(1) Under existing law, if the federal government provides funds for the care of a needy relative with whom a needy child is living, aid to the child for any month includes aid to meet the needs of that relative, except as prescribed. 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 provides that the parent or parents are to be considered living with the needy child for a period of up to 6 months, or for a time period as determined by the State Department of Social Services, of the needy child's absence from the family assistance unit, and that the parents are eligible for CalWORKs aid and childcare services if specified conditions are met, including, among others, that the child has been removed from the parent or parents and that the family was receiving aid under when the child was removed.
This bill would specify that the department may determine the time period determined by the department to be a longer time period and that the parents are eligible to receive aid as if the child or children were living with them. The bill would also specify that those provisions do not require (A) all children to be removed from the parent or parents or (B) that the parent or parents were receiving aid independently from the family at the time of removal.
(2) Existing law generally prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting a person as a pupil of a public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family daycare home, or development center, unless prior to the person's admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against various diseases, including measles, mumps, and pertussis, subject to any specific age criteria.
Existing law requires all applicants for or recipients of CalWORKs to ensure and provide documentation that each child in the assistance unit who is not required to be enrolled in school has received all age-appropriate immunizations, as specified, and prohibits the needs of all parents or caretaker relatives in the assistance unit from being considered in determining the grant to the assistance unit until the required documentation is provided. Existing law requires a notice of that immunization requirement to be given to an applicant or recipient at the time of application and at the next redetermination of eligibility for aid.
This bill would require that a sanction imposed for failing to verify the immunization of a child end upon the removal of the child from the assistance unit and their placement into out-of-home care. To the extent that this bill would expand county responsibilities under the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.
This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for the purposes of implementing the bill.
(4) 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.

Statutes affected:
AB 1074: 11203 WIC
02/20/25 - Introduced: 11203 WIC