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MEDIA ADVISORY: Rally to End Child Poverty on Capitol Steps Monday, Dec. 3

Posted on December 2, 2018 by | Uncategorized

MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Yusef Robb, 323-384-1789

RALLY TO END CHILD POVERTY ON CAPITOL STEPS MONDAY, DEC. 3

Groups Urge Legislative Action on New State Task Force Plan to End Deep Child Poverty in Four Years, Affecting 450,000 CA Children

EDS — See LA Times Story: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-child-poverty-task-force-report-20181119-story.html

WHAT:

End Child Poverty CA , a project of GRACE, and the Northern California Poor People’s Campaign are partnering to lead a rally at the Capitol to urge legislative action on the plan to end deep child poverty in California. The plan was released last week by the state’s Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force created by AB 1520 (Burke). The Task Force plan would reduce overall child poverty in California by 50 percent in four years, helping 1.9 million children suffering the effects of poverty.

WHEN:
Monday, Dec. 3, at 10:15 a.m.

WHERE:
North Steps of the State Capitol, Sacramento

SPEAKERS:

  • Assemblymember Autumn Burke, author of AB1520, which created the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force
  • Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, Chair, Budget Subcommittee 1: Health and Human Services
  • Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, Chair, Budget Subcommittee 2: Education Finance
  • Assemblymember Laura Friedman, Assembly District 43
  • Assemblymember Timothy Grayson, Assembly District 14
  • Senator Scott Weiner, Chair, Senate Committee on Human Services
  • Jessica Bartholow, Task Force Member and Policy Advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty
  • Conway Collis, Task Force Co-Chair and CEO, GRACE (Sponsor of AB 1520)
  • Reverend Dr. Floyd D. Harris, Jr., Assistant Pastor of New Light for New Life Church and Founder of Fresno Freedom School
  • Ruth Ibarra, Northern California Poor People’s Campaign
  • Sr. Julie Kubasak, Provincial Superior, Daughters of Charity, Province of the West
  • Rabbi Steven Jacobs
  • Lenny Mendonca, Co-Chair, California Forward and Board Chair Children Now, joined by David Rattray, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and Matthew Horton, Milken Institute

CROWD:
A diverse gathering of Californians, including children and families, who are the focus on this effort

BACKGROUND:

  • Key elements of the Task Force plan include guaranteed childcare and early childhood education for children in poverty aged 0-8, a targeted child tax credit, CALWORKs grant increases included in last year’s budget and increasing enrollment in critical existing services through expanded outreach and improved technology.
  • California has the highest number of children and highest percentage of children living in poverty of any state in the nation — almost 2 million children, who represent one out of every five California kids. Deep poverty is defined as families living at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, or less than about $12,500 for a family of four. In addition, 204,000 California children experience homelessness.
  • Governor-elect Gavin Newsom said he would make ending child poverty a “North Star” of his administration. This plan would end deep child poverty by the end of his first term.
  • The report issued by the Task Force pegs the cost of the four-year plan to eliminate deep child poverty for 450,000 California children starting at 1.6 billion the first year. If concentrated as a population, 450,000 would represent the state’s eighth largest city — larger than Oakland, twice as large as San Bernardino, and just smaller than Long Beach. When fully realized, savings generated by lifting these children from poverty would total $12 billion annually, on an ongoing basis, representing a dramatic return on investment.
  • Task Force Plan: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan
  • The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, and more. Northern California Poor People’s Campaign: https://www.facebook.com/groups/811703285553800/

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