Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Mar 26, 2014 Some findings of the current survey: The share of Californians naming water and drought as the state’s most important issue has risen 13 points since last March. A strong majority of Californians say the income gap in the U.S. is widening; six in 10 adults say the government should do more to reduce income inequality. A record-high 65 percent of adults say immigrants are a benefit to the state; there is bipartisan support for immigration reform. Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [PDF] Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] U.S. Congress [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [XLS] Governor Brown [XLS] California State Legislature [XLS] U.S. Congress [XLS] Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [PDF] Economic Outlook for California [PDF] General Direction of Things in the United States [PDF] Economic Outlook for the United States [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS] Economic Outlook for California [XLS] General Direction of Things in the United States [XLS] Economic Outlook for the United States [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.
Report How Living Wage Laws Affect Low-Wage Workers and Low-Income Families By David Neumark Mar 1, 2002 Since 1994, nearly 40 cities in the United States have passed living wage ordinances. These ordinances mandate that businesses under contract with the city, and in some cases businesses receiving assistance from the city, pay employees a wage sufficient to lift their families out of poverty. This report examines the actual experiences of cities implementing such laws, focusing in particular on the following questions: Do living wage laws raise wages for at least some low-wage workers? Are wage gains for low-wage workers offset by either reductions in employment or the amount of hours worked as employers seek to accommodate the additional labor costs? Do living wage laws achieve their stated policy objective of improving economic outcomes for low-income families? Do the laws reduce urban poverty? Given the stated antipoverty goal of living wage campaigns, why do the laws generally restrict coverage to city contractors, rather than imposing wage floors for broad groups of workers?
Occasional Paper, Report The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study By Sara McLanahan, Irwin Garfinkel, Maureen R. Waller Nov 1, 1999 Baseline report of survey data collected in Oakland, California, November 1999.
Report Climate Change Challenges: Vehicle Emissions and Public Health in California By Louise Bedsworth Mar 15, 2010 Motor vehicles are the leading source of both smog-forming and greenhouse gas emissions in California. This report examines several options for reducing motor vehicle emissions. It finds that the most promising choices for public health and climate change are also the most expensive and technologically uncertain. The authors look specifically at battery-electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, the use of ethanol blends in flex-fuel vehicles, and scenarios for reducing vehicle miles traveled. This report was funded in part by a grant from The California Wellness Foundation.
Report Low-Income Students and School Meal Programs in California By Caroline Danielson Mar 12, 2015 School nutrition programs help improve nutrition among vulnerable children. In so doing, they help build a better future for these children and the state. Now that California is implementing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), there is additional reason to make sure all students who are eligible for free or low-cost meals enroll in these programs. Along with English Learners and foster youth, low-income students—in other words, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals—are targeted for additional funds under the LCFF. This renewed focus on enrollment could also prompt further consideration of participation in school nutrition programs. This report looks at factors that might be linked to variations in student enrollment and participation in free or reduced-price meals. Not surprisingly, we find that districts with higher poverty rates identify higher levels of eligibility than wealthier districts. Low-income high school students appear to be enrolled at levels comparable to younger students, but students in elementary school districts are much more likely to participate in lunch programs than students in other types of districts. We also find that schools in districts with higher shares of foreign-born residents have modestly lower participation levels (but not identification of low-income students). Finally, we find evidence that schools with smaller enrollments are more successful than larger schools at identifying and serving low-income students. One way to further the goal of full enrollment among low-income students is to cut the large share of low-income students who must submit applications for free or reduced-price meals. Achieving this objective is arguably an important part of a larger state effort to integrate social safety net programs and services.
Report Sanctions and Time Limits in California’s Welfare Program By Deborah Reed, Caroline Danielson Apr 6, 2009 In an effort to boost the share of adults on welfare who work, the state has considered proposals to further reduce or eliminate payments to those receiving aid through CalWORKs—the state's welfare program for needy families—who don't work or seek work. This report examines possible effects of these stricter sanctions. The findings suggest that in general, the state's work participation rate could rise, the welfare caseload could shrink, and the poverty rate among children would not be greatly affected if stricter sanctions were adopted.
Occasional Paper, Report Fragile Families One Year Later: Oakland, California By Sara McLanahan, Irwin Garfinkel, Marcia Carlson, Maureen R. Waller Oct 1, 2002 This Occasional Paper updates and supersedes an Occasional Paper of the same name that was posted on the site in May 2002.
