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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.
February 2, 2021 - This post discusses 2021-22 Governor’s Budget proposals for the State Controller’s Office and the California Department of Human Resources to continue planning a replacement for the state’s current payroll system—the proposed California State Payroll System information technology project.
December 8, 2020 - In this post, we describe our most recent forecast for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program costs and discuss recent caseload trends. With this post we intend to provide information but do not include any explicit recommendations to the Legislature. This post is part of our 2021-2022 Fiscal Outlook series of publications.
November 17, 2020 - Senate Committee on Human Services
October 23, 2020 - This post summarizes the state’s 2020-21 spending package for major human services programs. It is part of our Spending Plan series, which contains posts focused on each major sector of the state budget.
June 9, 2020 - In this post, we (1) explain the differences between the Governor’s January and May Revision budget estimates for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS); (2) describe the administration’s IHSS caseload, hours per case, and hourly wage projections; (3) compare the May Revision monthly estimates for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) costs in IHSS to April 2020 actuals; (4) recommend a downward adjustment of at least a $20 million General Fund in 2019-20 to reflect lower-than-estimated utilization and cost of IHSS COVID-19-related response efforts in April 2020; and (5) recommend the Legislature request actual May 2020 utilization data to determine whether additional adjustments to COVID-19 cost estimates are warranted for May 2020 and possibly June 2020.
June 2, 2020 - The 2020-21 May Revision projects California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) caseload to reach historic highs in response to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and subsequent public health emergency. In this post, we describe this projection, assess it in light of recent data and historical trends, and recommend an alternative set of assumptions.
May 18, 2020 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
April 16, 2020 - This post summarizes key COVID-19 federal actions that affect aging- and disability-related state programs.
February 25, 2020 - One of the priorities of the Governor’s proposed 2020‑21 budget is to improve information security (IS) across state government entities. The proposed budget includes resource requests for the entities that govern IS for the entire state to increase their operational capacity, as well as resource requests for individual government entities to expand and improve their IS programs. This budget and policy post provides relevant information about state IS strategy to help the Legislature consider each of these requests.
February 24, 2020 - Presented to: Senate Human Services Committee Hon. Melissa Hurtado, Chair