Bill Text: CA SB659 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Opportunity Grant Pilot Project.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 11-1)

Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB659 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB659-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 659	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 6, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Bates, Gaines, Huff, Nguyen, Nielsen, and
Vidak
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Stone)
   (Coauthors: Senators Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, and Morrell)


                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to add and repeal Article 3.7 (commencing with Section
11337) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to public social services, and making an
appropriation therefor.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 659, as amended, Bates. Opportunity Grant Pilot Project.
   Existing federal law provides for  the  allocation of
federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law
provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state
and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program,
each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified
low-income families.
   This bill would require the State Department of Social Services,
no later than July 1, 2016, to design and implement a 5-year pilot
project under which monetary grants are provided to organizations
operating programs that assist individuals receiving CalWORKs
benefits achieve economic independence. The bill would require the
 department,   department, in developing the
pilot project,  among other things, to develop a competitive
review process for all grant proposals submitted, and to develop an
ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of an organization receiving
grant funding in teaching its program participants the skills
necessary to achieve economic independence. The bill would authorize
the department to enter into an agreement with an academic
institution or other entity with sufficient expertise for the purpose
of creating, performing, or both creating and performing the
evaluation. The bill would authorize an organization receiving a
grant to utilize the funds in any reasonable manner, as long as the
 they   funds  are expended in furtherance
of  the program elements   the organization's
program  or other requirements established by the department.
The bill would require the department, or the academic institution or
other entity the department contracted with, to send a report
evaluating the effectiveness of the programs funded by the grants to
the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by
December 31, 2020. The bill would appropriate  an unspecified
sum  $50,000,000  from the General Fund for the
purpose of funding these provisions. The bill would make these
provisions inoperative on July 1, 2021, and would repeal them on
January 1, 2022.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California is expected to spend $142 billion on health and
human services programs this year, which is by far the largest state
budget expenditure, while total education spending for kindergarten,
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and higher education programs is only $80
billion per year.
   (b) California has the fifth largest Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) cash grant in the nation, and second largest
amongst the 10 largest states, yet poverty remains a persistent
problem.
   (c) We must recognize that California's problems of poverty and
inequality do not stem from a lack of safety net programs.
   (d) California's social safety net needs to invest in programs
that elevate people out of poverty rather than helping people live
better in poverty.
  SEC. 2.  Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 11337) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

      Article 3.7.  Opportunity Grant Pilot Project


   11337.  (a) The State Department of Social Services shall, no
later than July 1, 2016, design and implement a five-year pilot
project under which monetary grants are provided to organizations
operating programs that assist individuals receiving CalWORKs
benefits achieve economic independence.
   (b) In developing the pilot project described in subdivision (a),
the department shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
   (1) Develop a competitive review process for all grant proposals
submitted and a methodology to determine grant amounts.
   (2) Develop eligibility requirements for organizations seeking a
grant. The eligibility requirements shall, at a minimum, require an
 organization   organization's  program to
include all of the elements specified in subdivision (d).
   (3) Develop an ongoing evaluation, utilizing objective criteria,
of the effectiveness of an organization receiving grant funding in
teaching its program participants the skills necessary to achieve
economic independence. The evaluation criteria shall, at a minimum,
include an examination  of:   of all of the
following: 
   (A) The number and percentage of participants that complete the
program.
   (B) The number and percentage of program participants that begin
the program with a high school diploma or equivalent.
   (C) The number and percentage of program participants that achieve
a high school diploma or equivalent while in the program.
   (D) The number of program participants that obtain nonsubsidized
employment of at least 20 hours per week by the time of program
completion, with regular  checks   followup
 to determine if this minimum level of nonsubsidized employment
is maintained for the duration of the ongoing evaluation required by
this paragraph.
   (E) The attainment of academic stability for the children of
program participants. The department shall develop a definition of
academic stability for purposes of this section.
   (F) The number and percentage of program participants still
receiving CalWORKs benefits upon completion of the program.
   (G) The average income of program participants at the time of
program completion.
   (c) The department may enter into an agreement with an academic
institution or other entity with sufficient expertise for the purpose
of creating, performing, or both creating and performing the
evaluation required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). The
department and any academic institution or other entity the
department contracts with to create, perform, or both create and
perform the evaluation shall seek input from stakeholders during the
development process.
   (d) In order to be considered for a grant, an organization shall,
at a minimum, include all of the following elements in its program:
   (1) Education focused on the attainment of a high school diploma
or its equivalent.
   (2) Mental health services.
   (3) Employment training.
   (4) Financial training.
   (5) Parenting skills training.
   (6) Life skills training.
   (7) Child care services.
   (8) A clean and sober environment. A program may utilize random
drug testing in order to ensure a clean and sober environment.
   (9) Comprehensive, targeted case management to assist program
participants.
   (10) Ongoing monitoring of program participants for at least five
years after they have completed the program for purposes of measuring
long term program effectiveness.
   (e) An organization receiving a grant may utilize the grant funds
in any reasonable manner, as long as the funds are expended in
furtherance of the program elements or other requirements the
department establishes. Housing, transportation, and child care
expenses for program participants shall be considered an allowable
use of grant funds.
   (f) (1) The benefits an individual may receive through
participation in a program receiving grant funding are in addition to
any other public assistance benefits for which the individual may be
eligible.
   (2) Organizations receiving grant funding may set their own
eligibility criteria for their programs as long as  they
  the eligibility criteria  are consistent with the
goals of this pilot project.
   (g) Participation in a program administered by an organization
receiving grant funding pursuant to this section is voluntary.
   (h) (1) No later than December 31, 2020, the department, or the
academic institution or other entity the department contracted with
pursuant to subdivision (c), shall send a report evaluating the
effectiveness of the programs funded by the grants to the relevant
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The report shall
also be posted on the department's Internet Web site.
   (2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall not reveal the
identity of any program participant, nor shall it contain any
personally identifiable information.
   (3) The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
   11338.  This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2021,
and, as of January 1, 2022, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2022, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.
  SEC. 3.  The sum of  ____ dollars ($____)  
fifty million dollars ($50,000,000)  is hereby appropriated from
the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for
purposes of funding the pilot program developed pursuant to Article
3.7 (commencing with Section 11337) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.