GRACE/End Child Poverty CA Urges Adoption of Legislature’s Budget Which Protects Progress in Core Safety Net Programs and Services

[PASADENA, CALIF., UNITED STATES, May 30, 2024] — Statement attributable to Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO, GRACE & End Child Poverty California (ECPCA):

Yesterday, California legislative leaders announced their joint Legislative budget agreement, marking a crucial step forward in our collective efforts to combat poverty in our communities. 

The agreement reflects a commitment to reject failed austerity and prioritize proven anti-poverty programs. The safety net is even more important during challenging economic times, safeguarding families who are hit hardest by rising costs of basic needs and who, unlike their wealthier peers, rely more – not less – on public programs as a result. 

We extend our gratitude to Senate President Pro Tem McGuire, Assembly Speaker Rivas, Budget Chairs Gabriel and Wiener, and Subcommittee Chairs, Alvarez, Jackson, Laird, Menjivar Padilla, Quirk-Silva, and Weber, for the agreement that prevents permanent and irreversible harm to children living in poverty.

“This joint Legislative budget agreement reflects putting our values first – ensuring every Californian has the resources and opportunities to thrive,” said Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO. “We applaud the Legislature for prioritizing our most vulnerable children and families. Preserving vital safety net programs that provide cash, childcare, food, healthcare, and other supportive services while retaining key investments from the Governor’s budget, will keep us moving forward in the fight to end child and family poverty. It is critical that these are included in the final budget.”  

Key actions outlined in the agreement prevent cuts that would worsen already deep, unjust inequities of poverty for communities of color, including: 

• Restoring life-saving programs across CalWORKs, child care, IHSS, CalFresh, and other vital anti-poverty programs, and
• Preservation and equitable treatment of the Safety Net Reserve.

We are also excited to see actions taken, even amid the deficit problem, that advance timely and important steps to ending child poverty, including:

• Building on the Governor’s leadership to pursue federal CalWORKs pilots with family-centered changes, which aligns with national guidance calling on states for innovations to ensure tailored engagement and support family well-being
• Strengthen California’s nation-leading School Meals For All program by improving Direct Certification to fully maximize federal provisions

We applaud and urge additional action to find savings from smart solutions to public safety through closing empty prisons and permanently making California’s revenue system more equitable by ensuring wealthy corporations pay their fair share. 

We urge continued action to restore and advance IMAGINE priorities, including: 

• Cut of Free Tax Preparation & Outreach to $12 million, from $20 million,
• Delay of Food For All older adults regardless of immigration status,
• Pass-through of child support to current CalWORKs families, and
• Continuous Medi-Cal coverage to young children. 

Finally we are concerned, based on the information released so far, that in constructing a multi-year agreement, freezing program funding at prior utilization could: 

• Lead to funding levels insufficient to meet real program needs given rising caseloads, especially in 2025-26, and
• Be used to establish lower baselines that make it more challenging to readjust funding levels to true community needs – as happened following the Great Recession. 

We recognize and celebrate the shared values of the Administration and Legislature to address the root causes of poverty and systemic racism. The significant actions taken during this Administration toward the Governor’s North Star to end child poverty underscore that the constraints faced this year have been due to limited resources, not a lack of commitment. 

While we’re disappointed that this budget hasn’t provided the opportunity to do even more to achieve that goal, we express our full support for the Legislature’s proposal to preserve progress and prevent what would be irreversible harm from child poverty. 

We are eager to work with all stakeholders to ensure that these actions are solidified in the final budget agreement. Together, we can build a California where every child is valued and free.

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End Child Poverty in California (ECPCA) is a campaign jointly sponsored by GRACE End Child Poverty Institute and GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage).

GRACE End Child Poverty Institute is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that uses advocacy, legislative advocacy and mobilization programs to achieve its mission.  The mission of GRACE End Child Poverty is to make a positive difference in the lives of low-income families and their children through value-based collaborations and by formulating, implementing, and expanding measures to reduce barriers to full personal development and economic stability.

[PASADENA, CALIF., UNITED STATES, May 2, 2024] — CAFB and GRACE/End Child Poverty Urge California Members to reject cuts and Instead Strengthen SNAP

This week, House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairs Rep. Thompson and Sen. Stabenow released starkly different frameworks outlining their vision for the next Farm Bill. While Sen. Stabenow’s plan lays out a promising plan to protect and strengthen our country’s most important anti-hunger program — SNAP, or CalFresh in California – Rep. Thompson’s plan proposes deep, shortsighted, and harmful cuts to SNAP that will worsen hunger for the more than 5 million Californians who rely on the program today. 

Specifically, Chair Thompson’s proposal includes forcing cost neutral reevaluations which will prevent the USDA from being able to make much needed periodic updates to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which is the basis for SNAP and other nutrition programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Summer EBT. In no uncertain terms, this would cut SNAP by about $30 billion over the next decade by restricting future updates to only count for inflation, ignoring science-based changes to dietary guidelines.

Hungry Californians would be harmed the most: Approximately $3.6 billion, or 12% of the $30 billion cut to SNAP would be taken from the 5 million Californians who spend SNAP benefits at 23,874 authorized EBT retailers across our state. This represents a loss of as much as $6.46 billion in total economic activity, hurting farmers, farmworkers, truckers, grocers, and others across our critical food sector.

Even after the recent TFP reevaluation, SNAP benefits still only average $6 per person per day – barely more than a cup of coffee, and still fall short of the cost of low-income meals in 98% of California counties. 

Forcing cost neutral Thrifty Food Plan reevaluations is not only a SNAP cut but will also impact other critical nutrition programs like the TEFAP and Summer EBT. These simultaneous cuts will hamper the ability of food banks to serve their communities, and will increase hunger for children during summer months when school is out. 

In sharp contrast to Chair Thompson’s proposal, Chair Stabenow lays out a forward-looking framework that builds on several of SNAP’s strengths to prevent hunger, fundamentally by preserving future Thrifty Food Plan re-evaluations, in addition to:

• Removing the punitive drug felon ban and better supporting people coming home from incarceration to apply for SNAP, proven to support a healing re-entry to community.
• Permanently ensuring that SNAP recipients who are victims of benefit theft such as “skimming” that has ravaged Californains can have their benefits replaced. 
• Exploring pathways for SNAP recipients to purchase hot and prepared foods. 
• Finally securing a pathway to SNAP for Puerto Rico.

At a time when 1 in 5 households in California are experiencing hunger with deep disparities for communities of color, we call on the California Congressional Delegation to prioritize bold policy solutions through:

• The Closing the Meal Gap Act (H.R. 3037 Adams / S. 1336 Gillibrand) which would move SNAP benefit calculations to the more realistic Low Cost Food Plan
• The Improving Access to Nutrition Act (H.R. 1510 Lee / S. 2435 Welch) which would repeals SNAP’s harsh and counterproductive three-month time limit for out-of-work Americans and improves SNAP access for families working their way up the economic ladder
• The Enhance Access To SNAP Act (H.R. 3183 Gomez / S. 1488 Gillibrand) which would eliminate the outdated and unfair SNAP restrictions for college students

SNAP Emergency Allotments (EAs) allowed Californians to buy more and a greater variety of food, helped families weather income fluctuations, and stabilized households. Now that EAs have ended, food insecurity has intensified, households are making tradeoffs between food and other expenses, physical and mental health have declined, and local economies have suffered. 

We urge all California Members of Congress to reject any cuts to SNAP, including to the Thrifty Food Plan, and to build on the Senate framework to strengthen SNAP and the emergency feeding programs as our nation’s proven anti-hunger safety net. 

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End Child Poverty in California (ECPCA) is a campaign jointly sponsored by GRACE End Child Poverty Institute and GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage).

GRACE End Child Poverty Institute is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that uses advocacy, legislative advocacy and mobilization programs to achieve its mission.  The mission of GRACE End Child Poverty is to make a positive difference in the lives of low-income families and their children through value-based collaborations and by formulating, implementing, and expanding measures to reduce barriers to full personal development and economic stability.