Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
  Medicaid Citizenship and Identity Verification Requirements


The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, passed into law in January 2006, sets forth new requirements for citizens to receive Medicaid benefits. For more information on state and federal implementation of the law, see here.

  Medicare Part D Implementation


New prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries began January 1, 2006. County human services agencies are playing a significant role in implementing this health care coverage program. Learn more here.


  State Legislative and Budget Priorities


The County Welfare Directors Association advocates for policy change at the state and federal levels. Each year, the association seeks legislative and budget proposals from counties, which the directors review and prioritize. For the 2005-06 Legislative Session, CWDA's priorities include:

Policy Priorities

• Advocating for improvements to the child welfare system, including:
  • Reasonable workloads and caseload standards for workers in all parts of the system to allow for individualized focus on the needs of children and families.
  • Increased flexibility and funding, and enhanced use of existing funding sources, for prevention and early intervention strategies to keep families strong and children safe in their communities.
  • Increased attention to the needs of teenagers who are in the child welfare system, including supports to help them make permanent connections to adults in their lives and successfully transition to adulthood.
  • A concerted effort to recruit, support and retain resource families, including relative caregivers, foster families and adoptive parents.
• Helping counties and the state take the next steps in welfare reform, to help families and children continue moving toward self-sufficiency.
• Increasing participation in the Food Stamp program.
• Simplifying the Medi-Cal program to streamline administration and improve access to health coverage for uninsured families.
• Supporting vulnerable elder and dependent adults in order to help them live safely in their own homes
• Identifying and resolving cases of abuse and neglect of elder and dependent adults, including financial abuse of this vulnerable population, and tracking the incidence of elder abuse and neglect in order to inform policy responses.

CWDA is sponsoring several pieces of legislation to accomplish these goals.

• Funding for Adult Protective Services to reflect the increasing demand for services from this statewide program.
• Full funding for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, including funding for employment services, program administration, and county performance incentives.
• Continued implementation of the Child Welfare Services Workload Study, mandated by SB 2030 (Costa, Statutes of 1998), which set forth target caseloads for child welfare workers, and the Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability System enacted by AB 636 (Steinberg, Statutes of 2001).
• Ensuring sufficient funding for county Medi-Cal eligibility operations, to enable counties to perform all eligibility functions and fully implement the program simplification and performance measures that have been enacted in recent years.
• Recognizing the links between CalWORKs and CWS through the provision of supportive services to CalWORKs parents attempting to reunify with their children.

 California Legislative Links