(a) (1) On and after January 1, 2015, a child eligible for the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program in accordance with Section 11461.3 is not subject to the provisions of this chapter relating to CalWORKs, including, but not limited to, the provisions that relate to CalWORKs eligibility, welfare-to-work, time limits, or grant computation.
(2) All of the following shall apply to a child specified in paragraph (1):
(A) The child shall receive the applicable regional CalWORKs grant for recipient in an assistance unit of one, pursuant to the exempt maximum aid payment set forth in Section 11450, and any changes to the CalWORKs grant amount shall apply to the grant described in this subparagraph.
(B) Notwithstanding any other law, the CalWORKs grant of the child shall be paid by the county with payment responsibility as described in subdivision (b) of Section 11461.3, rather than the county of residence of the child, unless the child resides in the county with payment responsibility.
(C) For an assistance unit described in subparagraph (A), eligibility shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 672 of Title 42 of the United States Code and state law implementing those requirements for the purposes of Article 5 (commencing with Section 11400).
(D) (i) Article 7 (commencing with Section 11476.6), as modified by subdivisions (g) and (h) of Section 11461.3, applies to an assistance unit described in subparagraph (A).
(ii) This subparagraph is intended by the Legislature to clarify existing law.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a person who is an approved relative caregiver with whom a child eligible in accordance with Section 11461.3 is placed shall be exempt from identity verification requirements for the CalWORKs program.
(2) An approved relative caregiver who is also an applicant for or a recipient of benefits under this chapter shall comply with the identity verification requirements for the CalWORKs program, as those statutory and regulatory requirements existed on October 1, 2018.
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 11004 and 11004.1 or any other law, overpayments to an assistance unit described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be collected in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 11461.3.
(d) If an approved relative caregiver with whom a child eligible in accordance with Section 11461.3 is placed is also an applicant for or a recipient of benefits under this chapter, all of the following apply:
(1) The applicant or recipient and each eligible child, excluding any child eligible in accordance with Section 11461.3, shall receive aid in an assistance unit separate from the assistance unit described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), and the CalWORKs grant of the assistance unit shall be paid by the county of residence of the assistance unit.
(2) For purposes of calculating the grant of the assistance unit, the number of eligible needy persons on which the grant is based pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 11450 does not include any child eligible in accordance with Section 11461.3.
(3) For purposes of calculating minimum basic standards of adequate care for the assistance unit, any child eligible in accordance with Section 11461.3 shall be included as an eligible needy person in the same family pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11452.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 27, Sec. 38. (SB 80) Effective June 27, 2019.)