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SB-1264 Aid for dependent children.(2001-2002)

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SB1264:v93#DOCUMENT

Senate Bill No. 1264
CHAPTER 439

An act to amend Sections 11157 and 11320.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 09, 2002. Approved by Governor  September 07, 2002. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1264, Alpert. Aid for dependent children.
Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Each county is required to pay a share of the cost of both aid grant and administrative costs for the CalWORKs program.
Under existing law, certain types of payments received by recipients of aid under the CalWORKs program are prohibited from being treated as income or resources of the family and from being deducted from the amount of aid to which the family would otherwise be entitled.
This bill would add to those payments that may not be treated as income or resources of the family for purposes of determining eligibility under the CalWORKs program, any award or scholarship provided by a public or private entity to, or on behalf of, a dependent child based on the child’s academic or extracurricular achievement or participation in a scholastic, educational, or extracurricular competition.
Because each county is required to pay for a share of CalWORKs aid grant costs, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Under existing law, unless otherwise exempt, every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under this chapter, is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for benefits under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would expand the scope of exemptions from the welfare-to-work requirements upon which eligibility for aid under the CalWORKs program is conditioned to include a person who is 16 or 17 years of age who has obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent and is enrolled or is planning to enroll in a postsecondary education, vocational, or technical school training program.
By expanding the scope of eligibility for benefits under the CalWORKs program, this bill would result in a state-mandated local program.
State funds are continuously appropriated to pay for a share of aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would provide that no appropriation shall be made pursuant to this provision for the purpose of funding the changes proposed by this bill. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares that the impact of those provisions of existing law addressed by this act currently inhibits the educational achievement and future economic self-sufficiency of dependent children receiving benefits under the CalWORKs program.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11157 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11157.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 11008, all lump-sum income received by an applicant or recipient shall be regarded as income in the month received except nonrecurring lump-sum social insurance payments, which shall include social security income, railroad retirement benefits, veteran’s benefits, worker’s compensation, and disability insurance.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this part, for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), “income” shall be deemed to be the same as applied under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program on August 21, 1996, except that the following shall be exempt from consideration as income:
(1) Income that is received too infrequently to be reasonably anticipated, as exempted in federal food stamp regulations.
(2) Income from college work-study programs under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act or Article 18 (commencing with Section 69950) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Education Code or college work-study program, as established in the annual Budget Act, for individuals receiving aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200).
(3) Any award or scholarship provided by a public or private entity to, or on behalf of, a dependent child based on the child’s academic or extracurricular achievement or participation in a scholastic, educational, or extracurricular competition.

SEC. 3.

 Section 11320.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11320.3.
 (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b) or if otherwise exempt, every individual, as a condition of eligibility for aid under this chapter, shall participate in welfare-to-work activities under this article.
(2) Individuals eligible under Section 11331.5 shall be required to participate in the Cal-Learn Program under Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 11331) during the time that article is operative, in lieu of the welfare-to-work requirements, and subdivision (b) shall not apply to that individual.
(b) The following individuals shall not be required to participate for so long as the condition continues to exist:
(1) An individual under 16 years of age.
(2) (A) A child attending an elementary, secondary, vocational, or technical school on a full-time basis.
(B) A person who is 16 or 17 years of age, or a person described in subdivision (d) who loses this exemption, shall not requalify for the exemption by attending school as a required activity under this article.
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), a person who is 16 or 17 years of age who has obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent and is enrolled or is planning to enroll in a postsecondary education, vocational, or technical school training program shall also not be required to participate for so long as the condition continues to exist.
(D) For purposes of subparagraph (C), a person shall be deemed to be planning to enroll in a postsecondary education, vocational, or technical school training program if he or she, or his or her parent, acting on his or her behalf, submits a written statement expressing his or her intent to enroll in such a program for the following term. The exemption from participation shall not continue beyond the beginning of the term, unless verification of enrollment is provided or obtained by the county.
(3) An individual who meets either of the following conditions:
(A) The individual is disabled as determined by a doctor’s verification that the disability is expected to last at least 30 days and that it significantly impairs the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or participate in welfare-to-work activities, provided that the individual is actively seeking appropriate medical treatment.
(B) The individual is of advanced age.
(4) A nonparent caretaker relative who has primary responsibility for providing care for a child and is either caring for a child who is a dependent or ward of the court or caring for a child in a case in which a county determines the child is at risk of placement in foster care, and the county determines that the caretaking responsibilities are beyond those considered normal day-to-day parenting responsibilities such that they impair the caretaker relative’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities.
(5) An individual whose presence in the home is required because of illness or incapacity of another member of the household and whose caretaking responsibilities impair the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities.
(6) A parent or other relative who meets the criteria in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(A) (i) The parent or other relative has primary responsibility for personally providing care to a child six months of age or under, except that, on a case-by-case basis, and based on criteria developed by the county, this period may be reduced to the first 12 weeks after the birth or adoption of the child, or increased to the first 12 months after the birth or adoption of the child. An individual may be exempt only once under this clause.
(ii) An individual who received an exemption pursuant to clause (i) shall be exempt for a period of 12 weeks, upon the birth or adoption of any subsequent children, except that this period may be extended on a case-by-case basis to six months, based on criteria developed by the county.
(iii) In making the determination to extend the period of exception under clause (i) or (ii), the following may be considered:
(I) The availability of child care.
(II) Local labor market conditions.
(III) Other factors determined by the county.
(B) In a family eligible for aid under this chapter due to the unemployment of the principal wage earner, the exemption criteria contained in subparagraph (A) shall be applied to only one parent.
(7) A woman who is pregnant and for whom it has been medically verified that the pregnancy impairs her ability to be regularly employed or participate in welfare-to-work activities or the county has determined that, at that time, participation will not readily lead to employment or that a training activity is not appropriate.
(c) Any individual not required to participate may choose to participate voluntarily under this article, and end that participation at any time without loss of eligibility for aid under this chapter, if his or her status has not changed in a way that would require participation.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a custodial parent who is under 20 years of age and who has not earned a high school diploma or its equivalent, and who is not exempt or whose only basis for exemption is subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b), shall be required to participate solely for the purpose of earning a high school diploma or its equivalent. During the time that Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 11331) is operative, this subdivision shall only apply to a custodial parent who is 19 years of age.
(2) Section 11325.25 shall apply to a custodial parent who is 18 or 19 years of age and who is required to participate under this article.
(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), the county may determine that participation in education activities for the purpose of earning a high school diploma or equivalent is inappropriate for an 18 or 19 year old custodial parent only if that parent is reassigned pursuant to an evaluation under Section 11325.25, or, at appraisal is already in an educational or vocational training program that is approvable as a self-initiated program as specified in Section 11325.23. If that determination is made, the parent shall be allowed to continue participation in the self-initiated program subject to Section 11325.23. During the time that Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 11331) is operative, this subdivision shall only apply to a custodial parent who is 19 years of age.
(f) A recipient shall be excused from participation for good cause when the county has determined there is a condition or other circumstance that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. The county welfare department shall review the good cause determination for its continuing appropriateness in accordance with the projected length of the condition, or circumstance, but not less than every three months. The recipient shall cooperate with the county welfare department and provide information, including written documentation, as required to complete the review. Conditions that may be considered good cause include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Lack of necessary supportive services.
(2) In accordance with Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 11495), the applicant or recipient is a victim of domestic violence, but only if participation under this article is detrimental to or unfairly penalizes that individual or his or her family.
(3) Licensed or license-exempt child care for a child 10 years of age or younger is not reasonably available during the individual’s hours of training or employment including commuting time, or arrangements for child care have broken down or have been interrupted, or child care is needed for a child who meets the criteria of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 11323.2, but who is not included in the assistance unit. For purposes of this paragraph, “reasonable availability” means child care that is commonly available in the recipient’s community to a person who is not receiving aid and that is in conformity with the requirements of Public Law 104-193. The choices of child care shall meet either licensing requirements or the requirements of Section 11324. This good cause criterion shall include the unavailability of suitable special needs child care for children with identified special needs, including, but not limited to, disabilities or chronic illnesses.

SEC. 4.

 No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for the purpose of funding the amendments made to the Welfare and Institutions Code by this act.

SEC. 5.

 Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, 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. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.