The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - To what extent and how have DSS and program partners been able to address these issues? Is further Legislative guidance (or anything else) needed to address any remaining barriers? For programs that received one-time funding or augmentations, how sustainable are program gains?
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147

Implementing California’s Child Welfare Prevention Services Program

Jan 28, 2026 - A challenge that nearly every county emphasized is how to sustain their prevention programs financially once their state block grant dollars expire. Even once CWS ‑CARES launches and counties can claim Title IV ‑E reimbursement for eligible EBPs, how to fund the required local match remains a challenge for counties.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5106

The 2026-27 Budget: CalWORKs

Feb 18, 2026 - Federal law gives states significant flexibility in how they use TANF block grant funds and related MOE expenditures. In general, expenditures are required to be consistent with four purposes of the federal TANF program, which include: Providing assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5122

The 2026-27 Budget: County Administration and H.R. 1 Implementation

Mar 5, 2026 - Additionally, in taking this task on, the administration will be adding to the many competing priorities that are underway. This means that temporary funding may need to be in place until ongoing methodologies can be  established.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5149

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - This amount is included in Federal TANF block grant funds. TANF = Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Year-Over-Year Changes in General Fund Are Largely Due to Technical Adjustments and a Decrease in Availability of Federal Funds From Prior Years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/2

The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - We examine how these cost drivers have changed alongside policy changes in the program and the state overall. Taken together, these cost drivers account for much of the overall growth in the program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s CalWORKs Proposals

Feb 11, 2022 - Although this is a marked change from the previous decrease (which  averaged about 3,000 fewer cases per month), it still lags the pace of caseload growth assumed by both our office and the administration (about 10,000 cases added per month).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4530

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - As part of a special legislative session held in January 2025, the Legislature added Control Section 5.26 to the 2024-25 Budget Act, providing an additional one-time allocation of $10  million to support immigration related services, including removal defense.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/8

Trends in CalWORKs: Participant Characteristics

Jun 16, 2025 - Understanding how caseload has changed over the last two decades, how participation varies by county, and how the breakdown between adult and child participants has changed over time can help the Legislature understand who has been served by CalWORKs over the program ’s history.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5057

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Federal CalWORKs Pilot

Feb 21, 2025 - California receives $3.7  billion annually for its TANF block grant (which does not change year to year), over $2  billion of which goes to CalWORKs (the remainder helps fund aid for some low-income college students and various other human services programs).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4978