BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 947|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 947
Author: Pan (D)
Amended: 8/18/16
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 3-0, 3/29/16
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 29-9, 6/1/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Nguyen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff,
Morrell, Nielsen, Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-17, 8/22/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public assistance: personal interviews
SOURCE: Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST: This bill establishes the County Option of Efficient
Interviewing of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
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to Kids (CalWORKs) Applicants Act of 2016 and authorizes a
county to conduct the interview of an applicant for CalWORKs via
telephone or other electronic means in lieu of an in-person
interview, unless otherwise requested by the applicant.
Assembly Amendments require that the a county that elects to
conduct the interview telephonically or through other electronic
means shall include a set of procedures in its county plan that
ensure that clients whose interviews are conducted
telephonically or through other electronic means are provided
with the same information that is provided to individuals who
have their interviews conducted in person; and make other
technical changes.
ANALYSIS:
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.)
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)Prohibits an applicant from being granted public assistance
under CalWORKs until he or she is personally interviewed by
the county human services agency or state hospital staff. (WIC
11052.5)
4)Requires the personal interview to be conducted promptly
following the application for CalWORKs assistance. If an
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applicant is incapable of acting in his or her own behalf, the
county department shall verify this fact by personal contact
with the applicant before aid is authorized. (WIC 11052.5)
5)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. (7
CFR 271.1; 7 CFR 273.9)
6)Establishes in California statute the CalFresh program to
administer the provision of federal SNAP benefits to families
and individuals meeting specified criteria. (WIC 18900 et
seq.)
This bill:
1)Names this bill the County Option of Efficient Interviewing of
CalWORKs Applicants Act of 2016.
2)Authorizes a county to conduct the interview of an applicant
for CalWORKs via telephone or other electronic means in lieu
of an in-person interview, unless otherwise requested by the
applicant.
3)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.
4)Makes technical changes.
Background
According to the author, the counties that have set up the
infrastructure to do telephone interviews for CalFresh
applicants should have the option to do the same for CalWORKs
applicants if it would achieve administrative efficiency. The
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author also states the cost of transportation can be very
burdensome, especially for families living in rural California.
As noted by one of the bill's sponsors, the Coalition of
California Welfare Rights Organization, current law was "enacted
before the advent of modern tools that allow for interviews to
be completed and, recorded and stored electronically in the case
file. Today, these interviews can be completed telephonically,
by video or electronically in ways that are more efficient
without compromising the integrity of the program."
According to the California Department of Social Services
(CDSS), if SB 947 were signed into law, CalWORKs applicants will
still be required to sign their application forms and submit
fingerprints and photographs to the county human services
agencies.
CalWORKs
CalWORKs implements the federal TANF program in California. In
addition to temporary cash assistance to meet basic family
needs, CalWORKs provides education, employment and training
programs. CDSS is the designated state agency responsibility
for program supervision at the state level. The counties are
responsible for administering the caseloads at the local level.
The CalWORKs program is funded with a mix of federal, state, and
county funds.
State law provides for a cumulative 48-month lifetime limit on
cash aid for adults. During those 48 months, adults may receive
a total of 24 months of Welfare-to-Work (WTW) services and
activities. WTW activities include subsidized and unsubsidized
employment, community service, adult basic education, job
skills, training, mental health counseling, substance abuse
treatment and other activities necessary to assist recipients in
obtaining employment. Once the 24 months of WTW activities have
been exhausted, adults must meet the stricter federal work
participation requirements (20, 30, or 35 hours weekly,
depending on family composition) unless they are exempt or
receive an extension. Children of adults who exhaust the
48-month lifetime limit may continue to receive cash aid, if
otherwise eligible, up to age 18.
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CalFresh
CalFresh provides monthly benefits to assist low-income
households in purchasing food or food product intended for human
consumption. CalFresh benefits are 100% federally funded and
national eligibility standards and benefit levels are
established by the federal government. To participate in
CalFresh, households must meet certain income-eligibility
standards. The average monthly benefit for a CalFresh recipient
in federal fiscal year 2015 was $126.83 per month, or $4.23 per
day, according to the USDA. Households who receive or are
eligible to receive cash assistance under CalWORKs or General
Assistance/General Relief programs are categorically eligible
for CalFresh.
CalFresh currently serves approximately 4.4 million people,
according to USDA data. Nonetheless, California's participation
rate has been ranked last or near last in the country for years,
prompting concerns from the USDA, stories in the state's
newspapers and two Legislative hearings in 2014.
Use of telephone interviews for CalFresh
Under USDA Food and Nutrition Services Waiver #2130007 and state
and federal regulations (US 7 CFR 273.2(e)(3) and California
Manual of Policies and Procedures (Section 63-300.46)
California's county human services agencies have the option to
allow CalFresh applicants to satisfy the interview requirement
over the telephone rather than mandating a face-to-face
interview.
In 2009, CDSS informed county welfare departments via All County
Letter (ACL) #09-62 that they had the option of waiving the
face-to-face interview for CalFresh applicants and recipients at
initial application, recertification, or both.
In 2012, CDSS issued ACL #12-26 stating, "As an element of
program simplification and as part of CDSS commitment to
improving access, offering the option of a telephone interview
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in lieu of a face-to-face interview will now be required at
intake and recertification." The same ACL reported that 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.
In 2013, the USDA granted California an extension of its waiver
of the face-to-face interview requirement through May 31, 2017.
Online application for Medi-Cal
California's version of the federal Medicaid program, Medi-Cal,
services low-income individuals, including but not limited to:
families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster
care, pregnant women, and childless adults with incomes below
138% of federal poverty level. Applications for Medi-Cal
benefits may be filed online, in person or by mail. All
applicants are required to submit some signed documents, so
there is still paperwork component of the Medi-Cal application
process.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 297 (McGuire, 2015) would have facilitated electronic
verification of eligibility for certain means-tested public
benefits programs; clarified when an eligibility worker should
conduct a telephone interview; required CDSS to develop
technology to store telephonic and electronic signatures and to
issue guidance for recording and storing electronic and
telephonic signatures. The bill was held in Senate
Appropriations Committee.
SB 312 (Pan, 2015) would have authorized the county human
services agency or state hospital staff to conduct a personal
interview of CalWORKs applicants telephonically or through
electronic means. The bill would have required a face-to-face
interview to be conducted if requested by an applicant or
recipient. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1970 (Skinner, 2012) sought to modernize and streamline the
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administration of, and remove barriers to participation in,
social services programs, including removing the face-to-face
interview requirement for CalWORKs and CalFresh as a condition
of receipt of aid. AB 1970 was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 6 (Fuentes, Chapter 501, Statutes of 2011) removed the
CalFresh fingerprinting requirement, modified reporting
requirements from quarterly to semi-annually, and made other
changes.
AB 231 (Steinberg, Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003) permitted
counties to exempt a household from complying with the
face-to-face interview required by a CalFresh applicant, in
addition to other policy changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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.
CalWORKs benefits/administration: Potential increases or
decreases in CalWORKs benefits and administration costs
(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 this
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
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approved could potentially be delayed or denied.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/22/16)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (co-source)
County Welfare Directors Association of California (co-source)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-source)
California Association of Food Banks
California Food Policy Advocates
California State Association of Counties
Children's Defense Fund - California
Courage Campaign
National Association of Social Workers
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/22/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-17, 8/22/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Rendon
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Dahle, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Gatto, Grove, Hadley, Jones, Mathis,
Obernolte, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harper, Melendez
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Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/23/16 9:18:47
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