BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1640
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 20, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
AB 1640 (Mitchell) - As Introduced: February 13, 2012
SUBJECT : CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits: pregnant mothers
SUMMARY : Enacts the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act of 2012,
requiring payment of California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs) aid and CalFresh benefits
to otherwise eligible pregnant women or teenagers at any time
after verification of pregnancy. Specifically, this bill :
1)States legislative findings and declarations, including the
following:
a) By not ensuring uninterrupted supportive services to the
mothers who are experiencing multiple stressful situations
during their pregnancies, very poor women are more likely
to experience premature and low birth-weight babies, and
children are more likely to experience short- and long-term
health and behavioral challenges that can interfere with
their parents' long-term economic sufficiency.
b) Prenatal care during pregnancy can reduce risk factors
and diminish the effects of stress. Receiving earlier care
provides benefits for both the mother and the fetus. The
current third trimester CalWORKs eligibility test not only
impacts these beneficiaries basic needs grants, but also
impacts health care and prenatal services.
c) With limited economic resources, pregnant women are less
able to afford healthy diets. As a result, many are not
getting the nutrients they need for better fetal
development, which puts them at risk for low infant birth
rate and other abnormalities.
2)Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in a
family without a needy child qualified for aid upon
verification of pregnancy and without regard to her
eligibility for the Cal-Learn Program.
3)Prohibits, to the extent permitted by federal law, a pregnant
woman or teenager from being denied or made ineligible for
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CalFresh benefits, or from being required to participate in
the CalFresh Employment and Training (E&T) program, at any
time after verification of pregnancy.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes, under federal law, the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) program, providing block grants to
eligible states as part of a welfare-to-work program for
qualified low-income families.
2)Establishes, under state law, the CalWORKs program, which is
funded through a combination of state and county funds and
federal funds received through the TANF program, to provide
eligible low-income families cash assistance and employment
services.
a) Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in
a family without a needy child qualified for aid for the
month in which the birth is anticipated and for the
three-month period immediately prior to the month in which
the birth is anticipated.
b) Requires payment of CalWORKs aid to a pregnant mother in
a family without a needy child qualified for aid upon
verification of pregnancy if the pregnant woman is also
eligible for the Cal-Learn Program (providing intensive
case management and other services to teenagers under age
19 without a high school diploma or equivalent, who are
pregnant or parenting).
3)Establishes California's CalFresh program to administer the
state's allocation of federal funds under the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food
stamps.
4)Establishes the CalFresh E&T program, under which counties
that choose to participate may require nonexempt CalFresh
recipients who do not receive cash grants under the CalWORKs
program to participate in work activities to remain eligible
for CalFresh benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Under current law, a pregnant woman with no other
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eligible children in the household is not eligible for basic
needs cash assistance through CalWORKs until the third
trimester. Established in 1993 (SB 35 (Committee on Budget),
Chapter 69, Statutes of 1993, and SB 1078 (Watson), Chapter
1252, Statutes of 1993), the Cal-Learn Program addresses,
through CalWORKs, the unique educational, vocational, training,
health, and other social service needs of pregnant teens and
teenage parents to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
Low-income, pregnant women are also eligible to receive
pregnancy Medi-Cal, which is a fee-for-service health benefit
that covers pregnancy related healthcare. Once a woman becomes
eligible for CalWORKs or Cal-Learn, she receives 1931(b)-linked
Managed Care Medi-Cal. As the author points out, under current
law, women who become eligible for CalWORKs in their third
trimester must switch healthcare programs and often their
provider.
Need for this bill : According to the author, the
delayed-eligibility rule to receive CalWORKs cash aid "is over
two decades old and pre-dates many recent academic studies
showing that instability and stress felt by a pregnant woman can
have long-lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of infants
and children." According to the Urban Institute, California is
in the minority of states that require women to wait until the
third trimester to be eligible for grants through TANF, the
federal program that funds the state's CalWORKs program. This
policy, the author notes, not only impacts eligibility for basic
cash assistance for very low-income pregnant women, it also
means they lack continuity in their healthcare services.
The Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP), this bill's sponsor,
notes that "though women in their first and second trimesters of
pregnancy may be eligible for county benefits provided under
Welfare & Institutions Code � 17000 cash aid, many counties
limit this assistance to 3 months for people who are employable
and there is no statewide standard of employability for these
programs." According to WCLP, "it is the experience of many
applicants that these programs will not enroll a pregnant woman
until they verify that she is not in her third trimester, and
therefore eligible for CalWORKs." Therefore, women with very
little resources and no or little income may go without any cash
assistance. WCLP also notes the complicated patchwork of state
and federal policy with respect to work requirements for
pregnant women. This bill, WCLP notes, "makes it clear that
California elects to protect the CalFresh benefits for pregnant
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women to the maximum amount allowed under federal law."
In California, all low-income pregnant women with income below
200% of poverty are eligible for Medi-Cal. However, the type of
health care coverage a woman receives when she is pregnant
depends on whether or not she is participating in the CalWORKs
program. As a result, the author says, "these mostly first-time
mothers with incomes below poverty are asked to transfer their
healthcare coverage at the third trimester, when they become
eligible for CalWORKs and Medi-Cal Managed Care at the time when
pregnant women are just settling into the routine of regular
bi-monthly or weekly visits to their doctor."
The author concludes:
By not ensuring uninterrupted supportive services to
the women who are experiencing multiple stressful
situations during their pregnancies, very poor women
are more likely to experience premature and
low-birth-rate babies and children are more likely to
experience health and behavioral challenges which may
have lifelong impacts on the children's development.
These challenges may also interfere with the parent's
ability to achieve self-sufficiency.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Western Center on Law & Poverty (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) AFL-CIO
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
California WIC Association
Catholic Charities of California United
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
JERICHO
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Public Counsel Law Center, Children's Rights Project
St Anthony's Foundation, San Francisco
Western Center on Law and Poverty
AB 1640
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089