified.
COMMENTS
SB 521 includes five different approaches to reduce the effects
of poverty in California. Staff recommends the following
amendments to clarify the intent and language of the bill, as
well as to clarify that clients are ineligible for both CalFresh
E&T and CalWORKs welfare to work benefits simultaneously.
Section 1:
Delete findings and declarations, as (a) and (b) are
date-specific and (c) is unnecessary to explain the bill.
Section 2:
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Clarify language in section 11327.10 by breaking into separate
subsections and clarify that a CalFresh recipient is ineligible
for E&T services if they receive CalWORKs post-employment
services. In section (2)(c) strike redundant language, as
follows:
11327.10. (a) When a CalWORKs recipient has been sanctioned due
to non-compliance with his or her welfare-to-work plan, pursuant
to Section 11327.4, the recipient shall not be assigned a
CalFresh penalty until the county has:
(1) Determined that the individual does not qualify for an
exemption to the CalFresh work requirement and has not
registered for work, the county has notified the recipient that
the recipient is not eligible for an exemption; and,
(2) Has instructed the recipient about how to comply with the
requirements or verify an exemption to the CalFresh work
requirements.
(b) If the recipient complies with the requirements during the
notice of adverse action period and has registered for work with
the Employment Development Department, the proposed penalty
shall be canceled and shall not count as an occurrence for the
purposes of determining the length of future CalFresh
disqualification periods.
(c) If a county elects to administer a CalFresh E&T program
pursuant to Section 18926.5, it shall screen these recipients
pursuant to paragraph (b) of Section 18926.5 before placement
into the program. A CalFresh recipient also receiving CalWORKs
cash aid or CalWORKs post-employment services is ineligible to
participate in the CalFresh E&T program, but the receipt of
CalWORKs cash aid by other people in his or her household shall
not impact his or her eligibility for the CalFresh E&T program.
Section 3:
Strike redundant language, as follows:
18901.65.
The department shall seek a federal waiver to allow county human
services agencies to serve CalFresh E&T program recipients for
up to five months, to match the length of service for
transitional CalFresh benefits, established in Section 18901.6. ,
with the post-employment services of the CalFresh E&T program,
established in Section 18926.5, for a period of up to five
months .
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Section 5:
Remove reference to CDSS supporting counties seeking waiver
approval at the request of the author, to reduce the scope of
CDSS responsibility. Additionally, add language to clarify that
guidance may be issued in conjunction with other, related,
guidance that is sent annually. Additional amendments clarify
that requirements to identify E&T-eligible courses are those
that are already known to CDSS, per requirements in AB 1930 in
2014, and to clarify that a client cannot be eligible for
post-employment training in both CalWORKs and CalFresh at the
same time.
18901.13.
(a) The department shall, in order to improve employment
opportunities and increase wages of CalFresh recipients by
increasing access to adult and post-secondary education and
vocational training programs at California community colleges,
annually issue guidance through all county letters for county
human services agencies wishing to partner with a community
college in the administration of its CalFresh E&T program , and
support any county seeking approval by the United States
Department of Agriculture to include a community college
component in its approved CalFresh E&T program plan .
(b) The guidance provided for in this section may be issued with
other E&T guidance not specific to community colleges and shall
include:
(1) A list of approved sources of description of requirements
for state share match for that is specific to community college
CalFresh E&T programs.
(2) A list of education courses known to CDSS to qualify that
would be approved under Section 4007 of the Agricultural Act of
2014 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2015(e)(3)(B)), which are either:
(A) Part of a program of career and technical education, as
defined in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 2302) that may be completed within
four years at an institution of higher education, as defined in
Section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1002).
(B) Limited to remedial courses, basic adult education,
literacy, or English as a second language.
(3) The additional outcomes that are required to be reported
beyond those required by subdivision (c) of Section 18926.5,
when a county's CalFresh E&T program includes a community
college component.
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(4) The process for verifying that a student is eligible to
participate in the CalFresh E&T program at a community college.
A student is eligible to be assigned to participate in the
program by the county human services agency or designee of the
agency only as a volunteer, not as a mandatory participant. A
CalFresh recipient also receiving CalWORKs cash aid or CalWORKs
post-employment services is ineligible to participate in the
CalFresh E&T program, but the receipt of CalWORKs cash aid by
other people in his or her household shall not impact his or her
eligibility for the CalFresh E&T program.
(c) Nothing in this section requires a county to offer a
particular component as a part of its CalFresh E&T plan or
restricts the use of federal funds for the financing of CalFresh
E&T programs.
POSITIONS
Support:
Alameda County Community Food Bank
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Hunger Action Coalition
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Courage Campaign
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
PolicyLink
Reading and Beyond
San Diego Hunger Coalition
St. Anthony's Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Women's Foundation of the California Women's Policy
Institute
Oppose:
None.
-- END --
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