California Assembly Bill AB371 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 371INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mullin FEBRUARY 17, 2015 An act to amend Sections 11401 and 11450.16 of, and to repeal and add Sections 11201 and 11250 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 371, as introduced, Mullin. CalWORKs Family Unity Act of 2016. 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 block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law requires aid to be granted to a family with a related child under 18 years of age who has been deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment, continued absence, death, incapacity, or incarceration of a parent. Existing law also provides, however, that a family receiving aid 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, if the family does not exceed the applicable gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance. Existing law requires families to be grouped into assistance units for purposes of determining eligibility and computing the amount of CalWORKs aid to be paid. This bill would instead require that aid be granted to a family with a related child who is under 18 years of age if the family meets applicable eligibility requirements, without regard to the absence or employment status of the parent. The bill would prohibit, however, an absent parent from being included in the family's assistance unit for purposes of determining eligibility or computing the amount of aid to be paid, as specified. To the extent that the bill would expand eligibility for the CalWORKs program, which is administered by counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department to issue an all-county letter or similar instructions by March 1, 2016 and to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of the bill by July 1, 2018. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the 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. 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. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 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. 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. SEC. 6. 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, 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 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 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 his or her home and to make it possible for the child to return to 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 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 he or she is a person described by Sections 601 and 602, 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) or (e) of Section 388. (c) The child has been voluntarily placed by his or her parent or guardian pursuant to Section 11401.1. (d) The child is living in the home of a nonrelated legal guardian. (e) 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 under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Sections 11402, 11404, and 11405 shall not be construed as limiting payments to Indian children, as defined in the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, placed in accordance with that 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 for any of the reasons set forth in Section 233.90 (c)(1) of title 42 of the code of Federal Regulations..  (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 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 his or her home and to make it possible for the child to return to his or her home, or the child is a nonminor dependent who satisfies the removal criteria in Section  472(a)(2)(A)(i))   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 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 he or she is a person described by Sections 601 and 602 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) or (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 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 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 his or her parent is placed and the child's parent is receiving reunification services with respect to that child. SEC. 7. Section 11450.16 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 11450.16. (a) For purposes of determining eligibility under this chapter, and for computing the amount of aid payment under Section 11450, families shall be grouped into assistance units. (b) Every assistance unit shall include at least one of the following persons: (1) One of each of the following: (A) An eligible child. (B) The caretaker relative of an otherwise eligible child who is not receiving aid under Section 11250 because that child is receiving benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act (Subchapter 16 (commencing with Section 1381) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code), or Kin-GAP payments under Section 11364 or 11387, or foster care payments under Section 11461. (2) A pregnant woman who is eligible for payments under subdivision (c) of Section 11450. (c) Every assistance unit shall, in addition to the requirements of subdivision (b), include the eligible parents of the eligible child and the eligible siblings, including half-siblings, of the eligible child when those persons reside in the same home as the eligible child. This subdivision shall not apply to any convicted offender who is permitted to reside at the home of the eligible child as part of a court-imposed sentence and who is considered an absent parent under  Section 11250   subdivision (d)  .  (d) A parent shall not be included in the assistance unit if he or she is absent from the home due to divorce, separation, desertion, or any other reason, if his or her absence interrupts or terminates 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.   (d)   (e)  An assistance unit may, at the option of the family comprising the assistance unit, also include the nonparent caretaker relative of the eligible child, the spouse of the parent of the eligible child, otherwise eligible nonsibling children in the care of the caretaker relative of the eligible child, and the alternatively sentenced offender parent exempted under subdivision (c).  (e)   (f)  If two or more assistance units reside in the same home, they shall be combined into one assistance unit when any of the following circumstances occurs: (1) There is a common caretaker relative for the eligible children. (2) One caretaker relative marries another caretaker relative. (3) Two caretaker relatives are the parents of an eligible child.  (f)   (g)  For purposes of this section, "caretaker relative" means the parent or other relative, as defined by regulations adopted by the department, who exercises responsibility and control of a 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 March 1, 2016. (b) The department shall adopt regulations as necessary to implement this act no later than July 1, 2018. 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.