CDCAN REPORT #186-2011: Assembly Budget subcommittee oversight hearing on impact of budget cuts and changes to CalWORKS program

IMPACT OF CUTS AND CHANGES TO CALWORKS PROGRAM FOCUS OF TODAY'S ASSEMBLY BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING AT 1:30 PM

State's "Welfare to Work" Program Includes Thousands of Children and Adults with Special Needs, Disabilities and Mental Healths Impacted by Deep Program Cuts

SACRAMENTO, CA (CDCAN)  [Last updated 11/03/2011 11:00 AM]  - The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Assemblymember Holly Mitchell (Democrat - Los Angeles) will hold a oversight informational hearing this afternoon (November 3) at 1:30 PM in the State Capitol in Room 126, on the CalWORKS program - the State's "welfare to work" program that includes thousands of children and adults with special needs, disabilities and mental health needs. The hearing will be televised and streamed live on Cal Channel at www.calchannel.com

The CalWORKS program has been subjected to massive reductions, including grant reductions, eligibility changes - most of which are permanent -  over the past several years.  As of July 2011, the Department of Social Services - the state agency that oversees the program statewide, reported that there were 586,555 cases with 1,444.900 individualsincluding 1,126,270 children.

Purpose of Oversight Hearing

The Assembly Budget Subcommittee released a background paper for the hearing that says the purpose of today'soversight hearing  is to discuss the role of CalWORKs in meeting the needs of low-income California families and their children and the impact and.constraints placed on families in light of the current economy and the Great Recession, and past and on-going State budget reductions and policy changes to the program.

The 10 page background paper is attached to this CDCAN Report (it was saved by the subcommittee as a pdf document, meaning that it people who are blind or sight impaired should be able to view it using a screen reading device) titled: "20111103 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 Hearing on CalWORKS Nov 3 2011 - Background Paper.pdf": .
 
The subcommittee hopes to achieve the following outcomes from today's oversight informational hearing:

• Focus on trends in child poverty and homelessness, and how the CalWORKs program functions as a social support and safety net.
• Discuss current economic conditions and how the program needs and outcomes might be reassessed to accommodate the challenges of a stagnant, sluggish job market and the need for education and training for parents in the program.
• Chronicle the recent policy and budgetary changes in the program, discussing the impact of these changes on recipient families and children.

Why This Issue Is Important to People With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs

As mentioned, thousands of the children and adults in the CalWORKS program are people with disabilities - including developmental - people with mental health needs and are impacted by the deep cuts made to the program - in addition to cuts made to other services and programs they may also depend on.
In addition, how the Legislature and state policymakers conduct oversight - and take action - on the actual impact of the implementation of major program changes and reductions  to the CalWORKS program is important on how oversight - and action to resolve problems - are carried out for other programs, including mental health services, developmental services, In-Home Supportive Services, adult day health care and Medi-Cal.

ASSEMBLY BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING AGENDA

The following is a reproduction of today's hearing agenda as released this morning by the subcommittee staff (also attached to this report as a 1 page pdf document titled: "20111103-Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 Agenda Nov 3 2011 - CalWORKS.pdf" :

The agenda, the attached background paper and other subcommittee documents for this hearing can be viewed and downloaded from the subcommittee website at:  www.assembly.ca.gov/subcommitteeframe.asp?subcommittee=1

AGENDA

Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, Chair
Thursday, November 3, 2011, 1:30 PM
State Capitol, Room 126

CalWORKS: PROGRAM OVERVIEW, RECIPIENTS, AND CURRENT STATUS
INTRODUCTORY SPEAKER – CURRENT ECONOMIC CONTEXT AND POVERTY IN CALIFORNIA

Jill Duerr Berrick, Professor, School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley

PANEL I – PROGRAM OVERVIEW – RECENT HISTORY AND CASELOAD TRENDS

• Will Lightbourne, Director, California Department of Social Services
• Scott Graves, California Budget Project

PANEL II – RECIPIENTS AND CURRENT STATUS – EXPERIENCES OF FAMILIES ON AID AND OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE

• Tia Orr, Service Employees International Union
• Social Worker Representative
• Kevin Aslanian, Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations & Anitra Green, CalWORKs Recipient
• Mike Herald, Western Center on Law and Poverty & Sharita Williams, CalWORKs Recipient
• Carla Hill, Manager, Project NATEEN, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

PANEL III – PROGRAM NEEDS AND RESPONSE

• Susan Sweeney, President, California Community Colleges CalWORKs Association
• Phil Ansell, Acting Chief Deputy Director, Department of Public Social Services, Los Angeles County
• Bruce Wagstaff, Administrator, Countywide Services Agency, Sacramento County (Invited)

PUBLIC COMMENT

The panels will be followed by an opportunity for public comment.

Background on the CalWORKS Program

• CalWORKs is a basic needs program that provides income support and services to eligible, needy California families.
• The program serves all 58 counties in the state and is operated locally by county welfare departments and is overseen statewide by the Department of Social Services under the California Health and Human Services Agency.

Generally, services are available to:

• Families with a child(ren) when one or both parents are in the home but the principal earner is unemployed.
• Families that have a child(ren) in the home who has been deprived of parental support or care because of the absence, disability, or death of either parent.
• Needy caretaker relatives of a foster child(ren).

Eligibility and Program Requirements for Applicants and Recipients

• If a family has little or no cash and needs housing, food, utilities, clothing, or medical care, they may be eligible to receive immediate short-term help.
• Families that apply and qualify for ongoing assistance may receive aid each month to help pay for housing, food, and other basic living expenses.
• The county welfare office will set up an interview with an eligibility worker to obtain facts and verify eligibility.
• Applicants must provide the county with proof of income and property, citizenship status, age, social security number, residence, shelter costs, work or school status, and other information.
• Similar information may be requested for all of the people in the home.
• Additionally, adult family members must also be fingerprinted and photo imaged.
• At the interview, the county will advise applicants of the rules that must be met to be eligible for CalWORKs. If the county determines that the applicants are eligible for CalWORKs, the family will receive monthly checks from the county welfare department until the entire family or adults in the family are determined ineligible.
• The amount of a family's monthly assistance payment depends on a number of factors, including the number of people who are eligible and the special needs of any of those family members. Any income of the family is considered in calculating the amount of cash aid the family receives.

File Attachments: 

20111103 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 Hearing on CallWORKs Nov 3 2011 - Background Paper.pdf (293.51 KB)

20111103-Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 Agenda Nov 3 2011 - CalWORKs.pdf (167.43 KB)