(1) Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes the State Department of Public Health, among other state departments charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for addressing natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property.
This bill would establish, beginning July 1, 2022, the Office of Response
and Resilience within the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide policy, fiscal, and operational organization, coordination, and management when departments within the agency are preparing for, mitigating, responding to, or helping communities recover from an emergency, as defined. The bill would require the Office of Response and Resilience to, among other things, maintain and update an All Hazards Dashboard to identify the impacts of emergency and hazardous events and provide key data necessary to support agency response operation. The bill would authorize the office to enter into contracts for the purposes of implementing these provisions, and would, on or before June 30, 2024, exempt those contracts from certain laws relating to public contracts and from the review or approval of the Department of General Services.
The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by
the Legislature in the annual Budget Act for its purposes.
(2) Existing law establishes the Health Plan Improvement Trust Fund, for use by the Center for Data Insights and Innovation, as specified. Existing law required moneys in the Office of Patient Advocate Trust Fund to be transferred and deposited into the Health Plan Improvement Trust Fund by July 1, 2021, and required the Office of Patient Advocate Trust Fund to be eliminated once all funds are transferred.
This bill would instead rename the Office of Patient Advocate Trust Fund to the Health Plan Improvement Trust Fund, and would transfer the moneys in the previously created Health Plan Improvement Trust Fund to the newly renamed fund. The bill would additionally provide that the moneys in the Health Plan Improvement Trust Fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for use by the
Center for Data Insights and Innovation, as specified.
(3) Existing law establishes the Department of Community Services and Development, under the direction of an executive officer known as the Director of Community Services and Development, within the California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the department to apply for, administer, and oversee federal block grant funds and other public and private funds designed to support antipoverty programs in the state that are not currently administered by other departments.
Existing federal law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, among other things, requires the federal Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a Low-Income Household Drinking Water and Wastewater Emergency Assistance Program, which is also known as the Low Income Household Water
Assistance Program, for making grants to states and Indian tribes to assist low-income households that pay a high proportion of household income for drinking water and wastewater services, as provided.
Existing law requires the Department of Community Services and Development to administer the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program in this state, and to receive and expend moneys appropriated and allocated to the state for purposes of that program, pursuant to the above-described federal law. Existing law authorizes the department to develop and implement a state plan, requirements, guidelines, and subgrantee contract provisions for the program without taking further regulatory action, as specified.
This bill would, using funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2022, require the department to continue to administer the Low Income Household Water Assistance
Program in this state, until the appropriated funds are expended or until June 30, 2026, whichever occurs first. This bill would require the one-time extension of the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program to be implemented in accordance with the above-described state plan and program guidelines, as specified.
This bill would require the department to amend the above-described program guidelines. The bill would require the department to seek public input by posting, no less than 30 days before finalization of the program guidelines, the draft program guidelines on the department’s public internet website and by holding a public hearing on draft program guidelines with notice of the hearing published prominently on the department’s public internet website no less than 10 days before the hearing.
Existing law requires the Department of Community Services and Development to receive and administer the federal Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant.
This bill would require the department to assist local service providers in maintaining full compliance with these provisions and with the LIHWAP contract requirements and program guidelines. The bill would authorize the department to use all available means to terminate a local service provider’s designation to administer LIHEAP funds for failure to administer LIHWAP funds pursuant to these provisions and in accordance with LIHWAP contract requirements and program guidelines. The bill would require the department to work with local service providers, as specified, to facilitate the release of supplemental funds to provide outreach, intake, and delivery of financial assistance for water and wastewater services to eligible households.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally define “gross income” as
income from whatever source derived, and provide various exclusions from gross income.
This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, would exclude from gross income any amounts of financial assistance received by an individual taxpayer pursuant to those acts. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 1, 2027.
Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements.
This bill, for specified provisions, would provide findings to comply with the additional information requirement for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure.
(4) Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, as specified. Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities, including community treatment facilities (CTFs) and short-term residential therapeutic programs (STRTPs), by the State Department of Social Services (department). A violation of the act is a misdemeanor.
Under existing law, a CTF is a residential facility that provides mental health treatment services to children in a group setting and that has the capacity to provide secure containment. Existing law requires a CTF, as a condition of licensure, to receive a certification of compliance from the State Department of Health Care Services. Under existing law, only seriously emotionally disturbed children, as defined, under specified criteria
are placed in a CTF. Under existing law, a STRTP is a residential facility that provides an integrated program of specialized and intensive generally nonmedical, short-term, 24-hour trauma-informed care and supervision, services and supports, and treatment to children, as specified.
Existing federal law, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), prohibits federal payments to the state for foster care maintenance payments on behalf of a child placed in a qualified residential treatment program, among other childcare institutions, unless a court assesses the placement within 30 days of the placement being made and the program meets specified requirements, including the utilization of a trauma-informed treatment model and the provision of nursing staff and discharge planning and family-based aftercare support for at least 6 months postdischarge. The FFPSA also requires an assessment and determination by a qualified individual of which
placement would best meet the needs of the child, and documentation in the child’s case plan of these assessments, among other things. Existing state law sets forth various provisions concerning the licensing of, and the placement of foster youth in, STRTPs that conform to the FFPSA requirements.
This bill would make related changes to provisions concerning the licensing of, and the placement on or after July 1, 2022, of children in, CTFs, including, among other things, requiring a qualified individual to conduct an assessment of certain placements in CTFs, establishing a process for the juvenile court to review and approve the placement of a dependent child, ward, or nonminor dependent in a CTF, requiring county social workers and probation officers to include certain information in specified social studies, reports, and case plans, requiring CTFs to ensure the availability of nursing staff, and providing at least 6 months of family-based
aftercare services postdischarge from a CTF. The bill would, for placements into a CTF, require the Judicial Council, on or before October 1, 2022, to amend or adopt rules of court and to develop or amend appropriate forms, as necessary.
The bill would require a licensed CTF to have national accreditation from an entity identified by the department, as specified. The bill would require a CTF to provide documentation to the department reporting its accreditation status at 12 months and at 18 months after the date of licensure. The bill would require a CTF to prepare and maintain a plan of operation relating to, among other things, standards for a comprehensive trauma-informed treatment model, and development of discharge planning and an individualized family-based aftercare support plan, as specified. Under the bill, federal financial participation under the Medi-Cal program would only be available if all state and federal requirements are met
and the treatment is medically necessary, regardless of the 6 months postdischarge requirement. The bill would authorize the Director of Social Services to adopt emergency regulations, as specified, and would authorize the department to implement these provisions through interim licensing standards until the adoption of regulations.
By creating new requirements for CTFs under the California Community Care Facilities Act, the violation of which is a crime, and by creating new duties for county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(5) Existing law requires the department to establish a foster care rate for each CTF program, as specified. Existing law requires the department to develop a payment structure for STRTP placements claiming certain foster care funding, and to develop a rate system that includes consideration of certain
factors, including accreditation, as specified.
This bill would require that a CTF or STRTP be reclassified and paid at the appropriate program rate for which it is qualified if it fails to timely obtain or maintain accreditation as required by state law or fails to provide proof of that accreditation to the department upon request. The bill would include, as part of the accreditation factor for STRTPs, provision for reduction or revocation of the rate in the event of the suspension, lapse, revocation, or other loss of accreditation, or failure to provide proof of that accreditation to the department upon request. The bill would authorize the department to terminate a program rate if, for a provider operating a STRTP or a CTF, the program or facility is no longer accredited as required by state law.
(6) Existing law creates the Office of Youth and Community Restoration within the California Health and Human Services Agency to promote trauma responsive, culturally informed services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, as specified. Existing law requires the office to have an ombudsperson who has the authority to investigate complaints from youth, families, staff, and others about harmful conditions or practices, violations of laws and regulations governing facilities, and circumstances presenting an emergency situation, or to refer complaints to another body for investigation. Under existing law, the ombudsperson has the authority to publish and provide regular reports to the Legislature about complaints received and subsequent findings and actions taken.
This bill would specify that the ombudsperson has the authority to, among other things, decide, in its discretion,
whether to investigate complaints from youth detained in or committed to juvenile facilities. The bill would require the ombudsperson to provide prescribed notifications to the complainant, including whether the ombudsperson is investigating or referring the complaint and the final outcome of any investigation. The bill would make the identities of the complainants or witnesses and information obtained by the ombudsperson in an investigation confidential, as specified, and would, in doing so, limit the right of the public to obtain that information.
The bill would require the ombudsperson to post on the internet and provide the Legislature with regular reports of data collected over the course of the year, including, but not limited to, complaints received and the trends and issues that arose in the course of investigating complaints.
The California Constitution provides for the
Right to Truth-in-Evidence, which requires a 2 /3 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified.
This bill would prohibit the ombudsperson and their staff from being compelled to testify or being deposed in a judicial or administrative proceeding regarding matters coming to their attention in the exercise of their official duties and would prohibit the records of the ombudsperson and their staff and any reports not released to the public from being disclosed or produced in response to a subpoena or discovery in a judicial or administrative proceeding. Because this bill may exclude from a criminal action information discovered during an investigation that would otherwise be admissible, it requires a 2 /3 vote of the Legislature.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(7) Existing law provides for the out-of-home placement, including foster care placement, of children who are unable to remain in the custody and care of their parents. Existing law, the federal Social Security Act, provides for benefits for eligible beneficiaries, including survivorship and disability benefits and supplemental security income (SSI) benefits for, among others, blind and disabled children. Existing law requires the county to provide specified information
relating to SSI payments to a foster youth receiving those benefits when the youth is approaching their 18th birthday, including providing information regarding the federal requirement that the youth establish continuing disability as an adult in order for SSI benefits to continue. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that nonminor dependents who receive federal SSI benefits may serve as their own payee, if it is determined that the nonminor dependent satisfies the criteria established by the Social Security Administration, and should be assisted by the county welfare department in receiving direct payment. Existing law requires a youth in foster care and nearing emancipation to be screened by the county for potential eligibility SSI benefits, as specified.
This bill would revise and expand these provisions with respect to nonminor dependents, including requiring the county, if the youth elects to remain in foster care as a nonminor dependent after
attaining 18 years of age, to assist the nonminor dependent in establishing continuing disability as an adult, including identifying an appropriate representative payee, which may include the nonminor dependent, a trusted adult, or the county, and gathering and submitting records to the federal Social Security Administration. The bill would specify the duties of the county if selected as a nonminor dependent’s representative payee.
The bill would revise screening requirements for foster youth nearing emancipation, including requiring the youth to be under the supervision of the county child welfare agency, juvenile probation department, or tribal organization, and requiring the screening to occur when the youth is over 16 years of age. The bill would require the county to screen nonminor dependents for potential eligibility for SSI benefits under certain circumstances, including, among other circumstances, when a nonminor dependent has had a change of circumstances,
including a medical condition that is expected to last more than a year. The bill would also require the county to submit an application on behalf of any nonminor dependent who is screened as being likely to be eligible for those benefits and consents to the application, as specified. The bill would require the county to assist the nonminor dependent or representative payee other than the county to provide information to the Social Security Administration to ensure that the nonminor dependent receives the appropriate number of payments. The bill would replace various references to county welfare departments to instead refer to county placement agencies.
The bill would have these provisions become operative on January 1, 2023, or 30 days after the department has issued the required guidance, whichever is later.
By increasing duties of county placing agencies assisting foster youth and nonminor dependents, the bill would
impose a state-mandated program.
(8) The federal FFPSA provides a state with the option to use certain federal funds to provide mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services and in-home parent skill-based programs to a child who is a candidate for foster care or a child in foster care who is a pregnant or parenting foster youth, as specified. Existing state law authorizes a county to elect to provide those prevention services by providing a written plan to the department, which has oversight of the Family First Prevention Services program. Existing law requires the county to consult with other relevant county agencies, as specified, in the development of the plan.
This bill would require the participating county to also consult with the other agencies in the ongoing implementation of the plan. The bill would, until July 1, 2025, exempt contracts awarded by the
department for purposes of the program, and for purposes of the above-described family-based aftercare services, from specified contracting requirements.
(9) Existing law, subject to an annual appropriation in the annual Budget Act, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide, under the Transitional Housing Program, funding to counties for allocation to child welfare services agencies to help young adults who are 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing, with priority given to young adults formerly in the state’s foster care or probation systems. Existing law, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, also requires the department to allocate funding to counties to provide housing navigators to help young adults who are 18 to 21 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing, with priority given to young adults in the foster care system. Existing law requires
a child welfare agency that accepts any distribution of money pursuant to either program to report specified information to the department on an annual basis.
This bill would rename the housing navigator program as the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program, and would extend eligibility and priority for the program to help young adults who are 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, with priority given to young adults formerly or currently in the foster care system. The bill would, for a child welfare agency that accepts any distribution of money for both the Transitional Housing Program and the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program, require the department to accept one county board resolution and one allocation acceptance form, and execute one standard agreement, for both programs.
Existing law makes transitional housing available to any former foster youth who is at least 18 years of age and not more than 24 years of
age who has exited from the foster care system on or after their 18th birthday and has elected to participate in the Transitional Housing Program-Plus, as defined, if they have not received services pursuant to these provisions for more than a total of 24 months. Existing law authorizes a county to extend those services to former foster youth who are not more than 25 years of age and for a total of 36 months if the former foster youth meets specified criteria.
This bill would extend the age of eligibility for transitional housing in all counties to any former foster youth who is 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, and would extend the maximum time they may receive services pursuant to these provisions to 36 months. To the extent that this bill would expand county duties with regard to the administration of the Transitional Housing Program-Plus program, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
(10) Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, reflects the policy mandates and directives of the federal Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, and sets forth the state’s commitment to its older population and other populations served by the programs administered by the California Department of Aging.
Under existing law, the Director of Health Care Services administers the Comprehensive Act for Families and Caregivers of Cognitively Impaired Adults to provide various services to cognitively impaired adults, as defined, and their families and caregivers. Existing law requires the director to contract with caregiver resource centers to deliver services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults, such as information on chronic and disabling conditions, clinical staff to provide an assessment of caregiver needs, legal and financial consultation, and respite care,
among others. Existing law requires the caregiver resource centers to submit progress reports on their activities, as specified.
This bill would repeal and recast those provisions to require the Director of the California Department of Aging to administer the act. The bill would state that cognitive impairment may be caused by, among other things, dementia, cerebrovascular diseases, or degenerative diseases. The bill would require the department to administer the caregiver resource center program as a distinct program separate from the federal Older Americans Act.
(11) Existing law establishes a system of statewide child welfare services, administered by the State Department of Social Services and county child welfare agencies, with the intent that all children are entitled to be safe and free from abuse and neglect. Existing law requires
the department to implement the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) to administer and evaluate the state’s child welfare services and foster care programs. Existing law also requires the department and the Office of Systems Integration, in collaboration with the County Welfare Directors Association, to seek resources to enable the necessary level of engagement by the counties in the Child Welfare Services-New System (CWS-NS), a successor information system, as specified. Existing law requires the existing (CWS/CMS) operations and functionality to be maintained at a level at least commensurate with its December 2015 status and not to be decommissioned prior to the full statewide implementation of the CWS-NS in all counties.
This bill would revise various specific references to the CWS/CMS and the CWS-NS, to refer instead to a statewide child welfare information system. The bill would require counties to fully utilize the functionality provided by
the replacement statewide child welfare information system when it has been implemented statewide. By imposing additional duties on countries, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(12) Existing law establishes the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSP), which requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. Existing law also establishes the Golden State Grant Program, which requires the department to make a one-time grant payment of $600 to qualified grant recipients, including recipients of benefits under the SSI/SSP program.
This bill would repeal the Golden State Grant Program as of January 1, 2024.
(13) Existing law provides for the temporary or emergency placement of dependent children of the juvenile court and nonminor dependents with relative caregivers or nonrelative extended family members under specified circumstances. Existing law requires counties to provide a specified payment to an emergency caregiver if, among other things, the emergency caregiver has completed an application for resource family approval and an application for the Emergency Assistance Program. Existing law requires that these payments be made through Emergency Assistance Program funds included in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, with the county solely responsible for the nonfederal share of cost, except as specified.
Under existing law, during the 2022–23 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, these payments are ineligible for the federal or state share of payment upon
approval or denial of the resource family application or beyond 90 days, whichever occurs first. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to consider extending the required payments beyond the 90-day limit if the resource family approval process cannot be completed within 90 days due to circumstances outside of a county’s control.
This bill would instead make payments ineligible for the federal or state share of payment upon approval or denial of the resource family application or beyond 120 days, whichever occurs first. The bill would remove the requirement on the department to consider the payment extension. The bill would also make the federal and state share available beyond 120 days of payments, and up to 365 days of payments, if certain conditions are met by the county, including, among others, the provision of monthly documentation showing good cause for the delay in approving the resource family application that is outside the control of
the county, as specified.
(14) Existing law establishes 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 using federal, state, and county funds. 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. Existing law authorizes current and future grants payable to an assistance unit to be reduced due to prior overpayments, and requires a county to take all reasonable steps necessary to promptly correct any overpayment of supportive services payments to a recipient.
Existing law requires a nonfraudulent CalWORKs overpayment that is established for a current CalWORKs case on or after August 1, 2021, and for the benefit months of April
2020 to the end of the proclamation of a state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or June 30, 2022, whichever date is sooner, to be classified as an administrative error. Existing law prohibits an overpayment classified as an administrative error pursuant to this provision from being reclassified after the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
This bill would make that prohibition inapplicable if the overpayment is determined to be fraudulent. To the extent the bill would impose new duties on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, under the CalWORKs program, provides for an immediate assistance payment if a county determines at the time of application that the applicant is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid, and the applicant needs immediate assistance because the family’s total available liquid resources are less than $100 and there is an emergency
situation. Existing law provides for homeless assistance for temporary shelter to homeless families that are apparently eligible. Existing law limits an alien applicant who does not provide verification of their eligible alien immigration status, or a person with no eligible children who does not provide medical verification of their pregnancy from being apparently eligible for purposes of those provisions.
This bill would remove the limitation on a person with no eligible children who does not provide medical verification of their pregnancy from being apparently eligible, thereby expanding apparent eligibility for those purposes. By imposing an additional duty on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law establishes maximum aid grant amounts to be provided to each family receiving aid under CalWORKs. Existing law increases the maximum aid payments by 5% commencing on March 1, 2014, by an
additional 5% commencing on April 1, 2015, by an additional 1.43% commencing on October 1, 2016, by specified fixed dollar amounts commencing in 2017, and by an additional 5.3% commencing on October 1, 2021.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that, upon appropriation, CalWORKs maximum aid payments are sufficient to ensure that no child lives at or below 50% of the federal poverty level, and would make related statements of intent, as specified.
The bill would, commencing on October 1, 2022, increase by 11% the maximum aid payments in effect on July 1, 2022. Under the bill, counties would not be required to contribute a share of the costs to cover this increase to maximum aid payments.
The bill would also, commencing on October 1, 2022, and through September 30, 2024, increase the maximum aid payments
in effect on July 1, 2022, by an additional 10%, as specified. The bill would, commencing on October 1, 2024, and subject to an appropriation, increase the maximum aid payments in effect on July 1, 2024. By increasing the duties of counties relating to these CalWORKs maximum aid payments, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Because moneys from the General Fund are continuously appropriated to defray a portion of county aid grant costs under the CalWORKs program, this bill would make an appropriation for the maximum aid payments cumulative increase of 21%.
Existing law requires the Director of Finance to annually provide certain cost and revenue estimates and sets forth a process by which increases may be made to the maximum aid payments based on those estimates.
This bill, commencing on January 1,
2023, and based on a specified timeline, would require the State Department of Social Services to annually provide a display to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and on the department’s internet website showing the CalWORKs maximum aid payment amounts compared to 50% of the federal poverty level.
Existing law establishes the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program as a voluntary program for the purpose of supporting positive health, development, and well-being outcomes for eligible pregnant and parenting people, families, and infants born into poverty. Existing law, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, requires the State Department of Social Services to award funds to participating counties in order to provide voluntary evidence-based home visiting services to any assistance unit that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires a primary component of the program to be case management and
evidence-based home visiting, as specified, for the purpose of family support. Existing law authorizes counties, in coordination with home visitors and CalWORKs staff, to establish a process to provide one-time, as-needed funding for the purchase of material goods for a program participant’s household related to care, health, and safety of the child and family, in an amount not to exceed $500.
This bill would increase that to an amount not to exceed $1,000.
(15) Existing federal law establishes various disability benefits programs, including the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, under which cash assistance is provided to qualified low-income aged, blind, and disabled persons, and the Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI) program, under which benefits are provided to persons with disabilities who have paid social security taxes. Existing state law provides for disability benefits programs, including the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSP), under which state funds are provided in supplementation of federal SSI benefits.
Under existing law, benefit payments under SSP are calculated by establishing the maximum level of nonexempt income and federal SSI and state SSP benefits for each category of eligible recipient. The state SSP payment is the amount required, when added to the nonexempt income and SSI benefits available to the recipient, to provide the maximum benefit payment. Existing law prohibits, for each calendar year, commencing with the 2011 calendar year, any cost-of-living adjustment from being made to the maximum benefit payment unless otherwise specified by statute, except for the passalong of any cost-of-living
increase in the federal SSI benefits. Existing law continuously appropriates funds for the implementation of SSP.
Existing law, in 2022, increased the amount of aid paid under SSP by a percentage increase calculated by the State Department of Social Services and the Department of Finance and required those departments to notify specified legislative committees and the Legislative Analyst’s Office of the final percentage increase effected by the appropriation in the Budget Act of 2021 for the purposes of implementing the increase. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2024, and subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2023, provides an additional grant increase subject to the same calculations, notifications, and implementation as the first increase.
This bill would, instead, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2022, and commencing January 1, 2023, increase the
amount of aid paid under SSP by a percentage increase calculated by the departments listed above. The bill would require those departments to notify specified legislative committees and the Legislative Analyst’s Office of the final percentage increase effectuated by the appropriation in the Budget Act of 2022 for the purposes of implementing the increase.
The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to calculate and publish what the payment levels and associated costs would have been if annual state cost-of-living adjustments had been provided, as specified.
(16) Existing law establishes the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, to be implemented at the discretion of each county, for the purpose of stabilizing foster children with families at the time of placement by providing a time-limited payment or voucher for
childcare following the child’s placement, or for a child whose parent is in foster care, and by providing the family with a childcare navigator to assist the family in accessing long-term subsidized childcare. Existing law requires participating county welfare departments to determine eligibility of a child for the program by using specified criteria, including that a payment or voucher may be provided if work or school responsibilities preclude a resource family from being at home when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school or for periods when the family is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties.
This bill instead would authorize a payment or voucher if work or school responsibilities preclude a resource family from providing care, rather than precluding them from being at home, when the child for whom they have care and
responsibility is not in school or for periods when the family is required to participate, without the child, in activities associated with parenting a child that are beyond the scope of ordinary parental duties.
Under existing law, a child receiving a monthly childcare payment or voucher is eligible to receive the payment or voucher for up to 6 months, which may be extended for an additional 6-month period, for a total period of up to 12 months, under certain circumstances.
This bill would, effective September 1, 2022, authorize a county welfare department to extend the monthly payment or voucher beyond 12 months based on a compelling reason, which may include, among other things, the inability of the foster child to successfully transition to other subsidized childcare or other reasons authorized pursuant to guidance issued by the department, with input from stakeholders. The bill would also remove obsolete provisions.
(17) Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services so they may remain in their own homes. Existing law provides for the allocation of funds from the Local Revenue Fund to local agencies for the administration of various health, mental health, and public social service programs, including IHSS (1991 Realignment funds).
Existing law requires a specified mediation process, including a factfinding panel recommending settlement terms, to be held if a public authority or nonprofit consortium and the employee organization fail to reach agreement on a bargaining contract with in-home supportive service workers on or after October 1, 2021. Existing law subjects a county to a withholding of 1991 Realignment funds if, among other things,
the county does not reach an agreement with the employee organization within 90 days after the release of the factfinding panel’s recommended settlement terms. Existing law specifies that withholding would be on October 1, 2021, if the factfinding panel’s recommended settlement terms were released prior to June 30, 2021, and the county did not reach an agreement with the employee organization within 90 days after the release.
This bill would clarify that the above-described withholding of 1991 Realignment funds is a one-time withholding, and would specify that the funds are to be withheld pursuant to a schedule developed by the Department of Finance and provided to the Controller.
Existing law requires the department, in consultation with stakeholders, to create and provide to the Legislature the framework for a permanent provider backup system, to be
implemented after statutes are enacted to define the parameters of services pursuant to IHSS, as specified.
This bill, effective no sooner than October 1, 2022, as specified, would require a county or a public authority to administer a backup provider system for in-home supportive services and waiver personal care services providers. The bill would establish eligibility requirements, maximum total hours a recipient may use, eligibility requirements and wages for backup providers, and the responsibilities of the county or public authority in operating the system. The bill would make counties, public authorities, and the state immune from liability resulting from a backup provider’s untimely response to a request for provider backup services, except as provided. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer these provisions through all-county letters or similar instructions until regulations are adopted and would require the state to seek all
federal approval necessary. By increasing the duties of local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires prospective providers of in-home supportive services to complete, at the time of enrollment, a provider orientation that is developed by the department, in consultation with counties, and that includes specified program information, including the requirements to be an eligible IHSS provider and a description of the program. Existing law requires the provider orientation to be an onsite orientation that all prospective providers are required to attend in person.
This bill would, if the state or local public health agency issues an order limiting the size of gatherings, authorize a county to hold a series of smaller in-person orientations that meet the same criteria. The bill would specify that a county is not
required to hold an orientation in which prospective providers attend in person if the state or local health agency issues an order that prevents the in-person orientation from occurring. The bill would require a county to hold an orientation that is in person within 30 calendar days of the date that the public health order restrictions are lifted, except as specified. The bill would prohibit the requirement for in-person orientation from applying if the parties to a collective bargaining agreement expressly agree to waive that requirement and have a negotiated alternative method for the provision of the orientation.
Existing law prohibits a public employer from deterring or discouraging public employees, or applicants to be public employees, from becoming or remaining members of an employee organization, from authorizing representation by an employee organization, or from authorizing dues or fee deductions to an employee organization. Existing law grants the Public
Employment Relations Board jurisdiction over violations of these provisions.
This bill would authorize a claim to be brought before the Public Employment Relations Board for an alleged violation of the above-described prohibition if the county has not complied with the requirement to hold provider orientation, as specified.
This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
(18) Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to administer a state system for establishing rates in the AFDC-FC program. Existing law requires the department to implement a rate structure
that is effective through December 31, 2022, for specified rates paid to certified family homes of a foster family agency, short-term residential therapeutic programs, and foster family agencies that provide treatment, intensive treatment, and therapeutic foster care programs.
This bill would provide a 2-year extension for the payments of those rates.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to implement intensive treatment foster care programs for eligible children and exempts the rates for these programs from the current AFDC-FC foster family agency ratesetting system. Existing law requires the department from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021, inclusive, to implement an interim rate structure to reflect the appropriate level of placement and address the need for specialized health care, support services, and mental health treatment services for foster children served in these programs. Existing
law provides the method to calculate current rates for these programs.
This bill would extend the operation of this interim rate structure through December 31, 2024.
(19) Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish a food assistance program, known as the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), to provide assistance to a noncitizen of the United States if the person’s immigration status meets the eligibility criteria of SNAP in effect on August 21, 1996, but the person is not eligible for SNAP benefits solely
due to their immigration status, as specified. Existing law also makes eligible for the program an applicant who is otherwise eligible for the program, but who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996, if the applicant is sponsored and the applicant meets one of a list of criteria, including that the applicant, after entry into the United States, is a victim of the sponsor or the spouse of the sponsor if the spouse is living with the sponsor.
Existing law, to become operative on the date that the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) has been updated to perform the necessary automation, requires the department to use state funds appropriated for CFAP to provide nutritional benefits to households that are ineligible for CalFresh benefits solely due to their immigration status.
This bill, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, would additionally make
an individual 55 years of age or older eligible for the program if the individual’s immigration status is the sole basis for their ineligibility for CalFresh benefits.
Existing law requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law requires a recipient of CFAP benefits who is also receiving CalWORKs aid to satisfactorily participate in welfare-to-work activities, as specified, or if the recipient is not receiving CalWORKs aid, to meet specified work requirements under SNAP.
This bill instead would prohibit a recipient of CFAP benefits from being required to meet the SNAP work requirement. Under the bill, an applicant who states that they do not have a social security number would not be required to present a social security number in order to receive CFAP benefits.
These provisions would become operative on the
date that the department notifies the Legislature that SAWS has been updated to perform the necessary automation to implement the bill. To the extent this bill would expand eligibility for CFAP, which is administered by the counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing federal law, as a condition of eligibility for CalFresh, requires a household member who is not exempt to comply with specified work requirements, and partially funds specified costs of the CalFresh E&T program.
This bill would establish the CalFresh E&T Workers’ Compensation Fund for the purpose of paying workers’ compensation claims resulting from CalFresh recipients’ participation in the CalFresh E&T program. The bill would continuously appropriate funds deposited under this provision for this purpose. The bill would provide, in the event of abolition of the CalFresh E&T program, for the return of any remaining
funds to the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Existing law sets forth certain requirements and exemptions for students in postsecondary education for purposes of CalFresh eligibility.
This bill would, no later than January 1, 2024, require the State Department of Social Services, in order to assist in monitoring information about access to CalFresh by students enrolled in an institution of higher education, as defined, to publish certain data specific to students’ receipt of CalFresh benefits on the department’s existing CalFresh Data Dashboard. The bill would require the department to update the dashboard over time as additional data become available about this population.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to work with
representatives of county human services agencies and the County Welfare Directors Association of California to update the budgeting methodology used to determine the annual funding for county administration of the CalFresh program beginning with the 2022–23 fiscal year.
This bill would instead require the department to work with those entities to update that budgeting methodology beginning with the 2023–24 fiscal year.
(20) Existing law establishes the CalFood Program, administered by the State Department of Social Services, whose ongoing primary function is to facilitate the distribution of food to low-income households. Existing law creates both the CalFood Account and the Public Higher Education Pantry Assistance Program Account in the Emergency Food for Families Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, and requires that moneys in these respective accounts, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated to the department for allocation for specified purposes, including allocating moneys from the CalFood Account to the CalFood Program for the purchase, storage, and transportation of food grown or produced in California. Existing law prohibits the storage and transportation expenditures associated with the CalFood Program from exceeding 15% of the CalFood Program fund’s annual budget.
This bill would eliminate that 15% limit and would instead authorize the percentage of storage and transportation expenditures compared to the CalFood Program fund’s annual budget to be increased from their levels in the 2021-22 fiscal year after a determination by the department in consultation with food bank stakeholders to reflect the true costs to acquire, store, and distribute foods purchased through the CalFood Program.
Existing federal law
establishes the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), under which United States Department of Agriculture foods are provided to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations, and to American Indian households residing in approved areas near reservations, as an alternative to SNAP benefits.
This bill would establish the Tribal Nutrition Assistance Program, to be administered by the State Department of Social Services. Subject to an appropriation, the bill would require the department to award grants, no later than July 1, 2023, to eligible tribes and tribal organizations to address food insecurity and inequities between CalFresh benefits and FDPIR. The bill would require the department to develop grant eligibility standards and rules regarding approved services and assistance in government-to-government consultation with tribes. The bill would exempt contracts and grants awarded pursuant to the
act from specified contracting provisions and rules. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer the act without adopting regulations.
(21) Existing law, the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, establishes various procedures for the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of elder and dependent adult abuse. Existing law requires that certain individuals be mandated reporters of elder and dependent adult abuse. Existing law requires each county welfare department to establish and support a system of protective services for elderly and dependent adults who may be subjected to neglect, abuse, or exploitation, or who are unable to protect their own interest.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to select and award grants to private nonprofit or public entities for the purpose of establishing a
statewide multipurpose adult protective services workforce development and training program. Under the bill, the purpose of the program would be to develop and implement statewide coordinated training and workforce development activities designed specifically to meet the needs of county adult protective services social workers, as specified, and to provide training for the above-described mandated reporters.
The bill would authorize the department to enter into agreements with other public or private entities for the provision of the activities, as specified, to the extent that funding is appropriated by the Legislature or provided through other sources. The bill would condition implementation of the program’s provisions on an appropriation of sufficient funding from state or federal sources.
(22) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services,
subject to an appropriation for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, to administer the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, until July 1, 2026, to provide grants to eligible entities, as defined, for the purpose of administering pilot programs and projects that provide a guaranteed income to participants, with priority to California residents who age out of the extended foster care program at or after 21 years of age or who are pregnant individuals.
Existing law requires the department to determine the methodology for, and manner of, distributing grants awarded under the program, ensuring that grant funds are awarded in an equitable manner to eligible entities in both rural and urban counties and in proportion to the number of individuals anticipated to be served by an eligible entity’s pilot program or project.
This bill would authorize the department to establish an appropriate method, process, and structure for
grant management, fiscal accountability, payments to guaranteed income pilot participants, and technical assistance and supports for grantees that ensure transparency and accountability in the use of state funds. The bill would authorize the department to contract with one or more entities for these purposes, as specified. The bill would also authorize the department to require grantees to use a specified third party vendor for purposes of administering grantees’ pilots and to meet the requirements of the program.
Under existing law, in order to receive grant funds under the program, an eligible entity is required to, among other things, present a plan for providing all individuals who receive guaranteed income payments with sufficient benefits counseling and informational materials to ensure that they are aware of any impact the receipt of a guaranteed income payment from the pilot program or project may have on their eligibility for other public benefit
programs.
This bill would authorize the department to contract with a third party vendor for the purpose of developing a benefits counseling tool or informational materials for use by grantees to assist in meeting the above-described requirements.
Existing law authorizes the department to accept and, subject to an appropriation, expend funds from nongovernmental sources for the review and evaluation of the pilot programs and projects, as specified.
This bill would authorize the department to accept and, subject to an appropriation, expend funds from nongovernmental sources for any grant or contract under the program.
Under existing law, guaranteed income payments received by an individual from a pilot program or project are not considered income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits or assistance under any state
or local benefit or assistance program, as specified. The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer’s taxable income for the taxable year, but, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various exclusions from gross income.
This bill would, until July 1, 2026, exclude any payments received by an individual from a guaranteed income pilot program or project, as specified, from the gross income of recipients for personal income tax purposes.
(23) Existing law, commonly known as the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), states the intent of the Legislature to improve California’s child welfare system and its outcomes by increasing the use of home-based family care and creating faster paths to permanency resulting in shorter durations of involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, among
other things. Existing law, until July 1, 2023, exempts certain contracts or grants necessary for the department to implement or evaluate CCR from specified contracting requirements.
This bill would extend those exemptions until July 1, 2025
(24) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for
those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(25) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.