BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1654
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1654 (Bonilla) - As Introduced: February 11, 2014
SUBJECT : CalWORKs: assignment of child support.
SUMMARY : Increases the amount of child support passed through
to custodial parents receiving CalWORKs benefits.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to increase payments
of child support obligations, improve the health and
well-being of low-income children in single-parent homes, and
strengthen family unity by authorizing the maximum amount of
child support permitted under federal law to be passed through
to children who receive CalWORKs basic needs assistance.
2)Aligns state statute with federal incentives by increasing the
monthly amount of child support passed through to a custodial
parent participating in the CalWORKs program from the current
$50 for all aided children to $100 for one aided child and
$200 for two or more aided children.
3)Further increases the amount of child support passed through
to custodial parents on CalWORKs if federal law specifies that
a greater amount can be provided without counting as income or
resources for the CalWORKs assistance unit.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and
welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in
California, provides that TANF funds for welfare-to-work
services are administered through the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.
(42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)
2)Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to
determine eligibility for the CalWORKs program, including net
income below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family
size and county of residence, which is approximately 40% of
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the Federal Poverty Level. (WIC 11250 et seq.)
3)Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs benefits for
eligible adults, including 24 months during which a recipient
must meet federal work requirements in order to retain
eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)
4)Requires each county to maintain a local child support agency,
which is responsible for promptly and effectively
establishing, modifying and enforcing child support
obligations, including establishing paternity for children
born out of wedlock. (FC 17400)
5)Requires a CalWORKs applicant or recipient to assign to the
local child support agency all rights to child support
payments received on behalf of a child in the CalWORKs
assistance unit and requires the applicant or recipient to
cooperate with the county welfare department and local child
support agency in establishing the paternity of that child and
in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support order with
respect that child, provided that the applicant or recipient
does not qualify for a good cause exception from this
requirement, as specified. (WIC 11477)
6)Provides that a CalWORKs applicant or recipient's grant amount
shall be reduced by 25% while the applicant or recipient fails
to cooperate with the local child support agency without a
good cause exception. (WIC 11477.02)
7)Grants a good cause exemption from the requirement to
cooperate with the county welfare department and local child
support agency in child support-related activities under
certain circumstances, including if the child for whom support
is sought was conceived as a result of incest or rape, or if
efforts to establish paternity or establish, modify or enforce
a support order would increase the risk of abuse or harm to
the child in question or the parent seeking support for the
child. (WIC 11477.04)
8)Requires the local child support agency to pass through the
first $50 of any amount of child support collected on behalf
of a child included in a CalWORKs assistance unit to the
recipient family and disregards that amount when calculating
income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility
and establishing the family's grant amount. (FC 17504, WIC
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11457.3)
9)Provides an option in federal law for states to pass through
to a custodial parent receiving TANF benefits up to the first
$100 in child support collected for one child and up to $200
for two or more children and disregards those amounts when
calculating TANF eligibility and grant amounts. (42 U.S.C.
657)
10)Prohibits the county from retaining or counting as income or
resources any child support payments paid to a CalWORKs
recipient family on behalf of a child that is excluded from
the assistance unit, and therefore not aided, due to the
maximum family grant rule. (WIC 11450.04(e))
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : In an effort to increase financial stability and
improve general well-being for children and families assisted
through the CalWORKs program, this bill requires California to
access the federal option established under the 2005 Deficit
Reduction Act to increase the amount of child support passed
through to custodial parents in CalWORKs recipient families
without affecting program eligibility or the family's aid
payment.
The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
(CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and
employment-related services aimed at moving children out of
poverty and helping families meet basic needs. Federal funding
for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant. The average monthly cash grant for
a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is
$463. According to recent data from the California Department
of Social Services, 554,292 families rely on CalWORKs, including
over one million children. Nearly 80% of those children are
under age twelve.
Average grants of $463 per month for a family of three means
$15.43 per day, per family, or $5.14 per family member, per day
to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills,
food, and anything else a family needs to ensure children can be
cared for at home and safely remain with their families. This
grant amount puts the annual household income at $5,556 per
year. Federal Poverty Guidelines show that 100% of poverty for
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a family of three is over three and a half times that at $19,790
per year.
Child support : The national child support program was
originally established by Congress in 1975 as part D of Title IV
of the Social Security Act to establish paternity and collect
support obligations as a means of reimbursing the state and
federal governments for benefits paid out through public
assistance programs. Over twenty years later, the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
(PRWORA), which was the final piece of federal welfare reform
legislation, repealed the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children (AFDC) program and created the block-granted TANF
program. The new approach emphasized integrating parents into
the workforce and granted states flexibility in implementing
their respective programs. Within the new approach, the focus
of the national child support program shifted toward addressing
children's need for parental support from both parents,
requiring state TANF plans to contain an assurance that the
state will operate a child support enforcement program pursuant
to an approved Title IV-D plan.
In California, the child support program is administered by the
Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) within the
California Health and Human Services Agency, and local child
support agencies carry out child support enforcement duties at
the county level. A few years after PRWORA was passed, Congress
began providing funding to states for their child support
programs based on performance and required states to develop an
automated data processing and information retrieval system to
meet child support enforcement requirements. The federal
government began providing a 2/3 match for any state funds
expended for child support enforcement activities, and monetary
penalties were levied by the federal government against states
not meeting performance standards or other requirements, such as
implementing an automated child support enforcement system.
Interaction between CalWORKs and child support : In keeping with
the original impetus for establishing the national child support
program, federal and state law still require child support
payments for TANF-assisted children to be withheld as a means of
reimbursing government for the cost of providing public
assistance. CalWORKs applicants are required to assign their
rights to any child support payments to the state as a means of
receiving CalWORKs assistance, provided that the child support
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obligation does not exceed the CalWORKs grant amount.
Additionally, unless they are granted a good cause exception
(e.g., fear of retaliation from an abuser), applicants and
recipients are required to cooperate with local child support
agencies in establishing paternity and aiding other enforcement
efforts. While collections made on behalf of TANF recipients
are to be distributed 50%-50% to the state and federal
government, each state has the option under federal law to
retain its share of the collection or distribute it to the
family for whom it was paid.
As part of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), signed by
President Bush in 2006, states were granted additional
flexibility in the amount of child support that could be passed
through to a TANF-assisted family and disregarded; up to $100
for one child and $200 for two or more children. Any amount of
child support-up to these maximum amounts-passed through to
CalWORKs families and disregarded reduces the overall support
collection for purposes of calculating the 50%-50% state and
federal shares.
Only in cases in which a CalWORKs-aided family includes a child
for whom there is no grant due to the maximum family grant (MFG)
rule is the entire support payment for that child passed through
to the parent on CalWORKs. However, the parent still won't
receive child support for that child if the non-custodial parent
can't be located or can't afford to pay child support, or if the
custodial parent avoids seeking the support due to potential
undue hardship or other risks of maintaining a connection with
an abusive or otherwise unstable non-custodial parent.
Need for the bill : The provisions of this bill were included in
the introduced version of AB 176 (Jones) Chapter 488, Statutes
of 2007, but were amended out of that bill in the Senate. At
that time, the economy was suffering, and California was paying
the federal government fines for not yet having a single
statewide child support enforcement automation system. In
addition to the fines, another component of being in penalty
status was a capped federal match for automation costs. With
the threat of further federal penalty assessments prior to full
development of the automation system, the state did not take
advantage of the federal option to pass a higher amount of child
support dollars through to CalWORKs families, and instead kept
the additional money that was part of the state's share.
California fully implemented and received federal certification
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for its statewide child support automation system in November
2008, which eliminated the looming threat of federal penalties
and lifted the cap on the federal match for automation costs.
As the state continues to improve its child support enforcement
efforts to meet federal performance measures, the state may be
in a better position to pass through additional child support
dollars to families receiving CalWORKs aid.
According to the author, this bill "takes advantage of a federal
option to redirect more child support funds towards children on
CalWORKs. Increasing the amount of child support passed through
to CalWORKs families provides more money for needy children and
increases their financial security. Modest increases in child
support can be very beneficial and be the difference in a
parent's ability to provide for their child's basic needs." The
author goes on to note that single mothers have faced extreme
challenges in recovering from the economic downturn, and this
bill will help them provide for their children as they get back
on their feet.
PRIOR LEGISLATION :
AB 176 (Jones) Chapter 488, Statutes of 2007, implemented two
provisions of the 2005 DRA with respect to child support
enforcement. It required LCSAs to review child support orders
under the CalWORKs program at least once every three years and
make appropriate adjustments; and, for CalWORKs applications
received on or after October 1, 2009, removed from consideration
for assignment to the county any arrearages for child support
paid to the applicant or recipient that were past-due prior to
the recipient's application for cash aid. As introduced, AB 176
included the increase in the child support pass through and
disregard amount that is contained in this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Association of Food Banks
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Partnership
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
Children's Defense Fund- California (CDF-CA)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA)
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Francisco Living Wage Coalition
Western Center on Law and Poverty
1 Individual
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089