The state budget is an important moral statement of what we value as a state and where our priorities lie. CDF-CA believes we must invest in quality child care, health care, education, nutritious food and other programs that help create a level playing field for all children. At a time when one in five California children lives in poverty and millions of California children are unable to read or do math at grade level, we cannot afford to make additional cuts to investments in children and further damage an already tattered safety net.

Governor Releases "May Revision" of Budget Proposal

On May 14, Governor Jerry Brown released the May Revision to his 2013-14 budget proposal. Read CDF-CA's response to the Governor's proposal. For more information on the May Revision, read an analysis from the California Budget Project.

Fact Sheet on California Budget Cuts to Children Over the Past Five Years

CDF-CA's new fact sheet, "Slashing Children from the Budget: California Budget Cuts to Children Over the Past Five Years," shows how budget cuts over the past five years have impacted poor children and California must begin to restore those devastating cuts and rebuild the social safety net.

Governor Releases 2013-14 Budget Proposal

On January 10, Governor Brown released his proposed 2013-14 budget, which reflects a 5 percent increase in spending for a total budget of $97.7 billion, with a $1 billion reserve. The Governor’s proposed budget includes increased funding levels for K-12 schools and higher education. The Governor has also upheld his commitment to moving forward with implementation of the Affordable Care Act in California by including the federally funded expansion of Medi-Cal coverage beginning in 2014.

Though the Governor’s budget does not include significant cuts to education, health care, and social services like we have seen in recent years, the budget proposal fails to restore severe cuts to children’s programs or start the process of repairing the state’s tattered safety net. While California’s fiscal outlook is improving, many of the state’s children and families continue to struggle in the wake of the economic downturn and devastating budget cuts over the past five years to programs serving our most vulnerable children.

CDF-CA urges the Governor and the Legislature to develop a final budget that reinvests in California’s children to promote economic growth and secure the future of our state.

See below for a CDF-CA presentation on children in the state budget, and learn more about how the Governor's proposed budget would affect children's programs and services, including education, health care, and social services.

This California Budget Project summary has more information on what is included in the budget. Please check back here for additional updates and information about how the budget affects California children.

Governor Signs Final 2012-13 Budget

The budget signed by the Governor includes major reductions in a number of critical areas affected children, including CalWORKs, child care and child health. While many of the reductions to health and human services were smaller than those originally proposed by the Governor, the cuts will still be devastating to children and families in California.

The final budget eliminates the state's successful Healthy Families Program, and shifts all 900,000 children in to the Medi-Cal program. Read the 100% Campaign press release on the final budget deal.

Children and the Governor’s 2012-13 May Revise Budget Proposal

On May 14th, Governor Jerry Brown released his May Revision of the 2012-13 budget proposal.  The May Revision continues to put children as risk by making substantial spending cuts to services for children and families, including CalWORKs cash assistance, child care and development, child health programs and services for children with disabilities.

The governor continues to propose an tax initiative for the November 2012 election that would generate $5.6 billion in increased revenues.  If voters reject the ballot initiative, it would automatically trigger an additional $6.1 billion in mid-year spending cuts, including $5.5 billion in trigger cuts to public education and $500 million in trigger cuts to higher education.

Read more about how the governor's May Revise would impact children and families.

How the Governor’s 2012-13 Budget Proposal Would Affect California Children

On January 5th, Governor Jerry Brown released a 2012-13 budget proposal that contains large spending cuts to health and human services, child care, and other vital safety net services for children and families. The governor’s proposed cuts would put California children at risk at a time when the state’s families are already struggling. The budget proposal will cost the state more in the long run by continuing to disinvest in California’s children.

CalWORKs

The governor's budget proposal would cut CalWORKs cash assistance and welfare-to-work services for families by $946 million and substantially restructure the program. The proposal would implement a 15 percent reduction to child-only grants and shorten the time limit for benefits from 48 months to 24 months for families not meeting federal work requirements.  Learn more about CalWORKs

Child Care and Development

The governor's budget proposal would cut child care and development programs for low-income children by $517 million. The cuts would eliminate 62,000 child care and development slots by lowering the income eligibility limit for families and making cuts to providers. The proposal would also require families to meet work participation requirements to qualify for child care assistance. Learn more about child care and development

Children's Health Programs

The governor's budget proposal would transition all of the 875,000 children receiving health coverage in the Healthy Families program to Medi-Cal.  Such a transition could undermine access to care for those children, meaning that parents might not be able to get a doctor for their child when they need one.  The governor would also  reduce the rates paid to providers in Healthy Families by nearly 26 percent.  Lower rates may lead to fewer health plans and providers willing to provide coverage and care to Healthy Families children.  Learn more about children's health programs

K-12 Education

The budget also calls for $5.4 billion trigger cuts, predominately to K-12 education and higher education, if voters reject the proposed tax increases that Governor Brown is trying to place on the November ballot. Learn more about K-12 education

Other Programs Affecting Children

The governor's budget proposals also makes cuts or policy changes to higher education, services for children with disabilities and youth corrections.  Learn more about other programs affecting children

 Resources on the California Budget

The California Budget Project has published several resources on how the California budget affects children and families.

Measuring Up: The Social and Economic Context of the Governor’s Proposed 2012-13 Budget - This chartbook provides the background to the state’s current budget problems. State revenues fell sharply during the Great Recession, and tax cuts and a growing aging population have contributed to the current problems in the state’s budget. California’s budget crisis has been longer and deeper than those of other states, and full recovery still remains a long way off. This publication reviews the different components of the Governor’s budget proposal: temporary tax increase, stabilize school spending, deep cuts to CalWORKS, deep cuts to child care, and deep cuts to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families

California’s Public Schools Have Experienced Deep Cuts in Funding Since 2007-08 - This brief fact sheet shows the impacts of reductions in general purpose and categorical funds for public schools between 2007-08 and 2010-11. Lawmakers reduced the annual funding level for K-12 education by $7.0 billion, from $50.3 billion in 2007-08 to $43.4 billion in 2010-11 – a 13.8 percent drop. Schools have closed budget gaps caused by state spending cuts by reducing instructional days, eliminating programs such as high school class reduction and summer school, and cutting back on the teachers they employ.

Playing with our Future: Key Facts about California’s Child Care and Development Programs in the Aftermath of the Great Recession - This publication provides details to the economic uncertainty children in poverty and their families continue to face in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and shows how the recession has hit single mothers and their children the hardest. California’s child care programs are effective ways to assist families with parents who are working, looking for work, or participating in a vocational training program in the hard economic times. There have already been many cuts to childcare and preschool programs in recent years, and the Governor’s is proposing additional cuts to affordable and accessible child care and preschool programs.

Cuts and Consequences: Key Facts about the CalWORKS Program in the Aftermath of the Great Recession - This publication shows how poverty and unemployment have increased dramatically as a result of the Great Recession. Single mothers and their children have been hit the hardest by the recession, and women have not shared equally in California’s modest job gains. The CalWORKS program is a key safety net for low-income families with children, especially in this time of slow economic recovery. However, the Governor proposes to cut state spending by $985 million in 2012-13 by restructuring the CalWORKs Program. The proposal reduces parents’ access to welfare-to-work services from 48 to 24 months and shifts most families to a new Child Maintenance Program, which sharply reduces cash assistance for children.

 Upcoming Budget Hearings

 The Legislature needs to hear from you about how the proposed budget cuts would affect children and families in your communities.  If you are interested in attending an upcoming budget hearing, please contact Michele Stillwell-Parvensky at mstillwellparvensky@childrensdefense.org. 

 Share Your Story

If you, your child, or a child in your community would be affected by the proposed cuts to CalWORKs, children’s health, child care, or other state programs, and you would be willing to share your story with the legislature and the media to fight the proposed cuts, please Michele Stillwell-Parvensky at mstillwellparvensky@childrensdefense.org.