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AB-1015 Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 09/18/2023 09:00 PM
AB1015:v93#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 18, 2023
Passed  IN  Senate  September 13, 2023
Passed  IN  Assembly  September 14, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  September 08, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  September 01, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  June 27, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 18, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 11, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1015

Introduced by Assembly Member Calderon
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Schiavo)

February 15, 2023

An act to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 18992) to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to children’s health.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1015, Calderon. Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to administer various public social services programs, including, among others, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, the CalFresh program, and the State Emergency Food Assistance Program (CalFood). The department has administratively created the Diaper Bank Program, through funding from the Budget Act of 2021, to allocate grants to specified food banks and other regional entities, with the aim of providing diapers to low-income families with infants or toddlers.
This bill would require the department to establish and administer the Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program for low-income families with infants or toddlers. The bill would authorize the department to determine the method of distributing program funds, and would require the department to conduct outreach to, and consider, eligible entities for participation in the program, as specified.
The bill would require the department to require all participating entities to report on a quarterly basis to the department, at a minimum, specified quantitative information, including the numbers of diapers and wipes distributed and the total dollars expended. The bill would require the department to post on the department’s internet website a list of the participating entities.
The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on an appropriation, and would require that the funding be spent within 36 months after receipt of those moneys. The bill would authorize the department to use up to 10% of any appropriated program funds for purposes of administrative costs to implement the program. The bill would exempt allocations made to any entity under this bill from certain contracting requirements, and would exempt implementation of these provisions from the Administrative Procedure Act.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Diapers are essential for the health and well-being of babies and toddlers, yet one in three families in the United States struggles to afford diapers.
(b) A lack of diapers is not only a public health issue, but also an obstacle to economic mobility for low-income families.
(c) Diapers alone can cost approximately one hundred dollars ($100) or more per month per child, or approximately 4 percent or more of a person’s total income if they are making California minimum wage, with low-income families disproportionately experiencing the burden.
(d) Parents and caregivers who rely on childcare services and who do not have enough diapers often cannot drop their children off at childcare, leading to missed days at work and school, missed early education opportunities for toddlers, and an increased likelihood of painful rashes and infections.
(e) The benefit programs CalFresh and the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) do not provide diaper aid.
(f) In April 2018, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program began providing diaper aid as a supportive service, to a person participating in a welfare-to-work plan, in the amount of thirty dollars ($30) per month for each child of a certain age range.
(g) Diapers are the fourth greatest cost burden for many families.
(h) Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for diaper assistance has grown dramatically and persisted at record levels.
(i) Expanding the geographic reach of the state’s diaper distribution efforts will address diaper need in California, especially for vulnerable families, while leveraging and strengthening existing safety net investments.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 18992) is added to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  13. Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program

18992.
 (a) The State Department of Social Services shall establish and administer the Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program for low-income families with infants or toddlers.
(b) The department may determine the method of distributing program funds and shall allocate those program funds to participating entities in accordance with this section.
(c) The department shall conduct outreach to, and consider, eligible entities for participation in the program. Entities eligible for participation in the program include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Emergency Food Assistance Program providers.
(2) Members of the California Association of Food Banks.
(3) Members of the nonprofit organization Feeding America that are based in California.
(4) Other nonprofit organizations that distribute diapers and wipes.
(d) The department shall require all participating entities to report on a quarterly basis to the department, at a minimum, all of the following information:
(1) Numbers of diapers and wipes distributed.
(2) Number of families assisted, and the ages of the families’ infants or toddlers.
(3) Total dollars expended for the procurement, shipping, and warehousing or storage of diapers and wipes.
(e) The department shall post on its internet website a list of the entities participating in the Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program.

18992.1.
 (a) Implementation of this chapter shall be subject to an appropriation for the purpose of this chapter made in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
(b) Funding appropriated to implement this chapter shall be spent within 36 months after receipt of those moneys, in accordance with Section 16304 of the Government Code.
(c) Of any funds appropriated to the department for the Diaper and Wipe Distribution Program pursuant to Section 18992, the department may use up to 10 percent for purposes of administrative costs to implement the program.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, allocations made to any entity pursuant to Section 18992 shall be exempt from the requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the Public Contract Code, and the State Contracting Manual, and shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.
(e) Implementation of this chapter shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).