Smith v. L.A. County Bd. of Supervisors

104 Cal. App. 4th 1104 (2002) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55069

Description

Pilot Project Requiring Home Visits as Condition of Eligibility for Public Benefits Does Not Violate State or Federal Law

Abstract

The California Court of Appeal held that a pilot project subjecting public aid applicants in Los Angeles to home visits as a condition of eligibility did not violate state or federal law. Petitioners, applicants for and recipients of public aid, filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the program. Petitioners claimed that defendant county had created an unauthorized condition of eligibility and that the pilot project violated state requirements for early fraud prevention and detection and state and federal constitutional requirements for welfare-related home searches or administrative searches. The trial court found that home visits completed, on average, in 30-45 minutes, were an effective means to discover welfare ineligibility quickly and did not violate state law. Petitioners appealed. Affirming, the appellate court held that the home visit pilot project was a method of ensuring eligibility that did not conflict with statute or regulation. The appellate court rejected the argument that the program was an early fraud prevention and detection program in violation of state law. That eligibility workers were to be alert to untruthful statements in an application for benefits did not make the home visit an investigation. Also rejecting petitioners’ claims under the Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution, the appellate court found the government interest in reducing welfare fraud to be great and the intrusion on applicants’ personal privacy to be minimal.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiff/appellant represented by Robert Newman, Western Center on Law and Poverty, 3701 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213.487.7211)
Docket Date
2002-12-26 00:00:00+00:00

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