November 18, 2013
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed a proposed
statutory initiative (A.G. File No. 13‑0024) related to public social
services.
Background
Public Social Services. State law broadly
defines public social services as activities and functions administered
or supervised by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) or
Department of Health Care Services that assist state residents who are
in need due to economic circumstances or social condition. Some examples
of state programs that fall under this definition are the California
Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, the
CalFresh program (formerly known as Food Stamps), the California Medical
Assistance (Medi-Cal) Program, In-Home Supportive Services, child
welfare services, adoptions, and foster care. Many public social
services programs are operated as a partnership between the state and
the federal government and are typically subject to federal regulation
and oversight. Public social services programs are generally
administered by counties, with state agencies in a supervisory role.
CalWORKs. The CalWORKs program provides
cash assistance and welfare-to-work services to low-income families with
children. In order for adults to receive assistance in the CalWORKs
program, their household must have income and assets below certain
limits and they must generally have custody of a child that is deprived
of parental support, either through the absence or death of a parent, or
through insufficient employment. Individuals that have been convicted of
a drug-related felony are not eligible for CalWORKs assistance.
As an additional condition of receiving aid in the CalWORKs program,
able-bodied adults are required to be employed or participate in certain
activities intended to lead to employment, known as “welfare-to-work
activities.” Newly eligible recipients whose employment situation does
not meet program requirements participate in a sequence of
welfare-to-work activities that is broadly prescribed in state law. This
sequence often begins with a period of up to four weeks in which
recipients are expected to search for employment with the assistance of
the county. If these efforts do not result in employment, recipients are
then assessed and placed in a combination of other work activities,
including on-the-job training and education.
Criminal Justice Realignment Increases County Role.
In 2011, the state shifted responsibility for certain low-level
offenders from the state to the counties on a prospective basis. In
addition, certain offenders released from state prison are now
supervised in the community by county probation officers instead of by
state parole agents. Locally supervised offenders that violate the terms
and conditions of their supervision are generally returned to county
jails. Some counties have established processes to offer and provide
various public social services, including CalWORKs assistance, to
locally supervised offenders in an attempt to reduce recidivism and
control ongoing public safety costs.
Proposal
This measure has provisions that appear to apply broadly to public
social services programs. However, given the regulatory and oversight
role of the federal government in many public social services programs,
conflicts between the measure’s provisions and federal law could limit
the measure’s application in some programs. The ultimate effects of the
measure would depend on how it is implemented and the extent to which
this implementation applies to public social services broadly.
Creates Additional Documentation Requirements for
Eligibility for Public Social Services. This measure
creates additional documentation requirements for individuals applying
for public social services. Specifically, adults applying on their own
behalf would be required to present a California driver’s license or
state-issued identification (ID) card. In cases where an applicant is
unable to pay the fee to obtain a driver’s license or state-issued ID,
the county would cover the fee and then deduct this amount from the
first of any future benefit payments. Those that apply for public social
services on behalf of a child would be required to provide a certified
copy of the child’s United States birth certificate or other official
proof of birth document and the child’s social security card.
Counties would be required to maintain scanned images of these
documents on file, along with other specified information pertaining to
each recipient. This information would be housed in a statewide database
to be created by DSS. This database would be used to verify at least
monthly that no duplicate documentation has been submitted.
Creates Job Placement Program Within CalWORKs.
This measure creates a program within CalWORKs to identify and
facilitate employment opportunities for recipients that are required to
participate in welfare-to-work. Employment opportunities would be
identified as counties perform employer outreach in several specified
industries. Recipients would be required as a condition of receiving aid
to participate in interviews with potential employers. Interview
outcomes would be documented by the potential employer and submitted to
the county. Participation in the outreach program would be required for
two years; however, recipients would be able to participate concurrently
in other welfare-to-work activities currently available under current
program rules after a period of three months.
Permits Development of Procedures to Identify Inmates
That May Be Eligible for CalWORKs Upon Release From State Prison.
This measure allows, but does not require, DSS to work with the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to
develop procedures to identify inmates that would be eligible for the
CalWORKs program upon their release. To the extent that able-bodied
former inmates identified through such procedures were to enroll in
CalWORKs, they would be required to participate in welfare-to-work and
the job placement program created by this measure.
Fiscal Effects
We have identified several potential fiscal effects of this measure
which we list below. As noted previously, the ultimate fiscal effect of
this measure will depend on how it is implemented and the extent to
which this implementation applies to public social services programs
broadly.
Administrative and Automation Costs Related to New
Documentation Requirements. This measure would result in
uncertain one-time and ongoing costs for counties to change
administrative procedures to accommodate additional documentation
requirements. The development of the statewide documentation database
would result in one-time state costs that could be in the tens of
millions of dollars. Additional unknown one-time costs would be incurred
by the state to modify automated processes to allow driver’s license and
state-issued ID fees to be deducted from benefit payments.
Costs to Implement Job Placement Program.
The job placement program required by this measure somewhat duplicates
existing county activities. The state or counties would not incur
additional costs to the extent that counties are already performing the
employment outreach and placement activities required by the measure.
However, the scope of the employment outreach required by this measure
exceeds current activities, resulting in additional state and county
costs which, while uncertain, are likely to be at least in the tens of
millions of dollars annually.
Reduction in Costs to Provide Assistance Due to Smaller
Caseloads. This measure could result in lower state and
county costs to provide assistance by reducing the caseloads of public
social services programs in a few ways. Additional documentation
requirements could result in fewer applicants being found eligible for
public social services as well as fewer individuals choosing to apply.
Finally, the job placement program would also likely result in decreased
CalWORKs caseloads as (1) a greater number of recipients find employment
and leave public assistance and (2) some recipients choose not to
participate, making them ineligible for public assistance. Taken
together, these effects could result in reduced assistance costs for
state and county governments potentially in the hundreds of millions of
dollars annually.
Uncertain Costs and Savings From Identification of
Released Inmates Eligible for CalWORKs. As noted
previously, this measure would permit, but not require, DSS to
coordinate with CDCR to develop procedures to identify inmates that
would be eligible for CalWORKs upon their release. If such procedures
were developed, costs for increased cash assistance and services
utilization in the CalWORKs program could result. However, if additional
cash assistance and services were to decrease recidivism, state and
local governments would achieve savings through lower public safety
costs. Information about which inmates are potentially eligible for
CalWORKs is limited. However, the portion of inmates that would be
eligible is likely small, for a number of reasons: (1) the overwhelming
majority of released offenders are male and therefore less likely to
have custody of a child in accordance with CalWORKs eligibility
requirements; (2) drug offenders, which comprise a substantial portion
of the total offender population, are ineligible for CalWORKs
assistance; and (3) procedures developed pursuant to this measure would
somewhat duplicate existing practice in some counties to offer public
social services to inmates released to county supervision. As a result,
the magnitude of any cost or savings from this provision of the measure
are highly uncertain.
Summary of Fiscal Effects
We estimate that this measure could have the following major fiscal
effects on state and local governments:
- Annual state and local savings, potentially in the hundreds of
millions of dollars, from reduced caseloads in the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program and other
public social services programs.
- Annual state and local costs at least in the tens of millions of
dollars to implement a job placement program for CalWORKs recipients
and administer additional documentation requirements.
- One-time state costs in the tens of millions of dollars for
various automation changes.
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