SECTIONS 10500-10507 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 10500-10507

10500. Every person administering aid under any public assistance
program shall conduct himself with courtesy, consideration, and
respect toward applicants for the recipients of aid under that
program, and shall endeavor at all times to perform his duties in
such manner as to secure for every person the amount of aid to which
he is entitled, without attempting to elicit any information not
necessary to carry out the provisions of law applicable to the
program, and without comment or criticism of any fact concerning
applicants or recipients not directly related to the administration
of the program.

10501. No person concerned with the administration of a public
assistance program shall dictate how any recipient shall expend the
aid granted to him.

10505. Prior to granting any changes in benefits or levels of
service for public social services programs, including the Medi-Cal
program, funded by the federal government for benefits or services
which are permitted, but not required to be given, under federal law,
and which changes program or county administrative costs funded from
the General Fund in excess of five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) on an annual basis, there shall first be obtained a
certification by the State Department of Finance that funds are
available for the expenditure and that the department has identified
the specific funding sources, and has determined whether the
expenditure involves a federal mandatory or optional benefit or level
of service.
The Department of Finance may not approve any expenditure covered
by this section until at least 30 days after the information required
by this section has been provided to the chairman of the committee
of each house which considers appropriations and the Chairman of the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

10506. (a) Except as otherwise required by Sections 10614 and
14100.5, the State Department of Health Services (Genetically
Handicapped Persons, CCS, CHDP, and the caseload programs in the
Genetic Disease Branch), State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs (Drug Medi-Cal Program), Managed Risk Medical Insurance
Board, State Department of Developmental Services, State Department
of Mental Health, and Department of Child Support Services shall
submit to the Department of Finance for its approval all assumptions
underlying all estimates used to develop the departments' budgets by
September 10 of each year, and those assumptions, as revised by,
March 1 of the following year.
(b) The Department of Finance shall approve, modify, or deny the
assumptions underlying all estimates within 15 working days of their
submission. If the Department of Finance does not modify, deny, or
otherwise indicate that the assumptions are open for consideration
pending further information submitted by the department by that date,
the assumptions as presented by the submitting department shall be
deemed to be accepted by the Department of Finance as of that date.
(c) Each department or board described in subdivision (a) shall
also submit an estimate of expenditures for each of the categorical
aid programs in its budget to the Department of Finance by November 1
of each year and those estimates as revised by April 20 of the
following year. Each estimate shall contain a concise statement
identifying applicable estimate components, such as caseload, unit
cost, implementation date, whether it is a new or continuing premise,
and other assumptions necessary to support the estimate. The
submittal shall include a projection of the fiscal impact of each of
the approved assumptions related to a regulatory, statutory, or
policy change, a detailed explanation of any changes to the base
estimate projections from the previous estimate, and a projection of
the fiscal impact of that change to the base estimate.
(d) Each department or board shall identify those premises to
which either of the following applies:
(1) Have been discontinued since the previous estimate was
submitted. The department or board shall provide a chart that tracks
the history of each discontinued premise in the prior year, the
current year, and the budget year.
(2) Have been placed in the basic cost line of the estimate
package.
(e) In the event that the methodological steps employed in
arriving at the estimates in May differ from those used in November
of the preceding year, the department or board shall submit a
descriptive narrative of the revised methodology. In addition, the
estimates shall include fiscal charts that track appropriations from
the Budget Act to the current Governor's Budget and May Revision for
all fund sources for the prior year, current year and budget year.
This information shall be provided to the Department of Finance, the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Health and Human Services
Policy Committees, and the fiscal committees, along with other
materials included in the annual May Revision of expenditure
estimates.
(f) The estimates of average monthly caseloads, average monthly
grants, total estimated expenditures, including administrative
expenditures and savings or costs associated with all regulatory or
statutory changes, as well as all supporting data provided by the
department or developed independently by the Department of Finance,
shall be made available to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee,
the Health and Human Services Policy Committees, and the fiscal
committees.
(g) On or after January 10, if the Department of Finance discovers
a material error in the information provided pursuant to this
section, the Department of Finance shall inform the consultants to
the fiscal committees of the error in a timely manner.
(h) The departmental estimates, assumptions, and other supporting
data prepared for purposes of this section shall be forwarded
annually to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Health and
Human Services Policy Committees, and the fiscal committees of the
Legislature, not later than January 10 and May 14 by the department
or board if this information has not been released earlier by the
Department of Finance.
(i) The requirements of this section do not apply to the State
Department of Social Services estimate or the State Department of
Health Services' Medi-Cal Program estimate, which are governed by
Sections 10614 and 14100.5, respectively.
(j) The Department of Rehabilitation shall submit assumptions and
an estimate of case services expenditures for the Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) program specifically detailing the VR supported
employment and work activity elements in accordance with this part,
except that assumptions shall be submitted only annually, on or
before March 1, and an estimate of expenditures shall be submitted
only annually, on or before April 20, to the Department of Finance.
The departmental assumptions and the departmental estimate of
expenditures shall be forwarded annually, on or before May 14, to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and to the health and human
services policy committees and fiscal committees of the Legislature,
if this information has not been released earlier by the Department
of Finance.

10507. (a) The department shall estimate the costs for county
administration of human services programs using county-specific cost
factors in the programs' budgeting methodology.
(b) County-specific cost factors shall be estimated using a county
survey process that requires county certification of reasonable
costs, and review by the department to determine that those costs are
reasonable and necessary to meet program requirements and
objectives.
(c) No later than November 1, 2006, the department, in
consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association, shall
develop the survey instrument and process to incorporate actual
reasonable county cost factors to administer human services programs.
The survey shall include, but shall not be limited to, salaries and
benefits, operating support, electronic data processing, staff
development, and other costs reasonable and necessary to meet program
requirements and objectives. The process shall include an assessment
of how state requirements and county operational practices affect
the costs of county administration of human services programs.
(d) Commencing with the May Revision of the 2007-08 budget, and
annually thereafter, the department shall identify in its budget
documents the estimates developed pursuant to this section and the
difference between these estimates and the proposed funding levels.