BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 264
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 264 (Maienschein) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill deletes the requirement that the 16 days of temporary
housing assistance provided to homeless families through the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
(CalWORKs) program be used consecutively. Instead, this bill
allows an eligible CalWORKs recipient to receive temporary
shelter assistance up to a total of 16 days, which may be used
at any time while the recipient is receiving CalWORKs aid and is
homeless.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potentially significant costs, in excess of $2 million, for
increased housing benefits.
It is unknown whether this bill would result in additional
benefits paid. Recipients who would have previously forfeited
a portion of their benefits by interrupting the consecutive
16-day period could see their lifetime benefit increase. This
may be partially or completely offset by lower benefits paid
to recipients who choose to save a portion of their 16-day
benefit for future use and either do not subsequently use it
or no longer qualify.
From December 2012 to November 2013, there were 30,214
approved requests for temporary housing statewide, and on
average 10.25 days were used per approved request. Total net
expenses for temporary housing incurred during that period was
$22,167,228, an average of $71.58 per day of temporary housing
used. If the average days used per approved request increased
by one, the additional net expenses to Temporary Assistance
AB 264
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for Needy Families (TANF) grant funds and/or General Fund over
that period would have been $2,163,351.
2)The bill may result in minor, absorbable costs for changes to
Department of Social Services IT systems to track benefits.
3)This bill may also result in minor, absorbable costs to
counties for re-evaluating temporary shelter assistance
applicants each time they apply for the benefit.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose. The author contends that because temporary housing
assistance is only available for 16 consecutive days, a break
in assistance unduly punishes families who vacate their
temporary lodgings at any point during the 16 day period. In
order to avoid forfeiting the remainder of the one-time
benefit, the current rule also serves as a disincentive for
families to find alternative arrangements, seek prospective
opportunities for employment, or tend to other health or
family obligations during the 16-day period.
The bill's author its sponsor, the Western Center on Law and
Poverty, contend the removal of the consecutive day rule would
further the underlying purpose of the CalWORKs temporary
housing assistance and enhance its effectiveness.
2) Background. The current 16 consecutive day limit is a
lifetime limit for temporary shelter assistance, provided that
a family doesn't meet criteria for an exception. A family may
receive temporary shelter assistance more than once in a
lifetime if the family's homelessness is the direct result of
domestic violence, a medically verified physical or mental
illness, excluding diagnoses that include substance abuse, or
a fire or other natural catastrophe beyond the family's
control. However, a family cannot receive the 16 consecutive
days of homeless assistance more than once in a 12-month
period, and families can only receive shelter assistance for
domestic violence twice in a lifetime.
3) Technical amendment.
Delete the provision relating to "one period" of temporary
shelter assistance and clarify that the benefit is no longer
subject to any consecutive use requirement or other temporal
AB 264
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limitation.
4) Existing Law.
a) Provides temporary shelter assistance to homeless
families receiving CalWORKs for one period of 16
consecutive days, except as specified, and counts a break
in the consecutive use of this assistance as permanent
exhaustion of the benefit.
b) Provides temporary shelter assistance in the amount of
$65 per day for a family of up to four people, with an
additional $15 per day provided for each additional family
member, subject to an overall maximum amount of temporary
shelter assistance of $125 per day per family. The
assistance can only be used to pay for housing provided in
a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established
rental property.
Analysis Prepared by : Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081