The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - However, as seen in Figure  5 , when we consider IHSS hourly wages separately, we see that the average growth rate of hourly wages has been 5.6  percent annually since  2014. This growth in IHSS hourly wages is in part due to increases to the state minimum wage —from $8  per hour on January 1, 2014 to $16.90 per hour on January  1,  2026.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

The 2026-27 Budget: Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) Program

Mar 3, 2026 - As shown in Figure  5, from 2013-14 through 2020-21, the maximum combined SSI/SSP monthly grant amount for individuals (the bulk of the SSI/SSP caseload) and couples had increased on average by 1.2  percent annually —predominantly due to the provision of federal SSI COLAs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5148

The 2026-27 Budget: CalWORKs

Feb 18, 2026 - As shown in Figure  5, the CalWORKs caseload has steadily grown from early in 2021-22, coinciding with the expiration of enhanced federal Unemployment Insurance benefits following the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5122

The 2026-27 Budget: Streamlining California’s Affordable Housing Funding System

Mar 6, 2026 - Such an approach, though, would work at cross ‑purposes with the state ’s policy goals of (1)  reducing the number of places and times a developer must apply and (2)  no longer potentially having scenarios in which a project is approved by one state entity but rejected by another.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5154

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare Full Implementation Underway CWS ‑CARES Nearly $2 billion provided over life of project, including $180 million in 2026 ‑27 included in Governor ’s budget. Statewide launch of version 1 planned for October 2026.
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147

Implementing California’s Child Welfare Prevention Services Program

Jan 28, 2026 - Figure   5 illustrates a theoretical community pathway, compared to a traditional child welfare agency pathway. DSS will provide additional guidance for counties around the specific requirements of implementing a community pathway.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5106

The 2026-27 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 18, 2026 - Based on the state ’s most recently measured payment error rate of 11  percent, the state would have a 15  percent share of CalFresh benefit costs, resulting in about $2  billion in new annual costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5126