The County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) respectfully submits this budget memorandum in response tothe May Revision to request one-time General Fund (GF) investment in Emergency Response (ER) Enhancement services anda two-year extension of Flexible Family Supports funding authority, which remain excluded from the Administration’s proposed State Budget. CWDA also requests additional and ongoing GF investment to maintain the Title IV-E StipendProgram to scale, a critical pipeline to maintain necessary child welfare staffing. Additionally, CWDA requests that theLegislature provide start-up funding to establish the mandated and necessary infrastructures needed for the Strength Building and Family Determination (SB&FD) and Immediate Needs (IN) Programs in FY 2026-27 to ensure timely implementation of the Tiered Rate Structure on July 1, 2027. Lastly, CWDA urges support for continued one-time GFinvestment to stabilize Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) due to the insurance crisis. Additionally, this memorandum provides comments to the Administration’s proposed Trailer Bill Language (TBL) for the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) and our joint TBL with the Youth Law Center to support transition services for children and families returning from out-of-state AAP placements.

Please read our attached budget memo.