The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - This brief (1)  examines IHSS cost growth and the main cost drivers over the years, (2)  describes the Governor ’s January 2026 proposals for IHSS, and (3)  provides issues and questions for the Legislature to consider as it evaluates the IHSS budget proposals and the overall structural budget  problem.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

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

Mar 3, 2026 - Since the Great Recession, as seen in Figure  2, grants for individuals and couples have been increased four times —in 2016-17 (by 2.76  percent), 2021-22 (by 23.95  percent), 2022-23 (by 10.3  percent), and 2023-24 (by 9.2  percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5148

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 - Tier 3 focuses on implementing EBPs. Trainings are targeted toward providers as well as child welfare staff. Initial trainings under Tier 3 have been provided, and DSS released guidance (via All‑County Letter 25‑73 ) in October 2025 with more detail about the specific training sessions and required participants for Tier 1.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5106

The 2026-27 Budget: CalWORKs

Feb 18, 2026 - As shown in Figure  3, the amount of TANF used to support CalWORKs has changed from year to year. During the COVID-19 pandemic the state significantly overestimated CalWORKs caseload and spending, largely due to unprecedented federal and state policy responses that led to historically unusual enrollment trends.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5122

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