The 2025-26 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 19, 2025 - As of January 2025, we understand the administration has revised the projected savings associated with the delay to $0 in 2024-25 and about $104 million General Fund in 2025-26. We are working with the administration to better understand these downward revisions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4971

The 2024-25 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 16, 2024 - CalSAWS was introduced in 2019 and, as of October 2023, all 58 counties use the system. The federal government helps manage an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system which deposits monthly benefits for CalFresh and other human services pr ograms onto cards to be used at grocery and convenience store checkout counters.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4845

The 2024-25 Budget: Child Support

Feb 27, 2024 - Given we estimated the Governor ’s budget solved a $58  billion budget problem —and revenues continue to deteriorate —the administration likely will not implement the full passthrough to current CalWORKs families as part of the May Revision.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4861

Trends in CalWORKs: Participant Characteristics

Jun 16, 2025 - According to CDSS, the 2019 and 2023 CalWORKs take‑up rates were about 58 percent and 54 percent, respectively.) The CalWORKs participation rate differs from the CalWORKs take‑up rate in that it considers all families with children statewide (including those who are not eligible for the program), while the take‑up rate focuses only on likely eligible families (for example, households that meet the income and categorical requirements for CalWORKs).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5057

The 2024-25 Budget: Child Care

Apr 15, 2024 - Of these funds, $58  million is provided to cover costs associated with Bridge child care vouchers. In the past, the state has also drawn down between $10  million and $20  million in additional federal Title IV ‑E funds to partially cover Bridge voucher costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4893

The 2025-26 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 6, 2025 - Since the program began in October 2022 through June 2024 (the most recent month of expenditures data), less than $900,00 0 total funds have been spent on Backup Provider services. At this time, we do not have any concerns with the administration ’s estimates.  
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5009

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 22, 2021 - During the first year of FFPSA implementation, a county may elect to begin providing prevention services by providing written notice to DSS prior to fully completing its com prehensive prevention plan.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4476/3

California’s Child Welfare System: Addressing Disproportionalities and Disparities

Apr 24, 2024 - Parameters set by realignment and Proposition  30 have resulted in the state choosing to implement many new child welfare program components as county options and consequently also result in California ’s 58 counties making different implementation choices for child welfare programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4897

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of Child Welfare Proposals and Program Implementation Updates

Feb 22, 2022 - DSS issued guidance to counties about the availability of the 2021 ‑22 non ‑competitive allocations for all 58 counties (and a tribal set aside) in mid ‑February; county welfare departments will indicate whether they accept their allocations by the end of March.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4558

The 2021-22 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s CalWORKs Proposals

Feb 3, 2021 - CalWORKs caseload increased by about 11, 000 c ases ( 3  p ercent) during the first three months of the COVID ‑ 19 r ecession (March through May 202 0) b efore decreasing in subsequent months. As Figure  2 shows, this period of caseload growth was primarily driven not by an increase in cases added, but by a decrease in cases exiting following the temporary suspension of redeterminations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4341