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.
page Immigrants in California Feb 19, 2019 California is home to nearly 10 million immigrants, accounting for almost a quarter of the foreign-born population in the US. PPIC’s research builds understanding of important immigration trends in California and key issues in immigration policy at the state and federal levels.
page PPIC Events Apr 30, 2017 Our events feature viewpoints across the political spectrum, promoting constructive, thoughtful, and respectful dialogue on the issues that matter most to California.
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.
blog post Tax Hurdles May Limit Impact of the Expanded Child Tax Credit By Caroline Danielson, Tess Thorman Jul 1, 2021 The one-year expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit could reduce child poverty in California by a third. But the actual impact of this expanded credit depends on how many eligible families claim it.
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 Interactive: A Look at Child Poverty across California By Caroline Danielson, Vicki Hsieh Jan 30, 2019 Governor Newsom’s first budget proposal boosts safety net programs that play an essential role in lowering child poverty in the California.
Report Do Registration Reforms Add New Voters or Keep Californians Registered? By Eric McGhee, Jennifer Paluch, Mindy Romero Mar 6, 2024 In recent years, new voter registration and voter address updates have surged—due largely to California’s new process for automatic voter registration. But registration reforms have not significantly diversified the electorate, and the state may need to do more to engage newly registered voters.
