This article originally appeared in the January-February 2003 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Children's Advocates Roundtable

Budget-cut proposals: Roundtable response

Member organizations of the Children's Advocates Roundtable met in December to begin mapping strategies for protecting children and families from devastating cuts in state programs (see Governor proposes cuts this year).

They agreed on three main points:

• Advocates for children will unite to oppose harmful cuts in all areas: child care, health, child welfare, etc.-the same low- and moderate-income families depend on all these services.
  
  
• Roundtable members argue that some of the proposed cuts would end up costing the state more. For example, if child care for former welfare recipients is cut, many families will be forced back on welfare. If the number of families eligible for Medi-Cal is reduced, those families will go to emergency rooms for their health care.
  
  
• Advocates will push for a balanced budget strategy that includes new sources of income as well as cuts.

Several legislators have already introduced bills aimed at increasing state revenue:

AB 4 (Chan) would raise income taxes for people in the highest brackets, who are benefiting from substantial cuts in federal income taxes.

AB 17 (Escutia) would require counties to reassess commercial property when ownership changes, so corporations would pay a fair share of property taxes.

ACA 11 (Longville) would allow budgets to be passed by majority vote instead of the current requirement for a two-thirds majority.

SB 5x (Romero) would place a 5-cents-a-drink tax on alcoholic beverages to pay for alcohol-related services including are in emergency rooms and trauma centers and services of "first responders."

For more information on the Children's Advocates Roundtable and its response to budget-cut proposals, contact the Children's Advocacy Institute, 916-444-3875.

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Applying the new federal education law

Last year the federal government passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires states to test public school students every year and creates many programs intended to ensure that all students have a quality education.

Action guide for parents and community leaders

The Public Education Network has developed a guide for community leaders, parents, and educators on how to use the No Child Left Behind law to advocate for improved public education. The guide explains the long and complicated law and identifies 10 main areas for action. It's available for downloading at www.publiceducation.org. You can also order a free single hard copy at the web site or by calling 202-628-7460.

ACORN report on problems

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN ®) has released a study documenting problems in the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. ACORN's study of 23 states including California found that:

• Three-quarters of the states, including California, weren't doing enough to make sure children in failing schools have access to tutoring. (To find out if your school qualifies, go to www.cde.ca.gov, then No Child Left Behind, or call Maria Reyes, 916-319-0380.)
  
  
• More than half the states, again including California, haven't yet adopted an official definition of a "highly qualified" teacher. That's important because the new federal law requires schools to notify parents if their child doesn't have a "highly qualified teacher."

The law also requires that teachers in schools served by Title 1 (the federal remedial education program for schools with a large share of low-income students) must have equal experience when compared to other schools in the district. The law also gave school districts a 20-30% increase in Title 1 funding for this school year.

ACORN organizes parents in low-income communities to push for better schools. ACORN groups are monitoring whether Title 1 schools have teachers with equal experience to those in other district schools. They have also been pressing school districts to make sure that the increased funds for Title 1 are distributed to schools.

For more information contact ACORN at 214-826-1443 or go to www.acorn.org.

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Hunger in California

Research shows millions at risk for hunger

A study released in November showed that more than 2.2 million California adults are unsure of being able to get enough food ("food insecure") and a third of those actually experience hunger. Half of those adults, 1.1 million, live in households with children. The counties with the greatest share of hungry people are in the Central Valley, where much of the nation's food is grown. The study was done by the state, UCLA, and a private research institute.

An earlier study by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 5.1 million Californians were "food insecure." The difference, says California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), is mainly that the federal study also counted children. Nationally the Census Bureau found a 10 percent increase in hunger since 1999. Rates of hunger were higher for African Americans and Latinos and higher in central cities and rural areas.

Advocates outline anti-hunger agenda

CFPA notes that only half the Californians eligible for food stamps actually receive them. They are calling for changes in the food stamp program to make it easier for more people to participate:

• Eliminate the requirement for fingerprinting
  
  
• Allow counties to waive the requirement for a face-to-face interview
  
  
• Make sure former welfare recipients can get five months of food stamps after they leave welfare.
  
  
• Drop the ban on food stamps for families with a car worth more than $4,500.

In addition, CFPA wants the state to increase funding for school meals, so school meals can include higher quality food.

For more information, contact California Food Policy Advocates, 415-777-4422, www.cfpa.net.

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Healthy Families works!

A study of the Healthy Families program, which provides low-cost health insurance to children in low- and moderate-income families, shows that children in the program have better health and do better in school.

The Health Status Assessment Project by researchers at UC San Diego and Children's Hospital of San Diego, surveyed families who enrolled children in Healthy Families a year ago. Overall, families reported a 25 percent improvement in their children's health. Of the children whose health had improved, more than two-thirds reported improvements in "paying attention in class" and "keeping up with school activities."

State budget cuts have reduced funds for outreach to enroll more children in Healthy Families, but the California Teachers Association and the California Association of Health Plans have begun their own outreach.

The 100% Campaign, a coalition of child advocacy organizations, has been working for years to increase children's enrollment in public health insurance and advocate for better health care for children. For more information call 510-663-1294 or go to www.100percentcampaign.org.

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Governor proposes cuts this year

With the total state budget deficit estimated at $30 billion and rising, Governor Gray Davis has proposed a plan to close the budget gap for the current year (July 2002 through June 2003) with no tax increases. Instead, he would close 85 percent of the gap by cutting programs and services, the other 15 percent by shifting funds and borrowing.

Any budget cuts must be passed by the legislature, which met in a special session in December and will continue in special session in January.

A summary by the Children's Advocacy Institute highlights major cuts that would affect children and families including:

• Eliminating "Stage 3" child care subsidies for former welfare recipients who have left welfare two or more years ago.
  
  
• Eliminating the Child Development Policy Advisory Committee, a forum where the public can voice concerns about state child care programs.
  
  
• Eliminating all funds for Healthy Start school-based services programs (most of the funds were already eliminated in the budget passed in the summer).
  
  
• Cutting K-12 school spending by $1.51 billion, down to the minimum level guaranteed by Prop. 98.
  
  
• Bringing back "quarterly status reports" people must file to stay on Medi-Cal.
  
  
• Cutting the number of two-parent families eligible for Medi-Cal. Currently families qualify if their incomes are under the poverty line. The proposal would give Medi-Cal only to families whose incomes are below 66 percent of the poverty level (under $10,000 for a family of three).
  
  
• Reducing Medi-Cal payments to health care providers by 10 percent. Already many doctors refuse to take Medi-Cal patients because they consider the payments too low.
  
  
• Eliminating cost-of-living increases for families on CalWORKs, SSI and SSP.
  
  
• Eliminating a fund for foster parent training and reducing inspections of foster care residential facilities.

For more information, contact the Children's Advocacy Institute, 916-444-3875, www.caichildlaw.org.

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Parent Voices demonstration

Parent Voices staged a demonstration at the state Capitol Dec. 16 to protest Governor Davis's proposal to eliminate "Stage 3" child care subsidies-child care for former welfare recipients who left welfare two years ago or more. Protesters measured one inch of sidewalk for each of the 55,000 kids who would lose child care if Stage 3 were cut, adding up to one mile circling the Capitol. The Child Care Committee of the Children's Advocates Roundtable continues to meet in four working groups to come up with a response to proposed budget cuts. For more information call Lupe Diaz at the Children's Advocacy Institute, 916-444-3875 or Nancy Strohl at the Child Care Law Center, 415-495-5498.

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