BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1970
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Date of Hearing: April 10, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
AB 1970 (Skinner) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012
SUBJECT : Social Services Modernization and Efficiency Act of
2012
SUMMARY : Establishes the Social Services Modernization and
Efficiency (SSME) Act to modernize and remove barriers to
participation in social services program. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires any state plan submitted by any department to any
federal agency for a social services program administered by
the department, and any and all related communication,
including any writings relative to any waiver requested or
received by the department, be electronically available to the
public on the department's Internet Web site.
2)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to seek a
waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
authorizing county human services departments and the
California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention
System (CalHEERS) developed pursuant to the California Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, to deliver notices and
communication pertaining to CalFresh eligibility and benefit
issuance, as allowed under the SSME Act.
3)Requires DSS, in consultation with client and patient
advocates, representatives of county human services
departments, and representatives of county eligibility
workers, develop a process whereby applicants and recipients
can affirmatively choose to receive notices of action or other
communications relevant to their case electronically.
4)Requires that all applicants and recipients of public social
services, including CalFresh benefits and any state health
subsidy program, be allowed to affirmatively choose to receive
communications and notices electronically, by U.S. mail, or
both subject to the following:
a) No notice or other communication shall be sent
electronically unless that method has been affirmatively
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requested in writing by the applicant or recipient, and a
record of such requests shall be maintained in the
individual's case file for 3 years;
b) All notices sent electronically must be sent by secured
server and may not be sent as an e-mail attachment. If the
administering agency or department does not receive
confirmation that the communication has been opened or
downloaded within seven days of being sent, requires the
communication to be sent by U.S. mail;
c) Notwithstanding provisions allowing for electronic
communication, notices terminating or sanctioning benefits,
or establishing an intentional program violation for any
household member or for establishing or collecting an
overpayment, underpayment, overissuance or underissuance
from recipients or former recipients shall be sent by U.S.
mail;
d) Every effort shall be made to maintain the privacy and
security of applicant or recipient information; and,
e) Requires compliance with state security standards, which
shall be posted on the department's Internet Web site and
on all online applications.
5)Prohibits collection or use for any purpose, other than
transmitting information to the applicant or recipient as
provided, electronic data that identifies an applicant or
recipient, his or her permanent or temporary internet protocol
(IP) address, or the geographic location of the IP address or
mobile device.
6)Prohibits a county from requiring an applicant for or
recipient of aid to provide verification of information
provided to the county unless federally required and necessary
to determine eligibility for aid or to compute the amount of
aid, and the information is not already available to the
eligibility worker.
7)Requires counties to maximize the use of electronic means of
verifying information that must be verified, except for
information that federal law permits to be verified through
self-attestation statement of the applicant or recipient.
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8)Requires, at a minimum, that the state work with designated
stakeholders to establish a statewide protocol enabling the
use of the electronic database developed for verification of
eligibility information related to the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 for applicants for
and recipients of CalWORKs, CalFresh and other social services
programs.
9)Requires that applicants for or recipients of aid under social
services programs whose information is electronically verified
be given an opportunity to review and make corrections to the
electronically obtained information.
10)Requires all application and recertification issues for
public assistance programs be conducted in person, by
telephone or through other electronic means to provide for
more efficiency and reduce associated transportation costs.
11)Applicants and recipients shall receive notice of the date,
time, and place of application and recertification interviews,
which shall be scheduled at least 10 working days in advance
and, if in person, shall be conducted within 30 minutes of the
individual's arrival time.
12)If the option of on-demand telephone interviews is offered,
the required notice shall inform the applicant or recipient of
this option and how to phone in for the interview.
13)Requires that notices also inform applicants and recipients
that they may conduct interviews through various electronic
means, and requires that the notice be developed in
consultation with designated stakeholders and be provided in
language that is accessible to applicants and recipients.
14)Requires that expedited service interviews for CalFresh
benefits be postponed and conducted at the same time as the
interview for regular CalFresh benefits if the state or county
welfare department has no verifiable information indicating
the applicant's ineligibility for expedited service.
15)Authorizes DSS to implement the SSME Act through all-county
letters or similar instructions to be issued no later than
January 1, 2014.
16)Declares that no appropriation would be made for purposes of
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implementing the SSME Act.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes social services programs, including the California
Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
program, CalFresh, and Medi-Cal.
2)Provides that public social services for which state
grants-in-aid are made to the counties shall be administered
fairly to the end that all persons who are eligible and apply
for such public social services shall receive the assistance
to which they are entitled promptly, with due consideration
for the needs of applicants and the safeguarding of public
funds.
3)Requires county welfare departments, to the extent provided by
federal law, to provide CalFresh benefits on an expedited to
households determined to be in immediate need of food
assistance.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "�t]he combination of
unprecedented demand in terms of caseload increases and
declining state and local capacity highlights the need for
program improvements to modernize social services programs."
The author further states:
Many California families' health and well-being have
been threatened as an effect of the economic crisis,
and are now seeking assistance through the state to
stabilize their livelihood. It is imperative that we
remove unnecessary barriers to social services
programs to help guarantee that the neediest in our
communities have greater access to these programs. In
these times of economic uncertainty, we have to ensure
that all those who qualify for these vital social
safety net programs are able to obtain access to them.
Not only are many individuals not receiving needed aid for which
they are eligible, the low participation rate costs the state
federal dollars. In the CalFresh program, for example,
California annually loses out on $4.9 billion dollars in federal
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funds due to 3.5 million eligible non-participants. Lost
Dollars, Empty Plates: The Impact of CalFresh Participation on
State and Local Economies, California Food Policy Advocates
(February 2012), p 3.
This bill is intended to make several changes to the
administration of social services program that would improve
services to the consumers of these programs and make the
programs more efficient. Among other things, this bill will
limit verification requirements to items required by federal
law, reducing the paperwork that customers must provide prior to
enrollment. Consistent with federal law, this bill permits
electronic transmission of certain notices of action between
county human services departments and consumers. This bill also
seeks to establish alternatives to in-person interviews for
applications and redeterminations at the option of the applicant
or recipient. It also ensures transparency by making copies of
any state plan submitted by the Health and Human Services Agency
available to the public. The author says that "�t]hese
modernization changes will streamline human services programs
for recipients and counties, and serve to illustrate the
efficiencies to be gained from the use of modern technology."
This bill also provides privacy protections, limiting counties'
use of an applicant's or recipient's electronic information for
any purpose other than communicating with the applicant or
recipient.
The author reports that the idea for this bill came from months
of meetings among stakeholders, including DSS, discussing
options for achieving program simplification and removal of
access barriers, reducing administrative complexity, adding
linkages with and coordination among other state assistance
programs, providing stronger support for nutritious food choices
and nutrition education, and encouraging program innovations.
Co-sponsor of this bill, Service Employees International Union -
California (SEIU), also emphasizes that this bill includes "a
set of program improvements agreed upon by client advocates,
counties and our front-line workers who operate the programs."
The coalition of sponsors and the author are continuing to work
with DSS on amendments to refine this bill.
In support of this bill, Legal Services of Northern California
says that, with current state and county budget constraints, "it
is imperative to take advantage of technological advances to
allow for a more effective and efficient means of establishing
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public benefits eligibility. It will also prevent 'churning'
(reapplication after procedural denials) and the harm to
families who otherwise can go hungry and homeless."
Opposition : The California District Attorneys Association
(CDAA) opposes this bill, asserting that allowing application
and recertification interviews for certain public benefits to be
conducted via telephone or other electronic means invites more
fraud into these systems. In addition, CDAA opposes provisions
prohibiting a county from requiring verification to determine
eligibility or compute the amount of aid that is not federally
required, and provisions permitting the county to request
additional information but providing that aid shall not be
delayed, denied, or terminated due to the individual's failure
to provide such information. CDAA contends that "�e]nsuring
program integrity should be a hallmark of public assistance
programs and this bill frustrates the state's ability to do so."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (sponsor)
County Welfare Directors Association of California (sponsor)
Service Employees International Union - California (SEIU)
(sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (sponsor)
Alameda County Community Food Bank
Asian Law Alliance
California Catholic Conference
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition
California State Association of Counties
Department of Public Social Services
Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services
Laborers' Locals 777 & 792
Legal Services of Northern California
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
St. Anthony's Foundation
Stanislaus County Community Services Agency
Opposition
California District Attorneys Association (CDAA)
AB 1970
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Analysis Prepared by : Eric Gelber / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089