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November 22, 2021 - The 2021‑22 spending plan provides just over $23 billion from the General Fund for human services programs. This is an increase of over $6 billion, or 37 percent, compared to the revised prior-year spending level. This significant increase is primarily the result of higher spending in several different departments and programs.
October 27, 2021 - As part of the 2021‑22 spending plan, the administration and the Legislature agreed to spend $6 billion ($1.7 billion General Fund) over three fiscal years (starting in 2021‑22) on broadband infrastructure. Of the $6 billion, $4.372 billion is appropriated in 2021‑22—$4.322 billion in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) fiscal relief funds and $50 million General Fund. This post details the key actions and events that preceded the 2021‑22 budget agreement, outlines the agreement (including a breakdown of the 2021‑22 appropriations), and describes key components of accompanying changes in state law—Chapter 112 of 2021 (SB 156, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review). We note that while the administration and the Legislature are considering other broadband-related changes through administrative action and the legislative policy process, this post focuses on broadband infrastructure funding in the spending plan.
June 11, 2021 - The Governor’s May Revision includes several proposals related to child welfare, including some updates to proposals included in the January Governor’s budget as well as some new proposals. This post provides an overview of the major May Revision proposals for child welfare in addition to our initial analysis and comments on these proposals. We note that these comments reflect our understanding of the May Revision proposals as of June 1, 2021.
May 24, 2021 - The administration’s 2021-22 May Revision proposes up to $7 billion (federal and state funds) over two fiscal years to fund state broadband infrastructure projects and programs. In this post, we provide our preliminary comments on this proposal, reflecting our understanding of the proposal as of Sunday, May 23, and provide options for legislative consideration.
May 17, 2021 - On May 14, 2021, Governor Newsom presented a revised state budget proposal to the Legislature. (This annual proposed revised budget is called the “May Revision.”) In this post, we provide a summary of the Governor’s revised budget, focusing on the overall condition and structure of the state General Fund—the budget’s main operating account. In the coming days, we will analyze the plan in more detail and provide additional comments in hearing testimony and online.
March 25, 2021 - Supplemental report language adopted by the Legislature in 2020-21 directed our office to provide an assessment of a new dashboard developed by the administration for Medi-Cal eligibility functionality issues in the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System—an information technology system. This post provides our assessment of the dashboard and associated process changes, and identifies opportunities for legislative oversight going forward.
February 26, 2021 - Analyzes the Governor’s 2021-22 budget proposals related to the In-Home Supportive Services program; assesses recent growth trends in caseload, hourly wages, and hours per case; and provides some recommendations and issues for consideration.
February 23, 2021 - This handout provides our comments on the Governor's budget proposals related to the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment program.
February 17, 2021 - This post analyzes, and provides recommendations to the Legislature on, the 2021-22 Governor’s Budget proposal for the Department of Health Care Services to continue the replacement of several Medi-Cal information technology systems and to plan the modernization of the remaining systems under a new effort called the Medi-Cal Enterprise System Modernization.
February 12, 2021 - Analyzes the Governor’s 2021-22 budget proposals related to the child support program, provides background on recent program developments and state review process of child support guidelines, and provides issues for the Legislature to consider.
February 11, 2021 - In this analysis of the Governor’s 2021-22 budget proposal for child welfare programs, we: (1) provide program background; (2) outline the Governor’s proposed budget for child welfare services and foster care programs; and (3) provide key questions and issues for the Legislature to consider related to the administration’s proposals for continued pandemic response, implementation of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, and ongoing implementation of Continuum of Care Reform.
February 8, 2021 - This post discusses 2021-22 Governor’s Budget proposals for the California Department of Technology to use General Fund to pay the costs of some existing information security programs and services, and to create new programs and services that are intended to improve the delivery of critical state services using information technology (IT) systems and the stability of the state’s legacy IT infrastructure.
February 4, 2021 - This handout highlights California's major nutrition access programs, related federal and state actions in response to COVID-19, and the Governor's CalFresh-related proposals in the 2021-22 budget.
February 3, 2021 - In this post, we provide important background on California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), updates on how caseload has been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and analyze the Governor’s proposed CalWORKs budget. In short, caseload has declined precipitously in the most recent data, reaching a new all-time low in November 2020 (the most recent month for which there are data). This runs contrary to both the Governor’s budget (which assumes a fairly rapid rate of caseload growth from 2020 through 2022) and the historic relationship between caseload and economic data (which suggests caseload should increase following increased unemployment). In line with other efforts the administration is proposing to support low-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, we suggest the Legislature work with the administration to understand the factors leading to the lower than expected caseload and explore options for ensuring CalWORKs assistance reaches eligible families.
February 2, 2021 - This is the first in a series of several posts estimating the percentage of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)-eligible individuals who actually enroll in the program—otherwise known as the CalWORKs take-up rate. In this post, we introduce our methodology for estimating the number of families eligible for CalWORKs since 2005 and compare this to the number who actually enrolled. In future posts, we plan to examine how this take-up rate varies between different regions in the state, as well as possible reasons why it varies regionally and has changed over time.