Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1502 CalWORKs: Family Unity Act of 2015.(2013-2014)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the CalWORKs Family Unity Act of 2015.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11201 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.

11201.
 For the purposes of this chapter, the following shall apply:
(a) “Unemployed parent” means a natural or adoptive parent with whom the child is living.
(b) A child for whom a parent is applying for assistance under this chapter shall be considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment of his or her parent or parents when the parent has worked less than 100 hours in the preceding four weeks and meets the requirements concerning an unemployed parent in effect on August 21, 1996, as set forth in Section 233.100 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations except for the provisions of subparagraph (i) to (v), inclusive, of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of that section.
(c) A family receiving aid under this chapter with a child who is considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to unemployment may continue to receive assistance regardless of the number of hours his or her parent works provided the family does not exceed the applicable gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance.

SEC. 3.

 Section 11201 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

11201.
 For purposes of this chapter, “parent” means a natural or adoptive parent with whom an eligible child is living.

SEC. 4.

 Section 11250 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.

11250.
 Aid, services, or both shall be granted under the provisions of this chapter, and subject to the regulations of the department, to families with related children under the age of 18 years, except as provided in Section 11253, in need thereof because they have been deprived of parental support or care due to:
(a) The death, physical or mental incapacity, or incarceration of a parent.
(b) The unemployment of a parent or parents.
(c) Continued absence of a parent from the home due to divorce, separation, desertion, or any other reason, except absence occasioned solely by reason of the performance of active duty in the uniformed services of the United States. “Continued absence” exists when the nature of the absence is such as either to interrupt or to terminate the parent’s functioning as a provider of maintenance, physical care, or guidance for the child, and the known or indefinite duration of the absence precludes counting on the parent’s performance of the function of planning for the present support or care of the child. If these conditions exist, the parent may be absent for any reason, and may have left only recently or some time previously.

SEC. 5.

 Section 11250 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

11250.
 (a) Aid, services, or both shall be granted under this chapter, and subject to the regulations of the department, to families with related children under 18 years of age, except as provided in Section 11253, in need thereof, if the family meets the eligibility requirements specified in this chapter.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the absence of a parent, as defined in Section 11250.2, is not a condition of eligibility to receive benefits under this chapter.

SEC. 6.

 Section 11250.2 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

11250.2.
 For purposes of this chapter, “absence of a parent” means the continued absence of a parent from the home due to divorce, separation, desertion, or any other reason. A continued absence exists when the nature of the absence is such as either to interrupt or to terminate the parent’s functioning as a provider of maintenance, physical care, or guidance for the child, and the known or indefinite duration of the absence precludes counting on the parent’s performance of the function of planning for the present support or care of the child. If these conditions exist, the parent may be absent for any reason, and may have left only recently or some time previously.

SEC. 8.SEC. 7.

 Section 11401 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11401.
 Aid in the form of AFDC-FC shall be provided under this chapter on behalf of any child under 18 years of age, and  and, on and after January 1, 2012,  to any nonminor dependent who meets the conditions of any of the following subdivisions:
(a) The child has been relinquished, for purposes of adoption, to a licensed adoption agency, or the department, or the parental rights of either or both of the child’s  his or her  parents have been terminated after an action under the Family Code has been brought by a licensed adoption agency or the department, provided that the licensed adoption agency or the department, if responsible for placement and care, provides to those children all services as required by the department to children in foster care.
(b) The child has been removed from the physical custody of the child’s  his or her  parent, relative, or guardian as a result of a voluntary placement agreement or a judicial determination that continuance in the home would be contrary to the child’s welfare and that, if the child was placed in foster care, reasonable efforts were made, consistent with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 16500) of Part 4, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s  his or her  home and to make it possible for the child to return to the child’s  his or her  home, and any of the following applies:
(1) The child has been adjudged a dependent child of the court on the grounds that the child  he or she  is a person described by Section 300.
(2) The child has been adjudged a ward of the court on the grounds that the child  he or she  is a person described by Sections 601 and 602, or the child or  or, on or after January 1, 2012, the  nonminor is under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 450.
(3) The child has been detained under a court order, pursuant to Section 319 or 636, that remains in effect.
(4) The child’s or nonminor’s dependency jurisdiction, or transition jurisdiction pursuant to Section 450, has resumed pursuant to Section 387, or subdivision (a), (e),  (a)  or (f) (e)  of Section 388.
(c) The child has been voluntarily placed by the child’s  his or her  parent or guardian pursuant to Section 11401.1.
(d) The child is living in the home of a nonrelated legal guardian, or the nonminor is living in the home of a former nonrelated legal  guardian.
(e) The  On and after January 1, 2012, the  child is a nonminor dependent who is placed pursuant to a mutual agreement as set forth in subdivision (u) of Section 11400, under the placement and care responsibility of the county child welfare services department, an Indian tribe that entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1, or the county probation department, or the child is a nonminor dependent reentering foster care placement pursuant to a voluntary agreement, as set forth in subdivision (z) of Section 11400.
(f) The child has been placed in foster care consistent with  under  the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.).  Act.  Sections 11402, 11404, and 11405 shall not be construed as limiting payments to an  Indian child, children,  as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 224.1 and Section 1903 of  the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978,  Act,  placed in accordance with that act and the provisions of Section 361.31. act. 
(g) To be eligible for federal financial participation, the conditions described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) shall be satisfied:
(1) (A) The child meets the conditions of subdivision (b).
(B) The child has been deprived of parental support or care for any of the reasons set forth in Section 11250. care. 
(C) The child has been removed from the home of a relative as defined in Section 233.90(c)(1) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended.
(D) The requirements of Sections 671 and 672 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended, have been met.
(2) (A) The child meets the requirements of subdivision (h).
(B) The requirements of Sections 671 and 672 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended, have been met.
(C) This paragraph shall be implemented only if federal financial participation is available for the children described in this paragraph.
(3) (A) The child has been removed from the custody of the child’s  his or her  parent, relative, or guardian as a result of a voluntary placement agreement or a judicial determination that continuance in the home would be contrary to the child’s welfare and that, if the child was placed in foster care, reasonable efforts were made, consistent with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 16500) of Part 4, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s  his or her  home and to make it possible for the child to return to the child’s  his or her  home, or the child is a nonminor dependent who satisfies the removal criteria in Section 472(a)(2)(A)(i) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 672 (a)(2)(A)(i)) and agrees to the placement and care responsibility of the placing agency by signing the voluntary reentry agreement, as set forth in subdivision (z) of Section 11400, and any of the following applies:
(i) The child has been adjudged a dependent child of the court on the grounds that the child  he or she  is a person described by Section 300.
(ii) The child has been adjudged a ward of the court on the grounds that the child  he or she  is a person described by Sections 601 and 602 or the child or  or, on or after January 1, 2012, the  nonminor is under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court, pursuant to Section 450.
(iii) The child has been detained under a court order, pursuant to Section 319 or 636, that remains in effect.
(iv) The child’s or nonminor’s dependency jurisdiction, or transition jurisdiction pursuant to Section 450, has resumed pursuant to Section 387, or subdivision (a), (e),  (a)  or (f) (e)  of Section 388.
(B) The child has been placed in an eligible foster care placement, as set forth in Section 11402.
(C) The requirements of Sections 671 and 672 of Title 42 of the United States Code have been satisfied.
(D) This paragraph shall be implemented only if federal financial participation is available for the children described in this paragraph.
(4) With respect to a nonminor dependent, in addition to meeting the conditions specified in paragraph (1), the requirements of Section 675(8)(B) of Title 42 of the United States Code have been satisfied. With respect to a former nonminor dependent who reenters foster care placement by signing the voluntary reentry agreement, as set forth in subdivision (z) of Section 11400, the requirements for AFDC-FC eligibility of Section 672(a)(3)(A) of Title 42 of the United States Code are satisfied based on the nonminor’s status as a child-only case, without regard to the parents, legal guardians, or others in the assistance unit in the home from which the nonminor was originally removed.
(h) The child meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The child has been adjudged to be a dependent child or ward of the court on the grounds that the child  he or she  is a person described in Section 300, 601, or 602.
(2) The child’s parent also has been adjudged to be a dependent child or nonminor dependent of the court on the grounds that the child’s parent he or she  is a person described by Section 300, 450, 601, or 602 and is receiving benefits under this chapter.
(3) The child is placed in the same licensed or approved foster care facility in which the child’s  his or her  parent is placed and the child’s parent is receiving reunification services with respect to that child.
SEC. 8.
 (a) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the State Department of Social Services shall implement this act through an all-county letter or similar instructions from the director no later than July 1, 2015.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations as necessary to implement this act no later than July 1, 2017.
SEC. 9.
 No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing this act.
SEC. 10.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.