BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 947
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Susan Bonilla, Chair
SB
947 (Pan) - As Amended May 31, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 29-9
SUBJECT: Public assistance: personal interviews
SUMMARY: Establishes the County Option of Efficient
Interviewing of CalWORKs Applicants Act of 2016, authorizing a
county to conduct the interview of an applicant for CalWORKs and
other specified social services via telephone or other
electronic means in lieu of an in-person interview, unless
otherwise requested by the applicant.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes in federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program, which provides block grants to states
to develop and implement their own state welfare-to-work
programs designed to provide cash assistance and other
supports and services to low-income families. (42 USC § 601
et seq.)
2)Establishes the state's TANF program, the California Work
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Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.
CalWORKs provides cash assistance and other supports and
services to low-income families and is administered by the
counties. (WIC 11200 et seq.)
3)Sets forth policies and procedures regarding certain social
service programs receiving specified federal funds, including
child welfare services, adult protective services, refugee
services, and in-home supportive services (IHSS). (WIC 13000)
4)Prohibits applicants for CalWORKs and certain other social
service programs from being granted public assistance prior to
being personally interviewed by the county department or state
staff for patients in state hospitals, as specified. (WIC
11052.5)
5)Establishes in federal law the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp
Program, to permit low-income households to obtain a more
nutritious diet by increasing food purchasing power for all
eligible households. (7 USC § 2011 et seq.)
6)Establishes, in state law, the CalFresh program to administer
the provision of federal SNAP benefits to low-income families
and individuals meeting specified criteria. (WIC 18900 et
seq.)
7)Requires each county welfare department to, if appropriate and
to the extent permissible by federal law, exempt a household
from complying with face-to-face interview requirements in
order to initially apply or seek recertification for CalFresh
benefits, if certain conditions are met, as specified. (WIC
18901.1)
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
CalWORKs: The CalWORKs program provides monthly income
assistance and employment-related services aimed at moving
children out of poverty and helping families meet basic needs.
Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the TANF block grant.
The average 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on
CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, and the
maximum monthly grant amount for a family of three, if the
family has no other income and lives in a high-cost county, is
$704. According to recent data from the California Department
of Social Services (DSS), around 497,000 families rely on
CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of
cases include children under 6 years old.
Maximum grant amounts in high-cost counties of $704 per month
for a family of three, with no other income, means $23.46 per
day, per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet
basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and
anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for
at home and safely remain with their families. This grant
amount puts the annual household income at $8,448 per year, or
42% of poverty. Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2016 show that
100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,160 per year.
CalFresh: CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the federal
government through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
sets specific eligibility requirements for SNAP programs across
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the United States, including a gross and net income test, work
requirements, and other documentation requirements. The maximum
allowable gross income is typically 200% of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL). Households with elderly or disabled members are
not subject to gross income criteria but must have a net monthly
income at or below 100% of the FPL. Other households must meet
both gross and net monthly income tests. CalFresh is
administered locally by county human services agencies, and the
federal, state, and county governments share in the cost of
administration of the program.
Benefits are made available on a monthly basis for food purchase
through an ATM-like electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card.
However, unlike other types of benefits that may be accessed
through an EBT card, CalFresh benefits cannot be withdrawn in
cash at point-of-sale terminals or at ATM machines. CalFresh
benefits can only be used to purchase food items to be prepared
and consumed at home, as well as seeds and plants that can be
grown at home and produce food. The average monthly benefit for
a CalFresh recipient is $144.35 per month, or $4.81 per person
per day.
CalFresh interviews: States have been required, in certain
instances, to waive the face-to-face interview for food stamp
eligibility determination and redetermination for some time;
federal Food Stamp Program (now "SNAP" as of 2008) regulations
(7 CFR 273.14(e)(2)) state that:
"The State agency must notify the applicant that it will waive
the face-to-face interview? in favor of a telephone interview
on a case-by-case basis because of household hardship
situations as determined by the State agency. These hardship
conditions include, but are not limited to: illness,
transportation difficulties, care of a household member,
hardships due to residency in a rural area, prolonged severe
weather, or work or training hours which prevent the household
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from participating in an in-office interview. The State
agency must document the case file to show when a waiver was
granted because of a hardship. The State agency may opt to
waive the face-to-face interview in favor of a telephone
interview for all households which have no earned income and
all members of the household are elderly or disabled.
Regardless of any approved waivers, the State agency must
grant a face-to-face interview to any household which requests
one."
AB 231 (Steinberg), Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003, required
counties to screen applicants for food stamps for the need to
have a face-to-face application or recertification interview and
to grant an exemption from face-to-face interviews when
appropriate. State regulations at the time required the
face-to-face interview to be waived, and a telephone interview
conducted in its place, for initial application and
recertification for any household in which all members were 60
years old or older or had disabilities. State regulations also
permitted counties to waive face-to-face interviews, and instead
conduct telephone interviews, in instances where no household
member was able to come to the interview due to transportation
difficulties or other hardships determined by the county to
warrant waiving the face-to-face interview.
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved a
waiver request from California, giving counties the option to
waive the face-to-face interview requirement, and to instead
conduct telephone interviews, for all food stamp households
without the need to show hardship. DSS All-County Letter
Number 09-62 stated that:
"Implementing this waiver will reduce the application process
burden for the household, increase timeliness, increase
program access, decrease the volume of activity in the local
offices, and remove barriers that prevent households from
completing an interview. The waiver will allow the household
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to complete the eligibility process without being required to
arrange for transportation and child care, possibly numerous
times."
In 2012, DSS required (versus permitted) counties to offer
telephone interviews in lieu of face-to-face interviews. DSS
All-County Letter Number 12-26 stated that:
"According to the United States Department of Agriculture Food
and Nutrition Services, waiving the requirement for a
face-to-face interview has not negatively affected payment
error rates, is beneficial for CalFresh applicants and
recipients, and provides administrative relief for county
staff. The majority of counties are utilizing this waiver at
both intake and recertification. As an element of program
simplification and as part of California Department of Social
Services commitment to improving access, offering the option
of a telephone interview in lieu of a face-to-face interview
will now be required at intake and recertification. Counties
not currently taking full advantage of the waiver are
encouraged to do so beginning as soon as possible, but no
later than July 1, 2012. However, current county practices
(including conducting a face-to-face interview on the first
day if the applicant is in the office) may be maintained at
the option of the applicant if such practice expedites the
determination of eligibility and issuance of benefits."
In 2013, the USDA granted California an extension of its waiver
of the face-to-face interview requirement through May 31, 2017.
Need for this bill: According to the author:
"Currently, CalWORKs requires a face-to-face interview even
though today 21st century tools make it possible to do
interviews telephonically, video or electronically that is
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more efficient.
For the past 5 years California has been conducting telephone
interviews for the CalFresh program. This effort started when
California was in deep recession and the CalFresh caseload
ballooned without the administrative resources to process the
applications the old fashion way - face-to-face interviews.
Today all counties offer the applicant the choice of in-person
face-to-face interview or a telephone interview. Some
counties have even adopted telephonic signature to make the
process more efficient.
California CalFresh error rate did not go up, in fact it went
down, when CalFresh face-to-face interviews were mostly
eliminated statewide five years ago.
This bill would give the county the option to do telephone
interviews just like they do for CalFresh."
According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty, one of the
sponsors of this bill:
"The CalWORKs program serves approximately 560,000 poor
families and assists approximately 30,000 - 40,000
applications monthly. Current law requires the personal
interview of a CalWORKs application to be conducted
face-to-face, which not only disadvantages families who reside
in rural areas and program administrators serving them.
This rule also makes it more difficult for working families to
comply with this requirement.
This law was enacted before the advent of modern tools that
allow for interviews to be completed, recorded and stored
electronically in the case file. Today, these interviews can
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be completed telephonically, by video or electronically in
ways that are more efficient without compromising the
integrity of the program. In fact, CalFresh and Medi-Cal
programs are required to provide interviews to be conducted
telephonically unless otherwise requested by the applicant or
the county determines that a face-to-face is necessary. [This
bill] would give counties the option to improve alignment and
streamlining of these programs for families applying for
CalWORKs. In doing so, county programs become more efficient
and children and their families are better served."
Recommended amendments: In order to make clear that the changes
proposed by this bill apply specifically to CalWORKs, committee
staff recommends the following amendments beginning on line 11
of page 2 of the bill:
11
(b)In determining eligibility for public assistance under
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), in lieu of an
in-person personal interview as required under
12
subdivision (a), the county may elect to conduct the interview
13
required by this section telephonically or through other
electronic
14
means.
(c) If an applicant is incapable of acting in his or her own
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15
behalf, the county department shall verify this fact by personal
16
contact with the applicant before aid is authorized. As used in
this
17
section, the term public assistance does not include health care
as
18
provided by Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000).
19
(c) (d) The interview conducted pursuant to this section shall
occur
20
within seven days after the time of application unless there are
21
extenuating circumstances that justify further delay.
22
(d)An in-person personal interview shall be conducted if
23
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requested by an applicant.
24
(d) (e) If a county elects to conduct the personal interview to
determine eligibility for public assistance under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11200) required
25
under subdivision (a) telephonically or through other electronic
P3
1
means, pursuant to subdivision (b), the county shall conduct an
in-person personal interview
2
in lieu of an interview through telephonic or other electronic
means
3
if requested by an applicant.
4
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
5
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
6
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local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be
made
7
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
8
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
SB 312 (Pan), 2015, was substantially similar to this bill. It
died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1970 (Skinner), 2012, would have established the Social
Services Modernization and Efficiency Act of 2012 to, among
other things, require all application and recertification
interviews for specified public social service programs to be
conducted in person, by telephone, or through other electronic
means. It died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 231 (Steinberg), Chapter 743, Statutes of 2003, among other
things, required each county welfare department to, if
appropriate and to the extent permissible by federal law, exempt
a household from complying with face-to-face interview
requirements in order to initially apply or seek recertification
for CalFresh benefits, if certain conditions are met.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
California Food Policy Advocates
California State Association of Counties
Children's Defense Fund
Community Action Partnership of Orange County
County Welfare Directors Association of CA co-sponsor
National Association of Social Workers
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Solano County Board of Supervisors
St. Anthony's Foundation
United Way of California
Western Center on Law and Poverty - sponsor
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089