BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 264 (Maienschein) - CalWORKs: temporary shelter assistance.
Amended: June 12, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: June 23, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 264 would revise eligibility for both temporary
shelter and permanent housing assistance payments under the
CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program, as follows:
Deletes the requirement that 16 days of temporary shelter
assistance provided to families be used consecutively, and
would instead authorize eligible families to receive
temporary shelter assistance for up to a total of 16 days,
which may be used at any time while the family is receiving
aid.
Expands eligibility for permanent housing assistance
payments to families who have not previously received the
maximum allowable temporary shelter assistance (existing law
prohibits permanent housing assistance to families who have
previously received any amount of temporary shelter
assistance).
Revises the exception for domestic violence cases
currently limited to two periods of not more than 16
consecutive days of temporary shelter assistance to any
number of periods for a maximum of 32 calendar days.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially major ongoing costs for temporary shelter
assistance in the range of $2 million to $6 million (General
Fund) assuming an additional one to three additional days on
average are provided. Over 30,250 requests for temporary
shelter were approved in the last year, with an average of
10 days of assistance at an average daily cost of about $72.
These costs would be offset to some extent by reduced
payments to families who choose to retain a portion of the
16-day benefit for future use but do not subsequently use it
or no longer qualify.
Potentially significant costs in the hundreds of thousands
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to low millions of dollars (General Fund) for additional
payments of permanent homeless assistance for cases
previously ineligible and/or denied these payments due to
existing statute prohibiting payments to families in
previous receipt of any amount of temporary shelter
assistance. The average permanent housing assistance payment
was $850 over the past year, with over 1,625 denied requests
for assistance in one 12-month period alone. If half of the
denials would have been impacted by this bill, costs to
provide payments would be nearly $700,000. It is unknown how
many requests have been denied over the life of the Homeless
Assistance Program due to a family's previous receipt of
temporary shelter assistance payments of less than the
maximum 16 days, but it is likely significant. Additionally,
it is unknown how many more requests have not been submitted
due to recognition of the existing restriction on
eligibility.
To the extent AB 1452 (Stone) 2014, which increases the
daily maximum homeless allowance for a family of four from
$65 to $75 per day, is enacted, the fiscal impact for
temporary shelter assistance noted above would be about 15
percent greater.
Unknown, potentially significant costs for automation
modifications required to enable the tracking of this
information.
Ongoing state-reimbursable local costs (General Fund) for
county agencies to re-evaluate eligibility for temporary and
permanent housing assistance payments.
Background: Existing law, with certain exceptions, provides
eligible families with a once-in-a-lifetime payment for homeless
assistance, including temporary housing assistance for one
period of up to 16 consecutive calendar days and one payment of
permanent housing assistance. A homeless assistance payment may
be granted for either, or both, temporary shelter or permanent
housing.
Existing law 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 $125 per day per
family. Assistance can only be used to pay for housing provided
in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established
rental property. In addition to families receiving CalWORKs, the
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temporary shelter payment is also available to homeless
applicants who are technically eligible, but not actually
enrolled, in the CalWORKs program.
Existing law provides that any otherwise eligible Assistance
Unit (AU) that includes a parent or nonparent caretaker relative
living in the home who has previously received temporary shelter
assistance or permanent homeless assistance at any time on
behalf of an eligible child is not eligible for further homeless
assistance.
The exceptions to the once-in-a-lifetime availability of
temporary and permanent housing assistance are as follows:
A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary
result of a state or federally declared natural disaster.
When homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence
by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or mental
illness, as specified; or the uninhabitability of the former
residence caused by sudden and unusual circumstances beyond
the control of the family including natural catastrophe,
fire, or condemnation.
Homeless assistance payments based on the circumstances above
are limited to not more often than once in any 12-month period.
If the domestic violence is verified by a sworn statement by the
victim, the homeless assistance payments are limited to two
periods of not more than 16 consecutive calendar days of
temporary assistance and two payments of permanent assistance.
Any AU applying for homeless assistance is required to be
informed that these benefits are limited to once-in-a-lifetime,
with exceptions. Additionally, any person who applies for
homeless assistance benefits must be informed that the temporary
shelter benefit of up to 16 consecutive days is available only
once in a lifetime, with certain exceptions, and that a break in
the consecutive use of the benefit constitutes permanent
exhaustion of the temporary benefit. (Welfare and Institutions
Code �11450 (f)(2)(E)(i))
Proposed Law: This bill would expand the provision of temporary
shelter and permanent housing assistance to CalWORKs-eligible
families, as follows:
Eliminates the requirement that the temporary shelter
assistance be provided during one period of 16 consecutive
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days, and instead would limit the temporary shelter
assistance to a maximum of 16 calendar days in a lifetime.
Expands temporary shelter assistance to any family that
includes a parent or nonparent caretaker relative living in
the home who has not previously received the maximum
allowable temporary shelter assistance (instead of just a
portion of the total 16 days) or permanent homeless
assistance at any time on behalf of an eligible child.
In cases of domestic violence, deletes the requirement
that homeless assistance be provided no more than twice, in
two periods not to exceed 16 consecutive days, and instead
permits homeless assistance be provided to eligible
families for a total of 32 calendar days in a lifetime.
This bill would require the DSS to implement the provisions of
the bill through an all-county letter or similar instructions no
later than April 1, 2015, and would require the DSS to adopt
regulations no later than July 1, 2016.
Related Legislation: AB 1452 (Stone) 2014 would increase the
daily maximum homeless allowance for a family of four from $65
to $75 per day, and increase the maximum daily assistance for
larger families from $125 to $135. It would require that
homeless assistance benefits be included in annual
recalculations and cost-of-living adjustments for CalWORKs
benefits. This bill is scheduled to be heard on June 30, 2014,
in this Committee.
Staff Comments: By eliminating the requirement that temporary
shelter assistance be limited to only one period of up to 16
consecutive days, and instead providing temporary shelter
assistance for a maximum of 16 calendar days in a lifetime, this
bill could result in significant ongoing costs for additional
temporary shelter assistance payments in the range of $2 million
to $6 million (General Fund), assuming an additional one to
three days of temporary shelter assistance are provided on
average. Based on data from the CA 237HA (CalWORKs Homeless
Assistance Program - Monthly Statistical Report) for March 2013
to February 2014, over 30,250 requests for temporary shelter
were approved. The average number of days of temporary shelter
assistance was 10.3 days at an average daily cost of about $72.
These costs would be partially offset by reduced payments to
families who choose to retain a portion of the 16-day benefit
for future use but do not subsequently use it or no longer
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qualify.
This bill could also result in significant additional costs for
increased permanent homeless assistance payments for cases
previously ineligible and/or denied these payments due to
existing statute prohibiting payments to families in previous
receipt of any amount of temporary shelter assistance. According
to CA 237HA data for March 2013 to February 2014, the average
permanent housing assistance payment was about $850, with over
1,625 denied requests for permanent homeless assistance in one
12-month period alone. It is unknown how many requests have been
denied over the life of the Homeless Assistance Program due to a
family's previous receipt of temporary shelter assistance
payments of less than the maximum of 16 days, but it is
estimated to be significant. Additionally, it is unknown how
many more requests have not been submitted due to recognition of
the existing restriction on eligibility.
AB 1452 (Stone) 2014 would increase the daily maximum homeless
allowance for a family of four from $65 to $75 per day, and
increase the family maximum from $125 to $135. Should both this
measure and AB 1452 be enacted, the fiscal impact of the
potential increases in temporary shelter payments discussed
above would be greater by approximately 15 percent.
To the extent automation modifications are required to
effectuate the changes specified in this measure, the Department
of Social Services could incur one-time costs of an unknown
amount. Additionally, this bill would result in ongoing
state-reimbursable local costs (General Fund) for county
agencies to re-evaluate eligibility for temporary and permanent
housing assistance payments.
Staff notes the Budget Act of 2014 includes $20 million General
Fund to be available for housing supports for CalWORKs families
for whom homelessness or housing instability is a barrier to
self-sufficiency or child well-being. It is unclear at this time
how these funds interact with the existing CalWORKs Homeless
Assistance Program addressed in this measure or if the
appropriation is to provide supplemental funding for these
purposes.
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