CalWORKs: pregnancy and homeless assistance.

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. Existing law requires $47 per month to be paid to a pregnant person qualified for CalWORKs aid to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy, and requires county human services agencies to refer all these recipients of aid to a local provider of the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. This bill would, among other things, commencing October 1, 2023, also require county human services agencies to refer those recipients to perinatal home visiting services administered by county public health agencies, county human services agencies, or applicable county home visiting providers. Existing law provides for homeless assistance to a homeless family seeking shelter when the family is eligible for CalWORKs aid, and provides that a family is considered homeless for these purposes when, among other things, the family has received a notice to pay rent or quit. Existing law also makes a family eligible for homeless assistance if homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate. Existing law authorizes a county to require that a recipient of homeless assistance benefits who qualifies for a 2nd time in a 24-month period participate in a homelessness avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility for homeless assistance. This bill would, commencing October 1, 2023, authorize a county to require the participation in a homelessness avoidance case plan only if the county has also provided a housing navigation caseworker who can assist with securing permanent housing and housing case management services. The bill, commencing July 1, 2024, would additionally provide that a family is considered homeless if they receive any notice that could lead to an eviction, and would clarify that roommate, as described above, also includes, but is not limited to, a parent or child with whom they were living. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer, interpret, or make specific these changes by means of all county letters or similar instruction. By imposing duties on counties that administer CalWORKs, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 these provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 2230 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2230 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.