CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1066

Introduced by Senator Hurtado

February 15, 2022

An act to amend Section 11526 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1066, as introduced, Hurtado. CalWORKs.
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 and individuals. Under existing law, the Legislature requests that the Regents of the University of California establish and administer a program or programs to support welfare research and evaluation of the CalWORKs program. Existing law specifies the Legislature’s intent as to the components of the program or programs, which include, among other things, the establishment of a sponsored grants program to provide funding for interested researchers to undertake studies on important welfare-related issues.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 11526 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11526.
 (a) The Legislature hereby requests the Regents of the University of California to establish and administer a program or programs to support welfare research and evaluation of the CalWORKs program.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the program or programs established by the University of California: California do all of the following:
(1) Establish a sponsored grants program to provide funding for interested researchers to undertake studies on important welfare-related issues. These grants shall be applied only to research projects requested by representatives of state and local government entities.
(2) Establish one or more Bureau of the Census secure data sites to link census and administrative data bases for ongoing research purposes.
(3) Use existing data archives to develop data sets appropriate for monitoring and evaluating the impacts of CalWORKs program implementation in California.
(4) Create and maintain public use data sets and make data available to researchers and members of the public to support welfare research and related human services research.
(5) Provide an ongoing capacity for supporting, conducting, and disseminating welfare policy research.
(6) Produce and maintain lists of researchers working with California welfare data or conducting research on public assistance in California.
(7) Review, edit, publish, and disseminate research and evaluation reports to state and local policymakers.
(8) Provide forums for the presentation of research findings and the discussion of research on welfare.
(9) Provide a location for welfare data archives and monitor ongoing funding for their upkeep.