” CCWRO News News-2020-06 Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc. 1111 Howe Ave Suite 635 Sacramento CA 95825-855 Telephone (916) 736-0616 1 Fax (916) 736-2645 – ccwro.org CCWRO is an IOLTA funded support center serving IOLTA legal services programs in California. Types of services offered: Litigation, Co-Counseling, Fair Hearing, Representation, Consultation, Informational Services, Research Services, In-Depth Consultation and Welfare Training. Programs Covered: CalWORKs, Welfare to Work (WtW), Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, IHSS, CAPI, Child Care, General Assistance & Refugee\/Immigrant Eligibility. All Rights Reserved. June 8, 2020 (Cont’d on page 2) County Welfare Departments Fail to Meet CalWORKs Families’ Needs For Emergency Assistance Counties are the point of access for California’s family safety net emergency assistance programs: Homeless Assistance, CalWORKs Immediate Need, and CalFresh Expedited Services. Currently, only 13 counties\u2014most- ly smaller counties\u2014are currently open to accept, timely process and issue these crucial safety net programs. California’s remaining 45 counties have locked their doors to needy families. Beneficiaries and applicants in dire need of emergency assistance are not able to access such emergency assistance benefits. See TABLE #2 for county-by-county availability of in-person emergency assistance entitlements for CalWORKs and CalFresh. It should be noted that Governor Newsom did not suspend the emergency assistance program statutes and regu- lations for California’s safety net programs. See Table #1. TABLE #1 Safety Net Program Statute\/State Regula- tion Mandate Who is eligible When are Benefits Due CalWORKs Temporary Homeless Assistance W&IC 11450(f)(3)(iii) MPP 44-211.523 Any CalWORKs eli- gible family or apparently eligible family with minor children On the date of requesting temporary homeless as- sistance. CalWORKs Permanent Homeless Assistance W&IC 11450(f)(3)(D) Any CalWORKs eli- gible family or apparently eligible family with minor children On the day of requesting permanent homeless as- sistance, but no later than the next working day. CalWORKs Immediate Need W&IC 11266 Any CalWORKs eligible or apparently eligible family with minor children On the day of application, but no later than the next working day. CalFresh Expedited Services W&IC 18914 Any household whose combined monthly gross income and liquid resourc- es are less than the monthly shelter cost and standard utility allowance. Within three (3) calendar days of application. CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 2 (Cont’d from page 1) CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Counties must issue homeless assistance benefits on an EBT card on the date of application, if eligible. Counties fail to meet this requirement when homeless families cannot apply and receive homeless benefits on the same day. See Welfare & Institutions Code Section 11450(f)(3)(D) for perma- nent homeless assistance and 11450(f)(3)(iii) for Tempo- rary Homeless Assistance. Also see MPP 44-211.523: The payment for temporary shelter shall be issued or denied within the same working day in which the AU requests homeless assistance. 11450(f)(3)(D) A payment for or denial of permanent housing assistance shall be issued no later than one working day from the time that a family presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing. If an applicant family provides evidence of the availability of permanent housing before the county welfare department has established eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare department shall complete the eligibility determination so that the payment for, or denial of, permanent housing assistance is issued within one working day from the submission of evidence of the availability of permanent housing, unless the family has failed to provide all of the verification necessary to establish eligibility for aid under this chapter. 11450(f)(3)(iii) This special needs benefit shall be granted or denied immediately upon the family’s application for homeless assistance, and benefits shall be available for up to three working days. The meaning of immediately in Section 11450(f)(3) (iii) is defined in DSS state regulation MPP 44-211.523: The payment for temporary shelter shall be issued or de- nied within the same working day in which the AU requests homeless assistance. CalWORKs Immediate Need – Families who need CalWORKs emergency assistance are required to be interviewed the date of application, but no later than the next working day. If the family is eligible, benefits shall be issued on the date of application, but no later than the next working day. See W&IC 11266(b). 11266 (b) If an applicant needs immediate assistance and is apparently eligible for aid as defined in subdivision (a), the county shall pay the applicant two hundred dollars ($200) or the maximum amount for which that applicant is eligible, whichever is less. The advance payment shall be made by the end of the first working day following the request for that aid. CalFresh Expedited Services Any person who meets the CalFresh Expedited Service standards must receive benefits within three days. 18914 (a) In accordance with, and to the extent provided by, federal law, the county human services agency shall provide CalFresh benefits on an expe- dited basis as provided in subdivision (b) to house- holds determined to be in immediate need of food assistance. (b) Pursuant to the federal requirements of Section 273.2(i)(2) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regu- lations, the county human services agency shall screen all CalFresh applications for entitlement to expedited service. Applicants who meet the federal criteria for expedited service as defined in Section 273.2(i)(1) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regu- lations shall receive either a manual authorization to participate or automated card or the immediate issuance of CalFresh benefits no later than the third day following the date the application was filed. To the maximum extent permitted by federal law, the amount of income to be received from any source shall be deemed to be uncertain and exempt from consideration in the determination of entitlement for expedited service. For purposes of this subdivision, a weekend shall be considered one calendar day. (c) The State Department of Social Services shall develop and implement for expedited issuance a uni- form procedure for verifying information required of an applicant. CalFresh Expedited Service Criteria: (1) the household’s gross income in the month of application does not exceed $150 and countable liquid assets (assets easily converted into cash, such as a bank account) do not exceed $100; or (2) he household’s combined monthly gross income and liquid assets are less than the com- bined monthly rent (or mortgage) and utilities (i.e., the appropriate SUA) CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 These regulations implement the December 20, 1994 judg- ment as amended January 3, 1995. 11-601 BLANCO V. ANDERSON LAWSUIT HANDBOOK BEGINS HERE .1 Background The Blanco v. Anderson lawsuit challenged the closure of county welfare department (CWD) offices during regular business hours except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The initial decision, issued on December 16, 1993, addressed only the closure of CWD Food Stamp offices without first having completed a review of the office hours of operation as required by federal regulations at 7 CFR 272.4(g). Emergency state regulations implementing the specific federal regu- latory requirements for the required annual office hours review were effective June 1, 1994. The final judgment, issued December 20, 1994, and amended January 3, 1995, finds that by allowing CWDs to close their offices during the regular eight hours of the working day, class members have been denied their right to apply for and receive Food Stamp, AFDC, homeless assistance, and Medi- Cal benefits. The court ordered that when the CWDs are closed during the regular eight hours of the working day, they must do the following. They must make it possible for individuals to apply for and receive Food Stamp, AFDC, and Medi-Cal benefits, including emergency benefits, within the time limits prescribed by state and federal law. The CWDs must also provide notice of their hours of operation and of the procedures, during these hours of closure, for applying for and receiving these benefits, including emergency benefits. (Our emphasis added) HANDBOOK ENDS HERE .2 Definitions .21 For purposes of these regulations, the following apply: .211 Accept and act upon all applications for emergency benefits includes providing such emergency benefits within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law. .212 Local telephone service means a telephone number which is toll-free for the same geographic area as the regular telephone number for each CWD office. .213 Opportunity to file an application for benefits includes the provision of special assistance under 7 CFR 273.2(e) and (f) (see Sections 63-300.4 and .5) and 45 CFR 233.10(a)(10(vi) (see Section 40-157.213). (a) Special assistance means assisting the applicant as necessary in order to provide emergency benefits within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law, including waiving the face-to-face office interview, conducting the application interview by telephone, and assisting the applicant in gathering needed documents. .214 Regular eight hours of a working day means the eight-hour period the CWD’s offices are open to the public. If the CWD office is never open eight hours on a working day, the regular eight hours of the working day shall mean the hours that the CWD office is open, plus an additional time period(s) immediately before, after, or between these hours, which cumulatively equal eight hours. .215 Working days means Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, excluding federal and state holidays. .3 County Responsibilities .31 If a CWD closes its offices at any time during the regular eight hours of a working day, the CWD shall do all the following during those hours of office closure: .311 Provide individuals the opportunity to file an application for and receive Food Stamp and\/or AFDC benefits within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law. (a) Make applications for such benefits readily available to individuals. (b) Provide a drop-box, mail slot, or other reasonable means for filing applica- tions. (1) Applications deposited as described in Section 11-600.311(b) shall be deemed to have been filed on the date of the CWD office closure. (2) In the event an individual certifies he\/she was denied the opportunity to file an application, and the CWD does not have evidence to the contrary, the application shall be processed in all respects as though it was filed on the date of the CWD office closure. .312 Provide individuals the opportunity to file an application for and receive expedited Food Stamp, immediate need AFDC, and\/or homeless assistance benefits within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law. (a) Maintain enough staff to accept and act upon all such applications, and\/or (b) Maintain a local telephone service with enough staff to accept and act upon all such applications as if such requests had been made in person at the CWD’s office. .313 Greet incoming calls on the main telephone lines of the CWD’s offices with an announcement informing the caller of the following: (a) The working days, or regular eight hours of a working day, when the offices will be closed; (b) The procedures for obtaining and filing applications for Food Stamp and AFDC benefits, during these hours of office closure; and (c) The procedures for applying for and receiving expedited Food Stamp, im- mediate need AFDC, and homeless assistance benefits, within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law, during these hours of office closure. HANDBOOK BEGINS HERE (d) CDSS and the Department of Health Services are enjoined by court order in the Blanco v. Anderson lawsuit. The court order includes provisions for providing services to clients under Medi-Cal as well as Food Stamp and AFDC programs. The order requires that telephone announcements greeting incoming calls informing the public of the provisions specified in Sections 11-601.313(a), (b), and (c) include information regarding Medi-Cal and emergency medical services. HANDBOOK ENDS HERE .314 Post notices in prominent locations within the CWD’s offices and in the public areas, including the doors, immedi- ately outside the CWD’s offices which inform the public of the following: (a) The working days, or the regular eight hours of a working day, when the offices will be closed; (b) The procedures for obtaining and filing applications for Food Stamp and AFDC benefits during these hours of office closure; and (c) The procedures for applying for and receiving expedited Food Stamp, immediate need AFDC, and homeless assistance benefits within the time limits prescribed by federal and state law, during these hours of office closure. (Our emphasis added) See -Blanco v. Anderson 39 F.3d 969 (1994); ACL 93-92 (December 17, 1993) and ACL 94-11 (February 14, 1994) 3 CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 TABLE #2 List of Counties that provide limited services are identified in Yellow – Not Open During Regular Business Hours Source: County Office Closure Reports 5-25-20 CalWORKs CalFresh Total Active Cases in Counties Open During Regular Business Hours 5% 34,6676 116,474 Total Active Cases in Locked Counties 95% 292,646 2,050,007 Percentage of Cases in Locked Down Counties 95% 95% County CalWORKs CalFresh Alameda 8,377 69,601 Alpine Less than 11 72 Amador 150 1,521 Butte 2,042 17,243 Calaveras 299 2,886 Colusa 95 762 Contra Costa 6,100 34,109 Del Norte 456 3,062 El Dorado 736 6,884 Fresno 18,549 93,741 Glenn 256 1,685 Humboldt 1,126 13,991 Imperial 3,558 18,106 Inyo 79 1,037 Kern 16,677 72,922 Kings 2,429 11,687 Lake 759 7,368 Lassen 320 1,693 Los Angeles 108,672 686,640 Madera 2,538 11,765 Marin 574 6,682 Mariposa 172 1,250 Mendocino 704 6,758 Merced 5,650 25,000 Modoc 109 765 Mono – 338 Monterey 3,316 19,439 4 CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 5 County CalWORKs CalFresh Napa 310 3,249 Nevada 426 4,805 Orange 11,774 110,589 Placer 814 8,638 Plumas 111 1,298 Riverside 18,826 121,585 Sacramento 19,121 110,594 San Benito 353 2,267 San Bernardino 32,232 160,041 San Diego 15,061 146,325 San Francisco 2,646 47,792 San Joaquin 9,702 47,259 San Luis Obispo 1,035 9,804 San Mateo 773 12,223 Santa Barbara 3,045 22,812 Santa Clara 4,796 50,181 Santa Cruz 1,228 15,360 Shasta 1,873 14,173 Sierra – 164 Siskiyou 514 3,890 Solano 3,391 21,570 Sonoma 1,476 13,773 Stanislaus 6,734 38,464 Sutter 1,083 5,571 Tehama 847 5,175 Trinity 71 1,102 Tulare 10,898 55,406 Tuolumne 328 3,160 Ventura 3,624 34,827 Yolo 1,066 12,189 Yuba 1,253 7,188 Statewide 339,248 2,208,481 CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 6 CalWORKs Employment Services At least nine counties have more CalWORKs families in sanction mode than they have families receiving the WtW services. The average administrative costs per case are $21,050 a year.1 These costs do not include childcare which is another $8,424 a year.2 Meanwhile, the same family only receives an average grant of $8,184 a year.3 State- wide, 49,058 families were being sanc- tioned during February of 2020 while there were 65,018 unduplicated participants. Kern, San Bernardino and San Joaquin Counties are actually operating a Welfare- to-Sanction program rather than a Wel- fare-to-Work program. See TABLE #3. During 2019-2020, counties receive $168 a month for a basic WtW case that needs services, $139 for a work-ready case that also receives services and $131.48 a month for a sanction case in which there is a re- duction of $125 in cash aid payments each month. So, the more people in sanction, t 1. The 2019-2020 annual WtW employment ser- vices appropriation to the counites was the sum of $1,368,627,000.00. 2. The average monthly costs for Stage 1 child care is $702 according the 2019-2020 state budget documents published by CDSS. 3. The average monthly costs for a CalWORKs grant is $702 according the 2019-2020 state bud- get documents published by CDSS TABLE #3 February 2020 Sanctions Unduplicat- ed Partici- pants Statewide 49058 65018 Butte 409 309 Kern 5536 2188 San Bernardino 8803 5113 San Joaquin 2836 1052 Shasta 401 302 Sutter 195 162 Tuolumne 58 48 Ventura 678 596 Souce: 2-20 WtW 25 & 25A The Welfare-to-Sanction Counties of California FY 2020-2021 Counties get $131.48 a month for a sanction case. CalWORKs fami- lies get a reduction of $125 in cash aid payment each month. So, the more people in sanction, the more money the county re- tains and more kids suffer = 21th century county child abuse. Update: Blood Lead Testing Bills for Medi-Cal Kids Get To The Assembly Floor Daphne Macklin On March 3, 2020, the California State Auditor Elaine Howle and her key staff presented their findings on the state’s abysmal compliance with federal Medi-Caid required blood lead screenings for Medi-Cal recipient children aged 12 months and 24 months. The hearing by the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee was an op- portunity for members of the State Assembly and State Senate to vent their concerns and outrage at the failure of the Department of Health Care Ser- vices, Department of Public Health, Department of Managed Care, and most egregiously, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, to protect Medicaid children. The legislators were clearly armed for bear, but the emerging COVID-19 crisis, meant that some key participants invited to the hearing were not available to attend. The State Auditor, along with the key staff who prepared the January 7, 2020 report, answered specific questions about the report and noted that their report was the third report that had been prepared over the past ten years on the same issue. Gilbert Bradley, M.D., the newly appointed head of the Department of Health Care Services, attended the legislative session and apologized for the agency’s lapses in vigorously pursuing compliance with federal blood lead screening standards. Although the State Legislature’s focus on the pandemic has substantially overridden almost all other legislative priorities, blood lead test- ing issues remains a matter of serious focus and concern. Three bills sponsored by CCWRO, the Environmen- tal Working group and other organizations, AB 2276 (Reyes) AB 2278 (Salas) and AB 2279 (Cristina Gar- cia) passed out of the Assembly Health Committee on the consent calendar in late May. AB 2276 (Reyes) – This bill requires that Medi-Cal managed care plans provide information to parents and caretakers of young children about blood lead testing and require case management services to as- sure both testing and any appropriate follow up care for children with elevated blood lead levels of 5 mcg or greater. AB 2277 (Salas) – This bill focuses on children who come to Medi-Cal after age 24 months and requires that Medi-Cal managed care plans determine which children have not had blood lead screenings as of age 24 months and advise parents and caretakers of the availability of testing services. AB 2279 (Cristina Garcia) – This bill authorizes the Department of Public Health Services Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to redetermine the allocation of funds that it provides to counties that provide follow-up care for Medi-Cal children who are identified as having elevated blood lead levels of 5 mcg or greater. Under the special rules adopted for the pandemic ad- justed 2020 legislative calendar, all of three measures passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Commit- tee on June 3, 2020. The bills will now be voted on by the entire Assembly and should move on to the California State Senate for policy and finance hearings in the next few weeks. For more information contact Daphne Macklin of CCWRO at daphne.macklin@ccwro.org CCWRO Welfare News June 8, 2020 2020-06 7 ”