blog post Creating a Safety Net for Immigrant Communities By Shannon McConville Jan 21, 2021 Through Disaster Relief Aid for Immigrants, California has dedicated $75 million to assist undocumented immigrants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked with Joseph Villela, director of Policy and Advocacy at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, about his organization’s experience in helping create this emergency program.
Report Enrollment in Health and Nutrition Safety Net Programs among California’s Children By Caroline Danielson, Shannon McConville, Laurel Beck Feb 13, 2015 This report examines statewide trends in safety net program enrollment and also explores drivers of participation across counties. It finds that increased county resources, such as higher staffing and state funding, help to boost participation. It also discusses the benefits of streamlining administration across programs. This research was supported with funding from the Blue Shield of California Foundation.
blog post School Meals May Help Families Fight Food Inflation By Caroline Danielson, Niu Gao Jun 1, 2022 The rising cost of food and other necessities is an especially large challenge for low-income families. For households with schoolchildren, school meals can help address the impact of higher prices and increase access to nutritious food.
blog post Testimony: Safety Net Plays Key Role in Reducing Poverty By Sarah Bohn Feb 14, 2018 Poverty is high in California, and it has not improved as much as the economy has.
Report Access to the Health Care Safety Net in California By Laura Hill, Helen Lee, Shannon McConville Oct 18, 2012 How will the safety net fare under federal health care reform? This report highlights areas of anticipated strain by mapping safety net access across the state. It also identifies strategies for strengthening the safety net in times of ongoing fiscal challenge. This research was supported with funding from the California Program on Access to Care.
Report Balancing Budgets and Need during Recessions: California’s Safety Net Programs By Patrick Murphy, Caroline Danielson, Shannon McConville, Jennifer Paluch Dec 2, 2019 During economic downturns, the state faces falling revenues and rising demand for safety net programs. In the last recession, California cut programs significantly. Next time, what steps can policymakers take to support those in need, while still balancing the budget?
Report California’s Future: Safety Net By Caroline Danielson, Shannon McConville, Paulette Cha Jan 15, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of California’s safety net, which helps millions of low-income adults and children meet basic needs. It has also highlighted disparities in health and economic well-being across racial/ethnic groups.
Fact Sheet Poverty in California By Sarah Bohn, Caroline Danielson, Sara Kimberlin, Patricia Malagon Oct 18, 2023 With the end of many pandemic relief programs, poverty rates—especially for children—have gone up in the last two years.
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.
