SECTIONS 18937-18944 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 18937-18944

18937. The State Department of Social Services shall establish and
supervise a county- or county consortia-administered program to
provide cash assistance to aged, blind, and disabled legal immigrants
who are not citizens and who successfully complete an application
process. No application shall be required of individuals described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 18944. The department
shall conduct the evaluations of disability for the program. If the
federal government agrees to administer the program, the department
shall contract with the federal government for this purpose, and the
county responsibilities shall be reduced by the duties and
responsibilities undertaken by the federal government.

18938. (a) (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an individual,
upon application, shall be eligible for the program established
pursuant to Section 18937 if his or her immigration status meets the
eligibility criteria of the Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI/SSP) in
effect on August 21, 1996, but he or she is not eligible for SSI/SSP
benefits solely due to his or her immigration status under Title IV
of Public Law 104-193 and any subsequent amendments thereto.
(2) An applicant who is otherwise eligible for the program, but
who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996, shall be
eligible for aid under this chapter only if he or she is sponsored
and one of the following conditions is met:
(A) The sponsor has died.
(B) The sponsor is disabled, as defined in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 11320.3.
(C) The applicant, after entry into the United States, is a victim
of abuse by the sponsor or the spouse of the sponsor if the spouse
is living with the sponsor.
(3) An applicant who is otherwise eligible for the program but who
entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996, and who does
not meet one of the conditions of paragraph (2) shall be eligible for
aid under this chapter beginning on October 1, 1999.
(4) The applicant shall be required to provide verification that
one of the conditions of subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph
(2) has been met.
(5) (A) For purposes of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2), abuse
shall be defined in the same manner as provided in Section 11495.1
and Section 11495.12. A sworn statement of abuse by a victim, or the
representative of the victim if the victim is not able to competently
swear, shall be sufficient to establish abuse if one or more
additional items of evidence of abuse is also provided. Additional
evidence may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(i) Police, government agency, or court records or files.
(ii) Documentation from a domestic violence program, legal,
clinical, medical, or other professional from whom the applicant or
recipient has sought assistance in dealing with abuse.
(iii) A statement from any other individual with knowledge of the
circumstances that provided the basis for the claim.
(iv) Physical evidence of abuse.
(B) If the victim cannot provide additional evidence of abuse,
then the sworn statement shall be sufficient if the county makes a
determination documented in the case file that the applicant is
credible.
(b) The department shall periodically redetermine the eligibility
of each individual.
(c) The department shall take all steps necessary to qualify any
benefits paid under this section to be eligible for reimbursement as
federal Interim Assistance including requiring a repayment agreement.

18939. (a) Any person who is found to be eligible for federally
funded SSI by the department shall be required to apply for SSI
benefits. An individual may continue to receive benefits under this
article if he or she fully cooperates in the application and
administrative appeal process of the Social Security Administration.
An individual shall continue to be eligible to receive benefits under
this article if he or she receives an unfavorable decision from the
Social Security Administration.
(b) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall require
counties with a base caseload of recipients of aid under this chapter
of 70 or more to establish an advocacy program to assist applicants
and recipients of aid under this chapter in the application process
for the SSI program. The department shall encourage counties with a
base caseload of recipients of aid under this chapter of 69 or less
to establish a similar advocacy program. Counties may, at their
option, contract to provide any or all of the required advocacy
services.
(2) The department shall provide assistance to counties in their
efforts to implement an SSI advocacy program (SSIAP) for applicants
and recipients of aid under this chapter.
(c) The State Department of Social Services shall ensure that its
Disability Evaluation Division (DED) expedites the disability
evaluations for applicants and recipients of aid under this chapter
by utilizing its existing case records sharing procedures to ensure
that information from previous DED evaluations for the Medi-Cal
program are shared expeditiously with the federal component of the
division that is adjudicating the SSI disability application.
(d) The State Department of Social Services shall reimburse
counties for legal fees incurred by attorneys or other authorized
representatives during the appeals phase of the SSI application
process only when the county demonstrates that the legal
representative successfully secures approval of SSI benefits. The
legal fees for each case shall not exceed twice the difference
between the maximum monthly individual payment under this chapter and
the maximum monthly SSP payment.
(e) The department shall report to the Legislature, by July 1,
2007, on the outcomes of county SSI advocacy programs, including the
numbers of cases that transitioned to SSI and the amount of savings
realized through the transfers.
(f) Subdivisions (b) to (e), inclusive, of this section shall
become inoperative on July 1, 2011.

18939.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual
who naturalizes while receiving benefits under this article, who
remains otherwise eligible for benefits under this article, and who
applies for federally funded Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and
fully cooperates in the application and administrative appeal process
of the Social Security Administration, shall continue to receive
benefits under this article until the individual receives SSI
benefits or has exhausted all appeals for their initial federal SSI
application. A recipient shall not be entitled to receive duplicate
payments for any month.

18940. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the
federal and state laws and regulations governing the SSI/SSP program
shall also govern the program provided for under this chapter.
(b) Federal deeming rules and exemptions governing the SSI/SSP
program, including all federal and state laws and regulations
designed to protect SSI/SSP recipients and their resources, shall
also govern the program provided for under this chapter, except that
for immigrants described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 18938 who do not meet exemptions from deeming, the period for
deeming of a sponsor's income and resources shall be 10 years from
the date of the sponsor's execution of the affidavit of support or
the date of the immigrant's arrival in the United States, whichever
is later.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter,
immigrants who are victims of abuse by their sponsor or sponsor's
spouse shall be exempt from deeming. Abuse shall be defined in the
same manner as provided in Section 11495.1 and Section 11495.12. A
sworn statement of abuse by a victim, or the representative of the
victim if the victim is not able to competently swear, shall be
sufficient to establish abuse if one or more additional items of
evidence of abuse is also provided. Additional evidence may include,
but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Police, government agency, or court records or files.
(2) Documentation from a domestic violence program, or from a
legal, clinical, medical, or other professional from whom the
applicant or recipient has sought assistance in dealing with abuse.
(3) A statement from any other individual with knowledge of the
circumstances that provided the basis for the claim.
(4) Physical evidence of abuse.
(5) If the victim cannot provide additional evidence of abuse,
then the sworn statement shall be sufficient if the county makes a
determination documented in writing in the case file that the
applicant is credible.

18941. Benefits provided under this chapter shall be equivalent to
the benefits provided under the SSI/SSP program, Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 12000) of Part 3, except that the schedules
for individuals and couples shall be reduced ten dollars ($10) per
individual and twenty dollars ($20) per couple per month.

18942. The department shall reimburse the counties for the cost of
actual payments made pursuant to this chapter and for the
administrative costs actually attributable to those payments. Any
appropriation for this chapter may be transferred to pay for the
costs of a contract entered into with the federal government to
administer this chapter.

18943. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Administrative
Procedure Act, Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 1340) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, through June 30,
1999, the State Department of Social Services may implement the
applicable provisions of this chapter through all county letter or
similar instructions from the director.
(b) The director shall adopt regulations, as otherwise necessary,
to implement the applicable provisions of this chapter no later than
July 1, 1999. Emergency regulations to implement the applicable
provisions of this chapter 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 the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
safety, or general welfare.
(c) 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.

18944. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds
in the Budget Act for the purpose of providing services under this
chapter.
(b) This chapter shall become operative on:
(1) October 1, 1998, for those individuals who are eligible for
aid under this chapter and are discontinued from the SSI/SSP program
effective with their September 1998 benefits as a result of their
immigration status under Title IV of Public Law 104-193 and any
subsequent amendments thereto. Until the counties begin full
operation the department shall cause a payment to each individual or
couple to be issued through the Controller so that there is no
interruption in these individual's receipt of aid to which they are
eligible under this chapter.
(2) November 1, 1998, for applicants for this program to have
their applications accepted by county welfare departments, and
establish a beginning date of aid. Counties shall have the ability to
make eligibility determinations and cause the issuance of payments
no later than December 1, 1998, unless the federal government has
agreed to provide the services under this chapter at an earlier date.
(c) This chapter shall be implemented only during any period that
federal benefits are provided under Section 1612(a) of Title 8 of the
United States Code.