Source: https://casetext.com/case/anderson-v-superior-court-16
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 12:18:03+00:00

Document:
Colleen Fahey Fearn, Anson B. Levitan and Kate Yavenditti for Petitioners.
David A. Niddrie and Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves Savitch for Respondent.
Petitioners Karen Anderson, Theresa Schommer, Mona Asuncion, Theresa Jacobo and Stacy Cope are custodial parents who receive aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) but are exempt from work requirements under federal and state welfare law. (1) (See fn. 2.) They contend the Family Law Division of the San Diego Superior Court lacks power and authority to disregard their exemptions and order them to initiate job searches or "voluntarily" enter the state workfare program. We conclude the court's procedure for imposing the job search orders violated the petitioners' due process rights. We therefore grant the petition for a peremptory writ of mandate and direct the superior court to vacate its job search orders. after the San Diego Superior Court ordered petitioners to initiate job searches.
As used in this opinion the term "workfare" generally describes programs authorized by state and federal statute to encourage unemployed welfare recipients to return to the work force. These programs typically involve counseling, job training, job search or placement, community service and various support services such as child care and reimbursement for transportation to and from work.
We briefly outline the different factual and procedural circumstances which brought each petitioner before the family law court.
Ms. Anderson appeared without counsel as a witness in a child support action initiated by the County of San Diego against her estranged husband to obtain reimbursement for aid Anderson receives for the benefit of the couple's four-year-old child. (County of San Diego v. Shedoudy, Super. Ct. No. D259450.) Anderson informed the court she was unemployed but registered as a full-time student at San Diego State University. She cares for her child and collects $535 per month from AFDC. Federal and state law exempt Anderson from requirements that she participate in California's work program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN), because she has a child under the age of six.
Based on Ms. Anderson's testimony, the court ordered her husband to pay $300 per month in child support to the Department of Revenue and Recovery. It also found that Anderson had not met her own support obligation by collecting AFDC. The court ordered her to engage in five job searches each week until she obtained a full-time job or, in the alternative, to voluntarily participate in GAIN.
Ms. Schommer appeared without counsel seeking a default dissolution of her nine-year marriage. (Schommer v. Schommer, Super. Ct. No. D244671.) In September 1988 she testified in a hearing to determine the amount of support to be paid by her husband for the couple's nine-year-old son.
Ms. Schommer informed the court that she collected AFDC in the amount of $535 per month, attended junior college full-time, worked part-time and reported all her earnings to welfare. Although required by statute to register for GAIN, she is not required to participate in the work program so long as she maintains satisfactory grades in the full-time self-initiated training program at junior college.
The court issued a final judgment of dissolution and ordered Mr. Schommer to pay $250 per month in child support directly to the Department of Revenue and Recovery. The court also found that Ms. Schommer was not meeting her obligation to provide support for her son by receiving AFDC assistance. It ordered her to engage in five job searches each week until she obtained a full-time job or, in the alternative, to voluntarily participate in GAIN.
A final judgment of dissolution entered in May 1978 required Ms. Asuncion's husband to pay $150 per month in spousal support and $150 per month in child support for the couple's two children. (Asuncion v. Asuncion, Super. Ct. No. D111253) In July 1988 Mr. Asuncion asked the court to terminate his spousal support obligation. At the hearing on the order to show cause the court inquired into the parents' abilities to provide support for their children.
Ms. Asuncion testified she was unemployed and received $663 per month in AFDC assistance on behalf of the two children fathered by Mr. Asuncion, now ages 13 and 15. She also informed the court she had a six-month-old child fathered by another man. The baby was regularly supported by its father and did not receive AFDC. Ms. Asuncion requested that she not be required to conduct a job search because she did not have the money to pay for babysitting.
The court ordered Mr. Asuncion to pay $300 per month in child support to the Department of Revenue and Recovery. It also found that Ms. Asuncion had not met her obligation to provide adequate support for her children. The court ordered Ms. Asuncion to conduct five job searches per week until she obtained employment or was otherwise excused from the job search requirement.
The Jacobo marriage ended with a final judgment of dissolution in August 1982. (Jacobo v. Jacobo, Super. Ct. No. D170929.) The court ordered Ms. Jacobo's husband to pay $200 per month in support of the couple's son.
The circumstances of Ms. Jacobo's July 12, 1988, appearance in family court are unclear. However, at that hearing she informed the court that she was the unemployed mother of two children, ages eight and three. She also stated she was receiving AFDC in the amount of $633 per month, but was exempt from workfare requirements because she had a child under the age of six.
It is also unclear from the record whether the three-year-old child was fathered by Jacobo's ex-husband. The 1982 petition for dissolution listed only one child of the marriage.
The court found that Jacobo was not meeting her obligation to provide support for her children by receiving AFDC and it was in the best interests of Ms. Jacobo and her two children for her to seek and obtain full-time employment. The court ordered Jacobo to conduct five job searches per week until she obtained employment or was otherwise excused from the job search requirement. In the alternative, the court provided that Ms. Jacobo could voluntarily participate in GAIN.
Ms. Cope filed for dissolution on December 3, 1987. (Cope v. Cope, Super. Ct. No. D251662.) Her husband did not appear at the August 2, 1988, hearing on child support and was ordered to pay $250 per month to the Department of Revenue and Recovery in support of the couple's three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Ms. Cope informed the court that she was unemployed and receiving $535 per month from AFDC. Cope is statutorily exempt from requirements to enroll in GAIN because she has a child under the age of six.
The court found that Ms. Cope was not meeting her obligation to provide support for her child by receiving AFDC and that it was in the best interests of Ms. Cope and her child for her to seek and obtain regular full-time employment. The court ordered her to perform five job searches per month until she obtained full-time employment or was otherwise excused from the job search requirement. She could, in the alternative, voluntarily participate in GAIN.
"1. Karen Anderson has a legal obligation to support her child.
"2. Karen Anderson has not met her obligation to support her child by receiving AFDC and failing to seek employment.
"3. As the Court has found that neither Karen Anderson nor the child is physically or mentally impaired, Karen Anderson has no legitimate reason for not seeking employment.
"4. It is in the best interests of Karen Anderson and her child for her to seek and obtain regular full-time employment.
"IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Karen Anderson engage in five job searches each week, commencing with the week of September 19, 1988, and present proof of her search to the Court on October 31, 1988, at 1:45 p.m., and that, absent obtaining full-time employment, she will be required to continue to seek employment and report to the Court on subsequent dates until she obtains a full-time job or is otherwise excused from the job search requirement by the Court; in the alternative to conducting the job search, Karen Anderson may voluntarily enroll in the AFDC GAIN program and present proof of such enrollment to the Court on October 31, 1988, at 1:45 p.m.
"IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this order shall be stayed until November 22, 1988, to allow Karen Anderson to seek appeal of this order to the Court of Appeal, . . ." The petition alleges that in the event the petitioners failed to appear to report on their job searches, the court would request the district attorney "to advise the welfare department that they [were] not cooperating and that their grants should therefore be reduced."
(2a) We begin by rejecting the respondent court's contention that the petitioners' claim for extraordinary relief is not properly before us. First, the court maintains the record is inadequate. It also asserts the petitioners failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before the Department of Social Services (DSS) and, in any event, have an adequate remedy at law through the ordinary appeal process. Finally, the court contends the petitioners' claims are premature because there is no evidence their AFDC benefits are in any immediate danger.
There is no basis for the court's assertion that the petitioners are required to exhaust their administrative remedies. Although the federal and state welfare scheme provides for a hearing procedure ( 42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(4) and (9); Welf. Inst. Code, §§ 10950 et seq. and 11320.65), these procedures are limited to appeals of adverse actions taken by DSS. DSS has no authority to review superior court orders.
The respondent court suggests that, apart from the question of whether there is an adequate remedy at law, the petition is not ripe for review until DSS acts to reduce the amount of petitioners' AFDC grant in response to the court's "noncooperative referral." We believe the job search orders themselves — not the referrals to the district attorney — have the potential to directly reduce the amount of petitioners' AFDC benefits and raise critical due process issues to be determined in this proceeding. Accordingly, we conclude petitioners' claims are not premature.
There is no provision for paid child care for job searches conducted apart from the GAIN program. (See Welf. Inst. Code, § 11320.3, subds. (e)(1) and (f).) Presumably, if petitioners are required to pay for child care in order to conduct the job searches ordered by the court, those costs will reduce the amount of AFDC benefits available for other family expenses.
(4a) It is well established that due process issues arise when an AFDC recipient's benefits may be adversely affected by state action. In Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) 397 U.S. 254 [25 L.Ed.2d 287, 90 S.Ct. 1011] the United States Supreme Court held that due process required timely and adequate notice and an effective opportunity to be heard before the state could terminate AFDC benefits. ( Id. at pp. 267-270 [25 L.Ed.2d at pp. 298-300].) "The opportunity to be heard must be tailored to the capacities and circumstances of those who are to be heard." ( Id. at pp. 268-269 [25 L.Ed.2d at pp. 299-300].) (5a) While we acknowledge that notice and the opportunity to be heard are not constitutionally required in cases where state action tangentially impacts AFDC recipients' right to collect benefits, we conclude the court's procedure was inadequate here.
(4b) Applying the Eldridge analysis, it is clear that AFDC benefits "are a matter of statutory entitlement for persons qualified to receive them" and termination of those benefits involves "important rights." ( Goldberg v. Kelly, supra, 397 U.S. at p. 262 [25 L.Ed.2d at p. 296].) (5b) In addition to having a significant private interest in avoiding reduction or termination of their AFDC benefits, the petitioners are also legitimately concerned with the effect of the job search orders on their ability to care for their preschool aged children or to attend school. Indeed, the historical exemption from participation in workfare programs is based on a policy decision by Congress that it is in the best interest of preschool age children to be cared for by a parent or relative.
The second Eldridge factor — the risk of erroneous deprivation — goes to the heart of the due process problem in this case. The court did not inform these custodial parents of their potential obligation to provide support in excess of that provided by the AFDC benefits before they appeared in family law court in matters pertaining to their former spouses' support obligations. Nor did the petitioners receive notice of the criteria employed by the court in determining who would be subject to the job search orders. Lacking timely and adequate notice, petitioners had no opportunity to prepare a defense against the court's action. Nor were the petitioners given an opportunity to seek advice of counsel. We reject the court's suggestion that the DSS handbook on child support provided the necessary notice regarding the court's job search program. Nowhere does the handbook mention a custodial parent's obligation to seek employment or face reduction or loss of AFDC benefits. Here the lack of notice creates a real risk that petitioners and others similarly situated will be unlawfully deprived of benefits to which they are entitled.
The third factor concerns the governmental interest, including consideration of the fiscal and administrative burdens an improved procedure would entail. Of course, the family law court is interested in ensuring adequate support for children following their parents' separation or dissolution of marriage. However, we question whether the court is properly concerned with taking affirmative action to carry out the purposes of AFDC in light of the structure of the federal and state welfare system and the clear designation of DSS as the single state agency to administer the program in California. In any event, these governmental interests would not be undermined by the requirement of adequate and timely notice. The court concedes that a remedial program could be implemented easily to provide the required notice and meaningful opportunity to be heard.
Much of the outrage expressed by the petitioners and others over the court's job search orders relates to the dignity interest recognized under the California Constitution. Without belaboring the point, we can understand how the court's actions here could be viewed as "unfair" and "arbitrary." At the very least it is counterproductive to require a custodial parent who is caring for a preschool child, attending college and/or working part-time to cease relying on AFDC benefits and find a full-time job. Consistent with the interest in fostering dignity and respect, legitimate efforts within AFDC guidelines to improve skills and education should be encouraged, not thwarted. We therefore hold that the court violated the petitioners' due process rights when it failed to provide adequate and timely notice of the family law procedure through which their AFDC benefits could be reduced or lost.
In reaching the conclusion that petitioners are entitled to due process protection, we reject the court's argument, based on Bowen v. Gilliard (1987) 483 U.S. 587 [97 L.Ed.2d 485, 107 S.Ct. 3008], that its job search order did not, in fact, adversely affect the petitioners' AFDC benefits. Gilliard involved definitional changes in the AFDC program which Congress enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. The court concluded Congress had the prerogative to define the scope of the entitlement program. ( Id. at pp. 604-605 [97 L.Ed.2d at p. 503, 107 S.Ct. 3019].) Here, in contrast, the court's job search orders were issued to persons Congress and the California Legislature specifically exempted from participation in workfare.
Let a peremptory writ of mandate issue directing the superior court to vacate its job search orders of October 11, 1988.
Todd, J., and Huffman, J., concurred.
I write this separate concurrence to an opinion I have authored for the court (see, e.g., Hawkins v. Superior Court (1978) 22 Cal.3d 584, 595 [ 150 Cal.Rptr. 435, 586 P.2d 916]) because I believe there are additional legal impediments to the superior court's authority under the federal and state statutory scheme to issue job search orders to custodial parents collecting aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) who are exempt from workfare requirements by virtue of state and federal welfare provisions.
Federal and state law establishes workfare requirements for persons receiving AFDC. However, both statutory schemes provide exemptions from job search requirements for certain AFDC recipients.
In my view there is nothing in the foregoing detailed description of the federal and state statutory welfare scheme which authorizes the family law division of the superior court to issue the job search orders to AFDC recipients who are exempt from workfare requirements. Only federal and designated state agencies have the authority to administer the AFDC program. I am unable to find any statutory authority for the imposition on custodial parents of the court's own conditions of AFDC eligibility which require those parents to initiate job searches or sign up for GAIN. Indeed, the federal statute and regulations limit the discretionary role of DSS within the scheme of "cooperative federalism" to a determination of the standard or need and level of benefits. Not even the state is authorized to establish its own conditions of eligibility.
I am also concerned here with the job search orders issued to Karen Anderson, Mona Asuncion, Theresa Jacobo and Stacy Cope which conflict with express exemptions from workfare set forth in 42 United States Code section 602(a)(19)(A)(v) and raise questions of federal preemption.
The court contends that pursuant to Civil Code sections 196, 206 and 242 parents must provide financial support for their minor children to the full extent of their ability. It says a parent's desire to pursue higher education or provide full-time care to children under school age is not sufficient to overcome the obligation to provide immediate financial support for the children. Although the Agnos Child Support Standards of 1984 establish the minimum mandatory amount of child support as the AFDC standard for the same number of children (Civ. Code, §§ 4720 and 4722), the court rejects any suggestion that a parent who receives AFDC has satisfied his or her support obligation under California law. In general the court argues there is a place within the AFDC scheme of cooperative federalism for state courts to foster the traditional state interest in domestic relations and that it has carried out its responsibilities in a manner consistent with the broad purposes of AFDC.
Civil Code section 196, subdivision (a) provides: "The father and mother of a child have an equal responsibility to support and educate their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances, taking into consideration the respective earnings or earning capacities of the parents."
Civil Code section 206 states: "It is the duty of the father, the mother, and the children of any person in need who is unable to maintain himself by work, to maintain such person to the extent of their ability."
Civil Code section 242 provides: "Every individual shall support his or her . . . child, . . . when in need."
I acknowledge the general principles of family law that both parents have an equal responsibility to support their minor children (Civ. Code, §§ 196 and 242), child support orders can be entered against either or both parents of a minor child (Civ. Code, § 4700, subd. (a); see State of Florida ex rel. Dept. of Health Rehabilitative Services v. Vernon (1982) 138 Cal.App.3d 827, 830-831 [ 188 Cal.Rptr. 322]), job search orders are authorized by statute for noncustodial parents (Civ. Code § 4709), and the court may consider either parent's ability to earn in fashioning a child support order (Civ. Code, § 4720, subd. (e)). However, here the obligation to support must be viewed in the context of federal welfare legislation. I believe the court's position in this case ignores the fundamental rule that "`in the absence of congressional authorization for the exclusion clearly evidenced from the Social Security Act or its legislative history, a state eligibility standard that excludes persons eligible for assistance under federal AFDC standards violates the Social Security Act and is therefore invalid under the Supremacy Clause.'" ( Carleson v. Remillard (1972) 406 U.S. 598, 600 [32 L.Ed.2d 352, 355, 453, 92 S.Ct. 1932], citing Townsend v. Swank (1971) 404 U.S. 282, 286 [30 L.Ed.2d 448, 453, 92 S.Ct. 502]; see also King v. Smith (1968) 392 U.S. 309 [20 L.Ed.2d 1118, 1125, 88 S.Ct. 2128].) The superior court cannot do what the state is prohibited from doing.
Civil Code section 4700, subdivision (a), states: "In any proceeding where there is at issue the support of a minor child or a child for whom support is authorized under Section 206, the court may order either or both parents to pay any amount necessary for the support, maintenance, and education of the child."
Civil Code section 4709 provides: "A court may require a parent who alleges that his or her default in an order issued pursuant to this title is due to his or her unemployment to submit to the appropriate child support enforcement agency or any other entity designated by the court, including, but not limited to, the court itself, each two weeks, or at a frequency deemed appropriate by the court, a list of at least five different places he or she has applied for employment.
Civil Code section 4720, subdivision (e) reads in part: "A parent's first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children according to the parent's circumstances and station in life. In this regard, the Legislature recognizes that a parent's circumstances and station in life are dependent upon a variety of factors, including his or her earned and unearned income; earning capacity, assets; and the income of his or her subsequent spouse or nonmarital partner, to the extent that the obligated parent's basic living expenses are met by the spouse or other person, thus increasing the parent's disposable income and therefore his or her ability to pay more than the mandatory minimum child support award established by this chapter."
Here it is helpful to note that Congress has made several important policy determinations which are reflected in the present welfare system as set forth in 42 United States Code section 601 et seq. These policy determinations reflect many of the concerns shared by the several states. With regard to exemptions from workfare requirements, Congress has expressed concern for the welfare of young children (see discussion, ante, at pp. 1333-1334) and decided that these children should be cared for by their parents or relatives until they reach sufficient maturity to function well in day care outside the home. Thus Congress enacted the specific exemption found in 42 United States Code section 602(a)(19)(A)(v).
This is not to say that the court must excuse all AFDC recipients from their support obligations. In County of Yolo v. Francis (1986) 179 Cal.App.3d 647 [ 224 Cal.Rptr. 585] the court properly ordered a noncustodial parent receiving AFDC to reimburse the county for support paid to his children by a former marriage. In contrast with the case before us, there is nothing in Yolo to suggest the defendant was otherwise exempt from work requirements.
Obviously comments which I have expressed are unnecessary to the disposition of this case and reflect only my personal view of the applicable law. My motivation to express my views is prompted not only to alert trial courts to the many difficult issues which must be hurdled if the court is desirous of entering a valid job search order following proper notice, but particularly appropriate here in light of the extensive briefing and argument on the issues which I have discussed.

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