Major Changes to Health and Human Services Could Harm Children and Families 

May 14, 2012
Los Angeles, CA

United Ways of California issued the following statement May 14, 2012 relating to children’s health, education and family financial stability in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s May Revise budget proposal. The Governor’s revised budget contains an alarming number of major changes that will affect children and families. On behalf of United Ways of California, Pete Manzo, President & CEO, said:

"This revised budget calls the question of what kind of California we all want to live in - do we believe we can again provide first-class educational opportunities, comprehensive health coverage for children and individuals, effective assistance to parents struggling to support their families, and help our state be more competitive in a global economy?

"This revised budget calls the question of what kind of California we all want to live in - do we believe we can again provide first-class educational opportunities, comprehensive health coverage for children and individuals, effective assistance to parents struggling to support their families, and help our state be more competitive in a global economy?

"The Governor’s May Revise perpetuates a vicious cycle in which hurtful cuts will again be made to those who can least afford it, harming California’s economic competitiveness and diminishing future revenues.  Budgets are about priorities and smart investments are even more important in hard economic times. We understand California’s governance systems severely constrain the Governor’s choices, but cutting Californians off from increased economic opportunity when we need to produce 1 million college grads over the next decade and to ensure the access to healthcare of 6 million additional Californians makes us all poorer in the future.

"The Governor’s May Revise jeopardizes California kids’ access to health care by again proposing to eliminate the Healthy Families Program and move nearly 900,000 kids into Medi-Cal despite objections from children’s advocates, consumer organizations, providers, and other community-based groups. Continued cuts to provider reimbursement and increased copays for California’s poorest families would also inhibit Californians’ ability to access crucial medical care, while at the same time the savings are being questioned.

"The Governor’s proposals also hurts families struggling to gain financial independence by reducing CalWORKs by $880 million and cutting child care funding by $443 million. These cuts prevent California families, many headed by low-income women, from getting the help they need to care for their children and find work that will allow them to regain their financial independence and recover from the recession.  

"Overall, funding for California's schools has been cut by more than $20 billion during just the last four years.   The combination of these cuts with the cuts to health and human services is toxic.  Our local United Ways know that in order to learn, children need access to regular health care, healthy food, and safe reliable child care, as well as a safe classroom with effective teachers.  In order for California to maintain its ranking as the 8th largest economy in the world, we must find ways to reverse our long-term disinvestment in K-12 and higher education.  California once led the nation and the world on education, and can again.  

"Health, education, and financial stability are the building blocks for a good life and as Californians, we must work to ensure our communities have access to these to help improve their overall wellness and our state’s future.

"In the end, this proposal hurts California's competitiveness and makes future revenue shortfalls – and thereby future additional cuts -  even more likely.  United Ways of California is committed to working with the Governor and Legislature to pass a final budget that protects our children, their families and our future."