(a) The director, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association and at least one advocate for welfare recipients, shall establish, within the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3), and CalFresh (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6), the Consolidated Public Assistance Eligibility Determination Demonstration Project.
(b) (1) The director shall, by formal order, waive the enforcement of those regulations and standards necessary to implement the project with federal approval, in order to implement the demonstration project.
(2) The order establishing the waiver authorized by paragraph (1) shall meet all of the following requirements:
(A) It shall provide alternative methods and procedures of eligibility administration.
(B) It shall not conflict with the basic purposes or coverage provided by law.
(C) The director shall determine, based on estimates, the impact of the proposed changes on AFDC and CalFresh recipients. The order shall be implemented only if no more than 5 percent of the recipients are expected to experience a net benefit reduction.
(D) Applications for, and restorations of, aid shall be processed in the shorter of the time periods required for the AFDC and CalFresh programs, when differences exist between the two programs.
(E) It shall not be general in scope and shall apply only to the project authorized by this section.
(3) The order establishing the waiver authorized by paragraph (1) shall take effect only if the appropriate federal agencies have agreed to approve the demonstration project and to waive those federal requirements that are necessary for waiver under the project.
(c) Applicants and recipients under this chapter shall be entitled to the same rights and fair hearings and appeals as those to which they would otherwise be entitled under the AFDC program (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3) and CalFresh (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6).
(d) The director shall include in the request for any waivers necessary for the implementation of this demonstration project the declaration that if any of the specific elements, pursuant to Section 10791, are deemed unwaivable or are not granted, the other elements may be considered independently and waived as permitted under federal law.
(e) The director may exclude from the request for waivers any specific element, pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of this section or Section 10791, determined to be not cost effective due to significant General Fund costs.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 227, Sec. 29. (AB 1400) Effective January 1, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018