Sacramento, CA- The following statement can be attributed to Carlos Marquez III, Executive Director of the County Welfare Director’s Association of California, on the Assembly Democratic Budget Plan. 

“We thank Assembly leadership for prioritizing the immediate needs of millions of Californians who rely on the safety net to feed their families and keep them healthy in the face of President Trump’s ongoing assault on the working poor. The Assembly’s proposed one-time investments in the county eligibility workforce will help stabilize our emergency food response and healthcare eligibility systems during the first year of H.R. 1 implementation, offering a downpayment on the level of ongoing investment ultimately required to prevent an unmitigated hunger and healthcare crisis. Even deeper losses in food access and Medi-Cal coverage are projected in 2027 and beyond, requiring the state to make ongoing investments in the most effective antidote to disenrollment prevention: eligibility workers. We call on the Assembly and Senate to combine the strongest elements of each plan by fully funding the CalFresh and Medi-Cal eligibility workforce in Budget Year and ongoing.”

“Today, the Assembly also took the bold step of bolstering other areas of California’s safety net to mitigate against the downstream impacts of H.R. 1, including remaining steadfast in:

• Continuing to reduce unnecessary involvement of families in the Child Welfare System, and preventing a fiscal cliff in county Emergency Response units that are the frontline of our child welfare system
• Strengthening a suite of programs proven to prevent our seniors and people with disabilities from falling into homelessness 
• Protecting home-based health care that allows older adults and people with disabilities to remain safely at home

“We thank Speaker Robert Rivas, Chair Jesse Gabriel, Chair Dr. Corey Jackson, Chair Dawn Addis, Asm. Pilar Schiavo, Asm. Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins, Asm. Mia Bonta, and Asm. Matt Haney for their committed leadership to protect and strengthen our proven healthcare, housing, and safety net programs that protect the most vulnerable Californians, especially as our federal government does everything in its power to destroy these lifelines.  

“With one of H.R 1’s largest threats to CalFresh going into effect today, we stand ready to work with budget leaders in both houses to achieve a unified budget that meets this critical moment and provides maximum resources to ensure access to food and healthcare in this budget year and ongoing.”