CalWORKs: school attendance: immunizations.

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 for Needy Families block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law generally makes persons between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age subject to compulsory full-time education, unless exempted. Existing law also requires children in a CalWORKs assistance unit for whom school attendance is compulsory to attend school, except as specified. Under existing law, the needs of a child in the assistance unit who is 16 years of age or older are not considered in computing the specified grant of the family for any month in which the county is informed by a school district or a county school attendance review board that the child did not attend school, unless at least one of certain conditions is present. This bill would require applicants for and recipients of CalWORKs to be informed of the general compulsory education requirements. The bill would repeal the prohibition against considering the needs of a child in an assistance unit who is 16 years of age or older who did not attend school, thereby allowing the needs of that child to be considered in computing the monthly family grant. Under existing law, all applicants for or recipients of CalWORKs are required 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, unless it has been medically determined that an immunization for a child is not appropriate or the applicant or recipient has filed with the county welfare department an affidavit that the immunizations are contrary to the applicant's or recipient's beliefs. Existing law requires documentation of immunization to be provided by all recipients for aid within 30 days of the determination of eligibility for Medi-Cal benefits, within 45 days for applicants already eligible for Medi-Cal benefits, and for all recipients for CalWORKs, within 45 days of full or financial redetermination. Existing law 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 the obligation to secure immunizations to be given to the applicant or recipient at the time of application and at the next redetermination of eligibility for aid, and specifies information to be required in the notice. This bill would, on the effective date of the bill, eliminate the personal belief exception for immunizations required under the CalWORKs program for applicants and recipients who do not already exercise the personal belief exemption, and eliminate that exception for recipients currently exercising the personal belief exemption on the effective date of the remaining provisions of the bill. The bill would extend to 60 days the above deadlines for providing immunization documentation and would instead authorize the department to require counties, after a 60-day grace period, to exclude the needs of all parents or caretaker relatives in the assistance unit in determining the grant to the assistance unit until the required documentation is provided. The bill would revise the information required to be given to all applicants and recipients to include a statement that Medi-Cal will provide coverage for nonmedical transportation for a child who is enrolled in Medi-Cal to receive the required immunizations and to include notice of the 60-day grace period. By increasing the duties of counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, except as otherwise described above, make its provisions effective on or after January 1, 2021, or the date that the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform specified automation, whichever date is later. The bill would require the department to implement its provisions through an all-county letter or similar instruction, as specified. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for the purposes of implementing the bill. 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.