BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 947


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          947 (Pan)


          As Amended  August 18, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  29-9


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          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Human Services  |6-1  |Bonilla, Arambula,     |Grove                |
          |                |     |Lopez, Maienschein,    |                     |
          |                |     |Mark Stone, Thurmond   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
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          SUMMARY: Establishes the County Option of Efficient Interviewing  
          of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids  
          (CalWORKs) Applicants Act of 2016.  Specifically, this bill:




          1)Authorizes a county to conduct the interview of an applicant  
            for CalWORKs via telephone or other electronic means in lieu  








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            of an in-person interview, unless otherwise requested by the  
            applicant.


          2)Requires a county that elects to conduct interviews  
            telephonically or through other electronic means to include in  
            its county plan a set of procedures for conducting interviews  
            in that manner that ensure that interviewed clients are  
            provided with the same information as clients interviewed in  
            person.




          3)Makes technical changes.


          EXISTING LAW:   


          1)Establishes in federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy  
            Families (TANF) program, which provides block grants to states  
            to develop and implement their own state welfare-to-work  
            programs designed to provide cash assistance and other  
            supports and services to low-income families.  (42 United  
            States Code Section (USC) 601 et seq.)


          2)Establishes the state's TANF program, the CalWORKs program.   
            CalWORKs provides cash assistance and other supports and  
            services to low-income families and is administered by the  
            counties.  (California Welfare and Institutions Code Section  
            (WIC) 11200 et seq.)


          3)Prohibits applicants for CalWORKs and certain other social  
            service programs from being granted public assistance prior to  
            being personally interviewed by the county department or state  
            staff for patients in state hospitals, as specified.  (WIC  








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            11052.5)


          4)Establishes in federal law the Supplemental Nutrition  
            Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp  
            Program, to permit low-income households to obtain a more  
            nutritious diet by increasing food purchasing power for all  
            eligible households.  (7 USC 2011 et seq.)


          5)Establishes, in state law, the CalFresh program to administer  
            the provision of federal SNAP benefits to low-income families  
            and individuals meeting specified criteria.  (WIC 18900 et  
            seq.)


          6)Requires each county welfare department to, if appropriate and  
            to the extent permissible by federal law, exempt a household  
            from complying with face-to-face interview requirements in  
            order to initially apply or seek recertification for CalFresh  
            benefits, if certain conditions are met, as specified.  (WIC  
            18901.1)


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, on May 27, 2016:


          1)Interviews via telephonic/electronic means:  Potentially  
            significant one-time and near-term non-reimbursable local  
            costs for equipment, staffing, and/or training to implement  
            new processes.  To the extent conducting interviews by  
            telephone or electronic means results in administrative  
            efficiencies could result in significant ongoing future cost  
            savings. 


          2)CalWORKs benefits/administration:  Potential increases or  
            decreases in CalWORKs benefits and administration costs  








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            (General Fund) to the extent conducting interviews by  
            telephone or electronic means results in a greater or lesser  
            number of applications for aid granted.  To the extent the  
            bill removes barriers and/or delays in applying for and being  
            granted aid, CalWORKs program costs could increase.  However,  
            to the extent reduced utilization of in-person interviews  
            prevents or delays the receipt of verification and/or  
            clarification, applications that otherwise may have been  
            approved could potentially be delayed or denied. 


          COMMENTS:  


          CalWORKs:  The 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 TANF block grant.   
          The average 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on  
          CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, 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 (DSS), around 497,000 families rely on  
          CalWORKs, including over one million children.  Nearly 60% of  
          cases include children under 6 years old.


          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.  










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          CalFresh:  CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the federal  
          government through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  
          (SNAP), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  
          sets specific eligibility requirements for SNAP programs across  
          the United States, including a gross and net income test, work  
          requirements, and other documentation requirements.  The maximum  
          allowable gross income is typically 200% of the Federal Poverty  
          Level (FPL).  Households with elderly or disabled members are  
          not subject to gross income criteria but must have a net monthly  
          income at or below 100% of the FPL.  Other households must meet  
          both gross and net monthly income tests.  CalFresh is  
          administered locally by county human services agencies, and the  
          federal, state, and county governments share in the cost of  
          administration of the program.


          Benefits are made available on a monthly basis for food purchase  
          through an automated teller machine (ATM)-like electronic  
          benefits transfer (EBT) card.  However, unlike other types of  
          benefits that may be accessed through an EBT card, CalFresh  
          benefits cannot be withdrawn in cash at point-of-sale terminals  
          or at ATMs.  CalFresh benefits can only be used to purchase food  
          items to be prepared and consumed at home, as well as seeds and  
          plants that can be grown at home and produce food.  The average  
          monthly benefit for a CalFresh recipient is $144.35 per month,  
          or $4.81 per person per day. 


          CalFresh interviews:  States have been required, in certain  
          instances, to waive the face-to-face interview for food stamp  
          eligibility determination and redetermination for some time;  
          federal Food Stamp Program (now "SNAP" as of 2008) regulations  
          (7 Code of Federal Regulations Section (CFR) 273.14(e)(2)) state  
          that: 


            The State agency must notify the applicant that it will  
            waive the face-to-face interview in favor of a telephone  
            interview on a case-by-case basis because of household  








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            hardship situations as determined by the State agency.   
            These hardship conditions include, but are not limited to:   
            illness, transportation difficulties, care of a household  
            member, hardships due to residency in a rural area,  
            prolonged severe weather, or work or training hours which  
            prevent the household from participating in an in-office  
            interview.  The State agency must document the case file to  
            show when a waiver was granted because of a hardship.  The  
            State agency may opt to waive the face-to-face interview in  
            favor of a telephone interview for all households which have  
            no earned income and all members of the household are  
            elderly or disabled.  Regardless of any approved waivers,  
            the State agency must grant a face-to-face interview to any  
            household which requests one.


          AB 231 (Steinberg), Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003, required  
          counties to screen applicants for food stamps for the need to  
          have a face-to-face application or recertification interview and  
          to grant an exemption from face-to-face interviews when  
          appropriate.  State regulations at the time required the  
          face-to-face interview to be waived, and a telephone interview  
          conducted in its place, for initial application and  
          recertification for any household in which all members were 60  
          years old or older or had disabilities.  State regulations also  
          permitted counties to waive face-to-face interviews, and instead  
          conduct telephone interviews, in instances where no household  
          member was able to come to the interview due to transportation  
          difficulties or other hardships determined by the county to  
          warrant waiving the face-to-face interview.


          In 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  
          approved a waiver request from California, giving counties the  
          option to waive the face-to-face interview requirement, and to  
          instead conduct telephone interviews, for all food stamp  
          households without the need to show hardship.  DSS All-County  
          Letter Number 09-62 stated that: 









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            Implementing this waiver will reduce the application process  
            burden for the household, increase timeliness, increase  
            program access, decrease the volume of activity in the local  
            offices, and remove barriers that prevent households from  
            completing an interview.  The waiver will allow the  
            household to complete the eligibility process without being  
            required to arrange for transportation and child care,  
            possibly numerous times.


          In 2012, DSS required (versus permitted) counties to offer  
          telephone interviews in lieu of face-to-face interviews.  DSS  
          All-County Letter Number 12-26 stated that: 


            According to the United States Department of Agriculture  
            Food and Nutrition Services, waiving the requirement for a  
            face-to-face interview has not negatively affected payment  
            error rates, is beneficial for CalFresh applicants and  
            recipients, and provides administrative relief for county  
            staff.  The majority of counties are utilizing this waiver  
            at both intake and recertification.  As an element of  
            program simplification and as part of California Department  
            of Social Services commitment to improving access, offering  
            the option of a telephone interview in lieu of a  
            face-to-face interview will now be required at intake and  
            recertification.  Counties not currently taking full  
            advantage of the waiver are encouraged to do so beginning as  
            soon as possible, but no later than July 1, 2012.  However,  
            current county practices (including conducting a  
            face-to-face interview on the first day if the applicant is  
            in the office) may be maintained at the option of the  
            applicant if such practice expedites the determination of  
            eligibility and issuance of benefits.


          In 2013, the USDA granted California an extension of its waiver  
          of the face-to-face interview requirement through May 31, 2017.








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          Need for this bill:  According to the author: 


            Currently, CalWORKs requires a face-to-face interview even  
            though today 21st century tools make it possible to do  
            interviews telephonically, video or electronically that is  
            more efficient.


            For the past 5 years California has been conducting  
            telephone interviews for the CalFresh program.  This effort  
            started when California was in deep recession and the  
            CalFresh caseload ballooned without the administrative  
            resources to process the applications the old fashion way -  
            face-to-face interviews.  Today all counties offer the  
            applicant the choice of in-person face-to-face interview or  
            a telephone interview.  Some counties have even adopted  
            telephonic signature to make the process more efficient.


            California CalFresh error rate did not go up, in fact it  
            went down, when CalFresh face-to-face interviews were mostly  
            eliminated statewide five years ago.


            This bill would give the county the option to do telephone  
            interviews just like they do for CalFresh.


          PRIOR LEGISLATION:

          SB 312 (Pan), of 2015, was substantially similar to this bill.   
          It died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

          AB 1970 (Skinner) of 2012, would have established the Social  
          Services Modernization and Efficiency Act of 2012 to, among  
          other things, require all application and recertification  








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          interviews for specified public social service programs to be  
          conducted in person, by telephone, or through other electronic  
          means.  It died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

          AB 231 (Steinberg), Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003, among other  
          things, required each county welfare department to, if  
          appropriate and to the extent permissible by federal law, exempt  
          a household from complying with face-to-face interview  
          requirements in order to initially apply or seek recertification  
          for CalFresh benefits, if certain conditions are met.

          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089  FN:   
          0004350