BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2115 (Bradford) - CalFresh: information to applicants.
Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Vote: Human Services 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2115 would require county human service
agencies to provide additional information to CalFresh
applicants, as follows:
Requires a county human services agency to provide
CalFresh applicants that have children with information
about how to enroll the children in the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC Program) and the National School Lunch and
School Breakfast Programs (NSLP/SBP) while the CalFresh
application is pending.
Requires a county human services agency to inform the
applicant that if the household is certified for CalFresh,
children under five years of age are income-eligible for
the WIC Program and all children are directly certified for
the NSLP/SBP.
Requires additional providers to be added to the list of
food assistance providers currently compiled by county
human services agencies.
Requires the list to be updated based on information a
county human services agency receives from various entities
including the WIC Program, the Department of Education
(CDE), cities, school districts, and summer lunch
providers, and requires the list to be made available to
all households applying for CalFresh benefits, rather than
only upon request.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially significant ongoing state-reimbursable county
administrative costs (General Fund) to inform and provide
information to CalFresh applicants that have children with
information on eligibility and enrollment in specified
programs. Based on nearly 2 million CalFresh applications
AB 2115 (Bradford)
Page 1
received annually, assuming 75 percent of applicants have
children in the household, providing an additional five
minutes of eligibility worker time would cost over $7
million annually. This estimate assumes many counties
utilize the option of waiving the face-to-face interview and
instead provide a telephone interview in which the
information would have to be explained verbally in lieu of
providing information on a written document. To the extent a
document is mailed in lieu of information provided over the
phone would also incur administrative resources and mailing
costs.
Likely minor state-reimbursable local costs (General Fund)
to add providers to, and update, food provider lists.
Potentially significant increase in federal WIC Program
(Federal) and NSLP/SBP (Federal/State) benefits to the
extent the mandated county efforts result in increased
enrollment in these programs.
Background: Existing state law requires each county welfare
department to compile a list of emergency food providers in the
area served by the local CalFresh office. Existing law requires
this list to be made available upon request and may be used to
refer individuals to emergency food assistance sites.
The federal WIC Program seeks to serve low-income, nutritionally
at risk pregnant women, breastfeeding women, infants and
children up to their fifth birthday. WIC benefits include
supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education and
counseling at WIC clinics, and screening and referrals to other
health, welfare, and social services. WIC is not an entitlement
program as Congress does not set aside funds to allow every
eligible individual to participate in the program. Rather, WIC
is a federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a
specific amount of funds each year for the program. The FFY 2014
grant to California of $1.2 billion includes $878 million for
food and $328 million for nutrition services and administration.
As of March 2013, the WIC Program served 8.6 million
participants and provided an average benefit of $42.57 per
month. Families who are eligible for SNAP (CalFresh in
California), Medi-Cal, or TANF benefits are automatically
income-eligible for WIC benefits.
The NSLP is a federally assisted meal program operating in over
100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential
AB 2115 (Bradford)
Page 2
care institutions. It provided nutritionally balanced, low-cost
or free lunches to more than 31 million children each school day
in 2012. In 1998, Congress expanded the NSLP to include
reimbursement for snacks served to children in after-school
educational and enrichment programs to include children through
18 years of age. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
administers the program at the federal level. At the state
level, the NSLP is administered by CDE, which operates the
program through agreements with school food authorities.
The SBP provides cash assistance to states to operate nonprofit
breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare
institutions. The FNS administers the SBP at the federal level,
CDE administers the SBP at the state level, and local school
food authorities operate the program in schools. Most of the
support USDA provides to schools in the School Breakfast Program
comes in the form of a cash reimbursement for each breakfast
served. The current basic cash reimbursement rates (through June
30, 2014) for non-severe need are: Free breakfast-$1.58,
reduced-price breakfast-$1.28, paid breakfasts-$0.28. Schools
may qualify for higher "severe need" reimbursements if 40
percent or more of their lunches are served free or at a reduced
price in the second preceding year.
Existing federal law provides that any child who is eligible for
federal SNAP benefits (CalFresh benefits in California) is
automatically certified to receive free school meals without an
additional application (7 U.S.C. � 2020(u)(2)(A)).
Proposed Law: This bill would require county human service
agencies to provide additional information to CalFresh
applicants, as follows:
Requires a county human services agency to provide
CalFresh applicants that have children with information
about how to enroll the children in the WIC Program and the
NSLP/SBP while the CalFresh application is pending.
Requires a county human services agency to inform the
applicant that if the household is certified for CalFresh,
children under five years of age are income-eligible for
the WIC Program and all children are directly certified for
the NSLP/SBP.
Requires additional providers to be added to the list of
food assistance providers currently compiled by county
human services agencies.
AB 2115 (Bradford)
Page 3
Requires the list to be updated based on information a
county human services agency receives from various entities
including the WIC Program, CDE, cities, school districts,
and summer lunch providers, and requires the list to be
made available to all households applying for CalFresh
benefits, rather than only upon request.
Provides that the bill's provisions shall be implemented
by all-county letter or similar instructions no later than
May 1, 2015, with regulations to be adopted no later than
October 1, 2017.
Staff Comments: By increasing the duties of county human
services agencies, this bill imposes a state-mandated local
program, the costs of which could require a General Fund
subvention of funds should county agencies submit claims and the
Commission on State Mandates (CSM) determines the provisions of
this measure constitute a reimbursable state mandate.
While some or most county human services agencies may already be
informing applicants and providing the information specified in
this bill, by mandating the activities specifically in statute,
county human service agencies could potentially file claims for
reimbursement for the administrative costs associated with
informing and providing information to all CalFresh applicants
with information on eligibility and enrollment in the WIC and
NSLSB Programs.
Based on the data from the CalFresh Monthly Caseload Movement
Report (DFA 296), nearly 2 million CalFresh applications are
received annually. Assuming 75 percent of applicants have
children in the household, providing an additional five minutes
(based on an estimated eligibility worker cost of $57.57 per
hour) of eligibility worker time would cost over $7 million
annually. This estimate assumes many counties utilize the option
of waiving the face-to-face interview and instead provide a
telephone interview in which the information would have to be
explained verbally in lieu of providing information on a written
document. To the extent a document is mailed in lieu of
information provided over the phone would also incur
administrative resources and mailing costs. Further, even the
provision of a written document to an applicant filing in person
could require additional time to verbally explain eligibility
and enrollment details.
AB 2115 (Bradford)
Page 4
The costs to counties to update and add providers to food
assistance provider lists, while potentially state-reimbursable,
are estimated to be minor.
To the extent the mandated county efforts result in increased
enrollment in these food assistance programs, could result in a
significant increase in federal WIC Program (Federal) and NSLSB
Program (Federal/State) benefits which would assist families
access these critical programs aimed at reducing the incidence
of food insecurity among low-income Californians.