Urges adoption of revenues and investments needed to advance a more equitable California

PASADENA, CALIF., UNITED STATES, January 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Statement attributable to Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO, GRACE & End Child Poverty California:

GRACE dares to dream of a future in which every child is valued and free. We applaud Governor Newsom’s Proposed 2024-25 Budget for protecting important investments and continuing critical progress toward making that vision a reality.

From day one, Governor Newsom has made ending child poverty his north star–and today is no different. We thank Governor Newsom and his Administration for continuing that commitment, again rejecting austerity and recognizing that when the state falls on hard times, the programs that help lift children and families out of poverty are needed more, not less.

In particular, the January budget reaffirms ongoing commitments to community-informed IMAGINE priorities, including:
• Universal School Meals
• The California Earned Income Tax Credit and Young Child Tax Credit
• Supporting Californians from Cradle to Career
• National pilot opportunity to advance a reimagined, family-centered CalWORKs

In the efforts to resolve the state’s budget problem, we will be looking closely at the proposed withdrawal from the Safety Net Reserve and the proposed cut to the CalWORKs Family Stabilization Program. The latter was created to ensure housing, mental health, safety, and family stability for some of our most vulnerable families with children. It is a program CalWORKs parents and advocates have prioritized for expansion.

Governor Newsom and legislative leaders have much to be proud of in creating and strengthening programs proven to prevent child poverty and build broad prosperity. These measures, along with federal investments made during the pandemic, drove child poverty to historic lows and closed long-standing racial inequities. As important as those gains are, income inequality in California continues to grow, and California still has the highest poverty rate of any state in the nation.

Our federal and state policymakers must continue to take decisive action. The good news is that the state and federal governments have unequivocally shown that poverty is a policy choice–and the state budget is a fundamental opportunity to advance a poverty-free future.

We urge the Governor and Legislature to continue to take actions needed to lift every California child and family out of poverty, through a combination of revenues to ensure that wealthy corporations pay their fair share and investments in programs proven to lift children and families out of poverty and reverse long-standing racial inequities.

Again, we thank Governor Newsom for his continued leadership to put wealth to work and ask him to ensure that the values of California’s budget, both revenues and investments, prioritize the future free from poverty we know is possible. We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders throughout the budget process.

About GRACE & End Child Poverty California

Founded by the Daughters of Charity, who have been working in California since 1852, GRACE is led by Shimica Gaskins. GRACE and End Child Poverty California (ECPCA) use education, advocacy, and mobilization programs to make a positive difference in the lives of low-income families and their children. GRACE dares to imagine a liberated  future,  free  from systemic racism and poverty,  in which all children experience a childhood  of  abundance,  love, dignity,  and opportunities  to  thrive.  To achieve this vision,  GRACE  is building a joyful movement by centering communities, building authentic partnerships, and advancing public investments  that create  transformative intergenerational change .  Learn more about GRACE and ECPCA at https://endchildpovertyca.org.

Linda Swank
GRACE & End Child Poverty CA
+1 626-356-4206
email us here
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