CA AB 1074

Title: CalWORKs.
Author: Darshana Patel

Summary
AB 1074, as amended, Patel. CalWORKs. (1) Under existing law, if the federal government provides funds for the care of a needy relative with whom a needy child is living, aid to the child for any month includes aid to meet the needs of that relative, except as prescribed. 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 provides that the parent or parents are to be considered living with the needy child for a period of up to 6 months, or for a time period as determined by the State Department of Social Services, of the needy child’s absence from the family assistance unit, and that the parents are eligible for CalWORKs aid and childcare services if specified conditions are met, including, among others, that the child has been removed from the parent or parents and that the family was receiving aid under when the child was removed.This bill would specify that the department may determine the time period the parent or parents are considered living with the needy child to be a longer time period than 6 months and that the parents are eligible to receive aid as if the child or children were living with them. The bill would also specify that those provisions do not require (A) all children to be removed from the parent or parents or (B) that, at the time of removal, the needs of the parent or parents were included in the grant. The bill would make these provisions effective only upon the department determining that they will be either cost neutral or result in savings.(2) Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law requires the recipient and the county welfare department to enter into a written welfare-to-work plan that includes the activities and services that will move the individual into employment. Existing departmental guidance strongly encourages, for individuals receiving benefits as described in paragraph (1), counties to use a CalWORKs family reunification plan, which is the case plan developed by the county child welfare services agency for the provision of services to those individuals, in lieu of the welfare-to-work plan.This bill would instead require, for those individuals, a county to include welfare-to-work activities and services in a CalWORKs reunification plan or in a jointly developed child welfare services and CalWORKs welfare-to-work plan, which would serve as the CalWORKs reunification plan. The bill would specify that use of the CalWORKs reunification plan would satisfy the requirement to have a welfare-to-work plan and would define a CalWORKs reunification plan for the purposes of these provisions. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(3) Existing law generally prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting a person as a pupil of a public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family daycare home, or development center, unless prior to the person’s admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against various diseases, including measles, mumps, and pertussis, subject to any specific age criteria.Existing law requires all applicants for or recipients of CalWORKs to ensure and provide documentation that each child in the assistance unit who is not required to be enrolled in school has received all age-appropriate immunizations, as specified, and prohibits the needs of all parents or caretaker relatives in the assistance unit from being considered in determining the grant to the assistance unit until the required documentation is provided. Existing law requires a notice of that immunization requirement to be given to an applicant or recipi

Status
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

Bill Documents
CA AB 1074 - 05/23/25 - Amended Assembly
05/23/25 - CA AB 1074 (05/23/25 - Amended Assembly)