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 sets forth provisions for the calculation of the amount of CalWORKs aid eligible to a household based in part on the size of the assistance unit. Under existing law and CalWORKs rules, aid is not affected for a member of the assistance unit who is temporarily absent from the home, and a child who is a patient in a public or private hospital for medical or surgical care is considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the hospital stay.

Under this bill, a child or other member of the assistance unit who is unlawfully detained in a federal immigration detention facility would be considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the detention. Under the bill, the member would be deemed to be unlawfully detained if a report of misconduct by federal agents is submitted to the California Attorney General. The bill would require a county human services agency, upon request, to provide assistance to an applicant or recipient household with submitting that report. The bill would make related legislative findings.

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.