HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06242014 - C.110RECOMMENDATION(S):
ACCEPT a report on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) / CalFresh Program as recommended
by the Family and Human Services Committee.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact. Informational only.
BACKGROUND:
The report is an update of Food Assistance Program s in Contra Costa County. The report was hear by the Family
and Human Service Committee on June 9, 2014. The Committee recommended forwarding the attached report to the
Board of Supervisors for information.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Up to date information will not be shared with the Board of Supervisors and the public.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
Not applicable.
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD
COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 06/24/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYES 5 NOES ____
ABSENT ____ ABSTAIN ____
RECUSE ____
Contact: Dorothy Sansoe,
925-335-1009
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes
of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 24, 2014
David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
C.110
To:Board of Supervisors
From:FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Date:June 24, 2014
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:Report on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
ATTACHMENTS
SNAP Report
wen
DATE: June 9, 2014
TO: Family and Human Services Committee
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
FROM: Wendy Therrian, Workforce Services Director
Rebecca Darnell, Lead Workforce Services Division Manager
Cheryl O’Brien, CalFresh Policy Manager
SUBJECT: CalFresh Program Update
I. Overview
The CalFresh program, formerly known as Food Stamps and federally known as the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was designed to help provide assistance to hungry people,
regardless of their age, gender, marital or family status. The program issues monthly electronic
benefits that can be used to buy most foods at many markets and food stores.
The CalFresh Program helps to improve the health and well-being of qualified households and
individuals by providing them a means to meet their nutritional needs. At the federal level, the
program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS). In California, the CalFresh Program is supervised at the state level by the
California Department of Social Services and is administered at the local level by the Employment
and Human Services Department (EHSD).
Since the Great Recession, we have experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of
individuals applying for CalFresh benefits. In 2006, we had approximately 12,554 families applying
for aid as compared to 34,176 in 2013. This represents a 272% increase in the number of CalFresh
applications received during this period.
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12554 15588
21107
27509 31266 34113 34537 34,176
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Applications
Applications increased by 272% between 2006-2013
CalFresh Only Applications
Over the last eight years, the CalFresh cases have increased a total of 410% going from roughly 5,846
average cases a month in 2006 to 23,991 average monthly cases in 2013.
5,846 6,950 8,728
12,707
16,904
20,596 23,311 23,991
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Cases
Cases increased by 410% between 2006-2013
CalFresh Only Cases
Beyond the CalFresh-only average caseload of 23,991 in 2013, we also had an additional average of
10,596 CalFresh cases which represents those receiving both cash aid (CalWORKs) and CalFresh.
This represents a total average of 34,587 CalFresh cases in 2013.
Already for the current program year through March 31, 2014, we have reached a total of 35,012
CalFresh cases anticipating we will reach 46,683 by the end of the program year.
In Contra Costa County, CalFresh puts more than $10 million into the local economy each month.
As indicated by the USDA, research shows that every $1 provided in CalFresh benefits generates
$1.79 in economic activity. Using the multiplier effect, CalFresh pumped more than $214 million
into the local economy in the past year. This economic stimulus is almost exclusively Federal and
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State funded and provides an important local boost to our economy. CalFresh benefits help families
stretch their food dollars to buy more healthy foods for the whole family.
II. Eligibility for CalFresh
Households that include single individuals, couples, or families are eligible for CalFresh benefits if
they meet certain income criteria and legally reside in California. For some CalFresh beneficiaries’
eligibility is not asset-based or resource-based which means that their property is not counted such as
vehicles, cash on hand or money contained in bank accounts.
The amount of benefits a person receives depends on the number of people in the household who
purchase and prepare food together and how much monthly income is left after certain expenses are
deducted. Income consists of earned and unearned income. Expenses like rent, utilities, dependent
care and certain medical expenses are allowable deductions. For example, a household of one (1)
with no income would be eligible to receive $189.00 a month in benefits and a household of 10 with
no income would receive $1,421.00 a month.
III. Program Accessibility
To make CalFresh benefits more readily accessible to County residents and families, over the last
several years the Department has increased its efforts in working with the Food Bank of Contra Costa
and Solano County as well as other community agencies dedicated to the CalFresh-eligible
population.
As listed below, other efforts have contributed to the success of our expanding benefits to those in
need of food security.
o CalFresh eligible children of school age are now automatically enrolled for school meal
programs.
o The application process has been made easier by eliminating the requirement to apply through
a face-to-face interview process. A telephone interview is now acceptable at both intake and
recertification. A customer may still request a face-to-face interview if they are more
comfortable meeting directly with an Eligibility Worker.
o Applicants can now apply for food benefits on-line through our My Benefits CalWIN portal
(mybenefitscalwin.org). Many of our community-based partners have received
orientations/trainings on assisting individuals through this on-line application process.
o A customer can also access benefits through the use of a multi-program single paper
application. For example, a customer who applies for and is found ineligible for CalWORKs
benefits can use this same application (the SAWS 2 Plus) to automatically apply for CalFresh
benefits without completing another application.
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o A customer who applies for Medi-Cal by using the new Single Streamlined application may
also use this application to apply for CalFresh benefits. The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
more closely aligned the eligibility requirements of the new Modified Adjusted Gross Income
(MAGI) Medi-Cal Program with the eligibility requirements of the CalFresh Program to
provide easier access to these programs through one application. This process is referred to as
horizontal integration.
o In October 2013, our clients’ quarterly reporting requirement was changed to semi-annual
reporting allowing clients to report only once a year and at recertification. With fewer
opportunities to report come fewer opportunities for our clients to be in non-compliance and
potentially lose benefits.
o In February 2014, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) initiated the one year
Express Lane Eligibility Waiver Program in which certain CalFresh beneficiaries were given
Medi-Cal benefits without having to complete and file an application.
o In July 2014, the statewide Work Incentive Nutritional Supplement (WINS) Program will be
in place in Contra Costa County. Under the WINS Program, CalFresh households who are not
in receipt of CalWORKs, but who meet the work participation hours of the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program and have a child in the household under 18
will receive an additional $10.00 food benefit each month.
Other efforts to increase CalFresh enrollments are outlined in the Outreach section of this report.
IV. Current CalFresh Service Levels and Program Performance
A. Service Levels:
During Program Year 2012-2013 CalFresh benefits were determined for approximately 55,421
families and individuals. This is an approximate 20% increase from the previous program years.
B. Program Performance:
1. Timeliness Processing Standards
FNS requires states and counties to maintain certain performance measures for the timely
processing of CalFresh applications. These measures require that 90% of all applications
received be processed within 30 days and require a 3-day processing period for those
CalFresh applicants determined to require Expedited Services (ES).
Although we experienced a record number of CalFresh applications during PY 2012-13,
we were successful in processing 93% of applications received within the 30 day
processing requirement, meeting the 90% standard. However, during this same period, we
fell short of the 90% processing requirement within three (3) days for those CalFresh ES
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applications requiring immediate needs (we achieved a 72% processing level on the ES
applications).
Given this outcome we are currently working on the development and submission of a
Corrective Action Plan (CAP) which will outline measures we are taking to increase and
reach the 3-day standard for processing our ES CalFresh applications.
2. Management Evaluation (ME)
As mandated by FNS, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is required to
conduct a Management Evaluation (ME) review of Contra Costa County’s administration
of the CalFresh Program. The federal priority areas for the ME for FFY 2013 were
Program Access, Customer Service, Timeliness of Application Processing, Payment
Accuracy, Quality Control and Training. The ME review was held in June of 2013.
Corrective actions were noted in the areas of case action, program access, and outreach
which have or are being addressed.
Outreach is being addressed through an increased focus on community partnerships.
Program access was addressed with our implementation of non-face-to-face eligibility
interviews. Policy on application processing, timelines and quality control is being
reinforced to staff through use of monthly bulletins and the “Topic of the Month”
distributions. Customer service training has been provided to staff, CalFresh case review
training was completed in all offices during February and March, and CalFresh Program
reinforcement training began for EHSD staff in May.
We also reinstituted the Program Integrity Unit (PIU) which is responsible for gathering
and reviewing data concerning CalFresh program standards to ensure service delivery is
appropriate including monitoring and coordinating case record reviews, assessments and
error trends. The PIU will be of great assistance in addressing and maintaining
performance areas and in their monthly case reviews in which error trends are readily
determined and addressed.
The next ME review is scheduled for sometime in April of 2015.
3. CalFresh Error Rate
Every month, for every county, FNS chooses CalFresh cases that are to be reviewed for
case errors involving miscalculations of income or household composition which result in
benefit issuance errors. Our Quality Control Unit reviews those cases that are selected and
determines our CalFresh error rate. Based on the number of cases reviewed and the
number of errors cited an error rate percentage is then derived.
Contra Costa County’s CalFresh error rate for the period through December 2013 was
3.42%, below the State and Federal rolling error rate for this same period of 4.17%.
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V. Outreach and Community Partnerships
EHSD is proud of our efforts to increase CalFresh participation thereby ensuring that more children,
families and individuals are able to put nutritious food on their tables each day. For the past 14
months, the Department has convened a CalFresh Partner Group with a goal of increasing CalFresh
enrollment in the County. The partners include the Food Bank of Contra Costa County and Solano,
Crisis Center, Y&H Soda Foundation, the Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition and EHSD. This group’s
strategies are to increase CalFresh enrollment and reach populations with historically lower
enrollment including:
• Primary Business Collaboration: Developing new and strengthening existing business
processes for helping people get enrolled in CalFresh. EHSD currently works with the Food
Bank of Contra Costa and Solano to train nonprofit staff in CalFresh so they have a better
understanding of the program and enrollment process. This work would amplify that
partnership by providing enhanced training and a more specifically identified EHSD liaison
for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
• Outreach:
o An emerging partnership between the Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition, EHSD and the
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is working to cultivate community volunteers
who can help people with the CalFresh enrollment process. The Multi-Faith ACTION
Coalition has a roster of 60 volunteers who received CalFresh training from the Food
Bank. They are now ready to be deployed to nonprofit agencies, places of worship,
food distribution sites and shelters to encourage and assist people to sign up for
CalFresh benefits.
• Marketing:
o Volunteers from the Leadership Contra Costa alumni group have expressed interest in
helping advertise and market CalFresh to communities with many eligible people.
Developing a marketing plan for CalFresh will require studying the issue and applying
smart advertising techniques to the challenge of CalFresh enrollment. Leadership
Contra Costa has marketing professionals who can help with this work.
o The month of May has recently been designated “CalFresh Awareness Month” by
several other California counties. Working with our community partners over the next
program year, we plan on developing a formal recommendation and proclamation for
the Board of Supervisors to consider adopting and also declaring the month of May as
CalFresh Awareness month in Contra Costa County.
• Community Training on CalFresh:
o The EHSD CalFresh Analyst conducts “Facts and Myths” training with the Food Bank
which takes place three to four times per year with 25 to 30 participants from
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community organizations in each session. Provided in the training is a CalFresh
overview, hands-on outreach application exercise as well as an introduction to
Benefits CalWIN.
This training has been a foundation in developing new partners since 2006. This
training has been attended by aides of the Board of Supervisors, staff from Food and
Nutrition Services (FNS) and regular attendees from WIC, the Monument Crisis
Center, La Clinica, Rubicon, Public Health, Head Start and the One Stop Centers.
o EHSD also participates in the Food Nutrition Policy Consortium which is chaired by
the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. The group meets to discuss nutrition-
related events and activities within the county including CalFresh outreach
opportunities.
o Over the last four (4) years, EHSD has attended an annual Food Bank Summit which
is held on a rotational basis between Contra Costa and Solano Counties. The purpose
of the Summit is to educate, inform and update those in attendance on topics such as
Nutrition Education, Food Safety, what the Food Bank does, and provide instruction
and mandates of USDA on the CalFresh Program. This is a day-long event and is
attended by various county department representatives, agencies, and community
based organizations who work closely with the Food Bank.
VI. Restaurant Meals Program (RMP)
Federal regulations allowed counties to implement a Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) that would
enable eligible homeless, disabled and/or elderly (ages 60 and above) CalFresh households to use
CalFresh benefits to purchase hot, prepared meals at participating restaurants. State regulations have
been in place since May 1, 2004 allowing an interested county to submit a proposal to CDSS
requesting approval to implement the RMP.
The key component of an RMP proposal is the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be used
with participating restaurants detailing obligations of both the county and the restaurant.
A. County RMP Responsibilities and Requirements
The County’s area of responsibility is to submit a proposal to the State and create an MOU for
participating restaurants, identify eligible CalFresh participants, provide eligible CalFresh
participants with an additional identification/certification card, and a list of participating restaurants
and locations.
More specifically, counties participating in the RMP must:
• Identify households entitled to participate in the program for the use of CalFresh benefits at
authorized restaurants.
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• Certify homeless, elderly and disabled CalFresh recipients as eligible to purchase low cost
meals with CalFresh benefits in restaurants that have entered into MOUs with the county for
this purpose.
• Inform those certified CalFresh recipients with the names and addresses of approved,
participating restaurants.
• Draft and issue an identification card for eligible participants with the person’s name, case
number, expiration date and signature to be used in conjunction with the Golden State
Advantage EBT card (which is the electronic benefits transfer card used to issue benefits to
CalFresh participants).
• Draft and publish a publicity sheet to notify restaurants about the requirements of the
restaurant meals program.
• Draft and issue a publicity sheet for current homeless, elderly and disabled CalFresh
recipients that includes information, requirements and availability of the RMP.
Participating counties must also draft and enter into an MOU that details the obligations of the
restaurant to:
• Prohibit inclusion of a service gratuity in the price of a meal,
• Prohibit charging sales or meals tax,
• Prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to participants,
• Require posting of a sign notifying the public of the restaurant’s participation in the program
and including references to nondiscrimination statues and regulations.
B. CalFresh Recipient RMP Requirements:
In order to be eligible to the RMP, the previously stated eligibility requirements must be met by
CalFresh recipients, and there is no special application required to be submitted. Other specifics
include:
• A current EBT card can be activated for the program if the beneficiary is homeless or from an
aged or disabled household.
• The RMP beneficiary is required to inform the participating restaurant that CalFresh benefits
will be used to ensure that no gratuities, sales tax or meal tax is charged by the restaurant.
• Beverages other than alcoholic can be purchased with meals.
• A sales receipt will be issued for the transaction which shows the remaining balance on the
EBT card. If a beneficiary receives more than one type of benefit on the EBT card, benefits
from both sources may be used to complete the transaction.
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C. RMP Restaurant Requirements:
Through the RMP, participating restaurants help their neighboring community by providing hot
meals to those in need while taking advantage of a valuable opportunity to expand their business.
Specific requirements for participation are as follows:
• Participating restaurants must provide low-cost meals during regular business hours at a price
less than that charged to regular customers.
• Participation in the program is free including the application and the Point of Sale device.
There are no monthly service fees or transaction charges.
• The completion of FORM FNS-252-2 must be done and sent to the United State Department
of Agriculture (USDA) for acceptance into the program. The form must be accompanied by
required attachments such as business licenses, health certificates, and corporation paperwork.
Once the application is sent to the USDA, it will be approved or denied within 45 days.
• An authorization form must be signed with the financial institution allowing a transfer of
funds and debit adjustments based on the use of EBT cards. An owner can apply for multiple
locations to participate in the program, but an application contract must be completed for each
location.
• Costs for EBT purchases are usually reimbursed within 48 hours.
• The restaurant does not need to be open for all meals and does not need to have a certain
number of tables and chairs but chairs must be available for those purchasing food as part of
the program.
D. Level of County Participation in the RMP:
Contra Costa County is one of the 88% of California counties not participating in the RMP.
Only 12% of counties in the State currently participate in the program and based on our outreach and
information received from other counties, the primary reasons for non-participation include lack of
restaurant/vendor interest in the program, and the time and resources necessary for county staff to
administer the program.
The counties listed below are currently operating a RMP and the number of restaurants (both
franchise and individually-owned establishments) participating in their programs.
• Alameda County 12 restaurants
• Los Angeles County 1,072 restaurants
• Sacramento County 55 restaurants
• San Diego County Unable to determine
• San Francisco County 77 restaurants
• San Luis Obispo County 15 restaurants
• Santa Clara County 18 restaurants
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Based on information gathered from other Bay Area counties participating in the RMP, a primary
benefit of the program is the opportunity to provide a hot meal to the aged, disabled, and homeless
CalFresh population who are unable to prepare a hot meal themselves or who do not have food
preservation or cooking facilities available to them. The program also assists local businesses to
expand and increase their business revenue.
The challenges of administering the program as stated by these same counties is the requirement for
dedicated staff to implement the RMP and to continually resolve and troubleshoot issues received
from customers and participating restaurants. Proactive and immediate action is necessary in
operating the RMP and there is a substantial reliance/dependence on County staff.
Besides ongoing monitoring activities, County staff is called upon to assist restaurants in completing
the necessary paperwork to participate in the program, and to troubleshoot technical problems such as
difficulties with the Point of Sale equipment or a customer’s card that does not work or contain
benefits. Counties also experience difficulties in getting vendors to participate in the program or
those restaurants who want to participate are rejected by FNS.
Given what we have learned on the RMP especially in terms of required County staff resources, this
program has been considered but not implemented. Additionally, we have been in contact with the
California Restaurant Association to determine their level of interest in operationalizing the program
in our county. As of June 3, we are awaiting input from the Association.
Based on the important and unique opportunity this program provides to meet the food stability needs
of our most vulnerable CalFresh population (we estimate we have approximately 2,500 aged, 2,800
disabled and 8,000 homeless CalFresh recipients who would be eligible to participate in this
program) as well as the potential for economic stimulus in our County, we continue to consider and
explore resource options for the program’s implementation.
VII. Reauthorization of the Farm Bill
With the reauthorization of the Farm Bill on February 7, 2014, the following changes will be made to
the CalFresh program which will adversely impact our CalFresh enrollment, reduce the benefit
amount to our CalFresh households, and/or increase the workload of our staff.
• The eligibility exclusion of felons convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, murder, sexual
exploitation and abuse of children, fleeing felons or those not in compliance with the terms of
their sentences will reduce the number of eligible CalFresh beneficiaries.
• The ban on federal funds being used for television, radio or billboard advertising to promote
CalFresh will reduce our CalFresh outreach efforts and ultimately enrollment numbers.
• The increase of the LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) benefit amount
to more than $20.00 for households in order for recipients to qualify for a Standard Utility
Allowance deduction will result in a reduction of the benefit amount for certain CalFresh
households.
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• The reduction of the QC error threshold from $50.00 to $37.00 could potentially result in an
increase in error rates due to the lower threshold and also create a workload impact to staff of
having to create and collect on these over-issuances.
VIII. Important Next Steps
The Department remains committed to providing timely and ready access to CalFresh benefits for
those with food insecurity, and in continuing to serve our CalFresh customers in a timely and
accurate manner. To this end, we have a continual improvement objective in the areas of outreach,
access, enrollment, and services delivery.
Part of this objective is to progress our community outreach efforts and to work more closely with
our community partners to expand access to CalFresh benefits. We will continue to work on
increasing knowledge and awareness of the CalFresh Program through application and benefits
renewal assistance.
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