The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - (As of this writing, whether these savings will be achieved is unclear as the administration ’s recently signed contract with a consultant does not appear to include DSS.) Proposed Solutions Not Adopted in Spending Plan.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/4

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 22, 2021 - Bonus Pay for Bilingual Service Provider Staff. The spending plan provides $2.2  million General Fund in 2021 ‑22, $4.3  million General Fund in 2022 ‑23, and $6.5  million General Fund in 2023 ‑24 and ongoing to support wage bonuses for DSPs who are bilingual —including in American Sign Language —and can support the estimated 90,000 consumers who speak a primary language other than English.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4476/1

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - The 2025-26 budget package includes up to $20  million for DOF to enter into one or more new contracts to implement operational improvements that allow the state to reduce state operations expenditures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081/

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 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The reason for the reduction is the recent voter approval of Proposition  35 (2024), which requires the state to spend less MCO tax money on offsetting General Fund spending and more money on provider rate increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2026-27 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 18, 2026 - H.R. 1 Makes Significant Changes Impacting CalFresh and CFAP H.R. 1 was passed by Congress and signed by the President in July 2025. H.R. 1 introduces multiple significant changes to CalFresh and CFAP that are expected to result in reduced enrollment, lower benefits, and higher state costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5126

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: Streamlining California’s Affordable Housing Funding System

Mar 6, 2026 - This split, in turn, is based on SGC ’s practice of awarding up to $35   million per project (70   percent) for affordable housing and up to $15   million (30   percent) for transportation. Yet, there is no inherent policy rationale for that 70/30 split.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5154

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - Participants in the self-determination program are provided an individual budget, a fixed amount of money with which to purchase the services of their choosing. Participants then decide how to use the money in their individual budget by developing a spending plan, which identifies the services and items the participant needs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/1