Tagged With "CA budget"
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2019 Economics of Child Abuse in Mendocino County
Mendocino recently shared 2019 data related to the economic impacts of child abuse. The attached documents are in a printable format.
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4CA 2019 Year in Review - CA children’s state policy advances.
On behalf of the CA Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) backbone team (Center for Youth Wellness, Children Now and ACEs Connection), we want to give a hearty thank you to the advocates and champions across the state for advancing child-friendly policy and legislation in California in 2019. Here are some examples of what was accomplished this year: More than 730 organizations signed on to the Family Urgent Response System (FURS) budget letter in support of a 24/7 statewide hotline...
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August 29 Children’s Advocacy Institute Hosts Roundtable Discussions
The Children's Advocates Roundtable , established in 1990, is an affiliation of over 200 statewide and regional children's policy organizations, representing over twenty issue disciplines (e.g., child abuse prevention, child care, education, poverty, housing, juvenile justice). The Roundtable is convened by the Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI), and is committed to providing a setting where statewide and locally-based children's advocates gather with advocates from other children's issue...
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Board of State and Community Corrections Awards Grants for Youth Diversion
SACRAMENTO – (June 13, 2019) The Board of State and Community Corrections approved two grants worth millions of dollars for programs designed to prevent young people from entering the justice system or from furthering their involvement in it. Just over $1 million was awarded to Native American tribes, and $29.1 million was awarded to cities and counties. Preference points for the larger grant were given to local governments who also plan to serve Native American youth. The Youth Reinvestment...
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Breaking the Silence on Early Child Care and Education Costs: A Values-Based Budget for Children, Parents, and Teachers in California
By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...
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Budget Breakdown: Money For Diversion, Probation, Reform, And More [witnessla.com]
By Taylor Walker, Witness LA, January 14, 2020 On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his plans for the 2020-2021 budget, a $222.2 billion proposal that features important changes to probation and pretrial diversion, jail reforms, and a potential prison closure, among other big changes in the world of justice. Below, WitnessLA has compiled some of the highlights from the governor’s proposed criminal justice spending. Based on Newsom’s January budget proposal, spending for the...
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Budget Hearing on Trauma Screening (Assembly Bill 340)
Our state is leading the way in addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)! This year, California will become the first state to require and pay for ACEs screening for children under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program, per recommendations from the Trauma Screening Advisory Workgroup created as part of Assembly Bill 340 . The Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services hearing on Monday, February 25th will discuss the recommendations from the AB 340...
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Budget realities challenging California school districts’ restorative justice programs [EdSource]
By David Washburn, July 1, 2019 Legions of California educators have been trained in recent years in restorative justice, which is no longer considered an obscure alternative to traditional school discipline. Yet even in districts with well-established programs, finding and keeping funding for it remains a challenge. Earlier this year, for example, the Oakland Unified School District board approved a package of austere budget cuts that appeared to have dismantled the district’s program,...
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Budget Recommendations for ACEs Screening (AB340) Implementation
ACEs Screening (AB340) implementation recommendations presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on February 25
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CA Governor's 2020-21 Budget Proposal Summary
Governor Newsom proposed his 2020-21 budget on Friday. Here are some highlights from the perspective of support for children and families from Children Now. See attached for the full summary report that summarizes funding related to child welfare, health, K- 12 education, early childhood, emergency preparedness and response, and adverse childhood experiences. The Governor’s budget proposes a number of initiatives, investments, and restructuring to transform the health care system to better...
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AB 494 (BERMAN) SIGNED: CALFRESH ACCESS SIMPLIFIED IN RECOGNITION OF HOUSING CRISIS [CAFB]
By Becky Gershon, July 16, 2019 for California Food Bank Association The law will help Californians, especially newly eligible SSI recipients, quickly access & maximize CalFresh benefits. On July 12 th , Governor Newsom signed into law AB 494 – authored by anti-hunger champion Assemblymember Marc Berman. The California Association of Food Banks was a co-sponsor of this legislation, in partnership with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, and the Coalition of California Welfare Rights...
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ACEs Aware Grant Application Update [acesaware.org]
From ACEs Aware, May 21, 2020 Dear Colleagues, Thank you for your ongoing interest in our ACEs Aware grants process. We have completed the grant application review and scoring process and have selected a group of finalists that will be considered in the final stage of the grant award process. Being a finalist is not a guarantee of funding. The final funding determination, in terms of how many organizations will receive funding and how much, will be determined after the state budget is...
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Adult Reentry Grant Program (ARG): Proposals due November 1st.
The Adult Reentry Grant (ARG) Program was established through the Budget Act of 2018 (Senate Bill 840, Chapter 29, Statute of 2018) and appropriated $50,000,000 in funding for competitive awards to community-based organizations to support offenders formerly incarcerated in state prison. The Budget Act requires that funding be allocated as follows: -$25 million be for rental assistance; -$9.35 million to support the warm handoff and reentry of offenders transitioning from prison to...
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All too often, California’s default mental institutions are now jails and prisons (calmatters.org)
Perhaps nowhere is California’s mental health crisis more evident than in its criminal justice system. After decades of failure to create and fund policies that effectively help people with serious mental illnesses, many now say the jails and prisons have become the state’s default mental institutions. Close to a third of California’s inmates have a documented serious mental illness, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A few decades ago, fewer than half...
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Amador County builds community college pipeline for mental health workers (calmatters.org)
Amador, along with a handful of other counties, is leveraging state funding to grow the ranks of peer mental health providers. The scholarship program relies on workforce development funds from California’s Mental Health Services Act, which established a millionaire’s tax for mental health prevention and intervention in 2004. Monterey and San Bernardino counties also use the funds to train community members with real-life experience, with the goal of hiring them in county-run mental health...
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An opportunity to shape the Children's Bill of Rights in California
The ACEs/Resilient Sacramento community is ideal for providing insightful feedback about the needs of California's children!
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As California Moves to Screen Children for Childhood Trauma, Poverty Has To Be Part of the Equation
In California, we are coming full circle in recognizing the connection between poverty and health.
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As Newsom rethinks juvenile justice, California reconsiders prison for kids (calmatters.org)
Though it’s not on the parchment, Moreno, 21, earned his Johanna Boss High School diploma over the past two years at a state prison for juveniles in Stockton. And as one of fewer than 800 remaining youths in the custody of the soon-to-be-shuttered juvenile division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he said, that accomplishment—behind razor wire—was more than just a step toward a future job or a rite of passage. “Being the first one [in the family] to graduate,”...
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Cal WORKs Training Academy: Compassion Fatigue
Front-line and case workers for the TANF program (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) are at high risk for compassion fatigue. They hear approximately 30 stories of trauma, abuse and hardship each day. Complaints from workers vary from “How many stories of torture will have to I hear.” “It feels like I am spitting at a forest fire.” “After 12 years in the field, I am now on blood pressure medication.” This year the Cal WORKs Training Academy featured a workshop on compassion fatigue...
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CalEITC 101: Expanded State Tax Credit Puts Cash into the Pockets of California’s Transition-Age Youth
John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) invites you to partner with us in 2020 to support youth in care with filing taxes and claiming the expanded CalEITC. This webinar will include the California Franchise Tax Board and discuss strategies to help transition-age youth access the CalEITC. Description: In the 2019-2020 budget, the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), a cash-back tax credit that puts money back into the pockets of California’s working families and individuals, was...
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California Allocates $1 Million to Improve Mental Health of Native American Youth (calhealthreport.org)
While mental health resources for Native American youth are sparse throughout California, the state has taken a modest step to support Albers and his peers by earmarking more than $1 million for Native American youth as part of the first-ever statewide Youth Reinvestment Fund. The fund, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into the 2018-19 budget, aims to keep vulnerable youth populations out of the criminal justice system by instead supporting more community and health interventions. While there...
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California Child Welfare Policy and Progress, Winter Issue [Insight]
The California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership Report This issue of in sights provides an overview of the latest legislative developments in California, including data and perspectives on the policy and practice transformation taking place with the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Beyond a comprehensive summary of child welfare state legislation, this issue also includes a discussion on the key provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The issue concludes with...
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Coronavirus Complicates The Budget Picture for California Lawmakers [capradio.org]
By Nicole Nixon, CapRadio, March 27, 2020 There are a lot of uncertainties over the coronavirus, but for California lawmakers, one thing remains the same: Their constitutional mandate to pass a budget by June 15. Asm. Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said lawmakers will “absolutely” meet that deadline, though the budget will likely look “very different” than the $222 billion proposal Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out in January. Ting chairs the Assembly’s budget committee. While the governor proposed...
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California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative’s “Enhancing the Collective Vision” Slides Are Available and Opportunity to Participate in an Orientation Webinar
The California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative convened more than 65 stakeholders on Friday, July 12, 2019 to assess the current state of collective action around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); align EfC Initiative goals and project interventions with existing efforts; identify mutually reinforcing activities; and establish a collective agreement on how to strategically promote Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships, and Environments (SSNR&E), to prevent and reduce child...
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California Is Giving Doctors Incentives To Ask Patients About Childhood Trauma [capradio.org]
By Sammy Caiola, Capital Public Radio, December 9, 2019 California health officials want children and adults on Medi-Cal to get screened for traumatic childhood events that can cause negative health effects down the line. Now the state has started giving doctors and nurses tools to do the screenings. People who experience adversity early in life have much higher chances of substance abuse, depression, or chronic diseases than their peers, according to national research. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s...
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California Legislative Update – Fall 2019
Five of the bills that the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) was tracking this legislative session were signed or incorporated into law! They are: Assembly Bill 741 (Kalra), which requires the Department of Health Care Services to provide trainings for personnel who administer trauma screenings in a pediatric or primary care providing setting for children in Medi-Cal. The substance of this bill was included in the Governor’s May Revise budget, and funded at $50 million...
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Webinar readies doctors for universal ACEs screening in Ca and beyond
Editor’s note: Governor Gavin Newsom set aside federal funds and funds through Proposition 56 that will reimburse health care providers for screening patients in the Medi-Cal program for trauma beginning July 1 using the CPT code 96160. Notably the Department of Health Care Services recommended in March that only California providers using the PEARLS tool to screen pediatric patients will be reimbursed. ACEs Connection has made repeated public records requests for public comments submitted...
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Webinar Registration Reminder: Moving to universal ACEs screening: Findings from a CA advisory group on screening children for trauma
On April 23rd, 2019 from 12:00pm-1:30pm PST the National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC) , an initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness, will be hosting a webinar to support efforts to screen all children for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and additional adversities. This webinar will summarize the findings of a state advisory group assigned to review tools and protocols for screening children for trauma, and provide an introduction to two tools the advisory group...
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Webinar: Understanding the Local Control Funding Formula for Schools [Children Now]
On September 21, over 160 people attended a webinar to help local organizations better understand the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) process. The webinar included key information for local groups about LCFF funding for every school district in the state and advice on how to make an impact in district budget decision-making. To view the webinar go HERE
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Who Can Afford Rent in California's Many Regions [chpc.net]
By California Housing Partnership, October 2019 The California Housing Partnership has regularly documented the severity of the housing affordability crisis that affects every county in the State. As the crisis has deepened in recent years, more and more families have been affected, leading some State leaders— particularly those from higher cost coastal areas—to consider investing scarce resources to help the “missing middle” afford housing. As planning for a new budget and legislative cycle...
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Why Jerry Brown is a criminal justice visionary (SanDiegoUnionTribune.com)
Gov. Jerry Brown may not want to discuss his legacy just yet, but he is a visionary on criminal justice reform as he used his State of the State speech this week to underscore. He is the first California governor to realize the self-defeating folly of governments routinely ruining the salvageable lives of so many people by locking them up for so long. Brown noted that the state incarcerates nearly three times as many people per capita now than it did in 1970 — while spending nearly three...
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Why the Nation Should Screen All Students for Trauma Like California Does [theconversation.com]
By Sunny Shin, The Conversation, November 18, 2019 As the first person to hold the new role of Surgeon General of California, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is pushing an unprecedented plan to implement universal screenings for childhood trauma within the state’s schools. Childhood trauma is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as an “emotionally painful or distressful” event that “often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” Burke Harris’ plan is already more than a dream:...
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ACEs Science Champions Series: Why this financial coach integrates ACEs-based training
In foreground, Dr. Donielle Prince (l) and Saundra Davis (r) ____________________________ Saundra Davis, a financial coach and consultant who trains other coaches on building resilience among the working poor, knew she had met her partner in helping people deal with their “money disorders” when she first met Dr. Donielle Prince in Sacramento at a black women’s gathering in 2015. Dr. Prince works with ACEs Connection as its San Francisco Bay Area regional community facilitator. She also...
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Will state budget deal include expanded ban on 'willful defiance' suspensions? (edsource.org)
A proposal to expand California’s ban on “willful defiance and disruption” suspensions in early elementary grades — so it includes all grades K-12 — is expected to be a topic of discussion as state lawmakers and the governor’s office work to hammer out a final budget deal. This issue could be part of the budget talks for two reasons. First, Gov. Jerry Brown surprised youth and civil rights advocates working on the issue by including an extension of the current law , which only covers grades...
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Windfall for California K-12 schools, more spending from early to higher ed in Newsom's first budget [edsource.org]
School districts laboring under higher mandated expenses would receive a surprise windfall — pension-cost relief — in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first proposed state budget for 2019-20, which will also provide big spending increases for early and higher education. Using surplus money from the state’s General Fund, Newsom would wipe out $3 billion of districts’ rising obligations to CalSTRS, the pension fund for teachers and administrators, including $350 million each of the next two fiscal years.
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Women’s Well-Being Index, interactive map [California Budget and Policy Center]
California Women's Well-Being Index In Partnership With the Women's Foundation of California Women's Well-Being Index: Overall When women thrive, their families and communities prosper . Yet despite decades of progress, women still face persistent disparities on a range of issues, from economic security to health to participation in political leadership. By viewing women’s well-being as encompassing various distinct yet interrelated components, policymakers, advocates, service providers, and...
Ask the Community
Anyone using MHSA or other funds in innovative ways to address ACEs or trauma?
Question: Please share examples of innovative uses of existing funding to address ACEs and trauma. For example, Mental Health Services Act has a funding category called "Innovative Projects" which might be a way to fund ACEs and trauma related efforts. Are you aware of any CA communities that have found ways to utilize MHSA or other funds in unexpected ways - that have the potential of addressing trauma and ACEs? See below and attached for more background re MHSA. Background: The CA...
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Sign-On Today to Ensure Children are Prioritized in the 2020-21 State Budget [childrennow.org]
The spread of COVID-19 is impacting everyone, and every corner of life, but it is particularly devastating for children and families that were in crisis before this pandemic, including far too many kids who were not receiving the supports and services they needed before this pandemic began. These programs are now even more essential to ensuring our collective future. Governor Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal outlines dire budget cuts to early childhood, education, health and child...
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Solano County's (CA) ACEs initiative, a robust community effort, makes room for input from all
In a house called “Johanna’s House” on a tree-lined side street in Vallejo, Calif., four women are filling out the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) survey given to them by Maria Guevara, the founder of Vallejo Together, an organization that serves homeless residents in Vallejo. The house was named for Johanna Dilag, a homeless woman who was found dead along with her dog.
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State Coordinated Care for Young People in California Suffering from Psychosis
For Young People With Psychosis, Early Intervention Is Crucial B y Brian Rinker November 6, 2019, Kaiser Health News Andrew Echeguren, 26, had his first psychotic episode when he was 15. He was working as an assistant coach at a summer soccer camp for kids when the lyrics coming out of his iPod suddenly morphed into racist and homophobic slurs, telling him to harm others — and himself. Echeguren fled the soccer camp and ran home, terrified the police were on his heels. He tried to explain to...
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State Dropping Ball in Dealing With Childhood Trauma, New Report Says [CaliforniaHealthline.org]
The lowest of 31 grades issued in the 2016 California Children's Report Card released on Wednesday was for dealing with the effects of childhood trauma. In Children Now's biennial assessment of the status of California kids, researchers gave the state a "D-" for how it deals with childhood trauma. The report contends that children who experience traumatic problems such as abuse, neglect and witnessing violence at home can suffer serious long-term consequences, including health...
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RYSE Center's Listening Campaign: Young people in Richmond, CA help adults understand trauma, violence, coping, and healing
"My experience with violence is very brutal...I grew up with violence as if it were my sibling." - LC participant (youth) "We know we can't run the city- it's too complex- but our experience and our voices should count, especially because we're the most effected ." - LC participant (youth) "Our city's problems are shared by us all; we are all part of the problem AND the solution. Listening is a key component to healing." - LC Share Out partici pant (adult) Three years ago, RYSE Center in...
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Santa Barbara County taking steps to reduce juvenile incarceration (santamariatimes.com)
A snapshot of 597 juveniles placed under probation supervision in Santa Barbara County in 2017 shows 53 were incarcerated in juvenile hall, a number 38 percent higher than the average in nearby counties. The reason, according to Probation Department officials, is that the county uses fewer alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders than comparable counties like San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Ventura. Incarcerating misdemeanor offenders, and exposing them to serious,...
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Santa Cruz County seeks funds for Nurse-Family Partnership for first-time moms in poverty [SantaCruzSentinel.com]
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors wants to bet on early intervention to help women living in poverty and pregnant with their first baby to narrow the gap with more advantaged peers. The Nurse-Family Partnership , a model used in 43 states and 551 counties, pairs women three months into a pregnancy with a nurse who makes 64 home visits through the childs second birthday. The nurse provides education on nutrition, child development and parenting at a critical time for babies and...
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Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health & Human Services Hearing and Discussion of the Office of the Surgeon General’s Request for $10 Million to Develop a Cross-Sector Training Program and Public Awareness Campaign for Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Budget committees in the California Legislature are currently considering the proposals in the Governor’s January budget and receiving input from advocates and stakeholders. TOMORROW, March 12, the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health & Human Services will hold a hearing starting at 9:30am (or upon adjournment of the floor session) in room 4203 of the State Capitol. The agenda can be found here . Starting on page 8 of the agenda, you’ll see discussion of the Office of the Surgeon...
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Senate HELP Committee schedules hearing on April 11 on draft opioid bill with key provisions addressing trauma and seeks stakeholder comments
Key provisions that are closely aligned with sections the Heitkamp-Durbin “Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 774)” are included in opioid legislation that is advancing in the U.S. Senate. A draft bill, “The Opioid Crisis Response Act,” is the subject of a hearing on Wednesday, April 11 in the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee and a mark-up of the legislation is expected over the next several weeks. Senator Heitkamp’s office highlighted three...
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Supporters Cheer Focus on Child Health and Wellbeing in Newsom’s Budget [calhealthreport.org]
Efforts to improve the health and education of California’s children would get a giant funding boost under Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget, a prospect that’s generating a swell of excitement among child advocacy groups. The governor’s first budget proposal, released Jan. 10, offers numerous supports aimed directly at bolstering childhood health, including $105 million to pay for developmental and mental health screenings for low-income children, almost $110 million to expand home visiting...
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Take Action to Ensure that Children are Prioritized in the 2020-21 State Budget
The spread of COVID-19 is impacting all of us and upending every aspect of our lives. It is particularly devastating, however, for vulnerable children and families that were in crises before this pandemic. Far too many kids are not receiving the critical supports and services they need, and these inequities are only being exacerbated by our current situation. Moreover, during the last economic downturn, it was child-serving programs that experienced the most dramatic cuts in California. We...
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Take Action to Ensure that Children are Prioritized in the 2020-21 State Budget [childrennow.org]
The spread of COVID-19 is impacting everyone, and every corner of life. It is particularly devastating for children and families that were in crises before this pandemic, including: Families with young children – the cohort of our state’s population most in poverty – who couldn’t access essential supports, including sufficient nutrition and quality child care and preschool; Children who were abused and neglected and/or witness to domestic violence; The majority of California students who...