Joaquin Arambula

Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law makes a family eligible for homeless assistance under the CalWORKs program if the homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate, and authorizes that domestic violence to be verified by a sworn statement by the victim. Existing law limits homeless assistant payments, if the domestic violence is verified by a sworn statement by the victim, to two periods of not more than 16 cumulative calendar days of temporary shelter assistance and two payments of permanent housing assistance. Existing law also makes a CalWORKs applicant who provides a sworn statement of past or present domestic abuse and who is fleeing their abuser deemed as homeless and eligible for temporary shelter assistance, as specified. Existing law limits the homeless assistance payments to the CalWORKs applicant to 2 periods of not more than 16 cumulative calendar days each of temporary shelter assistance within the applicant's lifetime, and provides that these homeless assistance payments are in addition to other homeless assistance payments for which the CalWORKs applicant, if the applicant becomes a CalWORKs recipient, may later qualify.

This bill would require that the above-described applicant or recipient receiving homeless assistance due to domestic violence who does not use all of the temporary shelter assistance for which they are eligible due to finding permanent housing receive the value of the remaining days of eligible temporary shelter assistance as permanent housing assistance. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to establish a one-stop reentry program that collaborates with local registrars of birth, death, and marriage and county recorders, credit bureaus, and financial institutions to assist survivors of domestic violence in, among other things, obtaining copies of their and their dependents' vital records, credit reports and credit scores from all of the major credit bureaus, and a listing of all bank, checking, investment, and other financial accounts in their name.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of the bill.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.