Today's Law As Amended


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SB-882 CalFresh.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Inadequate nutrition and food insecurity threatens the health of 3.7 million low-income adults and over 2 million children in California, leading to adverse health outcomes among children, and increased risk of chronic disease, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, yet nearly 1.7 million eligible Californians are not receiving CalFresh nutrition benefits.
(2) The average CalFresh benefit in California is $136 per person per month. If the state enrolled these 2 million eligible Californians into CalFresh, it would draw up to $1.8 billion in federal food benefits to the state annually, which would also significantly help farmers, grocers, and the local economy.
(3) While working poor Californians struggle with increased costs of housing and basic needs that outpaced growth in wages, California ranks third to last in the nation at connecting working poor households to CalFresh.
(4) While California’s population is aging, with a growing number of seniors experiencing hunger and poverty, California ranks last in the nation at connecting seniors to CalFresh, failing to reach more than four in five eligible, low-income seniors, despite recent policy changes to simplify enrollment processes and medical deductions for seniors.
(5) CalFresh has undergone several significant changes over the past several years, including all of the following:
(A) Reduced barriers to enrollment by removing asset test and finger imaging requirements.
(B) Increased guidance to make online and phone applications more widely available so that residents can apply for benefits without visiting an office, similar to Medi-Cal.
(C) Interdepartmental collaboration to improve horizontal integration among social service programs, including CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, and the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program).
(D) Reversal of the longstanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) “cashout” policy, which provided a pivotal opportunity to establish CalFresh eligibility for 500,000 seniors and disabled Californians receiving SSI benefits.
(6) Given these changes in CalFresh and the need to connect health and nutrition, particularly for seniors and newly eligible SSI recipients, the time is right to improve CalFresh entry points and remove burdensome and unnecessary reporting requirements that may cause households to lose access to CalFresh benefits even though they remain eligible.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to maximize the impact of federal safety net funding to reduce poverty, fight hunger, and improve health by simplifying enrollment and maintaining access to CalFresh for all eligible, low-income Californians.

SEC. 2.

 Section 18900.3 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18900.3.
 In order to increase client access and retention within CalFresh, the department shall participate in all elements of the Elderly Simplified Application Project, a demonstration project operated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, including the following elements:
(a) Developing a CalFresh user-centered application for seniors that minimizes the burdens of the overall enrollment process.
(b) Waiving the semiannual reporting requirement under CalFresh for households enrolled under the Elderly Simplified Application Project.

SEC. 3.

 Section 18900.4 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18900.4.
 (a) To the extent permitted under federal law, an individual shall have the option to apply, report, and recertify for CalFresh in person, by mail, online, or by telephone, and shall have the option to complete the interview and the required client signature by telephone.
(b) Counties may implement any method of telephonic signature or electronic signature, in compliance with state and federal program requirements, that is supported by county business practices and available technology.
(c) (1) The department shall work with counties, representatives of the statewide automated welfare system consortia, recognized exclusive representatives of eligibility workers, and advocates for CalFresh participants, to develop and execute a plan of support for counties that have not already implemented a telephone-based application and renewal process, and to provide technical assistance and resources.
(2) The results of this planning effort, including, but not limited to, the resources identified as necessary for counties to implement this section, shall be reported to the Legislature during the 2021–22 budget hearings.
(d) To the extent permitted under federal law, the application process shall satisfy both of the following criteria:
(1) Include simple, user-friendly language and instructions that incorporate user testing with CalFresh applicants, participants, eligibility workers, and application assisters.
(2) Require the eligibility, enrollment, and retention system to offer an applicant or recipient assistance with their application, required reporting, or recertification for the CalFresh program in person, over the telephone, and online, and in a manner that is accessible to individuals with disabilities and those who have limited English proficiency.
(e) Counties currently using the Consortium IV (C-IV) or LEADER Replacement System (LRS) of the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) shall comply with this section beginning on or before January 1, 2022, and counties currently using the Welfare Client Data System (WCDS) of SAWS shall comply with this section beginning on or before January 1, 2023.
SEC. 4.
 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.