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All County Letter No 14-100 Page Two

Effective April 1, 2015, no person will be denied aid because they have a prior felony drug conviction and individuals who are currently ineligible for the CalWORKs and/or CalFresh programs and therefore excluded from the Assistance Unit (AU)/household (HH) will no longer be excluded by law. These individuals must be added to the AU/HH effective April 1, 2015, if all other conditions of eligibility are met.

Background

Federal law prohibits individuals who have been convicted of certain felony drug offenses from receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, but allows a state to opt out partially or entirely from the provisions of the automatic aid disqualification through the enactment of state legislation.

Effective April 1, 2015, AB 1468 repeals the existing prohibition from receipt of CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits for individuals convicted in state or federal court after December 31, 1997, of a drug related felony. AB 1468 enacts statutory changes to the CalWORKs program by amending Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code section 11251.3 to state that an individual with a prior felony drug conviction shall be eligible for CalWORKs benefits, so long as the individual is compliant with the terms of his or her probation or parole, if applicable, including participation in a government recognized drug treatment program, if required. For CalFresh, AB 1468 enacts statutory changes to the program by amending W&I Code section 18901.3 to state that individuals with a prior felony drug conviction shall be eligible to receive CalFresh benefits so long as the individual is compliant with the terms of his or her probation or parole, if applicable, including participation in a government recognized drug treatment program, if required.

Identifying and Informing Individuals of Their CalWORKs Eligibility

CWDs shall review current caseload data to determine existing CalWORKs cases in which an individual with a prior felony drug conviction currently excluded is known to the case. All AUs identified shall be provided the TEMP 3005 (attached) informing them of the change in state law and that they will become eligible to receive benefits effective April 1, 2015. The notice shall be provided no later than February 18, 2015.

To ensure all CalWORKs recipients are aware of the recent statutory changes, CDSS strongly encourages CWDs to display the informing notice in CWD offices and distribute the informing notice along with other documentation sent to all CalWORKs applicants and recipients through the normal course of business beginning January 2015 through December 2015. In addition, CWDs are encouraged to discuss the changes in CalWORKs eligibility at application and redetermination interviews or at other points of contact with CalWORKs and CalFresh applicants and recipients.