The Governor wrapped up his signatures and vetoes of all bills on his desk just before the midnight deadline on Sunday, October 15. CWDA had several sponsored bills signed this session.

• AB 236 (Maienschein) - Clarifies that a family that is reunifying following an intervention by child protective services is eligible for temporary housing assistance through the CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program. Also directs the California Department of Social Services to work with counties to assess the actual nightly cost of shelter. Cosponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty and California Coalition of Welfare Rights Organizations
• AB 811 (Burke) – Will ensure that parents in CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work are able to complete their high school diploma or equivalency, as well as a subsequent education or training assignment, within the 24-month time clock.
• AB 1332 (Bloom) - Will enable county child welfare agencies to better protect children by creating a process for the court to formally remove a child from an abusive non-custodial parent. Cosponsored with the County of Los Angeles
• SB 213 (Mitchell) - Supports the placement of abused and neglected foster children with relatives and other caregivers by streamlining and clarifying background check requirements, providing an expedited exemption process for certain minor crimes, and enabling emergency placement of children with relatives pending exemption when it is in the best interest of the child to do so. Cosponsored with the Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Children’s Law Center, and Public Counsel
• SB 282 (Wiener) – The Reducing Hunger Among Vulnerable Californians Act of 2017 (SB 282) seeks to address the dual, often overlapping, challenges of joblessness and homelessness for low income Californians. This package of targeted program improvements will increase access to prepared food for low income homeless, elderly or disabled Californians and create real job opportunities for childless homeless adults. Cosponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty and San Francisco County Human Services Agency

CWDA also strongly supported AB 340 (Arambula), sponsored by Californians for Safety and Justice. This bill will ensure that the behavioral health screening tools used with Medi-Cal eligible children receiving EPSDT services include questions designed to elicit information about childhood trauma.

CWDA thanks all of the authors, supporters and our co-sponsors of these important bills. See you in 2018!