BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1691
A
AUTHOR: Lowenthal
B
VERSION: February 15, 2012
HEARING DATE: June 12, 2012
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FISCAL: Yes
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9
CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
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SUBJECT
CalWORKs: Welfare-to-work activities
SUMMARY
Requires English as a second language education to be
counted as a core welfare-to-work activity.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Establishes, under federal law, the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program,
providing block grants to states as part of a
welfare-to-work program for qualified low-income
families designed to move families to
self-sufficiency. (42 U.S.C. �601)
2) Establishes, under federal law, work participation
rates for states, (42 U.S.C. �607).
3) Defines, in federal law, twelve core work
activities that may be counted toward the
Continued---
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work-participation requirement. These include
unsubsidized and subsidized employment, on-the-job
training, vocational training, education related to
employment, secondary school attendance, and other
activities. (42 U.S.C. �607).
4) Establishes, under California statute, the CalWORKs
program to administer the federal block grant and
requires that adult recipients participate in
welfare-to-work activities.(WIC 11320.3)
5) Requires under California law that participants
must complete 32 or 35 hours of welfare-to-work
activities weekly, as specified. Of those, 20 hours
must be completed in core activities. (WIC 11322.8)
6) Limits activities that may be counted as core
activities toward the welfare-to-work participation
requirement to include unsubsidized employment,
subsidized employment, work experience, on-the-job
training, work-study, community service, and other
activities, as specified. (WIC 11322.8 (c)).
7) Defines as a non-core activity adult basic
education, including English as a second language
classes, and other activities, as specified.
(WIC11322.8, WIC 11322.6)
8) Requires that classroom hours for adult education,
including English as a second language, count toward
core hours to the extent that the activities cannot be
accomplished within the additional noncore hours of
participation, the county determines the program is
likely to lead to self-supporting employment and the
recipient makes satisfactory progress. (WIC 11322.8
(e)).
This bill
1) Adds English as a second language education to the
list of allowable welfare-to-work core activities for
CalWORKs participants.
2) Limits participation in English as a second
language education as a core activity to a total of
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1691 (Lowenthal) Page
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eight months.
3) Permits a county on a case-by-case basis to extend
the allowable time counted toward core activity to 12
months.
4) Permits participants to count English as a second
language education as a non-core activity once all
core activity hours have been fulfilled.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations committee, there
are no significant costs associated with this legislation.
The analysis notes that to the extent that English as a
second language education allows CalWORKs participants to
more easily obtain employment while in CalWORKs, this
legislation would result in long-term CalWORKs grant
savings.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill
The author states that language proficiency is one of the
greatest barriers to successfully obtaining employment for
refugees and other non-English speaking CalWORKs clients
who are lawful state residents. Without English as a second
language (ESL) classes, it is more difficult for
non-English speakers to find gainful employment or to be
able to fully participate in other training, work or
education programs. Under current rules, ESL classes and
work-related ESL classes are not counted as core
welfare-to-work activities. If recipients are unable to
complete the required core work activities, they face
sanctions or loss of aid. The author states that while
federal law does not permit ESL classes to count toward
federal work-participation requirements, it is unlikely
that these CalWORKs participants would be participating an
activities that meet core federal guidelines and that this
change therefore would not significantly affect the state's
federal work-participation rate.
Welfare-to-work activities
Federal law established the Temporary Assistance to Needy
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Families (TANF) program in 1996, to help low-income
families obtain work and achieve self-sufficiency.
California's CalWORKs program provides welfare-to-work
activities through a combination of state and county
funding and TANF funds. As of March 2012, CalWORKs was
providing cash assistance and welfare-to-work services to
approximately 572,500 eligible needy families. Federal law
requires that states ensure approximately 50 percent of
able-bodied TANF recipients participate in specified
categories of work activities for a minimum number of hours
per week. Single parents must complete 30 hours of work
activity; two-parent families must complete 35 hours, and
parents with a child under the age of six are required to
engage in 20 hours of eligible work activities per week.
Both federal and state statutes define "core" and
"non-core" activities that may count toward the
work-participation rate, with some differences. The
California work requirement for a single parent is 32
hours, of which 20 must be core hours. For a two-parent
family the requirement is 35 hours, 20 of which must be
core hours.
California's most recently published CalWORKs
characteristics survey, which includes data through FFY
2004, indicates English is not the primary language of
three in 10 recipient heads of household. While some
educational classes are considered core activities under
federal law, English as a second language classes are
defined as a non-core activity unless it can be
demonstrated to be a part of a vocational education
program. Federal statute places a 12-month limit on any
educational activities. California law permits ESL classes
to count as a core activity once the classes have filled
non-core hours.
Research
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Limited English proficiency is cited as one of the most
common barriers for TANF recipients, according to a 2002
report jointly prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities in Washington DC and the Center for Law and
Social Policy, "Improving TANF Program Outcomes for
Families with Barriers to Employment." The most common
barriers to success in the TANF program are physical and
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1691 (Lowenthal) Page
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mental health problems, drug and alcohol problems,
children's illness or disability, learning disabilities,
domestic violence, low education levels and limited English
proficiency.
The study noted that a number of research projects since
the passage of welfare reform in 1996 have shown that TANF
recipients with such barriers are less likely to find jobs,
have lower average earnings and are more likely to lose
assistance or be sanctioned for non-compliance. Individuals
with multiple barriers have even more difficulty
succeeding. The study recommended recipients with barriers
be permitted to count as work-participation those
activities designed to address specific barriers, such as
ESL classes.
"The poor labor market outcomes of recipients with
barriers documented by research in this area suggest
that they may need to participate in activities
designed to address their barriers, such as mental
health counseling, substance abuse treatment or
English as a Second Language classes, rather than
exclusively participating in the limited set of
countable work activities set out in current law.
Without access to such activities, recipients may be
forced into inappropriate activities that do not help
them move toward employment ..." (Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, 2002)
Center for Adult English Learning Acquisition
The Center for Adult English Learning Acquisition in 2007
published an eight-page brief discussing benefits for
various educational settings to teach immigrant job-seekers
English-language skills.
"The U.S. workplace is increasingly populated with
workers whose first language is not English. Data from
the 1990 U.S. Census showed 11.6 million foreign-born
workers, 9% of the total labor force of 123.5 million.
By 2002, there were approximately 20.3 million
foreign-born workers, 14% of a total labor force of
144.1 million. While the sheer numbers are impressive,
more significant is the fact that these numbers
represent a 76% growth rate for foreign-born workers,
compared to a rate of only 11% for native-born
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workers.
Oral English fluency and literacy have long been
considered to be key factors in workforce success.
Since 1964, the need for immigrant adults to be
proficient in English in order to be successful at
work has been one reason for federal funding for adult
education programs. (Center for Applied Linguistics,
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition,
September 2007)
Related legislation
AB 2772 (Committee on Human Services) Chapter 902, Statutes
of 1998, permitted adult education to count toward the
state's core activity requirement under specified
conditions.
Arguments in support
The County Welfare Directors Association, the bill's
sponsor, states that participants in the CalWORKs program
who need ESL classes are not achieving core work activity
measures and are unlikely to be able to find and retain
work without ESL education. "If a brief period of ESL
instruction were allowed for these individuals, they could
move on to find jobs and have a much greater chance of
success in the workplace." CWDA states that an 8- to
12-month investment in ESL classes will prepare the refugee
and legal immigrant parents who receive CalWORKs benefits
to engage in training, find work, and achieve core work
requirements.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 56 - 18
Assembly Appropriations:11 - 4
Assembly Human Services: 4 - 1
POSITIONS
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Support: County Welfare Directors Association
(sponsor)
Butte County Department of Employment and
Social Services
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Community Colleges CALWORKs
Association
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Partnership to End Domestic
Violence
California State Association of Counties
Coalition of California Welfare Rights
Organizations, Inc.
Laborers' Local 777
Laborers' Local 792
National Association of Social Workers
Riverside County Department of Public Social
Services
San Francisco Human Services Agency
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Stanislaus County Community Services Agency
Tulare County Health and Human Services
Agency
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: None received
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