Report Child Poverty and the Social Safety Net in California By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Sep 29, 2014 Because economic hardship is associated with a host of adverse outcomes, particularly for children, policies that can give children a better start in life are especially important. This report focuses on measuring material hardship among children across the state. Using the California Poverty Measure—which accounts for both family earnings and safety net resources and adjusts for work expenses and housing costs—we find that one-quarter of California’s children are in poverty. An additional 26 percent of children live in households that are "near poor,” or somewhat above what is often referred to as the poverty line. In short, about half of California’s children are poor or near-poor. Poverty rates, earnings, and the role of safety net resources all vary by region. But most poor children live in "working poor” families, with one or more working adults. And, without resources from the social safety net—which includes the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, CalFresh (California’s food stamp program), CalWORKs (California’s welfare program), and housing subsidies—there would be far more children in poverty throughout California.
blog post Is California the Poorest State? By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Sep 29, 2014 One poverty measure ranked California as the poorest state in the U.S. But according to the latest official estimates, 16 states had higher poverty rates. How do we make sense of this?
Report Key Factors in California’s Jail Construction Needs By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin May 7, 2014 Now that California has shifted responsibility for many criminal offenders to the counties, county jail systems face greater capacity challenges. This report highlights two important factors in addressing jail capacity constraints: aging jail facilities and long-term needs. We show that a number of facilities are old and likely in need of costly updates or replacement and that growth in the state’s population is likely to exert significant pressure on the county jail system. Our analysis suggests that a thoughtful combination of further jail construction and decreased reliance on incarceration is needed, given the magnitude of the current and future jail needs.
blog post Testimony: Funding to Promote Drought Resilience By Ellen Hanak Mar 27, 2014 PPIC senior fellow Ellen Hanak gave the Assembly Budget Subcommittee for Resources and Transportation an overview of state and federal emergency drought funding and suggested other fiscal measures that the legislature should consider to make California more drought resilient.
blog post Testimony: Poverty and the Safety Net By Sarah Bohn Feb 27, 2014 PPIC research fellow Sarah Bohn testified Wednesday before the Assembly Budget Subcommittee for Health and Human Services. She described recent poverty trends and the impact of anti-poverty programs in California.
blog post Testimony: Measuring Poverty in California By Sarah Bohn Jan 8, 2014 On the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's declaration of a "War on Poverty," the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee held a hearing about California's food stamp program, known as CalFresh.
Report CalWORKs in Transition By Caroline Danielson Mar 20, 2012 In recent years, California policymakers have made a number of cuts to major safety net programs to help balance the state budget—even as hard economic times have meant that increasing numbers of Californians are relying on government assistance. The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program (CalWORKs) has been one of the most affected.1 Since 2009, CalWORKs has seen a number of cuts, some intended to be short-lived, and others that, arguably, are reshaping the program piece by piece. In his January 2012 budget proposal, Governor Brown advocated significant additional cuts. These recent and proposed changes raise questions about the program’s goals going forward.
press release Many Families Rise Above Poverty Line After Leaving Welfare, But Conditions for Others Are Bleak Sep 11, 2003
