BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 947 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 947 (Pan) As Amended August 18, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 29-9 -------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------| |Human Services |6-1 |Bonilla, Arambula, |Grove | | | |Lopez, Maienschein, | | | | |Mark Stone, Thurmond | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 947 Page 2 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 SB 947 Page 3 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 SB 947 Page 4 (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. SB 947 Page 5 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 SB 947 Page 6 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: SB 947 Page 7 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. SB 947 Page 8 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 SB 947 Page 9 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