BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1373
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Stone |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------|
|Version: |February 19, 2016 |Hearing |March 29, 2016 |
| | |Date: | |
|----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------|
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant|Taryn Smith |
|: | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services
SUMMARY
This bill requires that a standard allowance for transportation
costs be advanced to a Welfare-to-Work participant at the
beginning of each month in an amount that is equal to the cost
of a monthly pass for the county public transit system, or if a
county does not have a public transit system, in the amount of
$100 per month. It also requires that a participant who has been
assigned to an educational activity in a postsecondary school
receive a standard allowance of $500 for books and supplies,
adjusted annually as specified, at least 15 days before the
start of the semester. The bill authorizes the participant to
opt out of these standard allowances at any time and make a
reimbursement claim for actual costs, as specified.
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
and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program to provide
cash assistance and other social services for low-income
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 2
of ?
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) Generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to
participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of
eligibility for aid. (WIC 11320 et. seq.)
4) Requires that necessary supportive services be available
to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including
transportation costs and ancillary expenses, which include
the cost of books, as provided in the welfare-to-work plan
entered into between the county and participant (WIC
11323.2)
5) Requires that payments for supportive services shall be
advanced to the participant, wherever necessary, and when
desired by the participant, so that the participant need
not use his or her funds to pay for these services. (WIC
11323.4(a))
This bill:
1. Requires that a standard allowance for transportation
costs be advanced to a participant at the beginning of each
month in an amount that is equal to the cost of a monthly
pass for the county public transit system, or if a county
does not have a public transit system, in the amount of
$100 per month.
2. Allows that a participant is entitled to opt out of the
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 3
of ?
standard allowance at any time and make a reimbursement
claim for the actual costs of transportation, and may
submit this claim to the county by mail, in person, or via
the county's Internet Web site.
3. Requires that a participant who has been assigned to an
educational activity in a postsecondary school receive a
standard allowance of $500 for books and supplies, adjusted
annually as specified, at least 15 days before the start of
the semester.
4. Requires that the standard allowance be adjusted
annually for inflation according to the California Consumer
Price Index.
5. Authorizes the participant to opt out of these standard
allowances at any time and make a reimbursement claim for
actual costs, and to submit this claim to the county by
mail, in person, or via the county's Internet Web site.
6. Authorizes CDSS to implement this act through an
all-county letter or similar instruction from the director
no later than April 1, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, CalWORKs recipients who are
participating in Welfare-to-Work (WTW) activities sometimes have
to "dip into their fixed incomes" to pay for transportation
costs to and from their WTW activities. According to the
author, "It can be weeks and sometimes months before ancillary
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 4
of ?
payments are issued to pay for the books required by college
instructors." SB 1373 would facilitate advance payments to WTW
participants for their transportation and textbook costs.
CalWORKs
California has the highest poverty rate in the nation - just
under one-quarter of residents are living at or below the
federal poverty level (FPL) according to the national
Supplemental Poverty Measure. According to California Public
Policy Institute, 23.9% of California's children were living in
poverty in 2013. These families earn no more than $20,160 per
year for a family of three. During and after the Great
Recession, California saw growing rates of childhood deep
poverty - those living below 50 percent of the federal poverty
line. One of California's most essential anti-poverty strategies
is the CalWORKs program, which provides cash assistance to
approximately 540,000 families - including more than 1 million
children, according to 2014 federal data.
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 responsible 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, community
college, 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.
In order to be eligible for CalWORKs, families must meet income
and asset tests. In addition, children must be deprived of
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 5
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. Per the 2016-2017 Governor's budget, the average
monthly grant for a CalWORKs household is $497.35 and the
maximum aid payment for a family of three is $704, or 42 percent
of FPL.
Supportive Services for WTW Participants
Under current law, payments for supportive services (including
costs for textbooks and transportation) "shall be advanced to
the participant, wherever necessary, and when desired by the
participant, so that the participant need not use his or her
funds to pay for these services." Expenses for transportation
can include but are not limited to gas for a vehicle, a bus
pass, taxi fare, parking costs, etc., necessary to complete WTW
activities. Ancillary services are books, tools and other
expenses related to welfare-to-work activities. These expenses
are reimbursed at the actual costs and there is no cap. While
SB 1373 doesn't institute a cap, it would provide upfront funds
and also allow recipient households to be reimbursed for costs
exceeding those upfront costs.
CDSS activity reports show there were 162,617 WTW households in
January 2016. Of those households, 56,575 received assistance
for transportation and 13,778 received assistance for ancillary
services.
According to the sponsor and the department, there is no
statewide standard for requesting, processing and issuing
advance payments for supportive services. Additionally, there
is no data on how often such advance payments are made or the
dollar amount paid.
Related legislation:
AB 492 (Gonzalez and Gomez, 2016) would provide diaper-needs
benefit in the amount of $50.00 per month for diapers for every
child two years of age or younger enrolled in child care.
COMMENTS
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 6
of ?
The author requests the following amendments:
Amendment #1:
In order to simplify and make uniform the advance for
transportation costs:
11323.2(a)(2)(B) A standard allowance for transportation costs
shall be issued in advance to a participant at the beginning of
each month in an amount that is equal to the cost of a monthly
pass for the county public transit system. If a county does not
have a public transit system, the participant shall receive of
one hundred dollars ($100) per month. A participant is entitled
to opt out of the standard allowance at any time and make a
reimbursement claim for the actual costs of transportation, and
may submit this claim to the county by mail, in person, or via
the county's Internet Web site if the county already has the
technological capacity to do so .
Amendment #2:
In order to differentiate payments for full-time versus
part-time students:
11322.2 (a)(3) (B) A participant who has been assigned to an
educational activity full-time as defined by the in a
postsecondary school shall receive a standard allowance of five
hundred dollars ($500) and $250 for part-time student as defined
by the postsecondary school no later than 15 days before the
start of the semester to ensure that the participant has the
funds necessary to purchase books and supplies required by the
educational institution. The standard allowance shall be
adjusted annually for inflation according to the California
Consumer Price Index. A participant is entitled to opt out of
the standard allowance at any time and make a reimbursement
claim for the actual costs of books and supplies, and may submit
this claim to the county by mail, in person, or via the county's
Internet Web site , if the county already has the capacity to do
so .
POSITIONS
SB 1373 (Stone) Page 7
of ?
Support:
Coalition of Welfare Rights Organizations (Sponsor)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (Sponsor)
Courage Campaign
Food for People
National Association of Social Workers
Oppose:
None received.
-- END --