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February 19, 2003 - The administration proposes a model for a new state information technology governance structure consisting of three components: a State Chief Information Officer, an oversight board, and state control agencies. Our review found that the proposal lacks details and leaves many questions unanswered. We recommend the Legislature evaluate the proposal based on the key objectives of leadership, accountability, and oversight.
February 19, 2003 - Developmental centers (DC) population has declined significantly over the last forty years. We examine the DC system's population trends and cost-effectiveness, and provide the Legislature with options and recommendations related to future DC operations.
February 19, 2003 - Poor management of treatment for persons with chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease, is driving up the state's costs for Medi-Cal. The implementation of a disease management program could eventually reduce state expenditures by as much as hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
February 19, 2003 - In order to improve the operation of programs serving California's senior citizens, we recommend eliminating the Department of Aging and shifting its functions to the Department of Social Services. Consolidation should improve service delivery and result in administrative savings of $3.4 million.
February 19, 2003 - The state's programs to provide services for some of its most medically fragile children is missing opportunities to control increasing costs and preserve General Fund resources that could help address the state's fiscal problems. Potential General Fund savings would be at least $43 million.
February 11, 2003 - Summary of CalWORKs Stage 3 Child Care.
January 28, 2003 - The Department of General Services' (DGS) GS $Mart Program has been used to finance $521 million in state equipment purchases over the past seven years. We find that DGS has demonstrated initiative in developing this innovative program but that the program has significant deficiencies, including a lack of statutory authority.
November 6, 2002 - The Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) is taking a number of steps to help control the sharply rising cost of the state health insurance program for employees and retirees. We recommend that the legislature provide ongoing oversight of this program and highlight two Legislative options for limiting costs: developing lower-cost HMO options and changing the way state contributions are determined.
October 23, 2002 - Presentation by Elizabeth Hill for Early Care and Education Public Policy Forum 2002
August 29, 2002 - Congress is considering different approaches to the reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. We estimate that over the next five federal fiscal years net state costs would be about $2.2 billion for the House bill (H.R. 4737) and $140 million for the version passed by the Senate Finance Committee.
August 8, 2002 - We discuss the reasons for the recent withdrawals of health coverage by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) from rural areas and recommend a number of steps that we believe will create a more attractive health care marketplace for HMOs. In those rural areas where these steps are not enough to attract HMOs, we identify ways communities can develop their own health care systems.
April 15, 2002 - President Bush's welfare reform reauthorization plan, if enacted by Congress, would increase the effective work participation rate requirement for California by a factor of almost ten. In order to have a reasonable chance of meeting this mandate, we estimate that the state would incur total additional net costs of approximately $2.8 billion over the next five federal fiscal years.
February 24, 2002 - Index of Information Technology Issues in the Analysis of the Budget Bill, 2002-03
February 20, 2002 - Federal Foster Care performance reviews will be conducted in California beginning in the fall of 2002. Preliminary analysis indicates that California may fail to meet national standards on a number of performance measures which could result in the loss of federal funds. We review California's record compared to other large states and make recommendations for improving California's performance.