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AB-1691 CalWORKs: welfare-to-work activities.(2011-2012)

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AB1691:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2011–2012 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1691

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal

February 15, 2012

An act to amend Section 11322.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1691, as introduced, Bonnie Lowenthal. CalWORKs: welfare-to-work activities.
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Under existing law, with certain exceptions, every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program, is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Under existing law, the activities in which a recipient may engage include various education and vocational training activities, as described, including English as a second language education. Certain of these activities are defined as core welfare-to-work activities, in which an adult recipient is required to participate for at least 20 hours each week.
This bill would include as a core welfare-to-work activity English as a second language education, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 11322.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11322.8.
 (a) Unless otherwise exempt, an adult recipient in a one-parent assistance unit shall participate in welfare-to-work activities for 32 hours each week.
(b) Unless otherwise exempt, an adult recipient who is an unemployed parent, as defined in Section 11201, shall participate in at least 35 hours of welfare-to-work activities each week. However, both parents in a two-parent assistance unit may contribute to the 35 hours if at least one parent meets the federal one-parent work requirement applicable on January 1, 1998.
(c) An adult recipient required to participate under subdivision (a) or (b) shall participate for at least 20 hours each week in core welfare-to-work activities. The welfare-to-work activities listed in subdivisions (a) to (j), inclusive, English as a second language education as listed in subdivision (k), and (m) and (n), of Section 11322.6, are core activities for the purposes of this section. Participation in English as a second language education under subdivision (k) of Section 11322.6 as a core activity shall be limited to a total of eight months. On a case-by-case basis, a county may extend this period of time to 12 months. Following the receipt of these services as a core activity, an adult recipient may continue to participate in this activity as a noncore activity. Participation in core activities under subdivision (m) of Section 11322.6 shall be limited to a total of 12 months. Additional hours that the applicant or recipient is required to participate under subdivisions (a) or (b) of this section may be satisfied by any of the welfare-to-work activities described in Section 11322.6 that are consistent with the assessment performed in accordance with Section 11325.4, and included in the individual’s welfare-to-work plan, described in Section 11325.21.
(d) Hours spent in activities listed under subdivision (q) of Section 11322.6 shall count toward the core activity requirement in subdivision (c) to the extent that these activities are necessary to enable the individual to participate in core activities and to the extent these activities cannot be accomplished within the additional noncore hours of participation required by subdivision (c).
(e) Hours spent in classroom, laboratory, or internship activities pursuant to subdivisions (k), (l), (o), and (p) of Section 11322.6 shall count toward the core activity requirement in subdivision (c) to the extent these activities cannot be accomplished within the additional noncore hours of participation, the county determines the program is likely to lead to self-supporting employment, and the recipient makes satisfactory progress. The provisions in paragraph (2), and subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3), of subdivision (a) of Section 11325.23 shall apply to participants in these activities.
(f) Spending hours in any or all of the activities specified in subdivision (r) of Section 11322.6 shall not make a recipient ineligible to count activities set forth in subdivisions (d) and (e) toward the core activities requirements, as appropriate.