The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - Questions for Oversight. Some questions for the Legislature to consider as it oversees these programs include: What are the major outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the funding to date? What do youth and families view as the most notable results or effects of the funding?
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147

The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - We Recommend the Legislature Ask Clarifying Questions and Weigh Trade ‑Offs of Each Proposal. For each of the proposed solutions in the IHSS program, we suggest the Legislature ask the administration key, clarifying questions as it weighs the trade ‑offs of each proposal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

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 Budget: Child Welfare

Feb 13, 2025 - Questions. When reviewing the administration ’s proposal for increased CWS-CARES funding, some questions for the Legislature to consider asking the administration include: In recent years, the project has significantly underspent its funding allocations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4962

Implementing California’s Child Welfare Prevention Services Program

Jan 28, 2026 - Questions Around Community Pathway. For counties that plan to implement a community pathway option (as described in the State Prevention Plan) for families to access services outside of the usual child welfare system pipeline, many questions remain around how the community pathway will work.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5106

The 2026-27 Budget: CalWORKs

Feb 18, 2026 - It is unclear how the legal questions around the federal funding freeze will be resolved. Should the freeze be implemented, the state could be faced with losing access to federal TANF funding for weeks or longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5122

The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - In this brief, we analyze and provide background on the primary cost drivers of the In-home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, describe and analyze the Governor’s budget proposals related to IHSS, and provide additional considerations and questions for the Legislature to ask regarding the Governor’s proposals.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5166

The 2025-26 Budget: The California State Payroll System IT Project

Mar 7, 2025 - (The project added California State University as a mega processing department for this analysis because, although they are not a civil service state department, their payroll is processed by the current USPS.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5011

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

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare [Publication Details]

Mar 3, 2026 - California’s children and family programs include an array of services to protect children from abuse and neglect and to keep families safely together when possible. This analysis outlines the Governor’s proposed 2026-27 budget for child welfare and foster care programs under the Department of Social Services (DSS), and raises questions and issues for the Legislature to consider.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5147