CalFresh: data sharing.

Assembly Member Wicks' proposal to modify CalFresh data-sharing protocols would limit the State Department of Social Services to exchanging information exclusively with state-level entities, departing from current practices that include local agency partnerships. The legislation narrows the scope of shared data to information specifically needed for outreach, benefit enrollment, and measuring program impacts.

The bill delineates specific categories of state entities authorized to participate in data sharing, including departments focused on health and human services, education, housing, corrections, and veterans' services. Notable among the changes is the explicit exclusion of agencies involved with employment and financial well-being from these data-sharing arrangements. To oversee these modified protocols, the Department of Social Services must designate an executive-level employee to report directly to the Director on implementation progress.

These amendments to the Welfare and Institutions Code maintain existing federal compliance requirements while establishing more defined parameters around information exchange. The changes affect how state agencies coordinate CalFresh services, particularly in areas of program administration and participation tracking. Local entities previously involved in data sharing would no longer have access to these information-sharing channels under the revised framework.