Human services.

Under existing law, the parents of a minor child are responsible for supporting the child. Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support Services, which administers all federal and state laws and regulations relating to child support enforcement obligations. The Director of Child Support Services is also responsible for implementing and managing the statewide automated child support system, which includes the State Disbursement Unit. Existing law establishes the Child Support Payment Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes the deposit of child support payments received by the State Disbursement Unit into that fund, including overpayments, for the purpose of processing and providing child support payments. Under existing law, the Department of Child Support Services may enter into a trust agreement with an intermediary to receive or disburse child support collections. A trust agreement under these provisions may create trust accounts held outside the State Treasury. This bill, for the 2012–13 fiscal year only, would authorize money in those trust accounts to be invested in specified securities or alternatives that offer comparable security, including mutual funds and money market funds. The bill would not authorize an investment or transfer that would interfere with the objective of the Child Support Payment Trust Fund. Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Under existing law, the county is required to annually redetermine eligibility for CalWORKs benefits. Existing law additionally requires the county to redetermine recipient eligibility and grant amounts on a quarterly basis, using prospective budgeting, and to prospectively determine the grant amount that a recipient is entitled to receive for each month of the quarterly reporting period. Under existing law, a CalWORKs recipient is required to report to the county, orally or in writing, specified changes that could affect the amount of aid to which the recipient is entitled. Under existing law, the CalWORKs quarterly reporting system becomes inoperative on October 1, 2013. A semiannual reporting system becomes operative on April 1, 2013, and is required to be implemented by counties no later than October 1, 2013, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding existing law, would exempt a CalWORKs assistance unit that does not include an eligible adult from periodic reporting requirements other than the annual redetermination, and would specify grant calculation income reporting thresholds, recipient reporting duties, and other criteria applicable to these assistance units. Under existing law, a parent or caretaker relative is ineligible for CalWORKs aid when he or she has received aid for a cumulative total of 48 months, as specified. Certain months are not counted as months of aid for purposes of calculating the 48-month time limit. Under the CalWORKs program, certain recipients are required to participate in specified welfare-to-work activities, unless an applicable exemption applies. Exempted individuals include, until July 1, 2012, a parent or other relative who has primary responsibility for personally providing care to one child who is from 12 to 23 months of age, inclusive, or 2 or more children who are under 6 years of age. This bill would make the caregiver exemption described above inoperative on January 1, 2013. The bill would require counties to reengage the exempted individuals in welfare-to-work activities, by October 1, 2014, except as specified. The bill also would create a similar, one-time exemption for caregivers of a child from birth to 23 months of age, inclusive, as specified, and would provide, effective January 1, 2013, that a month during which this exemption applies and a month during which a recipient was exempted under the prior exemption and has not been reengaged would not be counted as a month of receipt of aid for the recipient. By expanding eligibility for CalWORKs aid under some circumstances, this bill would make an appropriation, and by expanding county duties, the bill also would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a participant to participate for at least 20 hours per week in core activities, as specified. This bill effective January 1, 2013, would modify the number of welfare-to-work participation hours to conform to certain federal requirements, and would eliminate the above-described requirement relating to core activities. This bill would revise welfare-to-work requirements applicable to new CalWORKs recipients, on and after January 1, 2013. These recipients would receive 24 months of specified welfare-to-work services and activities, and would then be required to meet federal work participation requirements, as specified, unless they are exempted from participation, or receive an extension, as prescribed. By increasing county duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law gives counties, through the 2011–12 fiscal year, the option to redirect funding, both from and to the amounts appropriated for CalWORKs mental health employment assistance services and CalWORKs substance abuse treatment services, and from and to other CalWORKs employment services that are necessary for individuals to participate in welfare-to-work activities. This bill would extend this county authority through the 2013–14 fiscal year. Existing law provides that certain amounts are exempt from the calculation of income of the family for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under the CalWORKs program. Certain exempt amounts are calculated based on the amount of disability-based unearned income and earned income. State funds are continuously appropriated to pay for a share of costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would change the exempt amount described above by revising the calculation. To the extent that this bill would expand CalWORKs eligibility or increase grant amounts, the bill would make an appropriation. In addition, by increasing county administrative duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides that when aid under the CalWORKs program is repaid to the state by means of child support collections, the state is entitled to the entire amount of the aid repaid, except where federal and county funds were paid, in which case the federal government remains entitled to a proportionate share of the amount received or recovered and the county remains entitled to its proportionate share, except for county funds received or recovered during the 2011–12 fiscal year, which are retained by the state. This bill would extend the suspension of the county's recovery of repaid funds under the above provisions, for the 2012–13 fiscal year, thus allowing the state to retain those funds. Existing law provides that the 10 counties with the best performance standards shall receive an additional 5% of the state's share of those counties' collections that are used to reduce or repay aid that is paid under the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Existing law requires these additional funds received by a county to be used for specified child support-related activities. Existing law suspends the payment of this additional 5% for the 2002–03 to 2011–12 fiscal years, inclusive. This bill would extend the suspension of the additional 5% payments through the 2014–15 fiscal year. Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care services. Existing law requires the Department of Child Support Services to provide payments to the local child support agency of $50 per case for obtaining 3rd-party health coverage or insurance of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, to the extent that funds are appropriated in the Budget Act. Under existing law, these payments are suspended for the 2003–04 to 2011–12 fiscal years, inclusive. This bill would extend the suspension of the above-described payments to local child support agencies through the 2014–15 fiscal year. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, before issuing a license or special permit to any person to operate or manage a community care facility or a day care facility, to secure from an appropriate law enforcement agency a criminal record to determine whether the applicant or any other specified person has ever been convicted of various crimes. Existing law, except during the 2003–04 to the 2011–12 fiscal years, inclusive, prohibits the Department of Justice and the State Department of Social Services from charging a fee for the fingerprinting of an applicant for a license to operate a community care facility that will provide nonmedical board, room, and care for 6 or fewer children, the fingerprinting of a day care facility applicant that will serve 6 or fewer children, or any family day care applicant, or for obtaining a criminal record of these applicants. This bill would extend this authorization through the 2012–13 fiscal year. Under existing law, one of the methods by which Medi-Cal program services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care plans. Existing federal law provides for the federal Medicare Program, which is a public health insurance program for persons 65 years of age and older and specified persons with disabilities who are under 65 years of age. Existing law also provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which, either through employment by the recipient, by or through contract by the county, by the creation of a public authority, or pursuant to a contract with a nonprofit consortium, qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain in their own homes. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to establish a medication machine pilot project for certain at-risk Medi-Cal recipients, as specified, and designates the duties of the department in this regard. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, if the Department of Finance makes a specified determination, to implement, with some exceptions, a reduction in authorized hours of service to each IHSS recipient, as prescribed. This bill would delete these latter provisions. Existing law makes specified findings and declarations with respect to the effect of decreased funding for CalWORKs for the 2009–10 to 2011–12 fiscal years, inclusive. In connection with this decreased funding, existing law extends certain exemptions from months counted as a month of receipt of aid, and allows counties to redirect funding between specified employment assistance and substance abuse treatment programs during the specified fiscal years, and to revise a specified welfare-to-work exemption in order to implement the county's portion of specified funding reductions. This bill would extend the above provisions indefinitely to apply to specified decreases in CalWORKs funding. Existing law requires recipients of aid under the CalWORKs program who are under 19 years of age who are pregnant or custodial parents to participate in certain educational programs, which are referred to as the Cal-Learn Program. Existing law makes the Cal-Learn Program inoperative until July 1, 2012, except as specified. This bill would provide that from July 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013, inclusive, counties be provided full or partial year funding, depending on the pace of their progression to full implementation of the Cal-Learn Program by April 1, 2013. By increasing the duties of counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to submit a report to the budget committees of the Legislature with specified information relating to the Cal-Learn Program. Existing law prohibits the establishment of a new group home rate or change to an existing rate under the AFDC-FC program for a prescribed period, except for exemptions granted on a case-by-case basis, and repeals this prohibition on January 1, 2013. This bill would limit exceptions for any program with a rate classification level (RCL) below 10 to exceptions associated with a program change. Existing law also requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a 3.6% reduction in service hours to each IHSS recipient, until July 1, 2012. This bill would extend this reduction in service hours through July 1, 2013. Existing law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, imposes a sales tax on retailers for the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail, measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state. A violation of specified provisions of this law is a crime. Existing law similarly imposes a sales tax on providers of support services for the privilege of selling support services at retail, measured by the gross receipts from the sale of those services in this state at a specified rate of those gross receipts. Existing law creates the Personal Care IHSS Quality Assurance Revenue Fund in the State Treasury, and requires the revenue from the tax, less refunds, to be deposited in the fund. The fund is continuously appropriated to the State Department of Social Services for purposes of providing specified supplementary payments to providers of in-home supportive services. Existing law requires the IHSS provider tax and related supplementary payments to be implemented no earlier than July 1, 2010. This bill would extend the earliest implementation date for the provider tax and supplementary payment provisions to January 1, 2012. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers, including group homes, on behalf of qualified children in foster care, according to a schedule of basic foster care rates. The program is funded by a combination of federal, state, and county funds. Under existing law, the basic AFDC-FC rates are adjusted annually on July 1 by the annual percentage change in the California Necessities Index applicable to the calendar year within which that July 1 occurs. Existing law declares the need to provide enhanced reimbursement to address the extraordinary care and supervision needs of children who are consumers of regional center services and also receiving AFDC-FC, Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) , or Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) benefits, at a rate that is higher than the average rate they would otherwise receive through the foster care system and higher than the rate other children with medical and other significant special needs receive. Existing law requires that if the schedule of foster care basic rates is increased on or after January 1, 2008, these enhanced rates shall be similarly adjusted. This bill would revise the requirements relating to the adjustment of the enhanced rates payable for children who are dually eligible, as described above, to instead require those rates to be annually adjusted by the percentage change in the California Necessities Index, beginning with the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish a Work Incentive Nutritional Supplement (WINS) program, under which each county is required to provide a $40 monthly additional food assistance benefit for each eligible food stamp household, as defined. Under existing law, the WINS program, in tandem with a preassistance employment readiness system (PAERS) program, are required to be implemented by the department on specified dates. This bill would reduce the amount of the WINS benefit to $10 per month and would revise the various dates applicable to the implementation of the programs. Existing law creates the Child Health and Safety Fund, consisting of revenues from a specified license plate program and civil penalties imposed on child day care facility providers. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, 50% of those moneys in the fund derived from the license plate program are required to be expended to address various child health and safety concerns, as specified. This bill would include an additional $501,000 allocation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for these purposes. Existing law vests in the Department of Rehabilitation the responsibility and authority for the provision of vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Existing law provides for the Rehabilitation Appeals Board within the department to hear appeals, as prescribed, that have been filed with the board by any applicant for, or client of, the department. Existing law provides that any applicant for, or client of, the department, upon filing a request, as prescribed, has the right to a fair hearing before the board that is required to be held within 45 days of the date the written request is received by the board. This bill would eliminate the Rehabilitation Appeals Board, provide that a fair hearing will be held before an impartial hearing officer within 60 days of a written request for a hearing, and make related changes. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with designated stakeholders in the In-Home Supportive Services program, to develop a new ratesetting methodology for public authority administrative costs, to go into effect commencing with the 2012–13 fiscal year. This bill would delay the effective date of the new ratesetting methodology to the 2013–14 fiscal year. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to implement a single statewide Child Welfare Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS) to administer and evaluate the state's child welfare services and foster care programs. Existing law also requires the department, in partnership with the Office of Systems Integration (OSI) and designated stakeholders, to perform various activities regarding the effectiveness and operation of the CWS/CMS, and to report on these activities to the Legislature, by January 10, 2012. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to use funding included in the Budget Act of 2012 related to replacement of the CWS/CMS for the next steps necessary to move forward with the recommendation of the Child Welfare Automation Study Team (CAST) to proceed toward procuring a new system, as specified. The bill would require the OSI and the department to report the results of these activities, in addition to key milestones and anticipated timelines, to the Legislature by March 1, 2013, for review during the 2013 budget hearings. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services and the Office of Systems Integration to have a qualified 3rd party conduct a cost-reasonableness assessment of the costs proposed by the vendor to migrate the Consortium-IV counties to the newly developed Los Angeles Eligibility, Automated Determination, Evaluation and Reporting (LEADER) Replacement System, in order to determine whether the proposed overall costs are within range of reasonableness, based on specified factors. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders, including counties advocates, and legislative staff, to convene a work group to identify best practices and other strategies to improve early welfare-to-work engagement and barrier removal efforts, to maximize a recipient's welfare-to-work opportunities, as specified. The bill would require the work group to report its findings to the Legislature by January 10, 2013. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to annually update the Legislature regarding the changes made by the bill to the CalWORKs program, and contract with an independent, research-based institution for an evaluation and written report, with specified contents, which would be provided to the Legislature by October 1, 2017. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement certain of its provisions by all-county letters or similar instructions, pending the adoption of emergency regulations by July 1, 2014. 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 these statutory provisions. This bill would appropriate $1,000 from the General Fund to the California Health and Human Services Agency for administration. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.