Governor Brown's proposed budget for '12-'13 begins the consolidation of funding and administration for several child care programs -- a plan that is continued in '13-'14 with the proposal shift from the current authority of the state Dept. of Education and local contractors to the state Dept. of Social Services and county welfare departments.
The change, as is pointed out in the January 11, 2012 "Overview of the Governor's Budget," from the Legislative Analyst's Office, "...means that there would no longer be a dedicated funding stream for low-income working families that have never received CalWORKs cash assistance. Depending on local priorities and funding availability, county welfare departments would choose to continue offering services to these families. By eliminating subsidized child care for all families who are not working sufficient hours in unsubsidized employment, as well as ultimately transferring the responsiblity for the state's subsidized child care system to DSS and county welfare departments, the Governor's proposal would focus the intent of these programs on supporting low-income families' ability to find and retain unsubsidized employment."
The Legislative Analyst's Office comments on these specifics in the budget proposal acknowledge that the Governor's stated priorities for the subsidized child care program emphasize work -- and that the CalWORKS program has beeen focused on two, often financially competitive, primary goals: "...supporting the efforts of low-income families to find work and become self-sufficient and (2) ensuring a basic level of subsistence for all families in the state."
The LAO also notes that the Governor's focus on work "would improve the state's ability to meet overall program work participation requirements established by the [Temporary Assistance to Needy Families] program -- which the state is currently failing to do. Failing to meet these requjirements could result in significant federal sanctions and reductions to the state's federal TANF block grant."
Regarding the restructuring of the administration and funding system, the LAO report states [emphases ours]:
"...We ...find that the Governor's attempt to consolidate, streamline, and prioritize the state's overly complicated child care delivery system has some merit. Specifically, the proposal would replace multiple state programs -- and multiple reimbursement rates, contract administrators, and eligibility criteria -- with one uniform approach."
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