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What does the Legislature’s budget proposal mean for fighting child poverty?

Two-House Budget Agreement Highlights from ECPCA’s $10 Billion to Fight Poverty Budget Campaign

We are thrilled and appreciative to see many of the budget proposals supported by our Coalition reflected in the Legislature’s proposed state budget. We see these as vital to keeping the momentum on ending child poverty in California. In total, we estimate the Legislature has proposed over $11.1 billion dollars to fight poverty as supported by the End Child Poverty CA Coalition. We are especially excited and in full support to see the Legislature include the following investments:

Urgent Relief Payments

  • Providing $8 billion for the Better for Families Rebates to give $200 per taxpayer and dependent to address increasing costs of basic needs like food and gas;
  • Providing an additional rebate for CalWORKs families and those enrolled in the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment program

Child Care

  • Increasing the child care reimbursement rate to the 85th percentile of the regional market rate, and including a cost of living increase to the county regional market rate;
  • Investing $200 million in additional childcare facilities as proposed by the Governor’s May Revision;
  • Approving the waiving of family fees for childcare as proposed by the Governor’s May Revision

CalWORKs

  • Increasing CalWORKs grant levels starting July 1, 2023 and providing $789 million to increase CalWORKs grants to end deep child poverty

Child Support

  • Implementing a full-pass through of child support payments to families formerly receiving public assistance as proposed by the Governor’s January budget;
  • Implementing a full-pass through of child support payments to families currently on public assistance in 2024-2025 and on-going 

Transformative Investments

  • Creating the HOPE Account Program to provide trust fund accounts for low-income children who have lost parents or caregivers to COVID-19 and for children who experienced long-term foster care;
  • Approving $12 million as proposed by the Governor’s May Revision as assistance for Promise Neighborhoods to ensure low-income children and families receive place-based, wraparound services from cradle to career

GRACE & ECPCA Statement on CA Legislature’s Joint Budget Proposal

Statement by Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of GRACE/End Child Poverty CA:

“We are celebrating today’s announcement that the legislature’s latest budget deal includes a $100 million on-going commitment for HOPE accounts. Creating HOPE accounts for the tens of thousands of California children who lost a parent to COVID and long-term foster youth provides targeted support to our state’s most vulnerable children. The creation of HOPE accounts sets California onto a path for a brighter future, as we can proudly say that we are establishing baby bonds while also building a framework the state can build upon to shrink the racial wealth gap in our state and change the trajectory for millions of California children.

“We are grateful to Senator Nancy Skinner for championing the HOPE for Children Act and to our partners, Liberation in a Generation and End Poverty in California (EPIC), for working alongside GRACE & End Child Poverty CA to fight for this critical program to remain in the final budget.

“A budget is a statement of a state’s values, and this commitment to HOPE accounts makes it clear that California values our children. We urge the Governor to move quickly to sign this budget into law to ensure we can make an immediate down payment on our promise to give every child in California a chance to succeed.”

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RELEASE: Senate Budget Plan Targets Equitable and Innovative Investments to Put California’s Wealth to Work

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2022

Contacts: Linda Swank, lindaswank@grace-inc.org, 626-356-4206

The alignment of the Senate’s budget priorities and End Child Poverty’s $10 Billion to Fight Poverty package signals an exciting opportunity this legislative cycle for joint advocacy and collaboration between legislative leaders and anti-poverty advocates

The California Senate outlined equity & prosperity as their key values today. They put forth an innovative plan to make California’s wealth work for a more equitable economy. The Senate’s budget is in response to Gov. Newsom’s proposed state budget.

We applaud the Senate for prioritizing children and families. The 178 End Child Poverty CA Coalition members worked together on a groundbreaking anti-poverty plan this year. Our $10 Billion to Fight Poverty plan is within reach. The Senate’s new budget shows us the way. The Senate plan includes targeted and equitable investments to serve people most impacted by the economic repercussions of the pandemic and rising inflation costs. 

“The Senate’s proposed budget puts California’s wealth to work today, tomorrow, and into the future. Our leaders are embracing innovative approaches such as baby bonds. They’re keeping their promises to ensure no child lives in deep poverty. They’re providing targeted tax relief so we equitably build back better in our state,” said Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of Grace and End Child Poverty CA. 

We are especially thrilled to see the Senate include HOPE Accounts in the budget. HOPE Accounts are investment accounts to be created for children in poverty who had a primary caregiver die due to COVID-19, eligible foster youth, and more. With this inclusion, our leaders are planting the seeds to ensure California’s children have equitable opportunities in the future, taking the much needed first steps to combat the racial wealth gap and the opportunity gap that all poor children face. Similarly, we applaud and stand with the Senate’s plan to prevent the interception of tax credits intended to help Californians in poverty.

The alignment of the Senate’s budget priorities and End Child Poverty’s $10 Billion to Fight Poverty package signals an exciting opportunity this legislative cycle for joint advocacy and collaboration between legislative leaders and anti-poverty advocates to create long-term, transformative change for low-income families and communities of color. We are eager to work together to ensure that the deployment of the state’s surplus addresses the needs of families and children first and foremost.   

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The End Child Poverty in California campaign is a growing coalition of 178 anti-poverty organizations, allies, and advocates fighting for the resources and strategies to ensure ALL children can be healthy, housed and fed. Our coalition efforts have led to over $13 billion investments to support children and have successfully fought to double the size of the California Earned Income Tax Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit, expand health care, create new subsidized child care slots, and more.

Read more about the End Child Poverty Coalition’s $10 Billion Package to Fight Poverty

Continue reading below for the End Child Poverty Coalition’s summary of the Senate’s Budget package and how it reflects our $10 Billion Package to Fight Poverty. The summary is also available here.

Continue reading…

GRACE’s Conway Collis Announces Shimica Gaskins of the Children Defense Fund Will Succeed Him as President and CEO

Founding President & CEO of GRACE and End Child Poverty CA Conway Collis announced today that Shimica Gaskins will serve as the organization’s next President and CEO. Gaskins currently serves as Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund-California, She will assume her new role with GRACE on August 9th. 

“It has been an honor and a blessing to help found and lead GRACE and work with the Daughters of Charity for almost 20 years,” said Collis. “Hundreds of thousands of California children have been lifted from poverty because of the courage and dedication of the Daughters, the work of committed elected officials, and the advocates and providers who are part of the 173 End Child Poverty CA Coalition partner organizations.  We have achieved much together, and it is now the right time for me to continue this work in a new way. Therefore, it is with great pride that I welcome Shimica Gaskins as the next President and CEO of GRACE and End Child Poverty CA. Having worked with her through our End Child Poverty CA coalition and the State Lifting Children and Families from Poverty Task Force, I know firsthand just how impactful, committed and strategic Shimica is. Shimica is a blessing to GRACE, the End Child Poverty CA campaign and California’s families and children.”

“Child poverty is a human and fiscal crisis that requires moral, political and intellectual leadership to solve. We’ve been blessed to have had that leadership from Conway Collis for nearly two decades, and are doubly blessed to have found those same characteristics in Shimica Gaskins,” said Sister Julie Kubasak, D.C., Board Chair of GRACE and Provincial of the Daughters of Charity Province of Elizabeth Ann Seton.  “Shimica is the ideal leader for our advocacyon behalf of California’s children and families.”

“GRACE and End Child Poverty CA are all about impact, and so am I,” said Gaskins. “It’s not enough to develop the best policies – you have to organize, advocate and make change happen. That’s the ethos that Conway put into place at the End Child Poverty campaign, and it is my honor to take the reins from him. I am humbled by the faith put into me by the Daughters of Charity, who have been fighting for California’s poor since 1852. Carrying out the next chapter of their legacy will change the lives of hundreds of thousands of California families. That is our mission, and I cannot wait to get started.” 

In 2017, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA sponsored AB 1520, the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act, which formed a state Task Force, co-chaired by Collis, to create the End Child Poverty Plan released in 2018. Since then, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA has helped enact and secure funding for 33 of the 47 proposals in the Plan, representing $4.8 billion in new funding in each of the last three years to double the California Earned Income Tax Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit, expand health care, expand home visiting programs, create new subsidized childcare slots, and more. As a result of these investments, more than 290,000 California children and families moved out of poverty, and an additional 115,000 California children and families moved out of deep poverty, in 2020 alone. 

End Child Poverty CA is a coalition of 173 member organizations jointly sponsored by GRACE End Child Poverty Institute and GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage). GRACEis an anti-poverty non-profit and is a ministry of the Daughters of Charity, who have been serving the poor in California since 1852.

“Conway Collis has been a tireless champion for the working families and children of California, and it is a testament to his leadership that GRACE and End Child Poverty CA have grown into strong forces for economic justice,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  “It has been a privilege to fight alongside Conway for decades — on Foster Youth, Head Start and most recently the Biden Child Tax Credit, which we celebrated together last week.  While we will dearly miss Conway as he embarks on his next adventure, I am looking forward to carrying on the fight for our children alongside Shimica Gaskins, who is an inspiring leader and a powerful agent of change.”

‘With Conway Collis at the helm, GRACE and End Child Poverty CA have created the policy and advocacy playbook needed to make a significant contribution toward ending child poverty,” said Rep. Karen Bass, whose work with Collis dates back to her time as CA Assembly Speaker and who reached out to him to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors when she founded the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI). “Shimica Gaskins has the policy expertise and determination needed to fulfill the mission of her new role: to end child poverty in California.”

“Shimica Gaskins is perfect for President of End Child Poverty CA with her vast experience at the Children’s Defense Fund. As a partner of the End Child Poverty CA Coalition, I have worked with Shimica Gaskins through our coalition, she is a wonderful choice and I cannot wait to see her in action as our leader,” said Dolores Huerta. “Conway is a true fighter for children everywhere. I know that his next mission will keep him arm in arm with us, continuing the fight against child poverty.” 

“Shimica Gaskins is a bold champion for ending child poverty and eradicating the racial inequities underlying this crisis and harming our children and their families,” said Michael Tubbs. “She is the right leader to build on Conway and GRACE’s work as the new leader for GRACE and End Child Poverty CA at this critical moment.  I am thrilled to partner with her in the fight for economic justice.”

Gaskins is a graduate of The Catholic University of America and Georgetown University Law Center. After working for Covington and Burling, she served as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the US Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy under the Administration of President Barack Obama. She has led the Children’s Defense Fund-CA since 2017.  She is also a Commissioner on the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families. Gaskins is a board member for Impact Justice and California Budget and Policy Center.

Collis’s previous experience includes serving as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and as an elected member and Chair of the California State Board of Equalization. He is a graduate of Occidental College and Stanford Law School. 


End Child Poverty in California Leadership Announcement

Partners, Friends, and Colleagues:

We make today’s announcement that Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, GRACE/End Child Poverty CA’s Vice President of Policy and Advocacy has accepted the position of Chief Deputy at the California Children and Families Commission (First 5 California), with pride, and congratulations to Jackie in her new position, and deep gratitude for her service.  

Jackie has played a crucial and central leadership role in helping GRACE and the End Child Poverty CA (ECPCA) Coalition work with each of you, the Governor, and committed legislators in achieving the historic implementation of the recommendations made by the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force.  33 of the 47 Task Force recommendations have been adopted, with $4.8 billion in new comprehensive investments.  This progress could not have been achieved without Jackie’s guidance, experience, commitment, and the respect in which she is held within state government. 

Despite the loss of Jackie’s direct day to day involvement with GRACE/ECPCA, however, having served as a First 5 California Commissioner for eight years, I am grateful that she will now be in a central leadership role in implementing and building on the key 0–5-year-old investments that have been made.  Her wisdom and leadership are needed in her new role now more than ever.   We will continue to rely on her guidance and partnership.  Jackie’s letter to the GRACE/ECPCA coalition partners can be found here.

We are fortunate to also be able to announce that Michelle Rubalcava, an experienced attorney, former legislative staff member, and former Senior Legislative Advocate for Los Angeles County will join GRACE/ECPCA as our retained Policy Advocate.

Michelle has over twenty years of extensive experience in and around state politics as a legislative staff member, health care attorney, and legislative advocate.  She has worked for distinguished legislators such as Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny and Senator Bryon Sher.  As Senior Legislative Advocate for the County of Los Angeles, she specialized in health, mental health, and public health issues.  Her personal and professional experiences will assist and enhance GRACE/ECPCA’s ability to convene key legislative leaders, maximize the effectiveness of the ECPCA Coalition and add significant strength to our efforts to implement the End Child Poverty Plan.  Michelle has shown a deep commitment to the GRACE/ECPCA mission of ending child and family poverty in our state and we look forward to working with her.  She is Senior Counsel at the law firm of Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni, which has a long association with GRACE/ECPCA.

Conway

Conway Collis
President and CEO of GRACE & End Child Poverty California


Honoring Civil Rights Hero, John Lewis

Civil Rights Hero and Congressmember John Lewis died Friday, July 17, 2020. His light, guidance and words remain very much with us.

Three years ago, Rep. Lewis led the rally that launched GRACE’s End Child Poverty in California campaign. He told us: “Never, ever give up on any child. Never.”

Here is a clip of Congressman Lewis leading the rally kicking off GRACE’s End Child Poverty California campaign in 2017. It is inspiring.

Here are additional photos from the event we are proud to share. Rest in power, John Lewis.


2020 Wins for the End Child Poverty California Movement

We want to share End Child Poverty California movement wins from the most recent California budget.

In spite of the fact that this continues to be an incredibly difficult year, we are moving forward together. We’re proud to work with such a phenomenal group of partners, parents and advocates. We believe ALL our children deserve to be healthy, housed and fed.

On June 29, 2020, California’s newest state budget was finalized. For the first time ever, undocumented families are included in the poverty-fighting CalEITC cash-back tax credit.

This means money going directly to working families who have been left out of economic relief and necessary income supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. We know this money will be used in local communities. We know it will support some of our most vulnerable undocumented families who urgently need money for food, bills, and health care.

End Child Poverty California quote box: For the first time ever, undocumented families with young children are included in the poverty-fighting 
CalEITC cash-back tax credit

The CalEITC tax credit change applies to undocumented families who have children under six, and who file taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number. These families don’t have Social Security Numbers, but they pay taxes. The change also includes the $1,000 Young Child Tax Credit for any family with children under six earning $1 or more. These changes go into effect next year. For the first time, ALL California families with young children who file taxes and make less than about $30,000 per year will be eligible for these life-saving credits.

We will continue working hard alongside our partners and the CalEITC Coalition and the Safety Net For All Coalition (a network of over 125 organizations) so that more California families can be included in immediate and ongoing relief.

And there is more good news: Both of our End Child Poverty California Senate bills passed out of the State Senate with bipartisan support!

Senate Bill 1103: Workforce Support Services for Californians (Authored by Sen. Melissa Hurtado)

Many promising youth and community members haven’t been able to complete career training programs that lead to higher wage jobs and a path out of poverty, due to the daily challenges of living in poverty. These include lack of child care, commutes of two- to three-hours each way, and the need to work multiple low-wage jobs to support their families while going to training. 

End Child Poverty California Senate Bill 1103 quote from Alma Moreno of Sanger: Many of us have wanted to go back to school but the lack of child care and support makes it very difficult. It’s very difficult to take night classes when you don’t have transportation or resources. We would like to have a brighter future and fight child poverty in California. On behalf of the California Farmworkers Foundation, we strongly support SB 1103.

SB 1103 by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D – Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare Counties) creates the High Roads Workforce Training Program that addresses the issues that stop people from graduating. This is an important commitment to families and brighter futures. SB 1103 is particularly important to California’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

Read Alicia’s and Lesly’s stories about why SB 1103 is so important.

Senate Bill 1409: CalEITC Tax Credit Auto-filing Pilot for Families with Low Incomes (Authored by Senator Anna Caballero)

We know that many families earn so little that they are not required to file taxes, yet they are eligible for the CalEITC tax credit and Young Child Tax Credit that would help them with stability and basic necessities. 

SB 1409 authored by Senator Caballero (D – Salinas Valley and parts of the Central Valley) seeks to develop efficiencies in tax filing, so that families can directly receive their CA EITC  and other tax benefits.  Research has shown that as much as $2 Billion State and Federal Tax Credits are left unclaimed.  This bill would cut through bureaucracy and would create methods for direct payments to families.

End Child Poverty California Senate Bill 1409 quote from Senator Anna Caballero: Many of California’s most economically fragile households do not receive CalEITC because they may be unaware they qualify for this critical tax credit or simply do not file a tax return because they earn too little.

This crisis has had an outsized impact on our families in poverty and together we can make sure we change the way we support and create opportunities for families. Looking forward to sharing more good news in support of children and families soon.

More California budget news and analysis from partners:


End Child Poverty California Movement Meets with Congress Members to Urge Support for Children and Families

End Child Poverty movement co-chairs Dolores Huerta and Conway Collis, alongside dozens of End Child Poverty California movement partners, have begun speaking directly with members of Congress in California and now others across the country during the COVID-19 crisis. In the video advocacy calls, partners are sharing stories of what they are seeing on the ground as the crisis continues to unfold:

  • desperate need for cash-in-hand for families
  • food banks running out of food
  • transition-age foster youth with nowhere to go
  • parents in tears finding out they qualify for money in tax credits
  • community health clinics trying to get enough PPE as prices increase tenfold

Partners are also sharing clear ways that families and children in crisis can be supported in the next stimulus and relief package. The goal of the End Child Poverty California movement is clear: all children deserve to be healthy, fed and housed–in crisis and every day.

Thank you Representatives Adam Schiff, Anna Eshoo, Karen Bass, Ted Lieu and Zoe Lofgren for being champions for children and families.


Read additional stories of impact on our California stories page.


Video Call with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, 5/22/20

“I have been fighting for the child tax credit since 2003. We have a child tax credit system in place. Today it leaves out ⅓ of children, and families, because they earn too little. I’ve been fighting since the first CARES package, to get expansion of child tax credit, and it’s now full blown in this HEROES act. It’s fully refundable, so it brings those who have been left out and brings them in. If it’s done it will lift nearly one half of children out of poverty. The child tax credit is all about ending child poverty. I support direct payments, but the direct payments will go away the way they did in 2009. The mechanism, the foundation, the structure of the child tax credit is there, we need to build on it, we only have it for this year.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT

“We have served double the amount of people we usually serve on a monthly basis. We don’t just want to continue to serve people in crises, as important as it is. We want to provide the pathway to independence. We know that while we as professionals, or people who are doing work each and every day, we have statistics and individual stories, but there’s no better advocate than the individual who is actually experiencing a particular circumstance and has been able to develop his or her voice, to be sure that the story gets told in an authentic way.”

Bonita Grubbs, Executive Director, Christian Community Action

Video Call with Rep. Jimmy Gomez, 5/12/20

What motivates me is how working class people deal with daily life everything from how they work, how they make money, how do they get health care, how do they pay for their rent, their mortgage, based on my own experience, growing up without health care, seeing my parents work multiple jobs, seeing how these programs really provide a lifeline and even a boost up to really change their lives. Since coronavirus hit, how do we make sure how these people don’t get left behind? The coronavirus isn’t creating a health crisis, the disparities were already there. We’re trying to make sure that when we come out of this, we don’t have a further divide between the haves and the have nots.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-CA

We are seeing unbelievable needs. In the last 6 weeks we’ve already distributed 30,000 diapers, thousands of meals and other essentials like soap, and the demand is getting greater every day. We’ve provided 700 digital devices to preschool-age kids, because the digital divide affects them too, not just the K-12 students.  We are the safety net — the wraparound services – and we’re keeping kids engaged. At one of our partner schools in Watts, out of 350 students, 150 are unaccounted for. We’re really looking at a lost generation of students at this point. The services for pre-k through community college are so crucial.

Martine Singer, President & CEO, Children’s Institute

Video Call with Rep. Zoe Lofgren, 5/1/20

I’m grateful to all of you. I’m grateful for the work you do supporting children and families every day. We’ve taken note of every single effort you’ve raised. We will go to the speaker re-energized by this call, outlining the issues you’ve emphasized in particular, to see what we can get. We need substantial resources to the states… and [to] programs and nonprofits that are feeding children, housing children… we’re going to do our very best.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA

80% of people coming into get food now are coming in to get it for the first time. The situation is dire. We’re dealing with three crises at once: the pandemic, the economic collapse, and massive hunger.

Father Jon Pedigo, Catholic Charities Santa Clara County

Video Call with Rep. Anna Eshoo, 4/30/20

I want to say “thank you” to all the participants and the extraordinary work that you do day in and day out…We’re talking about people that are hungry, we’re talking about people who need nutrition, we’re talking about food banks that are running out of money. The case is clear that much more needs to be done. This is an important conversation that we’ve had today. I’ll do everything I can humanly do to address these things.

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-CA

Because of the existing fragility of the system of care, a recent national analysis showed that we could lose up to 4.5 million child care slots as a result of this crisis, including losing an estimated 51% in California if child care providers don’t receive support in the next few weeks.

Stacy Lee, Children Now

Video Call with Rep. Adam Schiff, 4/28/20

[W]e are seeing so much of society through the lens of this pandemic and it’s revealing so many of the changes we need to make. We need to ‘build back better.’ We need to take care of those most in need and also build the county back better than where we found it. [We can] emerge stronger as a result. In the meantime, we need to make sure families can get through this. 

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA

[The increased child tax credit] is one way that these families will be able to put food on the table, pay the rent… this is one way that families can sustain themselves. We’re glad for your leadership and we know you’re going to be our champion.

Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation

Video Call with Rep. Ted Lieu, 4/28/20

Thank you for being on this call and fighting the good fight. [The latest relief packages] are a necessary first step but not enough, far to small and far too short. 

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-CA

What we’re seeing is our communities falling deeper into poverty. We’ve been working on workers rights and protecting against exploitation. Over the last few weeks those calls have stopped and all the calls we’re getting are from people who are no longer employed at all. Oftentimes folks in our communities don’t have access…state agencies are overwhelmed… Looking at the expansion of the child tax credit–it’s a really critical piece to enhance income for low-income families and ultimately help families to get the cash assistance they need.

Aileen Louie, Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Video Call with Rep. Karen Bass, 3/26/20

When you have a crisis like this, you don’t know how your communities are going to be impacted. It’s why the work you’re doing is critically important. We need to educate about poverty. Everything your campaign is doing is lifting everyone’s education. You’re setting an example that can be replicated across the country.

This is a pandemic. It doesn’t discriminate based on whether a person is documented or undocumented. We will not succeed in a fourth package unless we organize. We’re talking about bringing together the entire civil rights and social justice community. We need to be very prescriptive in what we need to get passed and then fight for it. 

Rep. Karen Bass, D-CA, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

These Federal legislative visits have averaged 45 participants per call for a total of 276 participants across six calls to-date (5-20-20).


Support #SB1103 & #SB1409 California’s Current End Child Poverty Plan Legislation

Lesly Henriquez smiling at the camera wearing a maroon tank top.

Join us: ask leaders to pass two important pieces of legislation right now that fight economic inequality. We want to build a better California with high-wage, high-earning jobs for solid futures. We want families to get the support they need without obstacles. We don’t want to recover from crisis to the way things were before.

Your clicks matter in getting these two End Child Poverty Plan policies passed now:

  • SB 1103 the High Roads Workforce Training Program focuses on making sure promising workers don’t face obstacles to finishing job training programs (authored by Sen. Melissa Hurtado)
  • SB 1409 the CalEITC autofiling pilot tests out a way to get Californians who qualify for critical tax credits auto-enrolled so that we can cut red tape and get families the money they are owed. This money goes directly into local communities and supports children and families (authored by Sen. Anna Caballero)

We must recover from COVID-19 into a new California
that prioritizes equity.

↓↓ More ways to raise your voice ↓↓

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The High Roads Workforce Training Program removes obstacles to great jobs. #SB1103 is economic justice at work. Let’s take the #HighRoadToRecovery. @portantino @SenatorPatBates @SteveBradford @SenBrianJones @SenatorLeyva @BobWieckowskiCA @SenToniAtkins #CALeg #EndChildPovertyCA

Let’s remove roadblocks that stop youth from launching careers. With #HighRoadToRecovery, Eustolia can build her future again.➡️Pass #SB1103⬅️@portantino @SenatorPatBates @SteveBradford @SenBrianJones @SenatorLeyva @BobWieckowskiCA @SenToniAtkins #CALeg https://youtu.be/ZwNa3Sub-2g 

We believe in the power of proven poverty-fighting tools like #CalEITC. Let’s make it simpler for everyone who qualifies to get it. #SB1409#EndChildPovertyCA#CutRedTape@portantino@SenatorPatBates@SteveBradford@SenBrianJones@SenatorLeyva@BobWieckowskiCA@SenToniAtkins

Call A Leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee

These two bills need to pass out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Choose an elected leader on the committee to call:

  • Senator Anthony J. Portantino (Chair) (916) 651-4025
  • Senator Patricia C. Bates (Vice Chair) (916) 651-4036
  • Senator Steven Bradford (916) 651-4035
  • Senator Jerry Hill (916) 651-4013
  • Senator Brian Jones (916) 651-4038
  • Senator Connie M. Leyva (916) 651-4020
  • Senator Bob Wieckowski (916) 651-4010

Hi, my name is _________ and I live in __________. Thanks so much for everything you’re doing to help communities recover from COVID-19. I’m calling to ask for your support of two bills that are part of California’s End Child Poverty Plan: SB 1103 and SB 1409.

The High Roads Workforce Training Program, Senate Bill 1103, will create pathways to high-wage jobs for disconnected youth, youth-at-risk and farm workers. These Californians face some of the biggest roadblocks to recovery. This bill is a chance for California to offer new, better futures for people living in poverty. 

The CalEITC autofiling pilot tests out a way to get low-income Californians the money they are owed in important tax credits. This money is a life-saver for families and helps parents take care of kids.

Thank you!

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Share These Videos

  1. Sophia speaks in support of SB 1103 and discusses trying to build her future while managing school, full-time fast-food work, and parenting: https://vimeo.com/427918005 
  2. Lesly talks about the critical importance of having child care in order to fulfill career dreams: https://vimeo.com/427916652
  3. Eustolia talks about how not having transportation stopped her from finishing her welding program even though she was at the top of the class and a consistent over-achiever: https://youtu.be/ZwNa3Sub-2g 
  4. Alicia talks about how youth who have to work multiple jobs to help their families can’t access may internship and training opportunities: https://youtu.be/JeQHZuGOxlw

RELEASE: Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Statement on the Death of George Floyd


Dear Partners and Supporters,

I want to share the statement below with you from GRACE’s sponsors, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (part of Daughters of Charity USA) on the murder of George Floyd expressing the outrage and commitment to action that we all feel in the deepest part of our being.  

GRACE/End Child Poverty CA commits to working with you on specific actions to eliminate racism in every part of American life, including law enforcement. 

Conway

Conway Collis
President and CEO of GRACE & End Child Poverty California


June 5, 2020 

Statement on the Death of George Floyd 

We, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul USA, unite our hearts, voices, prayers, presence, and action with those of people of goodwill around the globe in affirming that black lives matter. 

We. Are. Outraged. 

The charity of Christ impels us to speak out, as yet another black man has died at the hands of law enforcement. Actions by those in authority in our law enforcement system reveal again and again a broken system of chronic racism that hurts humanity. 

We call for an immediate cessation of racist actions against people of color by all in positions of authority including all levels of law enforcement, legal systems, and governments. We call for national systemic change eradicating racism and eliminating white supremacy and white privilege. 

We. Are. In solidarity. 

When a sister or brother begs for help, begs for life, begs for air, begs to be released, and ultimately succumbs to death due to asphyxiation, we all symbolically suffocate. Our hearts ache with sorrow for Mr. Floyd’s friends and family, some still too young to comprehend the magnitude of the appalling circumstances resulting in their father’s unjust and agonizing death at the hands of out of control law enforcement. 

We applaud Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, and the Minnesota legal system for taking firm action to indict all four officers involved covertly or overtly in the death of our brother, George Floyd. 

We. Are. Committed to Action. 

As women given to God, in community, to serve Christ in the those who are poor, we pledge to confront racism within ourselves and where we encounter it. We pledge to live Catholic Social Teaching. We join with others in the faith community in acknowledging our own complicity in institutional racism and we ask forgiveness of our sisters and brothers of color. We pledge to join others in building the Kingdom of God. 

“We must love our neighbor as being made in the
image of God and as an object of His love.”
St. Vincent de Paul 

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The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of the United States of America comprises two Provinces of nearly 500 sisters serving in social services, prison ministry, health care, education, immigration, prevention of trafficking, and more. 


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