STATE STATUTES & CODES
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CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 18900-18926
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 18900-18926
18900. Finding that hunger, undernutrition, and malnutrition are present and continuing problems faced by low-income California households, and further finding that the federal Food Stamp Program (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011), Title 7, United States Code) offers significant health-vital benefits, the purpose of this chapter is to establish a statewide program to enable recipients of aid under Part 3 (commencing with Section 11000) or Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of this division and other low-income households to receive food stamps under the federal Food Stamp Program. 18900.1. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall propose a new name for the Food Stamp Program in California, by July 1, 2009. The department shall convene stakeholders to develop the new name, as provided in subdivision (b). The new name shall reflect one or more of the following concepts: (1) That food stamps are no longer delivered by stamps. (2) That food stamps support healthy living. (3) That food stamps are important to agriculture in California. (4) That food stamps would be better viewed as a health and nutrition program than as a welfare program. (b) The department shall convene a diverse group of stakeholders to develop the new name, including representatives from agencies working to improve health and reduce diet-related illnesses. (c) The department is encouraged to test the impact the new name would have on improving the perception of the program among low-income residents, and on increasing program participation. 18901. The eligibility of households shall be determined to the extent permitted by federal law. 18901.3. (a) Subject to the limitations of subdivision (b), pursuant to Section 115(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 104-193 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 862a(d)(1)(A)), California opts out of the provisions of Section 115(a)(2) of Public Law 104-193 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 862a(a)(2)). A convicted drug felon shall be eligible to receive food stamps under this section. (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person who has been convicted of unlawfully transporting, importing into this state, selling, furnishing, administering, giving away, possessing for sale, purchasing for purposes of sale, manufacturing a controlled substance, possessing precursors with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance, or cultivating, harvesting, or processing marijuana or any part thereof pursuant to Section 11358 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person who has been convicted of unlawfully soliciting, inducing, encouraging, or intimidating a minor to participate in any activity listed in subdivision (b). (d) As a condition of eligibility to receive food stamps pursuant to subdivision (a), an applicant convicted of a felony drug offense that is not excluded under subdivision (b) or (c) shall be required to provide proof of one of the following subsequent to the most recent drug-related conviction: (1) Completion of a government-recognized drug treatment program. (2) Participation in a government-recognized drug treatment program. (3) Enrollment in a government-recognized drug treatment program. (4) Placement on a waiting list for a government-recognized drug treatment program. (5) Other evidence that the illegal use of controlled substances has ceased, as established by State Department of Social Services regulations. (e) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this section through an all-county letter or similar instructions from the director no later than January 1, 2005. (f) The department shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary to implement this section no later than July 1, 2005. Emergency regulations adopted for implementation of this section may be adopted by the director in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. The emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and shall remain in effect for no more than 180 days. 18901.5. (a) The department shall establish a program of categorical eligibility for food stamps in accordance with Section 5 (a) of the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2014(a)), and implementing regulations, to improve nutrition and promote the retention and development of assets and resources for needy households who meet all other Food Stamp Program eligibility requirements. Categorical eligibility for food stamps shall also apply to any individual who is a member of a household that will be receiving or is eligible to receive cash assistance under Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000), or eligible to receive food assistance under Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930). (b) The director shall implement the program established pursuant to this section only with the appropriate federal authorization and if implementation would not result in the loss of federal financial participation. (c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and Section 10554 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, until emergency regulations are filed with the Secretary of State, the State Department of Social Services may implement the changes made by subdivision (a) through all-county letters or similar instructions from the director. The department shall adopt emergency regulations as necessary to implement those amendments on or before January 1, 2010. The program established pursuant to this section shall be established on or before July 1, 2009, and shall be fully implemented as to new applicants for food stamps on or before January 1, 2010. (d) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The adoption, amendment, repeal, or readoption of a regulation authorized by this section is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted for this purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. The emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The department shall adopt final regulations implementing the program authorized by this section on or before July 1, 2010. 18901.6. To the maximum extent allowable by federal law, each county welfare department shall provide transitional food stamp benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program. 18901.7. (a) To the extent allowable by federal law, the income, resources, and deductible expenses of any household member who is rendered ineligible for food stamp benefits pursuant to Title IV of Public Law 104-193, and any amendments thereto, shall be excluded when calculating federal food stamp benefits, under this chapter. (b) No household shall receive more food stamp benefits under this section than it would have received if no household member was rendered ineligible pursuant to Title IV of Public Law 104-193 and any subsequent amendments thereto. (c) This section shall become operative on September 1, 1998. 18901.8. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, and with receipt of necessary federal approvals, the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with affected stakeholder groups, shall develop and implement, if otherwise feasible, a simplified and shorter application form for nonassistance food stamp cases. The contents of this simpler form shall be evaluated for use in multiprogram application forms for the Food Stamp, Medi-Cal, and CalWORKs programs. The department shall seek any federal approvals necessary for implementation of the form. (b) The department shall not require any county to implement use of the form described in subdivision (a) until the county has been allowed sufficient time to reprogram its automated systems for the purpose of implementing the form. (c) The department shall provide information on implementation, including a simplified form, to the appropriate legislative committees on or before July 1, 2001. 18901.9. (a) For the purpose of eligibility under this chapter, the rules governing the resource value of motor vehicles shall be aligned with an alternative program allowed under federal food stamp law. (b) The department shall seek any federal approvals necessary to implement subdivision (a). (c) If any federal approvals are necessary to implement subdivision (a), that subdivision shall be implemented only upon the execution of a declaration by the director, which shall be retained by the director, stating that any federal approvals necessary to implement subdivision (a) have been obtained. 18901.10. To the extent permitted by federal law, and subject to the limitation in subdivision (c), each county welfare department shall, if appropriate, exempt a household from complying with face-to-face interview requirements for purposes of determining eligibility at initial application and recertification, according to the following: (a) The county welfare department shall screen each household's need for exemption status at application and recertification. (b) A person eligible for an exemption under this section may request a face-to-face interview to establish initial eligibility or to comply with recertification requirements . (c) Nothing in this section shall limit a county's ability to require an applicant or recipient to make a personal appearance at a county welfare department office if the applicant or recipient no longer qualifies for an exemption or for other good cause. 18901.4. (a) Effective July 1, 2010, the department shall propose a Transitional Food Stamps for Foster Youth demonstration project under which independent foster care adolescents, as defined in Section 1905(w)(1) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396d(w)(1)) who are not eligible for CalWORKs or Supplementary Security Income program benefits, shall be eligible without regard to income or resources, subject to federal law authorizing demonstration projects pursuant to Section 2011 and following of Title 7 of the United States Code. (b) An individual eligible for the program proposed pursuant to this section shall receive the maximum benefit amount allotted for a household size of one for the initial certification period, which shall remain constant for the entirety of the initial certification period. The food stamp case shall be established and maintained in the county of jurisdiction designated by the terminating foster care case. (c) The demonstration project proposed pursuant to this section shall maximize access to benefits and minimize interim reporting requirements during the certification period. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 10830) of Part 2 of Division 9 shall not apply to individuals eligible under this section during the 12-month transitional food stamp demonstration project certification period. (e) Not later than March 1, 2010, the department shall seek all necessary federal approvals to implement this section as a demonstration project for these beneficiaries. This section shall be implemented only to the extent that federal financial participation is available. (f) The department shall implement this section by an all-county letter (ACL) or similar instruction from the director and shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary to implement this section no later than January 1, 2011. 18902. Each county welfare department shall carry out the local administrative responsibilities of this chapter, subject to the supervision of the department and to rules and regulations adopted by the department. 18902.5. (a) In the administration of this chapter counties may conduct an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to this section. (b) Funding for an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to Section 18906. 7 shall not be made to a county if the department determines that an early fraud prevention and detection program would not be cost-effective in that county. (c) Funding for an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to Section 18906.6 shall not be available to a county until its operating plan for a program is approved by the department. No operating plan shall be approved by the department unless the plan contains assurances that the county will comply with the conditions specified in subdivision (d). (d) Each county which operates an early fraud prevention and detection program shall be subject to all of the following conditions: (1) No intimidation of applicants or recipients shall occur, either by referral or threat of referral for a fraud investigation. (2) Applicants shall not be referred for a fraud investigation until after they have completed and signed the application for aid. (3) The referral and investigation shall not delay the receipt of aid, including immediate need payments, for eligible applicants and recipients. (4) Uniformed investigators shall not be used by any county welfare department for its fraud prevention program. (5) The county welfare department shall abide by the confidentiality requirements in Section 10850 and the requirements and protections in the California Right to Financial Privacy Act under Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 7460) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. (6) The county shall make a referral for welfare fraud investigation when there is reason to believe that fraud exists. Fraud exists when a person, on behalf of himself or herself or others, has done any of the following: (A) Knowingly, and with intent to deceive or defraud, made a false statement or representation to obtain benefits, to obtain a continuance or increase of benefits, or to avoid a reduction of benefits. (B) Knowingly, and with intent to defraud, failed to disclose a fact which, if disclosed, could result in a denial, reduction, or discontinuance of benefits. (C) Accepted benefits knowing he or she was not entitled to those benefits, or accepted any amount of benefits knowing the amount of benefits received was greater than the amount to which he or she was entitled. (D) Made any statement which he or she did not know to be true with reckless disregard of the truth, for the purpose of obtaining, continuing, or avoiding a reduction or denial of benefits. (7) The county shall make a referral for fraud investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe that fraud, as specified in paragraph (6) exists. Reasonable grounds exist when one or more of the following criteria exists: (A) An overpayment or overissuance of benefits, or both, may result from an applicant's failure to report information pertinent to eligibility or benefits. (B) A questionable situation exists and the applicant or third party acting on behalf of the applicant will not cooperate in providing necessary verification of information which would affect the applicant's eligibility or the amount of benefits for which the applicant is eligible. (C) The county welfare program staff person finds conflicting information which could affect the applicant's eligibility or the amount of benefits for which the applicant is eligible, and any further action on the part of that staff person could jeopardize the investigator's ability to investigate. (D) The county is made aware of any situation involving the applicant that could involve embezzlement, collusion, conspiracy, trafficking, black marketing, or any other general program violations. (E) The county is made aware of any situation in which the applicant may have forged, may have caused the forgery of, or is using a forgery of, any warrant or authorization to participate which has been negotiated. (F) The county welfare program staff person has received an allegation of fraud with respect to the applicant from any governmental agency. (G) The county has received a complaint containing facts which allege that a crime involving a public social services program, including, but not limited to, fraud, perjury, trafficking, or embezzlement may occur. 18903. The department shall enter into and execute on behalf of the state all necessary agreements in connection with this chapter as may be required by the United States Government. 18904. Regulations, orders or standards of general application to implement, interpret or make specific the law relating to this chapter shall be adopted, amended, or repealed only in accordance with Section 10554. The director shall also provide for the two methods as described in Section 18904.1. 18904.1. (a) The director, to the extent permitted by federal law, shall establish methods for food stamp issuance in all counties which guarantee to low-income households the health-vital nutritional benefits available under this chapter and to achieve the most efficient system for program administration so as to minimize administrative costs. (b) The director shall maintain methods for over-the-counter and mail issuance of food stamps in a county until issuance of food stamp benefits by electronic benefits transfer for all food stamp recipients in the county has been implemented pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10065) of Part 1. (c) Until issuance of food stamp benefits by electronic benefits transfer has been implemented in a county for all food stamp recipients, the director shall maintain, in the county, methods for over-the-counter issuance that guarantee program accessibility in all cases where a household has been found to be in immediate need of food assistance or where a household has been determined to be eligible for the replacement of a previous issuance. 18904.2. The department may administer outreach programs and adopt rules and regulations requiring counties to conduct outreach programs to the extent permitted by federal law and eligible for federal financial participation. 18904.25. (a) Pursuant to the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (Public Law 100-77), the department shall develop Food Stamp Program information on expedited services targeted to the homeless population. These shall be made available to homeless shelters, emergency food programs, and other community agencies who provide services to homeless people. (b) Each county welfare department shall annually offer training on food stamp application procedures to homeless shelter operators. In addition, each county welfare department, upon request, shall provide homeless shelters with a supply of that portion of the food stamp application used to request food stamp expedited service. 18904.3. (a) Where private nonprofit organizations are successful in raising money for food stamp outreach activities and have secured a local governmental agency to serve as the contracting agency, the department shall, upon request and subject to approval by the United States Department of Agriculture, act as their state entity for receipt of matching funds. (b) Any reduction in federal funding to the state that is due to the result of any audit of food stamp outreach contracts or activities shall be applied to the appropriate local government that served as the contracting agency for food stamp outreach activities. 18904.35. Upon approval of a final plan for food stamp outreach activities, in accordance with Section 18904.4, the department shall, in determining whether to request federal matching funds for a food stamp outreach activity, give priority consideration to those activities that implement the final plan. 18905. In the event that the United States Department of Agriculture makes a final determination to reduce federal funding of the Food Stamp program due to issuance errors or improper or inadequate county administration of the program, the county or counties responsible for such reduction shall be liable for the amount thereof in accordance with standards adopted by the Director of Social Services. 18905.1. The department shall not impose any additional requirements for verification of eligibility for expedited service other than those minimum requirements that exist under federal law. 18906. The department shall establish and maintain a plan whereby costs for county administration of food stamps under this chapter will be effectively controlled within the amounts annually appropriated for such administration. The plan, to be known as the County Administrative Cost Control Plan, shall establish standards and performance criteria, including workload, productivity and support services standards, to which counties shall adhere. The plan shall be part of a single state plan, jointly developed by the department and the State Department of Health Services, for administrative cost control for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Food Stamp, and Medical Assistance (Medi-Cal) programs. Allocations shall be made to each county and shall be limited by and determined based upon the County Administrative Cost Control Plan. In administering the plan to control county administrative costs, the department shall not allocate state funds to cover county cost overruns which result from county failure to meet requirements of the plan. The department and the State Department of Health Services shall budget, administer, and allocate state funds for county administration in a uniform and consistent manner. 18906.5. (a) The state shall pay 70 percent of the nonfederal costs of administering the Food Stamp Program, subject to Sections 18906 and 18906.7. The counties shall pay the remaining share of the nonfederal costs. (b) The state shall pay 85 percent of the nonfederal share of the costs of AFDC fraud investigation subject to Section 15204.5. The counties shall pay the remaining share of the nonfederal costs. 18906.55. (a) Notwithstanding Section 18906.5 or any other law, as a result of the substantial fiscal pressures on counties created by the unprecedented and unanticipated food stamp caseload growth associated with the economic downturn beginning in 2008, and in order to provide fiscal relief to counties as a result of this growth, a county that meets the maintenance of effort requirement pursuant to Section 15204.4 entirely through expenditures for the administration of the Food Stamp program in state fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12 shall receive the full General Fund allocation for administration of the Food Stamp program without paying the county's share of the nonfederal costs for the amount above the maintenance of effort required by Section 15204.4. (b) The full General Fund allocation for administration of the Food Stamp program pursuant to subdivision (a) shall equal 35 percent of the total federal and nonfederal projected funding need for administration of the Food Stamp program. The methodology used for calculating those projections shall remain the same as it was for the 2009-10 fiscal year for as long as this section remains in effect. (c) No relief to the county share of administrative costs authorized by this section shall result in any increased cost to the General Fund as determined in subdivision (b). (d) Subdivision (a) shall not be interpreted to prevent a county from expending funds in excess of the amount required to meet the maintenance of effort required by Section 15204.4. (e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2012, and, as of January 1, 2013, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. 18906.6. At the time the United States Department of Agriculture allows the state to retain a portion of the value of any claims collected, the state shall retain 50 percent of this portion. The remaining 50 percent shall be distributed by the State Department of Social Services to the counties based upon the amount of claims collected by each county. 18906.7. The state shall pay 100 percent of the nonfederal costs of administering an early fraud prevention and detection program in the administration of this chapter, established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 18902.5, subject to Section 18906. 18906.8. Subject to Section 18906, the state may pay 100 percent of the nonfederal administrative costs, when cost-effective, as determined by the state, of followup activities in the Income Eligibility and Verification System for recipients. 18907. In the determination of eligibility for food stamps, there shall be no discrimination against any household by reason of marital status, political belief, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code to the extent not in conflict with federal law. 18908. Except as provided in Section 18904.1, federal supplemental security income benefits, state supplemental security program benefits, public assistance, and county aid benefits shall not be reduced as a consequence of the receipt of food stamps under this chapter, to the extent permitted by federal law. 18909. Section 10850, relating to disclosure of information regarding public assistance recipients, shall apply to information obtained under this chapter. 18910. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, regulations, waivers, and directives, the department shall implement the prospective budgeting, quarterly reporting system provided in Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and related provisions regarding the Food Stamp Program, in a cost-effective manner that promotes compatibility between the CalWORKs program and the Food Stamp Program, and minimizes the potential for payment errors. (b) The department shall seek all necessary waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture to implement subdivision (a). 18911. (a) An application and an authorization for participation in the Food Stamp Program shall be processed within a period of not more than 30 days from the date of application. (b) The department shall develop written information that describes the eligibility and verification requirements for expedited service, the process for applying for those benefits, and the availability of assistance in filling out the forms and gathering needed documentation. (c) Each county welfare department shall make the material developed pursuant to subdivision (b) available to each applicant at the time the applicant initially seeks food stamp benefits. (d) Each county welfare department shall, upon request, make available the information developed pursuant to subdivision (b) to community action agencies, legal services offices, emergency food programs, and other programs. (e) Each county welfare department shall compile a list of emergency food providers in the area served by the local food stamp office. The list shall be updated, based on information from the food providers. The list shall be made available upon request, and, where needed, may be used to refer individuals to emergency food sites that may be able to provide assistance. (f) Each county welfare department shall make available to food stamp applicants, upon request, nonpromotional information that contains addresses and phone numbers of local legal services and welfare rights organizations. 18912. (a) Each county welfare department shall orally inform each applicant of the availability of expedited service and assistance in filling out the application. (b) Each county welfare department shall assist an applicant, upon request of the applicant, in filling out forms and completing the application process for expedited service. 18913. The department shall collect, quarterly, expedited service data, on a county-by-county basis, of the number of applications and the disposition of the applications, and shall publish those statistics quarterly. 18914. (a) To the extent provided by federal law, the county welfare department shall provide food stamp benefits on an expedited basis to households determined to be in immediate need of food assistance. (b) At the time an applicant initially seeks assistance, the county welfare department shall screen all expedited service applications on a priority basis. Applicants who meet the federal criteria for expedited service shall receive either a manual authorization to participate or automated card or the immediate issuance of food stamp coupons no later than the third day following the date the application was filed. To the maximum extent permitted by federal law, the amount of income to be received from any source shall be deemed to be uncertain and exempt from consideration in the determination of eligibility for expedited service. For purposes of this subdivision, a weekend shall be considered one calendar day. (c) The State Department of Social Services shall develop and implement for expedited issuance a uniform procedure for verifying information required of an applicant. 18914. To the extent provided by federal law, the county welfare department shall provide food stamp benefits on an expedited basis to households determined to be in immediate need of food assistance. This section shall become operative July 1, 1991. 18915. All applications and public information materials shall be available to potential, present, and past food stamp recipients in each county in Spanish as well as English plus any other non-English language prevalent in each county. It shall be within the discretion of the director to designate such other prevalent non-English languages. 18916. The board of supervisors of each county shall have the authority to request from the United States Department of Agriculture the simultaneous operation of the federally donated foods program under the Disaster Act of 1970 as amended and any other enabling federal law. 18918. Not later than January 15, 2001, the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Health Services and appropriate stakeholders, shall develop and submit to the Legislature a community outreach and education campaign to help families learn about, and apply for, the federal Food Stamp Program and the California Food Assistance Program. At a minimum, the plan shall include the following: (a) Specific milestones and objectives proposed to be completed for the upcoming year and their anticipated cost. (b) A general description of each strategy or method to be used for outreach. (c) Geographic areas and special populations to be targeted, if any, and why the special targeting is needed. (d) Coordination with other state or county education and outreach efforts. (e) The results of previous years' outreach efforts. (1) If necessary to obtain federal financial participation the food stamp outreach plan shall be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture not later than January 15, 2001. The state share of the funding shall be subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act and may be funded through the General Fund or other state or local funding sources, as appropriate. (2) After submission of the initial plan, it shall be updated annually and submitted to the Legislature by April 1 for the following year. 18923. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall submit a request to the United States Department of Agriculture for a waiver to permit a food stamp household to retain funds in the restricted savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2 and as accumulated while participating in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. The participation requirements for this specific savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2 shall apply to the Food Stamp Program. Penalties for nonqualifying withdrawal of these funds shall result in a calculation of a period of ineligibility for all persons in the food stamp household, to be determined by dividing the balance in the account immediately prior to the withdrawal by the food stamp allotment to which the household is entitled. The resulting whole number shall be the number of months of ineligibility. The period of ineligibility may be reduced when the divisor, which is the food stamp allotment, increases as a result of a cost-of-living adjustment. (b) The director may waive, with federal approval, the enforcement of specific Food Stamp Program requirements, regulations, and standards necessary to implement this provision. 18925. (a) The State Department of Health Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services, shall implement a simplified eligibility process as part of the Food Stamp Program to expedite Medi-Cal program and Healthy Families Program enrollment for Food Stamp Program recipients, including children and their eligible parents or caretaker relatives who are not enrolled in those programs. (b) Each county welfare department shall develop a data list of family members residing in eligible food stamp households who are not enrolled in the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. (c) The county welfare department shall develop a notice informing individuals identified pursuant to subdivision (b) that they may be entitled to receive benefits under the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. (d) At the time of the food stamp household's annual recertification, the county welfare department shall send the notice specified in subdivision (c) to the individuals identified in subdivision (b). The notice shall include a request for permission to use the information in the food stamp recipient's case file to make a determination of eligibility for the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program. (e) The notice shall be written in culturally and linguistically appropriate language and at an appropriate literacy level. The notice shall include information on the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program, and a telephone number that food stamp recipients may call for additional information. (f) To apply for medical assistance under the Medi-Cal program, the food stamp recipient shall sign, date, and return the notice requesting that an eligibility determination be made. Upon receipt of the notice, the county welfare department shall make an eligibility determination by utilizing the information in the food stamp recipient's case file or paper application. The Medi-Cal application date shall be the date the notice is received by the county welfare department. If the food stamp case file does not include sufficient information to establish Medi-Cal program eligibility, the county welfare department shall request, either orally or in writing, additional information from the food stamp recipient. (g) If the food stamp recipient is determined to be eligible to participate in the Medi-Cal program with a share of cost, or is determined to be ineligible for Medi-Cal, information pertinent to the food stamp recipient's eligibility for the Healthy Families Program shall be forwarded by the county welfare department to the Healthy Families Program statewide administrator for immediate processing. If there is insufficient information to establish Healthy Families Program eligibility, the administrator shall request, either orally or in writing, additional information from the food stamp recipient. (h) Counties shall include the cost of implementing this section in their annual administrative budget requests to the State Department of Health Services. (i) This section shall be implemented on or after July 1, 2003, but only to the extent federal financial participation is available. 18926. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall annually seek a federal waiver of the existing Food Stamp Program limitation that stipulates that an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) participant is limited to three months of food stamps in a three-year period unless that participant has met the work participation requirement. (b) All eligible counties shall be included in and bound by this waiver unless a county declines to participate in the waiver request. If a county declines, the county shall submit documentation from the board of supervisors of that county to that effect. (c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Government Code) the department may implement this section by all county letters or similar instructions.
SECTION 18900-18926
18900. Finding that hunger, undernutrition, and malnutrition are present and continuing problems faced by low-income California households, and further finding that the federal Food Stamp Program (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011), Title 7, United States Code) offers significant health-vital benefits, the purpose of this chapter is to establish a statewide program to enable recipients of aid under Part 3 (commencing with Section 11000) or Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of this division and other low-income households to receive food stamps under the federal Food Stamp Program. 18900.1. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall propose a new name for the Food Stamp Program in California, by July 1, 2009. The department shall convene stakeholders to develop the new name, as provided in subdivision (b). The new name shall reflect one or more of the following concepts: (1) That food stamps are no longer delivered by stamps. (2) That food stamps support healthy living. (3) That food stamps are important to agriculture in California. (4) That food stamps would be better viewed as a health and nutrition program than as a welfare program. (b) The department shall convene a diverse group of stakeholders to develop the new name, including representatives from agencies working to improve health and reduce diet-related illnesses. (c) The department is encouraged to test the impact the new name would have on improving the perception of the program among low-income residents, and on increasing program participation. 18901. The eligibility of households shall be determined to the extent permitted by federal law. 18901.3. (a) Subject to the limitations of subdivision (b), pursuant to Section 115(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 104-193 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 862a(d)(1)(A)), California opts out of the provisions of Section 115(a)(2) of Public Law 104-193 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 862a(a)(2)). A convicted drug felon shall be eligible to receive food stamps under this section. (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person who has been convicted of unlawfully transporting, importing into this state, selling, furnishing, administering, giving away, possessing for sale, purchasing for purposes of sale, manufacturing a controlled substance, possessing precursors with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance, or cultivating, harvesting, or processing marijuana or any part thereof pursuant to Section 11358 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person who has been convicted of unlawfully soliciting, inducing, encouraging, or intimidating a minor to participate in any activity listed in subdivision (b). (d) As a condition of eligibility to receive food stamps pursuant to subdivision (a), an applicant convicted of a felony drug offense that is not excluded under subdivision (b) or (c) shall be required to provide proof of one of the following subsequent to the most recent drug-related conviction: (1) Completion of a government-recognized drug treatment program. (2) Participation in a government-recognized drug treatment program. (3) Enrollment in a government-recognized drug treatment program. (4) Placement on a waiting list for a government-recognized drug treatment program. (5) Other evidence that the illegal use of controlled substances has ceased, as established by State Department of Social Services regulations. (e) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement this section through an all-county letter or similar instructions from the director no later than January 1, 2005. (f) The department shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary to implement this section no later than July 1, 2005. Emergency regulations adopted for implementation of this section may be adopted by the director in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. The emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and shall remain in effect for no more than 180 days. 18901.5. (a) The department shall establish a program of categorical eligibility for food stamps in accordance with Section 5 (a) of the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2014(a)), and implementing regulations, to improve nutrition and promote the retention and development of assets and resources for needy households who meet all other Food Stamp Program eligibility requirements. Categorical eligibility for food stamps shall also apply to any individual who is a member of a household that will be receiving or is eligible to receive cash assistance under Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000), or eligible to receive food assistance under Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930). (b) The director shall implement the program established pursuant to this section only with the appropriate federal authorization and if implementation would not result in the loss of federal financial participation. (c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and Section 10554 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, until emergency regulations are filed with the Secretary of State, the State Department of Social Services may implement the changes made by subdivision (a) through all-county letters or similar instructions from the director. The department shall adopt emergency regulations as necessary to implement those amendments on or before January 1, 2010. The program established pursuant to this section shall be established on or before July 1, 2009, and shall be fully implemented as to new applicants for food stamps on or before January 1, 2010. (d) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The adoption, amendment, repeal, or readoption of a regulation authorized by this section is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted for this purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. The emergency regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The department shall adopt final regulations implementing the program authorized by this section on or before July 1, 2010. 18901.6. To the maximum extent allowable by federal law, each county welfare department shall provide transitional food stamp benefits to households terminating their participation in the CalWORKs program. 18901.7. (a) To the extent allowable by federal law, the income, resources, and deductible expenses of any household member who is rendered ineligible for food stamp benefits pursuant to Title IV of Public Law 104-193, and any amendments thereto, shall be excluded when calculating federal food stamp benefits, under this chapter. (b) No household shall receive more food stamp benefits under this section than it would have received if no household member was rendered ineligible pursuant to Title IV of Public Law 104-193 and any subsequent amendments thereto. (c) This section shall become operative on September 1, 1998. 18901.8. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, and with receipt of necessary federal approvals, the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with affected stakeholder groups, shall develop and implement, if otherwise feasible, a simplified and shorter application form for nonassistance food stamp cases. The contents of this simpler form shall be evaluated for use in multiprogram application forms for the Food Stamp, Medi-Cal, and CalWORKs programs. The department shall seek any federal approvals necessary for implementation of the form. (b) The department shall not require any county to implement use of the form described in subdivision (a) until the county has been allowed sufficient time to reprogram its automated systems for the purpose of implementing the form. (c) The department shall provide information on implementation, including a simplified form, to the appropriate legislative committees on or before July 1, 2001. 18901.9. (a) For the purpose of eligibility under this chapter, the rules governing the resource value of motor vehicles shall be aligned with an alternative program allowed under federal food stamp law. (b) The department shall seek any federal approvals necessary to implement subdivision (a). (c) If any federal approvals are necessary to implement subdivision (a), that subdivision shall be implemented only upon the execution of a declaration by the director, which shall be retained by the director, stating that any federal approvals necessary to implement subdivision (a) have been obtained. 18901.10. To the extent permitted by federal law, and subject to the limitation in subdivision (c), each county welfare department shall, if appropriate, exempt a household from complying with face-to-face interview requirements for purposes of determining eligibility at initial application and recertification, according to the following: (a) The county welfare department shall screen each household's need for exemption status at application and recertification. (b) A person eligible for an exemption under this section may request a face-to-face interview to establish initial eligibility or to comply with recertification requirements . (c) Nothing in this section shall limit a county's ability to require an applicant or recipient to make a personal appearance at a county welfare department office if the applicant or recipient no longer qualifies for an exemption or for other good cause. 18901.4. (a) Effective July 1, 2010, the department shall propose a Transitional Food Stamps for Foster Youth demonstration project under which independent foster care adolescents, as defined in Section 1905(w)(1) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396d(w)(1)) who are not eligible for CalWORKs or Supplementary Security Income program benefits, shall be eligible without regard to income or resources, subject to federal law authorizing demonstration projects pursuant to Section 2011 and following of Title 7 of the United States Code. (b) An individual eligible for the program proposed pursuant to this section shall receive the maximum benefit amount allotted for a household size of one for the initial certification period, which shall remain constant for the entirety of the initial certification period. The food stamp case shall be established and maintained in the county of jurisdiction designated by the terminating foster care case. (c) The demonstration project proposed pursuant to this section shall maximize access to benefits and minimize interim reporting requirements during the certification period. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 10830) of Part 2 of Division 9 shall not apply to individuals eligible under this section during the 12-month transitional food stamp demonstration project certification period. (e) Not later than March 1, 2010, the department shall seek all necessary federal approvals to implement this section as a demonstration project for these beneficiaries. This section shall be implemented only to the extent that federal financial participation is available. (f) The department shall implement this section by an all-county letter (ACL) or similar instruction from the director and shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary to implement this section no later than January 1, 2011. 18902. Each county welfare department shall carry out the local administrative responsibilities of this chapter, subject to the supervision of the department and to rules and regulations adopted by the department. 18902.5. (a) In the administration of this chapter counties may conduct an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to this section. (b) Funding for an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to Section 18906. 7 shall not be made to a county if the department determines that an early fraud prevention and detection program would not be cost-effective in that county. (c) Funding for an early fraud prevention and detection program pursuant to Section 18906.6 shall not be available to a county until its operating plan for a program is approved by the department. No operating plan shall be approved by the department unless the plan contains assurances that the county will comply with the conditions specified in subdivision (d). (d) Each county which operates an early fraud prevention and detection program shall be subject to all of the following conditions: (1) No intimidation of applicants or recipients shall occur, either by referral or threat of referral for a fraud investigation. (2) Applicants shall not be referred for a fraud investigation until after they have completed and signed the application for aid. (3) The referral and investigation shall not delay the receipt of aid, including immediate need payments, for eligible applicants and recipients. (4) Uniformed investigators shall not be used by any county welfare department for its fraud prevention program. (5) The county welfare department shall abide by the confidentiality requirements in Section 10850 and the requirements and protections in the California Right to Financial Privacy Act under Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 7460) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. (6) The county shall make a referral for welfare fraud investigation when there is reason to believe that fraud exists. Fraud exists when a person, on behalf of himself or herself or others, has done any of the following: (A) Knowingly, and with intent to deceive or defraud, made a false statement or representation to obtain benefits, to obtain a continuance or increase of benefits, or to avoid a reduction of benefits. (B) Knowingly, and with intent to defraud, failed to disclose a fact which, if disclosed, could result in a denial, reduction, or discontinuance of benefits. (C) Accepted benefits knowing he or she was not entitled to those benefits, or accepted any amount of benefits knowing the amount of benefits received was greater than the amount to which he or she was entitled. (D) Made any statement which he or she did not know to be true with reckless disregard of the truth, for the purpose of obtaining, continuing, or avoiding a reduction or denial of benefits. (7) The county shall make a referral for fraud investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe that fraud, as specified in paragraph (6) exists. Reasonable grounds exist when one or more of the following criteria exists: (A) An overpayment or overissuance of benefits, or both, may result from an applicant's failure to report information pertinent to eligibility or benefits. (B) A questionable situation exists and the applicant or third party acting on behalf of the applicant will not cooperate in providing necessary verification of information which would affect the applicant's eligibility or the amount of benefits for which the applicant is eligible. (C) The county welfare program staff person finds conflicting information which could affect the applicant's eligibility or the amount of benefits for which the applicant is eligible, and any further action on the part of that staff person could jeopardize the investigator's ability to investigate. (D) The county is made aware of any situation involving the applicant that could involve embezzlement, collusion, conspiracy, trafficking, black marketing, or any other general program violations. (E) The county is made aware of any situation in which the applicant may have forged, may have caused the forgery of, or is using a forgery of, any warrant or authorization to participate which has been negotiated. (F) The county welfare program staff person has received an allegation of fraud with respect to the applicant from any governmental agency. (G) The county has received a complaint containing facts which allege that a crime involving a public social services program, including, but not limited to, fraud, perjury, trafficking, or embezzlement may occur. 18903. The department shall enter into and execute on behalf of the state all necessary agreements in connection with this chapter as may be required by the United States Government. 18904. Regulations, orders or standards of general application to implement, interpret or make specific the law relating to this chapter shall be adopted, amended, or repealed only in accordance with Section 10554. The director shall also provide for the two methods as described in Section 18904.1. 18904.1. (a) The director, to the extent permitted by federal law, shall establish methods for food stamp issuance in all counties which guarantee to low-income households the health-vital nutritional benefits available under this chapter and to achieve the most efficient system for program administration so as to minimize administrative costs. (b) The director shall maintain methods for over-the-counter and mail issuance of food stamps in a county until issuance of food stamp benefits by electronic benefits transfer for all food stamp recipients in the county has been implemented pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10065) of Part 1. (c) Until issuance of food stamp benefits by electronic benefits transfer has been implemented in a county for all food stamp recipients, the director shall maintain, in the county, methods for over-the-counter issuance that guarantee program accessibility in all cases where a household has been found to be in immediate need of food assistance or where a household has been determined to be eligible for the replacement of a previous issuance. 18904.2. The department may administer outreach programs and adopt rules and regulations requiring counties to conduct outreach programs to the extent permitted by federal law and eligible for federal financial participation. 18904.25. (a) Pursuant to the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (Public Law 100-77), the department shall develop Food Stamp Program information on expedited services targeted to the homeless population. These shall be made available to homeless shelters, emergency food programs, and other community agencies who provide services to homeless people. (b) Each county welfare department shall annually offer training on food stamp application procedures to homeless shelter operators. In addition, each county welfare department, upon request, shall provide homeless shelters with a supply of that portion of the food stamp application used to request food stamp expedited service. 18904.3. (a) Where private nonprofit organizations are successful in raising money for food stamp outreach activities and have secured a local governmental agency to serve as the contracting agency, the department shall, upon request and subject to approval by the United States Department of Agriculture, act as their state entity for receipt of matching funds. (b) Any reduction in federal funding to the state that is due to the result of any audit of food stamp outreach contracts or activities shall be applied to the appropriate local government that served as the contracting agency for food stamp outreach activities. 18904.35. Upon approval of a final plan for food stamp outreach activities, in accordance with Section 18904.4, the department shall, in determining whether to request federal matching funds for a food stamp outreach activity, give priority consideration to those activities that implement the final plan. 18905. In the event that the United States Department of Agriculture makes a final determination to reduce federal funding of the Food Stamp program due to issuance errors or improper or inadequate county administration of the program, the county or counties responsible for such reduction shall be liable for the amount thereof in accordance with standards adopted by the Director of Social Services. 18905.1. The department shall not impose any additional requirements for verification of eligibility for expedited service other than those minimum requirements that exist under federal law. 18906. The department shall establish and maintain a plan whereby costs for county administration of food stamps under this chapter will be effectively controlled within the amounts annually appropriated for such administration. The plan, to be known as the County Administrative Cost Control Plan, shall establish standards and performance criteria, including workload, productivity and support services standards, to which counties shall adhere. The plan shall be part of a single state plan, jointly developed by the department and the State Department of Health Services, for administrative cost control for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Food Stamp, and Medical Assistance (Medi-Cal) programs. Allocations shall be made to each county and shall be limited by and determined based upon the County Administrative Cost Control Plan. In administering the plan to control county administrative costs, the department shall not allocate state funds to cover county cost overruns which result from county failure to meet requirements of the plan. The department and the State Department of Health Services shall budget, administer, and allocate state funds for county administration in a uniform and consistent manner. 18906.5. (a) The state shall pay 70 percent of the nonfederal costs of administering the Food Stamp Program, subject to Sections 18906 and 18906.7. The counties shall pay the remaining share of the nonfederal costs. (b) The state shall pay 85 percent of the nonfederal share of the costs of AFDC fraud investigation subject to Section 15204.5. The counties shall pay the remaining share of the nonfederal costs. 18906.55. (a) Notwithstanding Section 18906.5 or any other law, as a result of the substantial fiscal pressures on counties created by the unprecedented and unanticipated food stamp caseload growth associated with the economic downturn beginning in 2008, and in order to provide fiscal relief to counties as a result of this growth, a county that meets the maintenance of effort requirement pursuant to Section 15204.4 entirely through expenditures for the administration of the Food Stamp program in state fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12 shall receive the full General Fund allocation for administration of the Food Stamp program without paying the county's share of the nonfederal costs for the amount above the maintenance of effort required by Section 15204.4. (b) The full General Fund allocation for administration of the Food Stamp program pursuant to subdivision (a) shall equal 35 percent of the total federal and nonfederal projected funding need for administration of the Food Stamp program. The methodology used for calculating those projections shall remain the same as it was for the 2009-10 fiscal year for as long as this section remains in effect. (c) No relief to the county share of administrative costs authorized by this section shall result in any increased cost to the General Fund as determined in subdivision (b). (d) Subdivision (a) shall not be interpreted to prevent a county from expending funds in excess of the amount required to meet the maintenance of effort required by Section 15204.4. (e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2012, and, as of January 1, 2013, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. 18906.6. At the time the United States Department of Agriculture allows the state to retain a portion of the value of any claims collected, the state shall retain 50 percent of this portion. The remaining 50 percent shall be distributed by the State Department of Social Services to the counties based upon the amount of claims collected by each county. 18906.7. The state shall pay 100 percent of the nonfederal costs of administering an early fraud prevention and detection program in the administration of this chapter, established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 18902.5, subject to Section 18906. 18906.8. Subject to Section 18906, the state may pay 100 percent of the nonfederal administrative costs, when cost-effective, as determined by the state, of followup activities in the Income Eligibility and Verification System for recipients. 18907. In the determination of eligibility for food stamps, there shall be no discrimination against any household by reason of marital status, political belief, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code to the extent not in conflict with federal law. 18908. Except as provided in Section 18904.1, federal supplemental security income benefits, state supplemental security program benefits, public assistance, and county aid benefits shall not be reduced as a consequence of the receipt of food stamps under this chapter, to the extent permitted by federal law. 18909. Section 10850, relating to disclosure of information regarding public assistance recipients, shall apply to information obtained under this chapter. 18910. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, regulations, waivers, and directives, the department shall implement the prospective budgeting, quarterly reporting system provided in Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and related provisions regarding the Food Stamp Program, in a cost-effective manner that promotes compatibility between the CalWORKs program and the Food Stamp Program, and minimizes the potential for payment errors. (b) The department shall seek all necessary waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture to implement subdivision (a). 18911. (a) An application and an authorization for participation in the Food Stamp Program shall be processed within a period of not more than 30 days from the date of application. (b) The department shall develop written information that describes the eligibility and verification requirements for expedited service, the process for applying for those benefits, and the availability of assistance in filling out the forms and gathering needed documentation. (c) Each county welfare department shall make the material developed pursuant to subdivision (b) available to each applicant at the time the applicant initially seeks food stamp benefits. (d) Each county welfare department shall, upon request, make available the information developed pursuant to subdivision (b) to community action agencies, legal services offices, emergency food programs, and other programs. (e) Each county welfare department shall compile a list of emergency food providers in the area served by the local food stamp office. The list shall be updated, based on information from the food providers. The list shall be made available upon request, and, where needed, may be used to refer individuals to emergency food sites that may be able to provide assistance. (f) Each county welfare department shall make available to food stamp applicants, upon request, nonpromotional information that contains addresses and phone numbers of local legal services and welfare rights organizations. 18912. (a) Each county welfare department shall orally inform each applicant of the availability of expedited service and assistance in filling out the application. (b) Each county welfare department shall assist an applicant, upon request of the applicant, in filling out forms and completing the application process for expedited service. 18913. The department shall collect, quarterly, expedited service data, on a county-by-county basis, of the number of applications and the disposition of the applications, and shall publish those statistics quarterly. 18914. (a) To the extent provided by federal law, the county welfare department shall provide food stamp benefits on an expedited basis to households determined to be in immediate need of food assistance. (b) At the time an applicant initially seeks assistance, the county welfare department shall screen all expedited service applications on a priority basis. Applicants who meet the federal criteria for expedited service shall receive either a manual authorization to participate or automated card or the immediate issuance of food stamp coupons no later than the third day following the date the application was filed. To the maximum extent permitted by federal law, the amount of income to be received from any source shall be deemed to be uncertain and exempt from consideration in the determination of eligibility for expedited service. For purposes of this subdivision, a weekend shall be considered one calendar day. (c) The State Department of Social Services shall develop and implement for expedited issuance a uniform procedure for verifying information required of an applicant. 18914. To the extent provided by federal law, the county welfare department shall provide food stamp benefits on an expedited basis to households determined to be in immediate need of food assistance. This section shall become operative July 1, 1991. 18915. All applications and public information materials shall be available to potential, present, and past food stamp recipients in each county in Spanish as well as English plus any other non-English language prevalent in each county. It shall be within the discretion of the director to designate such other prevalent non-English languages. 18916. The board of supervisors of each county shall have the authority to request from the United States Department of Agriculture the simultaneous operation of the federally donated foods program under the Disaster Act of 1970 as amended and any other enabling federal law. 18918. Not later than January 15, 2001, the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Health Services and appropriate stakeholders, shall develop and submit to the Legislature a community outreach and education campaign to help families learn about, and apply for, the federal Food Stamp Program and the California Food Assistance Program. At a minimum, the plan shall include the following: (a) Specific milestones and objectives proposed to be completed for the upcoming year and their anticipated cost. (b) A general description of each strategy or method to be used for outreach. (c) Geographic areas and special populations to be targeted, if any, and why the special targeting is needed. (d) Coordination with other state or county education and outreach efforts. (e) The results of previous years' outreach efforts. (1) If necessary to obtain federal financial participation the food stamp outreach plan shall be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture not later than January 15, 2001. The state share of the funding shall be subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act and may be funded through the General Fund or other state or local funding sources, as appropriate. (2) After submission of the initial plan, it shall be updated annually and submitted to the Legislature by April 1 for the following year. 18923. (a) The State Department of Social Services shall submit a request to the United States Department of Agriculture for a waiver to permit a food stamp household to retain funds in the restricted savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2 and as accumulated while participating in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. The participation requirements for this specific savings account as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11155.2 shall apply to the Food Stamp Program. Penalties for nonqualifying withdrawal of these funds shall result in a calculation of a period of ineligibility for all persons in the food stamp household, to be determined by dividing the balance in the account immediately prior to the withdrawal by the food stamp allotment to which the household is entitled. The resulting whole number shall be the number of months of ineligibility. The period of ineligibility may be reduced when the divisor, which is the food stamp allotment, increases as a result of a cost-of-living adjustment. (b) The director may waive, with federal approval, the enforcement of specific Food Stamp Program requirements, regulations, and standards necessary to implement this provision. 18925. (a) The State Department of Health Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services, shall implement a simplified eligibility process as part of the Food Stamp Program to expedite Medi-Cal program and Healthy Families Program enrollment for Food Stamp Program recipients, including children and their eligible parents or caretaker relatives who are not enrolled in those programs. (b) Each county welfare department shall develop a data list of family members residing in eligible food stamp households who are not enrolled in the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. (c) The county welfare department shall develop a notice informing individuals identified pursuant to subdivision (b) that they may be entitled to receive benefits under the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. (d) At the time of the food stamp household's annual recertification, the county welfare department shall send the notice specified in subdivision (c) to the individuals identified in subdivision (b). The notice shall include a request for permission to use the information in the food stamp recipient's case file to make a determination of eligibility for the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program. (e) The notice shall be written in culturally and linguistically appropriate language and at an appropriate literacy level. The notice shall include information on the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program, and a telephone number that food stamp recipients may call for additional information. (f) To apply for medical assistance under the Medi-Cal program, the food stamp recipient shall sign, date, and return the notice requesting that an eligibility determination be made. Upon receipt of the notice, the county welfare department shall make an eligibility determination by utilizing the information in the food stamp recipient's case file or paper application. The Medi-Cal application date shall be the date the notice is received by the county welfare department. If the food stamp case file does not include sufficient information to establish Medi-Cal program eligibility, the county welfare department shall request, either orally or in writing, additional information from the food stamp recipient. (g) If the food stamp recipient is determined to be eligible to participate in the Medi-Cal program with a share of cost, or is determined to be ineligible for Medi-Cal, information pertinent to the food stamp recipient's eligibility for the Healthy Families Program shall be forwarded by the county welfare department to the Healthy Families Program statewide administrator for immediate processing. If there is insufficient information to establish Healthy Families Program eligibility, the administrator shall request, either orally or in writing, additional information from the food stamp recipient. (h) Counties shall include the cost of implementing this section in their annual administrative budget requests to the State Department of Health Services. (i) This section shall be implemented on or after July 1, 2003, but only to the extent federal financial participation is available. 18926. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall annually seek a federal waiver of the existing Food Stamp Program limitation that stipulates that an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) participant is limited to three months of food stamps in a three-year period unless that participant has met the work participation requirement. (b) All eligible counties shall be included in and bound by this waiver unless a county declines to participate in the waiver request. If a county declines, the county shall submit documentation from the board of supervisors of that county to that effect. (c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Government Code) the department may implement this section by all county letters or similar instructions.
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