AB146 - Human services.

Amended IN Senate September 08, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 146 Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel Committee on Budget (Assembly Members Gabriel (Chair), Addis, Ahrens, Alvarez, Bennett, Bonta, Connolly, Fong, Haney, Hart, Jackson, Lee, Muratsuchi, Ortega, Patel, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rogers, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Ward, and Wilson) January 08, 2025 An act relating to the Budget Act of 2025. An act to amend Sections 11265.15, 11320.1, 11325.15, 11325.4, 16121.5, and 18901.36 of, and to add Sections 10618.9 and 18900.95 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services, and making an appropriation therefore, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 146, as amended, Committee on Budget. Budget Act of 2025. Human services. (1) Existing law establishes various programs, administered by the State Department of Social Services, to assist individuals experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, including, among other programs, the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, the Home Safe Program, the Bringing Families Home Program, and the Housing and Disability Income Advocacy Program. This bill would require counties opting to participate in any of those programs to have written program policies and make them available to the public, and to implement and conduct county-level complaint resolution processes according to minimum requirements developed by the department, as specified. The bill would require the department to develop program guidance on a procedure for counties to inform recipients in writing of housing-related services and financial assistance being provided to the recipient, would provide program recipients with the right to file a request with the department for a state administrative hearing for county actions resulting in a reduction or discontinuance of housing-related services and financial assistance, as specified, and would require the department to establish criteria for recipients to receive housing-related services and financial assistance pending the resolution of a complaint and a state hearing. The bill would require the department to consult with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, counties, and advocates for program applicants and recipients on the development of the previously described processes, and would authorize the department to implement and administer these provisions by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions. (2) Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility. Existing law specifies the sequence of employment-related activities a welfare-to-work participant is required to undertake, which includes orientation and appraisal and, commencing July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation, if eligible, family stabilization, substance abuse, mental health, or domestic violence services. Existing law, as it relates to family stabilization, substance abuse, mental health, or domestic violence services, requires the recipient to make their election verbally or in writing on the welfare-to-work plan. This bill would remove the requirement that the recipient make their election verbally or in writing on the welfare-to-work plan. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation, requires the department to develop an updated, streamlined appraisal tool to replace the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT) and exempts a contract necessary to obtain licenses for OCAT and the alternative appraisal tool developed by the department from, among other things, the Public Contract Code and the State Contracting Manual. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation, requires an assessment to be available upon completion of orientation and appraisal and, at the participant’s option, authorizes the assessment to incorporate the OCAT, as specified. The bill would make technical corrections to the above provisions relating to the OCAT and the alternative appraisal tool developed by the department. Existing law requires counties, as part of the administration of the CalWORKs program, to use a semiannual report form and, to the extent permitted by federal law, provide recipients with a prepopulated semiannual report form. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to complete final policy guidance for changes to the prepopulated semiannual report form by August 15, 2025. This bill would delete the requirement that the department complete final policy guidance relating to the semiannual report form by August 15, 2025. (3) Existing law establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP), administered by the State Department of Social Services, to benefit children residing in foster homes by providing the stability and security of permanent homes. Existing law authorizes AAP payments for placement in an out-of-state residential treatment facility if one or more of the adoptive parents reside in the state in which the residential treatment facility is located and the responsible public agency has confirmed that placement is necessary. Existing law defines a “responsible public agency” to mean either the department or the licensed county adoption agency responsible for making AAP determinations for a child. This bill would revise the definition of “responsible public agency” to include all county adoption agencies responsible for making AAP determinations for a child without regard to whether the agency is licensed. (4) Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing federal law, beginning in fiscal year 2028, a state’s cost share for SNAP benefits will be determined based on the state’s payment error rate. Under that federal law, if a state’s payment error rate is less than 6%, the state’s cost share is 0%, with increasing cost share for the state if the payment error rate is above that threshold. This bill would, until October 1, 2027, and when necessary to reduce the CalFresh payment error rate, authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement and administer the CalFresh program by means of all-county letters and emergency regulations, as specified. The bill would require the department to engage in stakeholder consultation starting in September 2025 and continuing through the duration of the multiyear activities. The bill would also require the department, beginning in November 2025 through November 2027, to update the Legislature, including specified information, on a quarterly basis on the implementation of the multiyear activities. Existing federal law generally prohibits a resident of an institution from receiving supplemental nutrition assistance benefits. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, if the department deems it necessary to maximize CalFresh enrollment outcomes or employment placement success rates for individuals reentering the community from the state prison or a county jail, to submit to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service a request to waive that prohibition to allow for preenrollment of applicants prior to their release. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish a CalFresh workgroup by February 1, 2026, composed of members with specified backgrounds, to meet no less than quarterly. Existing law requires the workgroup to create and submit a report to the department and to the Legislature by August 31, 2027, and by August 31 annually thereafter, through 2030, with its recommendations for a state reentry process incorporating the necessary resources for transition from state prison or county jail to obtaining CalFresh benefits upon reentry into the community. This bill would delay the establishment of the workgroup to February 1, 2028, and would delay the reporting period by 2 years. (5) This bill would appropriate $3,200,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for automation related to CalFresh payment error rate mitigation and implementation of federal H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21). (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2025. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO YES Fiscal Committee: NO YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 10618.9 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: 10618.9. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the procedure described in this section is sufficient to meet any applicable due process requirements for the programs described in this section. Furthermore, for the purposes of those programs, it is the intent of the Legislature to promote the fair and expeditious resolution of disputes through the creation of complaint resolution processes and to establish minimum standards for the development of individualized written housing plans. (b) (1) Counties opting to participate in any of the following programs shall have written program policies and make them available to the public, including on the internet website of the county, and implement and conduct county-level complaint resolution processes according to minimum requirements developed by the department: (A) The CalWORKs Housing Support Program (Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 11330) of Chapter 2 of Part 3). (B) The Home Safe Program (Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 15770) of Part 3). (C) The Bringing Families Home Program (Article 6 (commencing with Section 16523) of Chapter 5 of Part 4). (D) The Housing and Disability Income Advocacy Program (Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 18999) of Part 6). (2) The minimum requirements developed by the department pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include all of the following elements: (A) A statewide standardized notice informing applicants for, and recipients of, the programs of the county-level complaint resolution process and state hearings process pursuant to subdivision (c), including all associated timelines, the right to submit a complaint within 30 calendar days from the date of the county action that gave rise to the complaint, and what constitutes good cause, as defined by future guidance to be developed by the department, for submitting a complaint after 30 calendar days. This information shall be provided in writing at the time of enrollment and discontinuance from the program, and shall meet all language and accessibility requirements, as prescribed by the department. The statewide standardized notice, which may be modified by counties to reflect their county-level complaint resolution process, shall be developed in consultation with stakeholders, including advocates for program applicants and recipients, representatives of labor organizations, the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), and legislative staff. (B) An objective decisionmaker who is a neutral person not directly involved in the county action that gave rise to the complaint and who has knowledge of the program’s written policies, the program requirements, and departmental guidance. (C) The right for any party to the complaint to present information in support of the complaint. Any party to the complaint shall also have the right to request a meeting to present information in person, by phone, or virtually, and to be represented by someone of their choosing. The meeting shall be held within 30 calendar days of receipt of a complaint. (D) A written decision describing the outcome of the complaint, including information about the complaint, the date of the decision, the basis of the county’s decision, including the relevant policies, laws, and facts, county contact information for any questions about the decision, and notice of the right to appeal the decision to a state hearing pursuant to subdivision (c). The decision shall be issued within the following timelines: (i) If no meeting is requested, a written decision shall be issued by the county no later than 30 calendar days following receipt of a complaint. (ii) If a meeting is requested, a written decision shall be issued within 15 working days from the date of the meeting. (E) Any other criteria or clarifying guidance determined by the department, in collaboration with CWDA, counties, and advocates for program applicants and recipients. (3) The department shall develop program guidance on a procedure for counties to inform recipients in writing of housing-related services and financial assistance being provided to the recipient, which shall include advance notice when housing-related services or financial assistance will be reduced or discontinued, and which may include electronic copies. This guidance shall include, at a minimum, all of the following elements: (A) Counties shall provide recipients with an individualized written housing plan that shall meet all of the following requirements: (i) Be developed by the county in coordination with the recipient, when possible, and consistent with Housing First requirements specified in Section 8255, to meet the recipient’s specified housing-related goals. (ii) Describe the housing-related services and financial assistance being provided to a recipient and specify the start and expiration dates, as applicable, within the plan. (iii) Be provided to the recipient upon enrollment and updated when the recipient’s housing-related services or financial assistance change and as specified by the department. (B) If the recurring housing-related services or financial assistance described in a current written housing plan will be reduced or discontinued before its planned expiration date stated in the plan, the county shall provide the recipient with an updated housing plan [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]