Public assistance: home visits.

Existing law provides for the CalWORKs program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. This bill would require a welfare fraud investigator in the county of residence of an applicant for aid, within 10 days of the applicant's preliminary approval, to arrange for an authorized investigator to conduct a home call, consisting of a brief interview with the applicant and walk-through of the applicant's residence. The bill would require the investigator to report his or her findings to the appropriate county officials prior to final approval of aid for the applicant. By increasing the duties of county agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. 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 these statutory provisions.