BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 419
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 17, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

               AB 419 (Lowenthal) - As Introduced:  February 15, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Human  
          ServicesVote:7 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill expands the current provisions regarding the  
          hospitalization of children in a CalWORKs family by stating that  
          a child is considered temporarily absent from the home (and  
          therefore still eligible for a CalWORKs grant) if they are a  
          patient in either a public or private hospital regardless of the  
          duration of the hospitalization. Under current law, children in  
          a family receiving CalWORKs are considered temporarily absent  
          from the home if they are a patient in a public hospital for  
          less than two months.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          This situation affects very few families each year. Costs should  
          therefore be negligible, probably less than $5,000 (Temporary  
          Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]/Maintenance of Effort  
          [MOE]) per year. 

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  . According to the sponsors, the County Welfare  
          Directors Association (CWDA), counties occasionally find  
          themselves dealing with family situations where the child  
          requires hospitalization for a long period of time. CWDA  
          suggests that when the family is already dealing with financial  
          and emotional hardship caused by a child's hospitalization, the  
          possibility of further reduced income because of the child's  
          hospitalization exacerbates the hardship and increases stress  
          for the family. This bill would rectify that situation by  
          allowing children who are hospitalized at either private or  
          public hospitals for extended periods of time to remain on the  








                                                                  AB 419
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          CalWORKs caseload.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081