Governor’s Budget Cuts Children’s Services

Governor Brown’s budget proposes to eliminate the state budget gap of $25.4 billion. $12.5 billion is in major spending reductions (including deep cuts to health, CalWORKs, and child care programs). It also includes $12 billion in revenues. It extends last year’s temporary tax increases for another five years (including sales tax and Vehicle License Fee increases).

Gov. Brown will ask legislators to approve the budget by March. He plans a special June election asking voters to approve the tax extensions. Become familiar with the budget proposal so you can decide how to vote in June.

For more information: see Governor's Proposed Budget, www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/FullBudgetSummary.pdf

Child care

• Restore child care subsidies for parents formerly on CalWORKs (Stage 3) vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
  
• Reduce families’ eligibility for child care subsidies (except state preschool). Fewer families would qualify for subsidies.
  
• Reduce subsidy levels for all programs. Families would receive less aid.
  
• Eliminate child care services for 11 and 12 year olds (except state preschool).
  

CalWORKs

• Reduce the welfare-to-work time limit for adults from 60 to 48 months. Child-only benefits would continue if families fully met work requirements. An estimated 115,000 families would no longer be eligible for CalWORKs.
  
• Reduce family grants by 13%. Families would receive less money each month.
  

Health

• Medi-Cal (state health insurance for low-income families): limit prescriptions and doctor visits, require copayments.
  
• Healthy Families (state health insurance for children in moderateincome families): eliminate vision coverage, increase premiums for some families, increase emergency room co-payments.
  
• Continue reductions to services for individuals with developmental disabilities (Department of Developmental Services Regional Centers).
  
• Use $1 billion from First 5 to fund Medi-Cal services for children through age five. Also use $0.9 billion from Prop. 63 to fund three community mental health programs (voters have rejected both of these in the past).
  

Realignment

• Shift $10 billion in services from the state to local governments (called realignment). This year it would include foster care, child welfare, and three community mental health programs. Phase two would include child care programs, CalWORKs, food stamps and child support.
  

Child Care Activism Continues

ACTION: Advocates urge parents to call on legislators to reject the proposed cuts to child care subsidies. Advocates say child care is key to helping parents keep their jobs and making sure kids do better in school.

BACKGROUND: Parents, teachers, advocates, and many legislators fought hard against last year’s proposed cuts to child care. When Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed Stage 3 funds, Parent Voices, the Child Care Law Center, and others filed a lawsuit which extended Stage 3 until the end of 2010. Legislative leaders and First 5 Commissions offered bridge funding. Speaker John Pérez proposes to restore funding through March.

Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposed restoring Stage 3 funds in April, but would make other cuts in funding for child care and CalWORKs programs (see left). Advocates plan a busy spring of budget activism.

CONTACT:
Parent Voices, 415-882-0234, www.parentvoices.org
California Partnership, 213-385-8010, www.california-partnership.org
LIFETIME, 510-352-5160, http://www.geds-to-phds.org/

Dream Big for Our Youngest Children

After an extensive two-year planning process, the California Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee has released recommendations for a statewide quality rating system (QRS) to improve child care. They are outlined in the report Dream Big for Our Youngest Children.

Broad outreach would encourage families to use the QRS to find quality child care.

The QRS would include five tiers of program quality based on the following criteria. It would provide support to help centers and family child care homes improve.

• Adult-to-child ratio/group size: require centers at higher tiers to have more adults working with a group of children.
  
• Teaching and learning: evaluate teacher-child interaction and nutrition (using “ECERS-family” and CLASS tools), as well as alignment with state foundations and frameworks.
  
• Family involvement: require more engagement with parents at higher tiers.
  
• Staff education and training: require formal education, professional development, and experience to progress to higher tiers.
  
• Program leadership (for centers): based on director’s education and experience.
  

The committee recommends a threeyear, voluntary pilot followed by gradually phasing in the QRS for all licensed programs.

Cost and funding sources are still being determined.

For more information: see www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/fnlrpt2010.pdf

Funding Cutbacks Affect Child Care Inspections

The Community Care Licensing Division (CCL) licenses and oversees child care facilities in California. The agency has announced it will focus primarily on only the most pressing health and safety issues, because of limited funding.

CCL will prioritize taking action against facilities that do not comply with regulations, responding to complaints, and inspecting facilities with a history of compliance problems.

On the backburner will be routine and random inspections of child care programs as well as applications for new programs.

This change means programs will most likely only be inspected for health and safety problems after there is a complaint. Advocates charge that this does not provide enough oversight. CCL has experienced serious staffing shortages due to years of chronic underfunding, furloughs and hiring freezes.

For more information: contact CCL, 916-651-6040, www.ccld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CCLpriorities.pdf

AVANCE Programs Help Children Succeed

AVANCE’s Parent-Child Education Program provides free parenting education and family support services to low-income, Spanish-speaking parents of children from birth to age three. Programs are offered in Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and San Jose.

Parents take weekly classes on a range of topics, including children’s health, behavior, and learning. Children receive early care and education. Families receive literacy classes and additional support.

Participants are more likely to teach and talk with their child—and interact positively. Nearly all the parents participate in their child’s education. 10 years later, parents are more likely to be employed and earning more. Nearly all children at a 17-year reunion had graduated from high school, were on track to graduate, or had their GED—and many mothers had gone back to school.

For more information: contact AVANCE, 408-679-7562, http://sandbox.netvictories.com/avance

Lawsuits Seek School Equity

Advocates have filed several lawsuits calling for an overhaul in the way California funds schools—and how one district lays off teachers when funds are cut. “We must have a system that allows schools to deliver a high-quality education for all children—in good times and in tough times,” says Jo A.S. Loss, President of the California State PTA in a press release.

“Children in poor neighborhoods, especially those who are black and brown, attend districts and schools with few financial resources that have been further decimated by recent budget cuts. Their schools are being forced to lay off teachers…and eliminate many support services,” says Edgar Hilbert, Board Member for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), in a press release. “Why are we surprised when they have…alarming dropout rates?”

Robles-Wong v California: A coalition of parents, school districts, and organizations filed suit in May, charging California needs to reform its school finance system to cover the real costs of giving all students an adequate education. Plaintiffs include nine districts and the California State PTA.  Contact the California School Boards Association, 916-669-3244, www.fixschoolfinance.org

Coalition for Quality Education v. California: A second coalition of parents, students, and school reform organizations filed a similar suit in July. This lawsuit faults the state for failing to provide preschool for many low-income students and for not making sure schools most in need have qualified teachers. Plaintiffs include ACCE and the Campaign for Quality Education. Contact Public Advocates, 415-431-7430, www.publicadvocates.org

[Editor’s note: since this was written, an Alameda County Superior Court judge has rejected the main claims of these two lawsuits, saying that California’s Constitution does not require specific funding amounts. Plaintiffs are deciding whether to narrow the lawsuits or appeal the verdict.]

Reed v. State of California: American Civil Liberties Union and Public Counsel filed suit against the state and the LA Unified School District for teacher layoffs at three low-performing schools. When the district faced funding cuts, it laid teachers off by seniority—disproportionately worsening teacher turnover in these schools. The LA Board of Education approved a settlement to distribute teacher layoffs more evenly—though teachers’ union representatives may appeal. Contact the ACLU, 213-977-9500, www.aclu-sc.org

--  Laura Savage

New Laws

Early care and education

• Kindergarten readiness (SB 1381): changes the cut-off birth date for children starting kindergarten from December to September. Also provides transitional kindergarten help children born between those dates enter school ready to learn.
  

Health

• Beverages in child care (AB 2084): requires that child care programs serve healthy beverages, to help children learn healthy life-long habits.
  
• Pre-existing conditions (AB 2244): prohibits children from being denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. This helps families better afford the care needed by children with chronic health conditions.
  
• Preventive services (AB 2345): requires that insurers eliminate cost-sharing for some preventive services including immunizations. This makes it easier for families to get preventive care and help children stay healthy.
  

School-age children

• Summer learning programs (SB 798): redirects more funds to summer learning programs for low-income children when additional 21st Century Learning Center funds are available. Summer programs keep children learning and support working families.
  
• Parent penalties for truancy (SB 1317): holds parents accountable if a child is chronically truant from school (grades K-8). Parents could be punished by a fine and/or jail time. Supporters say children who miss too much school are more likely to later drop out or commit crimes, which new law aims to prevent. Critics say the law is too harsh—and the jail provision will unfairly impact single parents and families in unsafe neighborhoods.
  

 -- Laura Savage and Jessine Foss