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We Advocate.
We Educate.
We Collaborate.
We are the County Welfare Directors Association of California. We are a nonprofit association representing the human service directors from each of California’s 58 counties.

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Please Don’t Call This Foster Care
CWDA's take on children and parents separated by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they cross U.S. borders.

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Immigration Resources for Counties
This page includes tools and resources for county human services agencies relating to immigration, health care and public benefits under current law. 

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From Our Partners: Child Poverty in California
In 2016, 83.5% of poor children in California lived in families with at least one working adult. Read the full PPIC report.

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From Our Partners: Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Support a Family in California?
An interactive tool from the California Budget & Policy Center

Hot Topics

Hot topic CalFresh

CWDA, County Association Partners Oppose House Farm Bill Cuts to SNAP
CWDA has joined with CSAC and CHEAC to oppose provisions in the House Farm Bill, H.R. 2, that would reduce eligibility and cut benefits to needy families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh.

Hot topic Immigration

Counties Work to Ease Client Concerns
State and federal laws are still in effect that entitle clients to health care coverage and assistance that they are eligible to receive. Find resources for Counties assisting clients from immigrant communities seeking further guidance here.

Hot topic Conference

CWDA 2018 Conference
CWDA's 2018 conference is October 10-12, at the Anaheim Marriott. Our conference provides a unique opportunity to meet with human services leaders from all 58 counties in one place. Registration is available now.

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News & Updates

Recent News

Announcement Cathy Senderling-McDonald

CWDA Deputy Director Takes Leadership Role at National Association of Counties

CWDA is proud to announce that deputy executive director Cathy Senderling-McDonald was appointed by National Association of Counties (NACo) President Greg Cox of San Diego to be the 2018- 2019 Vice Chair of the Aging Subcommittee and the Human Services and Education Steering Committee of the organization.

Article CalMatters

California’s push to make people healthy — and save taxpayers money

By David Gorn

Diana Dooley may have led the largest agency in California’s government as secretary of health and human services for the past eight years, a job that led to her current post as Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief of staff — but she’s also a country gal from Hanford, in the Central Valley.

Article Cathy Senderling-McDonald Chronicle of Social Change

Please Don’t Call This Foster Care

A number of news outlets have published articles in the past two weeks about the children and parents separated by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they cross our borders. Some of these articles have referred to the children handed over to contracted agencies and placed into homes as being “in foster care.” This is not the case, and the record must be set straight.

Press release

CWDA Statement on the California 2018-19 Budget Agreement

“CWDA is pleased with the overall 2018-19 budget picture, particularly the anti-poverty programs and measures that represent who we are as a state. This year’s budget tackles homelessness and begins to address the growing population of families experiencing the trauma of deep poverty – a phenomenon that is, quite simply, a stain on California’s reputation as the fifth-largest economy in the world.

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Blog Posts

Blog post Frank J. Mecca

California must increase the CalWORKs grant to keep children out of deep poverty
SB 982 is an investment to lift children out of deep poverty and allow them to thrive, ultimately saving taxpayer dollars

California is officially the fifth- largest economy in the world, unemployment is low, and our state is prospering. Yet, we also have the stain of the highest rate of children living in poverty in the nation. California’s coffers are filling up, but our social safety net programs intended to lift families out of poverty aren’t doing enough to meet the high costs it takes to live here.

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