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H.R.1 could shift CalFresh costs to Yolo County; staff warn a —ew options— could be costly or reduce caseload
Summary
HHSA briefed the board on how H.R.1 federal changes would increase county administrative share for CalFresh and presented three budget scenarios, including a 'do-nothing' option that could cut the program budget and remove roughly one-third of recipients from the rolls.
Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) officials told supervisors on Jan. 13 that federal changes under the federal "H.R. 1" framework will materially change CalFresh eligibility rules, create additional administrative work, and shift more of the programs administrative cost burden to counties.
"CalFresh is a federal entitlement administered at the county level," HHSA Deputy Director Sue Amua said. Under the cost-share assumptions staff used, the countys portion of CalFresh administrative costs would increase from 15% to 22.5% starting Oct. 2026.
HHSA staff presented three scenarios: (A) a 'maximized' CalFresh budget that preserves and expands services would raise the county share to about $3.7 million (an increase of roughly $1.8 million versus current county contribution); (B) carrying forward todays level of service under the new cost shares would increase county costs by about $950,000; and (C) doing nothing (keeping county contribution flat) would shrink the overall CalFresh budget from about $12.7 million to $8.5 million and could reduce caseload by roughly one-third — an estimated 8,400 people.
"We estimate that we could lose a third of our caseload, approximately 8,400 individuals," Amua said when staff described the 'do-nothing' scenario.
Staff noted CalFresh operations are labor-intensive: the program currently depends on roughly 73 FTEs (65 after salary-savings assumptions) to staff four service locations and an extensive call center. A maximized scenario would add two teams of eligibility staff (about 16 workers plus two supervisors) focused on outreach and processing.
Supervisors asked about which populations would be most affected. Staff said the largest impacts would fall on able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) and certain immigrant groups, and that the state has already signaled some immigrant categories (refugees, asylees, battered noncitizens) could lose eligibility under the federal changes.
HHSA emphasized uncertainty: federal litigation and the states final implementation and budget response may change the countys exposure. The agency said it will include CalFresh options in upcoming budget materials and requested further direction from the board; staff also said they have planned outreach meetings with partners, including UC Davis, to discuss support and possible cost-sharing.
Ending: HHSA will return during budget season with formal budget requests and scenarios for board consideration, and staff recommended at minimum considering investments to hold baseline access steady rather than allowing a mass reduction in recipients.
