Summary
March 25, 2024
Honorable Caroline Menjivar, Chair
Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Sub. No. 3
1021 O Street, Suite 6720
Sacramento, CA 95814
Honorable Corey Jackson, Chair
Assembly Budget Sub. No. 2
1021 O Street, Suite 6120
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: CalWORKs Program – Oppose Governor’s Budget Proposed Cuts
Dear Chair Menjivar and Chair Jackson,
On behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, I respectfully request that you oppose cuts to the CalWORKs program proposed in the Governor’s Budget, which total over $400 million. We join the concerns shared by other counties that these cuts will destabilize California’s CalWORKs program and the very low-income families it helps to meet basic needs for housing, food, utilities, clothing and medical care.
The Governor’s Budget proposes to eliminate the CalWORKs Family Stabilization (FS) Program beginning in the current fiscal year and annually ongoing. In Marin, the Family Stabilization program has provided support to 13 families since July, including interim hotel stays for those that were unhoused, mental health and substance use assistance, credit repair, domestic abuse support, clothing for adults and children, and intensive case management.
In addition to the proposed FS program eliminations, the Governor’s Budget proposes $218 million in ongoing cuts to the Single Allocation, which is the funding Marin uses to engage with low-income families to determine their needs. In Marin, these cuts to the Single Allocation would most directly require us to shift staff or leave positions vacant and would have an impact on application and redetermination processing, most certainly impacting the timeliness of case processing.
The CalWORKs benefits administrative work that Counties perform to meet state and federal timelines was already underfunded by $100 million statewide. We urge the Legislature to reject these significant cuts and look forward to continued collaboration with the Administration and Legislature to ensure the CalWORKs program not only meet the immediate financial needs of a family but that also improves the lives of families in a whole person centered approach.
Sincerely,
Dennis Rodoni, President
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Cc: Marin County Board of Supervisors
Senator Mike McGuire
Assemblymember Damon Connolly
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