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.
Report Health Care for California’s Jail Population By Shannon McConville, Mia Bird Jun 18, 2014 The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has created a new opportunity for California to reach and enroll a medically vulnerable population—the jail population—in health insurance coverage. While inmates receive health care services from county jail systems while incarcerated, few have coverage after they are released from custody. Expansion of the state’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) under the ACA has extended insurance eligibility to much of the currently uninsured jail population. As a complement to the ACA, California recently signed into law Assembly Bill 720 (AB 720), which facilitates the use of jails as sites of health insurance enrollment. Increasing enrollment levels for the jail population holds the potential to reduce corrections costs, as well as improve public health and safety.
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.
Fact Sheet The State-County Fiscal Relationship in California By Caroline Danielson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Nov 18, 2011
Fact Sheet The State-Local Fiscal Relationship By Dean Misczynski, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Oct 27, 2011
Report Rethinking the State-Local Relationship: An Overview By Dean Misczynski Apr 29, 2011 Governor Jerry Brown’s January 2011 budget proposal sparked renewed interest in "realignment”—that is, in changing how the state and localities divide responsibility for programs and services. This report identifies basic principles for realignment, outlines legal and other constraints, and examines critical funding issues. This report is part of a PPIC series on rethinking the state-local relationship. The series includes: Child Welfare Services Corrections K-12 Education Local Economic Development This work is supported by funding from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and by contributions of unrestricted support to PPIC’s Donor Circle.
Report Foster Care in California: Achievements and Challenges By Helen Lee, Caroline Danielson May 12, 2010 The share of children in the California foster care system has dropped by 45 percent since 2000. This decline far outpaced the rest of the nation. The authors report that a more intense focus by local and state policymakers on child-welfare issues is at least partially responsible. They also note that serious challenges remain: among them, a continuing overrepresentation of black children in foster care. This research was supported with funding from the Stuart Foundation.
