blog post Financial Aid Applications for College Increase after New Law By Jacob Jackson May 3, 2023 Under a state law that aims to ensure graduating high school seniors seek financial aid, the number of potential first-time college students applying for assistance by the UC/CSU deadline increased 12% over the prior year.
blog post Pandemic-Era CalFresh Expansions Lifted Many Families Out of Poverty By Patricia Malagon, Tess Thorman May 2, 2023 Policy changes made during COVID broadened access to food assistance and increased benefit levels. We examine the impact on California families’ financial well-being.
Fact Sheet California’s Cash-Based Safety Net By Caroline Danielson May 1, 2023 Safety net programs that provide cash assistance help low-income Californians meet their basic needs. State and federal tax credits reach a large number of people, while programs that offer monthly payments provide a higher level of support to participants. This assistance keeps millions out of poverty—but not all who are eligible are enrolled.
blog post California’s Farmworkers and Their Children Are Vulnerable to Food Insecurity By Paulette Cha Apr 25, 2023 Farmworkers—90% of whom are immigrants—have access to a patchwork of food assistance programs. For many, this patchwork does not include all of the nutritional safety net programs that help reduce poverty across the state.
blog post Video: Achieving Universal Broadband in California By Vicki Hsieh Apr 20, 2023 PPIC researchers Amy Gong Liu and Darriya Starr discuss a new report on efforts to install broadband in underserved communities, including the role of recent federal and state investments.
Fact Sheet Water Use in California’s Communities By Andrew Ayres, Caitlin Peterson, Annabelle Rosser Apr 19, 2023 Even as California’s population has grown by millions, its per-capita water use has declined. Communities are finding ways to boost resilience in the face of climate change.
blog post Midway through California’s Extended Tax Season, Low-Income Filers Are Claiming Larger State Credits By Tess Thorman Apr 19, 2023 As of the end of March, the state had already refunded more dollars than in previous years to low-income tax filers through the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) and the Young Child Tax Credit.
blog post As Medi-Cal Enters a Post-Pandemic Phase, Keeping Eligible Californians Enrolled Is a Key Concern By Caroline Danielson, Shannon McConville Apr 11, 2023 Following a three-year pause during COVID, California counties are restarting annual eligibility reviews for the Medi-Cal program. Some who lose Medi-Cal will become uninsured, likely leading to a small but notable increase in poverty in the state.
blog post Video: The Impact of Health Insurance on Poverty in California By Mary Severance Apr 6, 2023 PPIC researchers Patricia Malagon and Caroline Danielson discuss a new report that examines how access to health coverage affects economic well-being across the state.
blog post Implications of Chronic Absenteeism for Student Learning By Laura Hill, Emmanuel Prunty Apr 4, 2023 Chronic absenteeism among California’s K–12 students increased dramatically during the pandemic. Schools with larger increases in absenteeism saw steeper declines in student performance on state tests, especially in math.
