Sacramento, CA- The following statement can be attributed to Carlos Marquez III, Executive Director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, on the California Legislature’s 2026-27 budget agreement:

“As the safety net is stress tested and preventable hunger rises nationally, the Legislature’s upstream investment in the county eligibility workforce is a bold refusal to accept H.R. 1’s cruel cuts to food and health care as a foregone conclusion, the consequences of which are already unfolding in other states. The Senate and Assembly’s two-party budget agreement supports county eligibility workers in cutting through the federal red tape that stands between millions of Californians being able to see a doctor and keep food on the table. 

“We commend Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, budget chairs and subcommittee chairs, and our champion legislators Assemblymembers Schiavo and Sharp-Collins, and Senator Arreguín for prioritizing county eligibility workers as the backbone of our state’s safety net even as the federal government walks away from its commitments to our working poor. 

“We also thank the Legislature for their resounding rejection of the Administration’s proposed county cost shift and de facto service cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Adult Protective Services, and for making critical investments preventing downstream impacts of H.R. 1, including:

• 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 programs proven most effective at preventing homelessness among seniors and people with disabilities. 

“We urge the Legislature and Administration to embrace the Be Home Soon vision by properly funding counties to support newly eligible IHSS recipients in navigating this transformation, and by repealing remaining county cost shifts that are incompatible with this vision. 

“We urge the Governor to join lawmakers in uniting behind this budget plan. CWDA is committed to continue to work with the Administration and Legislature to secure the sustained investments needed to avert a federally-induced health and hunger crisis.”