2017 Sponsored Legislation
CWDA is sponsoring or cosponsoring seven bills this legislative session. Find information on the bills along with fact sheets and sample support letters in this section.
AB 236 (Maienschein/Santiago) – CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program
Status: SIGNED by Governor Brown
Enables counties to better assist homeless CalWORKs families through the existing Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) by:
- Allowing families to receive 16 cumulative days of temporary housing assistance per year (32 days in cases of documented domestic violence). Current law requires assistance to be provided on consecutive days, significantly limiting the usefulness of the benefit.
- Clarifying that a family that is reunifying following an intervention by child protective services is eligible for temporary housing assistance.
Cosponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty and California Coalition of Welfare Rights Organizations
AB 236 Sample Support Letter - Senate Human Services
AB 818 (Burke) – CalWORKs High School Equivalency Support
Status: SIGNED by Governor Brown
Will ensure that parents in CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work are able to complete their high school diploma or equivalency, as well as a subsequent education or training assignment, within the 24-month time clock.
AB 818 Sample Letter of Support - Senate Human Services
AB 1332 (Bloom) – Non-Custodial Parent Orders
Status: SIGNED by Governor Brown
Will enable county child welfare agencies to better protect children by creating a process for the court to formally remove a child from an abusive non-custodial parent.
Cosponsored with the County of Los Angeles
SB 213 (Mitchell) – Placement of Foster Children
Status: SIGNED by Governor Brown
Supports the placement of abused and neglected foster children with relatives and other caregivers by streamlining and clarifying background check requirements, providing an expedited exemption process for certain minor crimes, and enabling emergency placement of children with relatives pending exemption when it is in the best interest of the child to do so.
SB 222 (Hernandez) – Suspension of Medi-Cal Eligibility for Inmates
Status: In Senate Appropriations Committee, HELD on Suspense File
Current law allows county human services agencies to suspend, rather than terminate, eligibility for inmates in public institutions for a period of up to 12 months. In order to allow for greater continuity of care when inmates are released, and to conform with federal guidance issued since California’s law was enacted, SB 222 would allow for the suspension of eligibility for an indefinite length of time.
Cosponsored with Californians for Safety and Justice and the National Health Law Program.
SB 282 (Wiener) – CalFresh Employment and Access to Meals
Status: SIGNED by Governor Brown
The Reducing Hunger Among Vulnerable Californians Act of 2017 (SB 282) seeks to address the dual, often overlapping, challenges of joblessness and homelessness for low income Californians. This package of targeted program improvements will increase access to prepared food for low income homeless, elderly or disabled Californians and create real job opportunities for childless homeless adults.
Cosponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty and San Francisco County Human Services Agency
SB 708 (Skinner) – Public Benefits Pre-Enrollment for Inmates
Status: In Senate Appropriations Committee, HELD on Suspense File
Thousands of Californians are released from prison or jail every year on parole or probation. An estimated 80 percent are low-income, meaning they are eligible for programs such as CalFresh, which provides a monthly food benefit. SB 708 calls for the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to seek authority from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pre-enroll eligible Californians into CalFresh prior to release from prison or jail and prescribes processes for counties to implement the waiver. The bill also enables individuals apply to get a replacement social security card and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) while awaiting release. The hope is that earlier access to programs such as CalFresh and SSI will reduce recidivism and allow those affected to better re-enter society post-incarceration.
Cosponsored with Ella Baker Center, Los Angeles Regional Re-entry Partnership, Root & Rebound and Western Center on Law and Poverty