18241-18247
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 18241-18247
18241. It is the intent of the Legislature, in implementing federal welfare reform, to create a Child Support Assurance Demonstration Project that is consistent with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) and that maximizes cost effectiveness while lifting children out of poverty. It is the intent of the Legislature that the program will secure financial stability for California's children through a guaranteed minimum level of financial support for the children of participating families, while at the same time encouraging custodial parents to be employed and noncustodial parents to financially support their children. 18242. (a) Upon application by a county board of supervisors, the department may approve up to three demonstration projects to test models of child support assurance. The projects shall either test different models of child support assurance or may test the same model if counties in which the same model is tested involve counties with different demographics. (b) The department may approve joint projects by two or more counties if both of the following apply: (1) The equity of access to the project and its related services is ensured to all participants. (2) The project includes appropriate operational and fiscal arrangements between the counties submitting the joint project. (c) If the department approves a joint project by two or more counties, that joint project shall constitute one of the projects authorized by subdivision (a). (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the purpose of the demonstration projects authorized by this article is to test child support assurance models as alternatives to welfare under which families with earnings and a child support order receive a guaranteed child support payment, in lieu of a grant under the CalWORKs program, from funds continuously appropriated for the CalWORKs program. (e) A county may limit the number of families that will be permitted to enroll in its child support assurance demonstration program. 18243. The department shall develop research designs to ensure thorough evaluations of the child support assurance demonstration projects that shall include, but not be limited to, the impact of the project on work participation rates of custodial parents, household incomes and family well-being, CalWORKs participation rates and costs, rates of paternity and child support order establishment, and any other relevant information the director may require. 18244. (a) A family shall be eligible to participate in the project described in Section 18246 only if, at the time of application to participate in the child assurance program, the family is receiving, or has been determined to be eligible to receive, an aid grant under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3. (b) A family's participation under this article shall not affect its eligibility to receive Medi-Cal and child care benefits under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3, if otherwise eligible. 18245. (a) A family shall be eligible to receive a child support assurance payment on behalf of a child only if the child's custodial parent has done all of the following: (1) Assigned the child's right to collect child support to the state. (2) Established paternity, obtained a child support order, and is using the services available under the state plan approved under Part D (commencing with Section 651) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code. (3) Opted to participate in the child assurance program in lieu of cash assistance under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) or its successor program. (b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), as a condition of receiving a child support assurance payment under this article, a custodial parent shall also be required to do both of the following: (A) Continue to provide all other relevant information that the applicant has that may be requested by the county. (B) Appear at required interviews, conference hearings, or legal proceedings, if notified in advance and an illness or emergency does not prevent attendance. (2) A custodial parent shall not be required to comply with paragraph (1) when compliance would make it more difficult for a domestic violence victim to escape physical abuse or when cooperation would increase the risk of further violence or unfairly penalize the victim. (c) In order to be eligible under this article, a child shall meet all of the following conditions: (1) The child resides in the county. (2) The child has a noncustodial parent living in the United States, or if not living in the United States, is subject to service of process by a state or territory of the United States. (3) The child is under 18 years of age or, if enrolled in high school, under 19 years of age. (4) The custodial parent is employed. 18247. (a) The state share of child support assurance payments under this article shall be paid in accordance with Section 15200. (b) The department shall, to the extent possible, ensure that no funding streams will be utilized to pay for child support assurance payments if the use of the funding streams would cause participants to be subject to the limitations of Section 11454 or any similar limitation. (c) The county administrative cost for the operation of a child support assurance program shall be paid from the county's allocation provided under Sections 15204.2 and 15204.3.