Past Budget Priorities

Budget Priority

Support Funding to Address IHSS Case Management, Information, and Payrolling System (CMIPS) Backlog

The County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) support the Assembly version of the 2018-19 budget to include $2.5 million General Fund (one-time) and trailer bill language to address the automation backlog in the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) automation system known as CMIPS. The Assembly version will improve CMIPS automation so county social workers can better serve IHSS providers and consumers without burdensome workarounds.

Budget Priority

Support Ending Deep Poverty in the CalWORKs Program

The County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) respectfully supports the Senate’s proposal to increase CalWORKs grant levels in order to end extreme poverty for children in the CalWORKs program. The CalWORKs program serves 1.1 million individuals in California, 80 percent of whom are children. Yet, the level of support provided to CalWORKs families today is insufficient to meet basic needs and lift all of these children out of deep poverty.

Budget Priority

Support Ending Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Cash Out

The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are in strong support of ending the SSI Cash Out and increasing the economic security of nearly 370,000 Californians by allowing them to receive CalFresh benefits, as well as the efforts to mitigate any negative impacts on those households who will have a benefit reduction or loss due to this change.

Budget Priority

Support Resource Family Funding at the Time of Foster Placement

The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) appreciates the Administration’s and Legislature’s support for a long-term solution to ensure the relatives and non-related extended family members of foster children receive funding at the time of placement, prior to approval under the Resource Family Approval (RFA) process.

Budget Priority

Support CalWORKs Home Visiting Initiative

The County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) supports the Assembly’s proposal to expand and enhance voluntary evidence-based home visiting by making permanent the CalWORKs Home Visiting Initiative and utilizing the resources provided by the Administration for the first few years of the program to extend its reach to CalWORKs families beyond first-time parents under age 25.

CalWORKs Home Visiting Initiative Memo – May 29, 2018

Budget Priority

Support In Home Supportive Services Administration Funding

The California Association of Counties (CSAC) and the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) are in support of additional funding above that provided in the May Revision to support county administrative costs in the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program. We are grateful for the $22.8 million General Fund provided in the May Revision and all the work done by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) on a new budget methodology for IHSS administration that led to the additional funding.

Budget Priority

Establish Home Safe: Homelessness Prevention for Vulnerable Seniors

CWDA is seeking $15 million State General Fund to establish Home Safe, a homelessness prevention and rapid re‑housing demonstration grant program for victims of elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect. This proposed one‑time augmentation would allow 15 participating counties to demonstrate over three years how providing short-term housing crisis intervention can help reduce the incidence and risk of homelessness among California’s older adults.

Budget Priority

CalWORKs Single Allocation Cut:
A Direct Hit to Clients

The proposed $248 million cut to the CalWORKs Single Allocation comes on the heels of a current-year, $160 million cut. If adopted, this would mean a reduction of more than 20 percent over two years. Counties cannot sustain their programs at this level of funding. A new fact sheet from CWDA provides additional detail and examples from counties regarding the effects of staffing and services cuts on the families we serve.

CalWORKs Cut Impact Fact Sheet

Budget Priority

CWDA, SEIU California Urge CalWORKs Budget Restoration

CWDA and SEIU State Council have issued memos to the chairs and members of Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 and Senate Budget Subcommittee 3, urging their restoration of a proposed $248 million cut from the CalWORKs Single Allocation, which funds eligibility activities, employment and supportive services, and child care to CalWORKs recipients. The cut proposed in the May Revision is $50 million higher than that included in the January budget and represents a 13.3 percent cut to the current year funding level.

Budget Priority

Support Public Health Nurses for Children in Foster Care

CWDA supports the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) request for additional public health nurses in the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care. By leveraging a 75 percent federal match, this budget request would bring in an additional $11,534,651 additional federal funds to ensure foster children receive appropriate health and mental health care, and only receive psychotropic medications that are medically necessary.

Budget Priority

Support Grants to Combat Human Trafficking

CWDA supports the request put forth by the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) for $15 million in grant funding to local agencies to combat human trafficking.

Budget Priority

Mental Health Children’s Crisis Services – Oppose Proposed Funding Reduction

CWDA opposes the proposed $17 million State General Fund reduction in the Governor’s budget for the development of a continuum of mental health crisis services for children and youth.

Budget Priority

Psychotropic Medication Review – Support National Center for Youth Law Request

CWDA supports the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) request to establish a centralized psychotropic medication review for children in foster care. By leveraging a 75 percent federal match, this budget request would bring in $240,075 additional federal funds each year to ensure California’s foster children only receive psychotropic medications that are appropriate and medically necessary.

Budget Priority

Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children

CWDA along with numerous child welfare organizations support the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for foster children, a $31 million budget proposal to increase access to early care and education services for abused and neglected children across the State. This program would help to immediately stabilize vulnerable children in the most appropriate placement, and provide them with a bridge to long-term, high quality early education programs.

Budget Priority

CalWORKs Outcomes and Accountability, Restoration of Funding and Budget Methodology

CWDA is requesting support of CalWORKs by establishing a new outcomes and accountability review system to foster continuous quality improvement in the program, requiring the California Department of Social Services to develop recommendations for a new budgeting methodology for the CalWORKs Single Allocation, and retaining the state’s fiscal investment in CalWORKs.

Budget Priority

Child Care Eligibility For Abused, Neglected Children In Foster Care

CWDA is requesting support for a proposed statutory clarification related to the calculation of foster care grants for children receiving services through the subsidized child care system. This change is needed to ensure abused and neglected children receive appropriate child care and development services without delay.

Budget Priority

Support CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program

CWDA is requesting support to ensure that homeless families in California’s CalWORKs program can access safe, temporary housing. Homelessness is a critical barrier to self-sufficiency and to the health and well-being of children, families, and society. Specifically, CWDA is seeking to eliminate a requirement that days of homeless assistance must be taken consecutively, increase the daily per diem rate, and clarify eligibility for CalWORKs families impacted by the dependency system.

Budget Priority

Support CalWORKs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

CWDA is requesting support for families in CalWORKs by allowing counties to offer mental health and substance abuse services to children in the program. CWDA is also requesting support to align statutory language on CalWORKs mental health services in the Welfare and Institutions Code with related statute on CalWORKs substance abuse services that permits county human services to contract with community-based providers for assessments when the county department is unable to do so.

Budget Priority

Fund Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool Rebuild and Integration in SAWS

CWDA is requesting support for proposed trailer bill language and funding to integrate the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT) as a service within the SAWS, which is the system of record for CalWORKs in California, as part of the 2017-18 budget. Currently, OCAT is a standalone system that requires county staff to do duplicate data entry, and the lack of integration with SAWS impedes outcome tracking.

Budget Priority

Oppose Ending CCI, County IHSS MOE & Shifting IHSS Collective Bargaining to Counties

CWDA and several other county associations, including CSAC, oppose dismantling the CCI, the county IHSS MOE, and shifting IHSS collective bargaining to counties as proposed by the Administration that would resul in more than $623 million in increased county costs above the amount that counties are dedicating to their current MOE obligations in 2017-18. The following letters outline our collective concerns.