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 2025-26 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 19, 2025 - The shift from a mix of state and federal funds in 2024-25 to all General Fund in 2025-26 is largely due to the end of a federal policy allowing states to temporarily replace stolen SNAP benefits using federal funds from October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024 (California has therefore returned to replacing any stolen benefits with state funds, as was its practice before October 2022).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4971

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

Mar 3, 2026 - SSP Grants Were Increased in 2016-17, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.  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 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

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - Center for Excellence $750,000 ongoing beginning in 2022 ‑23. Emergency Response Augmentation $50 million one ‑time in 2021 ‑22 and again in 2022 ‑23, expendable for four years (through June 30, 2026 for the later allocation).
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147

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

Feb 22, 2022 - The Governor ’s 2022 ‑23 budget proposal includes an additional $92.5  million augmentation as agreed to as part of the 2021 ‑22 package. 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 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Oct 2, 2024 - The 2024-25 spending plan reduces ESE funding on a short-term basis —by $30  million in 2023-24 and $37  million in 2024- 25 —to hold ESE funding to the approximate 2022-23 spending level. With these reductions, the spending plan provides about $97  million for ESE in 2024-25.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4933/2

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

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 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - Of these positions, the control section directs DOF to identify positions proposed for elimination that had been authorized to implement legislation passed in 2022 and 2023. DOF identified 116.5 positions that fall into this category.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081