2018 Sponsored Legislation

Legislation

CWDA sponsored or cosponsored several bills during the 2018 legislative session. Find information on the bills along with fact sheets and sample support letters in this section.

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AB 1909 (Nazarian) - In-Home Supportive Services Program – Translation of Materials for Providers

Status: Vetoed by the Governor

Will require the California Department of Social Services to translate written materials sent to IHSS providers into the same threshold languages that are used for translation of materials for IHSS recipients.

Cosponsored with the California Association of Public Authorities and AFSCME-UDW

AB 1909 Fact Sheet

AB 1909 - Sample Letter to Governor Brown

 

AB 1921 (Maienschein) – CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program

Status: Vetoed by the Governor

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.
  • Allows a family to receive Permanent Housing Assistance for shared housing when a valid lease agreement has been entered into.

Cosponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty and Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations

AB 1921 Fact Sheet

AB 1921 - Sample Letter to Governor Brown

 

AB 2043 (Arambula) – Foster Youth – Response System

Status: Vetoed by the Governor

This legislation supports efforts to implement the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) in California’s foster care system. The bill creates the California Coordinated Response System, adapted from successful response systems in other states. This system includes a toll-free hotline available statewide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to caregivers and children and youth in the foster care system who are experiencing emotional, behavioral or other difficulties that are overwhelming to them and who feel they need immediate help.

Hotline operators with training in conflict resolution and de-escalation will provide immediate assistance over the phone to help defuse the conflict or crisis, and will triage the situation to determine whether mobile, in-home support is needed. Counties’ child welfare and behavioral health agencies would be required to establish mobile response teams to provide face-to-face, in-home response on a 24/7 basis to help defuse and stabilize the situation, assess the caregiver’s and child’s needs, and develop a plan of action to provide the family with needed ongoing services through the existing local network of care service systems.

Cosponsored with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA) and Children Now

AB 2043 - Sample Letter to Governor Brown

AB 2043 Fact Sheet

 

AB 2083 (Cooley) – Trauma-Informed Services for Foster Youth

Status: Signed by the Governor

Would take steps at the local, state and practitioner level to improve and coordinate services to the most highly traumatized youth in care.Specifically, the bill:

  • Requires implementation of a local memorandum of understanding between the county child welfare agency, behavioral health department, probation department, county office office of education and the regional center serving the county.
  • Establishes a state-level group representing the Departments of Social Services, Health Care Services, and Developmental Disabilities. This state-level group will help counties with implementation of the required MOUs, develop policies where gaps or inconsistencies are noted, help to a case level when placement or services issues are identified that cannot be locally resolved, and review placement options for highly traumatized youth to determine whether gaps exist and make recommendations.
  • Task the state-level group with development of a plan to develop and train additional trauma-informed practitioners to serve children, recognizing that a shortage of such trained professionals exists today.

AB 2083 - Sample Letter to Governor Brown

 

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Bills Enacted Into Law

 

SB 982 (Mitchell) – Ending CalWORKs Deep Poverty

Status: Adopted as part of the 2018-19 budget; see AB 1811

Would ensure that no child receiving a CalWORKs grant is living in deep poverty, as defined by a grant level that is less than 50 percent of the federal poverty level.

Cosponsored with Black Women for Wellness, Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Children’s Defense Fund-California, Coalition of CA Welfare Rights Organizations, Friends Committee on Legislation of California, National Association of Social Workers, National Council of Jewish Women-California, Parent Voices California, Western Center on Law and Poverty

SB 982 Fact Sheet

 

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Bills Held in Committee

 

AB 2637 (O’Donnell) – CalWORKs High School Graduation Credits

Status: Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Would provide for a one-time $500 high school graduation credit for youth in CalWORKs families who are not Cal-Learn participants and who graduate high school or earn a high school equivalency certificate. The provision of such a credit encourages youth to remain in school and also can provide a springboard toward post-secondary education and training for these youth, who often feel pressured to enter the workforce rather than continuing their education.

Cosponsored with the County of Los Angeles

 

SB 1093 (Jackson) – DMV Enhanced Confidentiality for Adult Protective Services Social Workers

Status: Held in Senate Appropriations Committee.

Would add Adult Protective Services social workers to the list of state and local staff with enhanced confidentiality protections under the Vehicle Code. Currently, Child Protective Services social workers and Community Care Licensing staff are able to receive enhanced confidentiality protection from the Department of Motor Vehicles, but APS workers do not have the same ability. This legislation would provide for that protection.