Protecting Child Care Subsidies and Safety Net Programs in the State Budget

State Budget FY 2012-13

On January 6, 2012 Governor Brown released his 2012-13 Budget with significant cuts to child care, CalWORKs and other health and human services.  His proposal includes over $500 million in cuts to child care and $1 billion to the CalWORKs program.  Parents are very concerned about the following proposals:

1. Reducing income guidelines for subsidized child care from 70% to 61.5% of State Median Income.  Currently a family of 3 can earn $42,216 and the new proposal would cut families off after they earn $37,060 and eliminat 15,700 child care slots
2. Requiring all families to meet welfare to work requirements and eliminate services for families not working a minimum of 30 hours per week.  This woul eliminate 46,300 child care slots.
3. Cutting the standard reimbursement rate to high quality child care centers by 10%
4. Redesigning the current CalWORKs program into two programs and reducing the limit to receive cash assistance from 4 years to 2 years.  The proposal will only give parents who work 30 hrs/week a child care subsidy for a maximum of 4 years.  There will no longer be Stage 1,2, and 3. 

For further detail please see the California Budget Project summary.

WE CAN'T SIT BACK AND LET THESE PROPOSALS BECOME REALITY....WE NEED YOUR HELP! CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR CLOSEST PARENT VOICES CHAPTER!

State Budget FY 2011-12

Parents fought hard to minimize cuts to the child care system.  Their efforts helped to reduce the overall cuts from $700 million to $300 million.  Here are some of the successes:

1. Restored the Stage 3 Child Care program
2. Restored cuts to services for 11-12yr olds
3. Eliminated increases to parent fees
4. Reduced the overall cut across the board from 15%-11%

Congrats to all the parents who participated in budget advocacy! 

The State Budget for FY 2011-12 was signed by the Governor on June 30, 2011.  The Final Budget included restorations to child care cuts that were approved in March including: all 11-12 year olds can keep their services, there will be no increase to parent fees, Title 5 Child Care centers will not have their reimbursement rates cut, and child only CalWORKs grants were not eliminated!

To note:  The budget was signed with the belief that there would be $4 billion in revenues coming to the state.  Should those revenues be less than $4 billion than a series of "trigger cuts" will go into effect Jan 1, 2012---including $23 million cuts to child care.  For a detailed look at the "trigger cuts" please click here

Parent Voices trained 150 parents during Knowledge is Power Budget Advocacy Trainings in January and February; attended budget hearings during the Spring; and held our annual Stand for Children Day rally on May 4, 2011, with a record 800 participants.  Since January 1,000 parents have come to the Capitol so they can respond to the proposed cuts.

Budget Action Spotlight:  State Un-Fair July 2010

The California State UN-Fair event held on July 14, 2010 to coincide with the opening of the California State Fair.  The message of the day:  Cuts to child care will result in tremendous job loss and it's time that the Legislature support real revenues to protect programs that keep parents and child care providers working! This message was delivered across the state by 25 media airings!

Highlights from the State UN-Fair include:

• 250 parents, children, and child care providers turned out to play carnival games such as the "Wheel of Misfortune" where any way you spin it, a proposed child care cut or welfare cut will result in families suffering and the risk of losing one's job; "Funding Tug'O'War where proposed cuts to health and human services impact both children and their parents; and "The Child Care Gamble" where a toy landed on either rent, utilities, gas, and car insurance to determine which bill would not be paid if cuts to child care went through.
• Participants also played games that presented revenue options that were available to the Legislature to enact.  One game was the "Wheel of Fortune" which listed a different revenue option so any way you spin it, the "fortunate" could pay their fair share.  Another game was "Pin the Revenue Option on the Governor."
• To read the State UN-Fair progam click here

Children vs Mothers play the Funding Tug O' War

Pin the Revenue Solution on the Governor!

Sonoma Parent Leader Kristel England shows the media that the Legislature should spin the Wheel of Fortune with revenues, not the Wheel of Misfortune that has cuts