An act to amend Sections 1991, 1995, 10072.3, 11265.15, 12306.16, and 16121 of, to add Sections 16506.5 and 18917.1 to, and to add, repeal, and add Section 16121.5 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget.
AB 118 is a budget-related human services bill that makes a series of changes across CalFresh, CalWORKs, IHSS, child welfare, adoption assistance, and juvenile justice realignment. It updates the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project by requiring the Department of Social Services to evaluate pilot projects run between February 1, 2023, and January 31, 2025, and to report on how the state could transition the program to a fully state-managed model. It also codifies a disaster-response funding provision for D-SNAP and Disaster CalFresh outreach, allowing up to $300,000 per major disaster declaration for administrative costs.
The bill changes CalWORKs/CalFresh administration by requiring counties, when permitted by federal law, to provide recipients with a prepopulated semiannual report either by mail or electronically, rather than a blank form, and directs the department to complete policy guidance by August 15, 2025. In IHSS, it revises county cost-sharing rules so that if the state loses enhanced federal financial participation because of untimely CFCO case reassessments, counties will bear a 100% share of the lost federal funding beginning July 1, 2026, with the state and counties splitting the loss 50/50 in fiscal year 2025-26. The bill also requires the department to issue implementation guidance for that cost shift.
AB 118 also expands child welfare requirements by mandating that county child welfare agencies convene child and family team meetings for children and youth receiving family maintenance services starting July 1, 2025. It authorizes Adoption Assistance Program payments for certain out-of-state residential treatment placements when a parent lives in the state where the facility is located, the placement is necessary, and the facility meets licensing, Title IV-E, and other documentation requirements. The bill limits those payments to the lesser of the relevant California rate structure or the out-of-state rate, requires annual county reporting on such placements, and directs the department to issue guidance and update policies on wraparound and out-of-home placements.
On the juvenile justice side, the bill continues and expands the Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant by appropriating $208.8 million annually for fiscal years 2025-26 through 2028-29 and setting a revised county allocation formula tied to youth population and juvenile justice outcomes. It requires county plans to include less restrictive programs and prior-year expenditures, and it bars counties from allocating block grant funds to juvenile facilities that were unsuitable and used for confinement when prohibited by law. The bill also requires a 2030 review of the formula’s effectiveness in supporting public-health approaches, positive youth development, and reduced recidivism.
The overall sentiment reflected in the vote history is strongly favorable and largely bipartisan, with the bill passing the Assembly and Senate concurrence overwhelmingly and the final Senate concurrence vote being 71-0. The main points of contention are not detailed in transcripts, but the bill’s most likely pressure points are the new county responsibilities, the IHSS cost-shift tied to federal noncompliance, the expanded reporting and documentation requirements for counties, and the juvenile justice funding restrictions tied to facility suitability. Despite those mandates, the bill advanced as a budget measure and was enacted immediately.
AB 118 amends multiple Welfare and Institutions Code provisions and creates new sections affecting CalFresh, CalWORKs, IHSS, child welfare, adoption assistance, disaster nutrition response, and juvenile justice realignment. It imposes new county duties, adds reporting and guidance requirements for the Department of Social Services, codifies a disaster-response appropriation, revises county cost-sharing rules in IHSS, expands eligibility and oversight for certain out-of-state adoption-related placements, and sets a new juvenile justice block grant allocation formula and facility funding restrictions. It also creates state-mandated local program obligations and takes effect immediately as a budget-related appropriation bill.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported. Voting history shows strong majorities in both houses, including a unanimous Senate concurrence vote, indicating little visible opposition at the final stage. The measure was treated as a budget trailer bill and advanced quickly, suggesting institutional support for its package of human services and juvenile justice adjustments.
No committee transcript was provided, so specific arguments are not available. Based on the text, the most likely areas of contention are the bill’s expansion of county administrative duties, the shift of IHSS-related financial risk to counties if federal funding is lost due to reassessment noncompliance, and the new reporting/documentation burdens for child welfare and adoption agencies. The juvenile justice provisions may also have drawn scrutiny because they condition funding on facility suitability and change county allocation formulas, while the adoption assistance provisions raise oversight questions for out-of-state placements. Even so, the recorded votes suggest these issues did not prevent passage.