AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

94

Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Kalra and Zbur)

January 29, 2026

An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 11269 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalWORKs.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families.

Existing law sets forth provisions for the calculation of the amount of CalWORKs aid eligible to a household based in part on the size of the assistance unit. Under existing law and CalWORKs rules, aid is not affected for a member of the assistance unit who is temporarily absent from the home, and a child who is a patient in a public or private hospital for medical or surgical care is considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the hospital stay.

Under this bill, beginning July 1, 2027, or when the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automations, whichever is later, a child or other member of the assistance unit who is detained in a federal immigration detention facility would be considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the detention. Under the bill, the assistance unit would remain eligible to continue receive assistance and services if specified conditions are met, including that the remaining members of the assistance unit continue to meet eligibility requirements. The bill would authorize a any written sworn statement by the applicant or recipient to be sufficient to establish that a member of the assistance unit has been detained in an immigration detention facility. The bill would authorize the department to implement these provisions through all-county letters or similar written instructions until regulations are adopted. The bill would make related legislative findings.

By creating new duties for counties relating to expanded eligibility under CalWORKS, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of the bill.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) All children are precious, and their childhood is sacred and worth protection by the government.

(2) Raids by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and military occupation have stolen the joy of childhood for countless children and have replaced it with fear and danger.

(3) During the first Trump administration, family separations were pursued by taking children from their parents when they crossed the southern border, but this practice was stopped with litigation.

(4) Now, under the second Trump administration, family separation is being deployed as a tactic to terrorize immigrant communities across the country.

(5) In 2025, ICE set a new record for how many children were taken into custody.

(6) There have been several high-profile cases of citizen children and other children with legal status being unlawfully arrested and detained.

(7) Here, in California, Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, a student at Reseda Charter High School was detained by federal agents while walking his dog. He was held in ICE custody at the Adelanto Detention Center for over three months, causing him to miss the start of his senior year.

(8) This is just one of the dozens of instances in California where children have been arrested and detained, some violently, some at gunpoint.

(9) These children will forever be impacted by the violence of ICE arrests and detention. As California leaders work to find a resolution to these ICE raids, there are steps that California can take now to protect these youth and their families from economic harm as a result of childhood ICE detention.

(10) California’s CalWORKs program was established to protect the basic needs and lifetime opportunities of children in households that are impoverished.

(11) Due to an existing program rule, a child’s portion of the family’s very small CalWORKs grant must be reduced if the child is placed in an institution, though there are exemptions to this rule for temporary absences as set forth in law.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to extend statutory exemptions under the CalWORKs program in order to protect a family with an eligible child detained by ICE from losing portions of their basic needs grant as a result.

SEC. 2.

Section 11269 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

11269.

(a) A child who is a patient in a public or private hospital for medical or surgical care shall be considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the hospital stay.

(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement Section 11269, as added by the act that added this subdivision, whichever date is later, and, as of January 1 of the following year, is repealed.

SEC. 3.

Section 11269 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

11269.

(a) For the purposes of determining cash aid for CalWORKs, a child who is a patient in a public or private hospital for medical or surgical care shall be considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the hospital stay.

(b) (1) For the purposes of determining cash aid for CalWORKs, a child or other member of the assistance unit who is detained in a federal immigration detention facility shall be considered temporarily absent from the home for the duration of the detention. The assistance unit shall continue to remain eligible to receive continued assistance and services for this period if both all of the following conditions are met:

(A) The remaining members of the assistance unit continue to meet eligibility requirements.

(B) If the member or members are held in detention outside of the state, the detained member or members intend to return to the state once they are released from detention.

(2) A Any written sworn statement by the applicant or recipient shall be sufficient to establish that a member of the assistance unit has been detained in an immigration detention facility for purposes of this subdivision.

(c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the State Department of Social Services may implement and administer this section by means of all-county letters or similar instructions from the department until regulations are adopted. These all-county letters or similar written instructions shall have the same force and effect as regulations until the adoption of regulations.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2027, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement this section, whichever date is later.

SEC. 4.

No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of this act.

SEC. 5.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.