To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
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.
February 20, 2002 - By June 2003 about 100,000 adult recipients (20 percent of caseload) will lose their cash aid because of the CalWORKs five-year time limit. We (1) present options for establishing guidelines for counties in providing exemptions and (2) recommend enactment of legislation providing transportation assistance to former recipients who are working at least 20 hours per week.
February 20, 2002 - Absent legislative action, funding pressures in the CalWORKs program will continue to erode the program's welfare-to-work component. We present policy considerations for the Legislature in developing a long-term budget plan for CalWORKs.
February 20, 2002 - Through the use of Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs), which are software contracts encompassing the entire state, could result in many benefits. We provide a number of suggestions and recommendations that can help the Legislature ensure ELAs are cost effective and beneficial to the state.
February 20, 2002 - The Department of Information Technology (DOIT) is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2002. DOIT's overall performance of its legislative mandates is one of limited success. Therefore, we recommend a two-year reauthorization of DOIT and a Bureau of State Audits review of DOIT's progress in meeting its mandated responsibilities.
February 20, 2002 - Only 26 percent of single-parent cases in federal fiscal year 2000 were participating in CalWORKs in accordance with state law. We believe that increasing participation is an important long-term focus for the Legislature.
February 24, 2001 - Index of Information Technology Issues in the Analysis of the Budget Bill, 2001-02
February 21, 2001 - Longer stays in foster care adversely impact children by reducing the time they spend in a permanent living situation. We recommend enactment of legislation to conduct a three-year pilot project whereby the treatment rates of foster family agency homes would incrementally decrease over time.
February 21, 2001 - We recommend that the Legislature direct the Department of Information Technology to report at budget hearings on the resources and time frames needed to conduct a study which (1) examines data centers' rates for nonmainframe activities, (2) identifies potential opportunities for specialization between the state's primary data centers, and (3) identifies data center functions that can be provided more efficiently by private industry.
February 14, 2001 - The new system for budgeting CalWORKs welfare-to-work services is flawed. Welfare-to-work services are potentially underfunded by as much as $120 million during 2000-01, and 10 counties do not have sufficient funds to provide necessary services for all families needing to become self-sufficient. We recommend enactment of legislation aimed at addressing these deficiencies.
February 6, 2001 - Realignment, enacted in 1991, transferred various mental health, health, and social services programs from the state to county control. It also altered program cost-sharing ratios, and provided counties with dedicated tax revenues to pay for these changes. Although realignment has been largely successful, we recommend implementation of several changes including a simplified allocation structure for new revenues that relies on a single formula.