BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1339
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|Author: |Monning |
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|Version: |March 28, 2016 |Hearing |March 29, 2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Taryn Smith |
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Subject: Public social services: intercounty transfers
SUMMARY
This bill requires a recipient of aid who moves from one county
to another to notify either county of the change of a residence,
and requires that county to initiate an intercounty transfer for
specified public social benefits, which shall be transferred
within 30 days. It prohibits the new county of residence from
interviewing recipients from another county to determine
continued eligibility for CalWORKs or CalFresh until the next
scheduled recertification or redetermination, and would require
case file documents to be shared electronically. It also
establishes that a Medi-Cal beneficiary moving to a new county
is entitled to medical assistance in the county that he or she
is residing in at the time and revises procedures in current
statute.
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.)
2) Establishes in state law the California Work Opportunity
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and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program to provide
cash assistance and other social services for low-income
families through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (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 meeting specified criteria. (WIC
18900 et seq.)
5) Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the
State Department of Health Care Services, under which
qualified low-income persons are provided with health care
services.[WIC 14000 et sec.]
6) Establishes the responsibility of a benefit recipient
changing residence from one county to another within the
state to promptly notify the county paying aid to the
recipient of the move and to apply for a redetermination of
eligibility within the new county of residence. The first
county shall notify the second county of the recipient's
move as soon as the recipient's location in the second
county is known. (WIC 11053)
7) Requires that the county to which the recipient has
moved will be responsible for determining the recipient's
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continued eligibility for payment of aid and, to the extent
possible eligibility for the Medi-Cal program, as of the
first day of the month following 30 days after the first
county has notified the second county of the recipient's
relocation. The first county shall provide the second
county with copies of those documents, as specified,
necessary to establish current eligibility and grant
amount. (WIC 11053)
8) Requires the California Department of Social Services
(CDSS) to establish and implement a process of intercounty
transfer of eligibility for CalFresh benefits, and to take
various regulatory actions. (WIC 11053.2)
9) Requires that, for CalFresh recipients who are receiving
CalWORKs benefits, the intercounty transfer process
utilized for CalWORKs shall be used.[WIC 11053.2(b)(1)]
10) Requires that, for CalFresh recipients who are receiving
Medi-Cal but are not receiving CalWORKs benefits, the
intercounty transfer process utilized for the Medi-Cal
program shall be used. (WIC 11053.2(b)(2))
11) Requires that, for CalFresh recipients who are not
receiving CalWORKs or Medi-Cal benefits, an intercounty
transfer process shall be developed, in consultation with
representatives of county human services departments and
advocates for recipients. To the greatest extent possible,
the process shall be simple, client friendly, ensure the
client does not need to provide copies of documents that
were previously provided to the prior county of residence,
build on existing processes for the programs, and minimize
workload for county eligibility operations. (WIC
11053.2(c))
12) Requires that it shall be the responsibility of a
CalFresh recipient changing residence from one county to
another within the state to notify his or her prior county
of residence of his or her move. (WIC 11053.2(d))
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13) Requires that the prior county of residence shall notify
the new county of the recipient's move as soon as the
recipient's location in the new county is known. The new
county of residence shall be responsible for determining
the recipient's continued eligibility for payment of
CalFresh benefits. (WIC 11053.2(d))
14) Requires that, to the extent permitted by federal law,
the new county of residence shall not be required to
interview persons in the CalFresh household to determine
continued eligibility until the next scheduled
recertification or other regularly scheduled interview.
(WIC 11053.2(d))
This bill:
1) Repeals WIC Sections 11053 and 11053.2 and recasts the
provisions into a new code to modernize and simplify
intercounty transfer policy.
2) Requires that it shall be the responsibility of a
recipient changing residence from one county to another to
promptly notify either the county from which he or she
moves or the county which he or she moves of the change of
residence.
3) States that recipients of CalWORKs, CalFresh, or
Medi-Cal shall have the right to report a change of
residence in person, in writing, telephonically, or, if the
technology is available, electronically online and shall be
advised of this right at the time of application and
redetermination or recertification.
4) Requires that, if a recipient moves from one county to
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another county, as soon as either county is aware of the
move, that county shall initiate an intercounty transfer
for all benefits under this division that the recipient is
receiving.
5) Requires benefits for all programs for which the
recipient is eligible shall be transferred within 30 days
after any county becomes aware of the recipient's move in
order to effectuate the earliest possible start date.
6) Requires that, to the greatest extent possible, the
intercounty transfer process shall be simple and client
friendly and minimize workload for county eligibility
operations. The process shall ensure the applicant or
recipient does not need to provide copies of documents that
were previously provided to the prior county of residence,
and there is no interruption in benefits.
7) Requires case file documents shall be electronically
shared between the prior county of residence and the new
county of residence, to the extent possible, as specified
by the relevant state departments.
8) Prohibits, to the extent permitted by federal law and
regulation, the new county of residence from interviewing
recipients moving to that county from another county to
determine continued eligibility for CalWORKs or CalFresh
until the next scheduled recertification pursuant to
18910.1or redetermination pursuant to section 11265.
9) Makes other requirements with regard to intercounty
transfers of Medi-Cal recipients.
10) Establishes that failure to report a move to a different
county within the state in itself shall not constitute a
basis for an overpayment.
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FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
The process of transferring cases for eligibility and case
management purposes is known as an intercounty transfer. The
three major programs (CalFresh, CalWORKs and Medi-Cal) all have
intercounty transfer procedures. There were a total of 59,016
intercounty transfer cases in 2015.
According to the author, there have been a number of instances
where the current intercounty transfer process does not go
smoothly or beneficiaries have been told that in order to be
eligible for benefits in the counties to which they are moving
they need to be interviewed again and the eligibility needs to
be reassessed. The author also states that there is some
confusion among counties with regard to the implementation of
intercounty transfers and there are instances in which the
sending or receiving county does not fully understand the
intercounty transfer process due to current law being vague.
The author says SB 1339 seeks to clarify and update state law
for counties to have a better understanding of the intercounty
transfer process and prevent disruption in benefits.
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
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in federal fiscal year 2015 was $126.83 per month, or $4.23 per
day, according to the USDA. CalFresh supplements family food
budgets by providing an average of $300 a month per household.
CalWORKs
The CalWORKs program is funded with a mix of federal TANF money,
state, and county funds.
CalWORKs provides temporary cash assistance to meet basic family
needs. It also 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.
In order to be eligible for CalWORKs, families must meet income
and asset tests of no more than $2,250 in savings ($3,250 where
the assistance unit includes at least one member who is disabled
or aged 60 or older), excluding education and retirement plans
plus one car worth $9,500 or less or that was received as a gift
or family transfer or donation. In addition, children must be
deprived of parental support and care due to the incapacity,
death or absence of apparent or unemployment of the principal
wage-earner. Persons fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody or
confinement after conviction of a felony are not eligible for
CalWORKs.
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.
Streamlining the Codes
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Currently, intercounty transfers of health and human services
benefits are outlined in two separate code sections. Both
Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Health
Care Services (DHCS) have issued multiple All County Letters
providing instructions for the counties on the intercounty
transfer process. There are different processes for
transferring program participants depending on which program(s)
or combination of programs. CalWORKs, CalFresh and Medi-Cal
each have their own intercounty transfer protocols.
Additionally, there are protocols for transferring recipients
participating in more than one program.
SB 1339 would repeal the two sections of current law and create
one new overarching section that applies to all three health and
human services programs (CalWORKs, CalFresh and Medi-Cal).
Modernizing the Code for CalFresh and CalWORKs
Existing law requires recipients of CalFresh, CalWORKs and
Medi-Cal benefits to notify the county paying aid to the
recipient of his or her relocation. The first county is to
notify the second county in order to start the transfer process.
According to the County Welfare Directors Association, this
requirement may impede timely transfer of cases, as the
receiving county is not permitted to initiate the transfer -
even if they are aware of the relocation. When the law was
written, the counties maintained hard copy files that had to be
physically transferred from one county office to the next.
Since then, the counties' Electronic Inter County Transfer
(EICT) system has been implemented and files can now be shared
electronically. This means the receiving county could start the
transfer process via the EICT and request the files
electronically. SB 1339 would allow either the first or second
county to initiate the transfer process. It would also require
case file documents to be shared electronically between the
prior county of residence and the new county of residence.
Simplifying the Intercounty Transfer Process for CalFresh and
CalWORKs
Existing law requires the recipient of CalWORKs benefits to
apply for redetermination of eligibility within the new county
of residence. While not mandated by law or regulation, some
counties require interviews as part of the redetermination
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process, which may delay completion of the transfer. On the
other hand, CalFresh intercounty transfers do not require
submission of a new application and the counties are not
permitted to require interviews to for redetermination of
eligibility.
SB 1339 would bring conformity to the transfer process by
deleting the requirement for CalWORKs recipients to apply for
redetermination. It would also prohibit the new county of
residence from interviewing recipients to determine continued
eligibility for CalWORKs or CalFresh until the next scheduled
recertification or redetermination.
Currently, expiration of the transfer period and receiving
county's responsibility starts at the end of the month following
the 30-day transfer period. By mutual agreement of the
counties, the transfer may occur at an earlier date. SB 1339
would shorten the transfer period by requiring that the transfer
be completed within 30 days after the receiving county becomes
aware of the recipient's move.
Related legislation:
Assembly Bill 1400 (Committee on Human Services, Chapter 227,
Statutes of 2011) made technical changes to the codes.
COMMENTS
This bill is referred to Senate Health Committee, which will
consider implications of the bill on the Medi-Cal program.
WIC Section 11102 requires that the county where a person
receiving public social services resides is responsible to make
aid payments. When that person moves to a different county,
responsibility for payment of aid shall be transferred to the
new county of residence "not later than the first day of the
month following 30 days after notification to the second
county." SB 1339 requires that intercounty transfers must be
completed within 30 days after either county becomes aware of
the recient's move. For the sake of conformity in the
intercounty transfer process, the committee recommends the
following amendment.
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WIC Section 11102: County responsibility for making aid payments
is determined as follows:
(a) The county where the applicant lives shall accept the
application and shall be responsible for paying the aid.
Responsibility for payment of aid to any person qualifying for
and receiving aid from any county, who moves to another county
in this state to make his or her home, shall be transferred to
the second county as soon as administratively possible, and
within 30 days after either county becomes aware of the aid
recipient's move. but not later than the first day of the month
following 30 days after notification to the second county.
POSITIONS
Support:
Coalition of Welfare Rights Organizations (Co-Sponsor)
United Way of California (Co-Sponsor)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (Co-sponsor)
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference, INC
California Food Policy Advocates
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Courage Campaign
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Hunger Action Los Angeles
Inland Empire United Way
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
LIUNA Locals 777 & 792
National Association of Social Workers
North Coast Opportunities, Inc.
United Way of the Bay Area
3 Individuals
Oppose:
None received.
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