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Interested in Baby Bonds? ECPCA Has You Covered

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Update: July 20, 2022

GRACE Celebrates Groundbreaking $115 Million Investment in HOPE Accounts for Children Orphaned by COVID-19 and Foster Youth!

Governor Gavin Newsom approved the state’s 2022-2023 budget with vital investments secured for over 32,000 children orphaned by COVID and children who are in long-term foster care.

GRACE & End Child Poverty California (ECPCA), John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), End Poverty in California (EPIC), and Liberation in a Generation worked diligently alongside partners and California leaders for the inclusion of HOPE Trust Fund Accounts in the final budget. The Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment (HOPE) for Children Act – championed by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – will lay the foundation for future expansion of child trust accounts, or baby bonds, as a tool to support wealth building and economic opportunity for California children living in poverty. Approximately 1 in 5 children live in poverty in our state. 

HOPE Accounts will support children from low-income families who lost a primary caregiver to COVID-19, as well as children who are in long-term foster care. HOPE funds will be available when a child turns 18. They will allow children to invest in their education, start a business, or support purchasing transportation or housing. Access to wealth-building tools is critical to shrink the state’s persistent racial wealth gap. The budget agreement provides $100 million in one-time funding and $15 million in ongoing funding for the HOPE Account program.

“HOPE Accounts will provide a level of financial protection—of wealth—that allows children in foster care and children orphaned by COVID the ability to seed their futures with dreams instead of worries. HOPE Accounts give young people the power, agency, and dignity to build wealth now and into the future.

Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO at GRACE & End Child Poverty CA

Cody Van Felden, a foster youth advocate at John Burton Advocates for Youth said, “The guarantee of baby bonds means so much to me. I have done so much advocating for this because, as a first step, baby bonds will begin to eradicate generational poverty. I did not get a running start in getting out of poverty; therefore, I must work twice as hard to ensure my daughter does not stay stuck in poverty. Baby bonds will give others like me that running start to take control of their life.”

California has the highest child poverty rate in the country, with stark economic disparities that track along racial lines. Baby bonds work to close the racial wealth gap and end cycles of intergenerational poverty by providing guaranteed capital that recipients can use to build wealth and establish financial security. Providing access to this seed fund of capital directly combats the effects of racist and classist policy choices that created the racial wealth gap in the first place. Baby bonds are an increasingly prominent policy tool for combating the lasting effects of that history and charting a better path forward. In 2021, the state of Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. each enacted similar programs. Additionally, federal proposals have been introduced by Senator Cory Booker and Representative Ayanna Pressley.

Introduction to Baby Bonds & CA’s Hope Accounts

May 19, 2022

One of End Child Poverty California’s key legislative requests during 2022–and a topic that the GRACE team is championing–is the HOPE for Children Act. This request regards the establishment of Hope Accounts for California youth that are experiencing economic insecurity due to the pandemic and also those that have been involved with the child welfare system.

What will Hope Accounts Do? This proposal will create California’s first “baby bond program,” or trust fund accounts for foster youth in long term care and children orphaned by COVID-19.

Unlike their peers, these children–and other low-income California youth–do not have the cushion of parent or family wealth to rely on when they become adults. This makes it even harder for our young adults to finance an education, buy a house, start a business, and make other moves that would allow them to move out of poverty and into long-term financial stability for themselves AND their families.

A Quick Vocabulary Lesson. Wealth is what a person owns: a person’s net worth, or total assets minus liabilities. This includes items like cash, homes and real estate, cars, jewelry, etc. Income is what a person earns over a certain period, like a salary, sales profits, etc. These two are not the same. Income can generate wealth, but takes time to do so. Having a high paying job doesn’t automatically mean someone is wealthy.

Why Are HOPE Accounts Important? HOPE Accounts are a pathway toward ensuring low-income children in California will have the opportunity to realize their dreams. We are urging the Legislature to create these accounts ASAP for 32,500 children orphaned by COVID and foster youth.

A video primer featuring GRACE President & CEO Shimica Gaskins and End Poverty in California founder Michael Tubbs is available here for everyone to watch and share.

Current Status: This budget proposal is championed by Senator Skinner (D-Berkeley) and is a budget priority for the Senate. Sign on here to tell our policymakers that we need HOPE Accounts NOW.

Read our one-pager and policy brief, included below, for more information on both the Hope for Children Act and baby bonds.

UPDATED-HOPE-for-Children-Act-of-2022Download
GRACE-ECPCA-Hope-Accounts-Brief-March-2022Download

2020 Wins for the End Child Poverty California Movement

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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:

RELEASE: End Child Poverty California Response to Governor’s Announcement of Aid for Undocumented Californians

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APRIL 15, 2020

The governor’s announcement was the clearest possible statement that we are all in this together. It is a watershed moment in recognizing undocumented residents as full participants in California life. This desperately needed assistance recognizes that undocumented Californians are integral to our communities and our economy, and fills gaps left by a federal assistance plan that excludes millions of Californians.

Conway Collis, End Child Poverty California President & CEO

End Child Poverty California Co-Chair Conway Collis issued the following statement today following Gov. Newsom’s announcement of $125 million in financial assistance for undocumented Californians:

“The governor’s announcement was the clearest possible statement that we are all in this together. It is a watershed moment in recognizing undocumented residents as full participants in California life. This desperately needed assistance recognizes that undocumented Californians are integral to our communities and our economy, and fills gaps left by a federal assistance plan that excludes millions of Californians.

“The Governor’s aid package is similar to the one within the California Covid-19 Anti-Poverty Stimulus Package proposed by End Child Poverty CA and the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and we thank him for his bold action. 

“We expect this initial funding to be quickly exhausted, so we look forward to working with our leaders in Sacramento to ensure we keep help coming to where it’s needed most. We and others have proposed ongoing financial assistance for the lowest-income Californians. The need is clear for these types of payments to continue into the future, because all Californians deserve to be healthy, fed & housed.  

“I’ve never been prouder to be a Californian.” 

End Child Poverty CA Movement 2021 Priorities

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Child poverty is not a fact of nature. Together, we’ll make sure ALL our children are healthy, fed, and housed.

Before the pandemic we had approximately 2 million children in poverty and 450,000 childrenin extreme poverty. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation for families working hard toget ahead. In 2019 the state budget invested $4.8 Billion in End Child Poverty Plan recommendations and preserved and built on them in 2020. We still have much work to do.

#EndChildPovertyCA 2021 Movement Priorities

  1. Coordination of Services: Continue to improve the cost-effectiveness of programs that support families, focusing on community-based, collaborative, research-based solutions.
  2. Child Care: Improve access and availability to childcare and address the childcare crisisas exacerbated by the Pandemicby adequately meeting the business needs of child careproviders. Child care is a lifeline to keep parents working and families stable.
  3. Housing: Increase overall housing availability and reduce evictions so that children and families don’t face the trauma and stress of homelessness, exacerbated by the pandemic recession.
  4. Health Care: Strengthen and expand community based and school-based health careclinics to meet families where they are so that they can get the care they need. Within anequity framework provide COVID vaccines in high needs communities and ensure healthaccess for ALL families and children irregardless of immigration status.
  5. Safety Net: Continue to expand on the CAEITC the Young Child Tax Credit. Supportefforts to expand Pandemic EBT sothat families can feed their families, during thiseconomic crisis. Increase cash policies so that families can meet basic needs (i.e.,increase SSI payments, UI for ITIN filers, etc.…) 

Download a printable version of the 2021 #EndChildPovertyCA Priorities

End Child Poverty California 2021 Movement PrioritiesDownload

The End Child Poverty in California campaign is sponsored by GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage) and the End Child Poverty Institute to end extreme child poverty and reduce overall child poverty in California.  In close partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation, we are working to increase support and community engagement across the state. We invite you to be part of the movement to address the highest child poverty rate in the nation by implementing simple solutions to a complex issue. 

What a difference a year makes!

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This time last year, the Lifting Children Out of Poverty Task Force released California’s first-ever End Child Poverty Plan. For change-makers across the state, “Pass the Plan” became a rallying call to the governor and legislative leaders to make ending extreme child poverty a top priority — and they showed that they cared.   

The plan will END extreme child poverty in California and cut overall child poverty in half. It’s bold, and it took a year of teamwork, research, and engagement to produce.  

California is the only state with a plan to end extreme child poverty. Together, we’re going to make it a reality.

⇒ Take our short survey to tell us why you’re involved!

Watch faith leaders speak at last December’s #PassthePlan release rally:

This is your plan: You helped fight for it by sharing news with your network, showing up in Sacramento and all over the state, and believing in the mission. Because of our hard work together…

  • The California legislature passed key recommendations from the plan this year. 
  • Almost $5 billion in End Child Poverty Plan investments were adopted in the state budget.
  • More than 60 organizations and 47,000 Californians have become involved to #EndChildPovertyCA — and more are joining every day.

We are incredibly grateful to you and our community. We’re sharing our gratitude now through the start of 2020, and we want to hear from you.

⇒ Take a few minutes to tell us why you’re with us.

We look forward to sharing some of your answers alongside ours on Giving Tuesday and throughout December.

With deep gratitude,

Conway, Jackie, Cristina, and the End Child Poverty CA team

The Next Phase of Our Movement

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November 2019 — Our movement to end child poverty in California is entering a critical new phase — and we want you to be a part of it from the start.

End Child Poverty California is partnering with civil rights leader, founder, and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Dolores Huerta, to build a grassroots army of Californians ready to end child poverty in our state for good. 

This is a big moment for our movement — and a huge moment for the future of California kids. Help us mark this milestone by sharing the news with your friends today!

We couldn’t be more proud to partner with a woman who has dedicated her life to showing people the power they have. Dolores Huerta founded the United Farm Workers movement along with César Chávez. She coined the slogan, “¡Sí se puede!” And in 2002, she established the Dolores Huerta Foundation for grassroots community organizing to empower people to fight for the changes they want to see in their communities.

Here’s what Dolores has to say: 

“The great social justice changes in our country have happened when people came together, organized, and took direct action. It’s time for us to come together to end this child poverty crisis that’s destroying our children’s futures. We can do this. ¡Sí se puede!”

We have one big goal: to fully end extreme child poverty within the next four years. Then we’ll keep going to make sure ALL California children have the chance to thrive.

End Child Poverty CA Roundtable in San Bernardino with Dolores Huerta, hosted by Assemblymember Eloise Reyes at Community Action Partnership, with attending organizations including Child Care Resource Center, Golden State Opportunity, San Bernardino County Preschool services, and sisters of the Daughters of Charity

Here’s what we’re asking you to do next: Share about the End Child Poverty CA + Dolores Huerta Foundation partnership. Let your people know what’s going on. We’ll follow up soon to ask you what you’d like your next step in the movement to be.

→ Grab this link to share: https://www.endchildpovertyca.org/next-phase/

→ Leave us a note and share the news on Facebook.

→ Click here to share on Twitter.

We look forward to working with the Dolores Huerta Foundation to mobilize communities across the state so that all our children have a brighter future and all our families can thrive! 

California has 450,000 children living in deep poverty. We’re also the only state with a plan to END it. Californians across the state know that all our children can thrive. Already, almost $5 billion has been put toward the End Child Poverty Plan in the 2019-2020 state budget. Investments to end child poverty will pay for themselves over time as parents and children become healthier in body, mind, and spirit, and are able to break free from poverty.

There’s more work to do. In California, we have the research, the plan, and the momentum to end child poverty. Now we need the political and moral courage to see it through.

Join the movement. Add your email at endchildpovertyca.org.

Una Nueva Fase Crítica

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Nuestro movimiento para terminar con la pobreza infantil en California está entrando en una nueva fase crítica, y queremos que formes parte de ella desde el inicio.

Terminar con la pobreza infantil CA se está asociando con el ícono de los derechos civiles Dolores Huerta y su fundación para construir un ejército a base de californianos listos para terminar con la pobreza infantil de nuestro estado para siempre.

Este es un gran momento para nuestro movimiento — y un gran momento para el futuro de los niños de California. ¡Ayúdanos a marcar este momento compartiendo las noticias con tus amigos hoy!

Estamos orgullosos de asociarnos con una mujer que ha dedicado su vida a mostrar el poder que tienen las personas. Dolores Huerta fundó el movimiento United Farm Workers junto con César Chávez. Ella dio a luz el eslogan, “¡Sí se puede!”  En el 2002, estableció la Fundación Dolores Huerta para la organización comunitaria a base de empoderar a las personas a luchar por los cambios que quieren ver en sus comunidades.

Esto es lo que Dolores tiene que decir:

Los grandes cambios en la justicia social en nuestro país se produjeron cuando las personas se unieron, organizaron y tomaron medidas directas. Es hora de que nos unamos para poner fin a esta crisis de pobreza infantil que está destruyendo el futuro de nuestros hijos. Podemos hacerlo. ¡Sí se puede!”
Mesa redonda <<End Child Poverty CA>> en San Bernardino con Dolores Huerta, dirigida por Asambleísta Eloise Gómez Reyes

Tenemos un gran objetivo: terminar por completo con la pobreza infantil extrema en los próximos cuatro años. Luego, nos aseguraremos de que TODOS los niños de California tengan la oportunidad de prosperar.

Esto es el próximo paso que le pedimos que hagan: Comparta sobre Terminar con la pobreza infantil CA + la Fundación Dolores Huerta para acabar con la pobreza infantil en las redes sociales y reenvíe este correo electrónico. Hazle saber a tu gente lo que está pasando. Haremos un seguimiento pronto para preguntarles y asesorarnos cuál es el próximo paso que debemos tomar en el movimiento.

→ Copie y comparta esta página: https://www.endchildpovertyca.org/una-nueva-fase-critica/

→ Comparta Terminar con la pobreza infantil CA en Facebook.

→ Retuitear Terminar con la pobreza infantil en Twitter.

¡Esperamos trabajar con la Fundación Dolores Huerta para movilizar comunidades en todo el estado para que todos nuestros niños tengan un futuro mejor y todas nuestras familias puedan prosperar!

ACTION: Get Loud for Child Care & Foster Youth

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Child care and strong support for foster youth are two pieces of the End Child Poverty Plan facing upcoming hearings. (See below for good news about support for foster youth!)

The power of the End Child Poverty Plan is in its comprehensive approach. It tackles many factors that push families into poverty or keep them there. There’s no magic bullet. Get involved and stay involved: share this post and tweet or share to Facebook in support of the End Child Poverty Plan Legislation.

CHILD CARE: BUDGET HEARING + AB 194 

ASSEMBLY BUDGET HEARING 3/26

TWEET THIS

We support expansion of #childcare for CA families. Parents are losing jobs because they can’t get care. Our families can’t wait. @AsmKevinMcCarty @Bill_Brough @J_GallagherAD3 @AsmMoniqueLimon @AsmJoseMedina @AsmMuratsuchi @AsmPatODonnell @PhilTing @JayObernolte #EndChildPoverty

CLICK TO RETWEET: https://twitter.com/EndChildPovCA/status/1110554014142197768

AB 194, Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D- San Bernardino) 

AB 194 will dramatically expand access to child care through a $1B investment, which is long overdue. Your tweets and social shares let our leaders know there’s deep support for expanding child care access and affordability.

TWEET THIS

Without child care, parents can’t work to provide for their families. Parents need affordable, reliable care. We support #AB194 (@AsmReyes47) to expand #childcare for CA families. #EndChildPoverty @AD26Mathis @AsmStevenChoi68 @laurafriedman43 @AsmMikeGipson @BMaienschein

Click to tweet: https://ctt.ac/bXm5Y

***

Child care is life-changing. Without it, parents can’t go to school to build their careers. We support #AB194 (@AsmReyes47) to expand #childcare for CA families. @AD26Mathis @AsmStevenChoi68 @laurafriedman43 @AsmMikeGipson @BMaienschein #EndChildPoverty #PassThePlan

Click to tweet: https://ctt.ac/yJOW4

SUPPORTS FOR FOSTER YOUTH: AB 531

Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale)

Foster youth experience homelessness and housing instability at much higher rates than their peers. In one survey, over 35% of youth experienced homelessness while enrolled in extended foster care. California has expanded its transitional-age programs for foster youth aged 18-24 in recent years. Now we need to fulfill our promise to support them with AB 531: increased access to safe, stable housing.

GOOD NEWS: AB 531 will be adopted unanimously. Help us say THANK YOU to the members of the Assembly Human Services Committee. 

TWEET THIS

CA made a promise to #fosteryouth. THANK YOU @AsmReyes47 @AD26Mathis @AsmStevenChoi68 @laurafriedman43 @AsmMikeGipson @BMaienschein for helping keep it. #AB531 provides transitional housing support for foster youth as they become adults. #EndChildPoverty #PassThePlan

Click to tweet: https://ctt.ac/6yeET

 

 

 

End Child Poverty Plan: The Power of Promise Neighborhoods

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End Child Poverty in California/GRACE visit to Mission Promise Neighborhood/MEDA in San Francisco, 2019

The End Child Poverty Plan offers California a groundbreaking path to end deep child poverty for 450,000 kids and cut overall child poverty in half. Expanding California’s successful Promise Neighborhoods network is a key part of the plan.

What’s a Promise Neighborhood?

Promise Neighborhoods are powerful, family-centered networks rooted in communities. They use the power of collective impact–many programs and services working together–to support families in neighborhoods facing intense economic pressures. Promise Neighborhoods create easy entry points for services and break down red tape. They work to improve kids’ lives “from cradle to college to career,” focusing on the whole child, the whole family, and the whole community.

Promise Neighborhoods are:

  • Results driven
  • Place based (located in one specific geographic area, allowing for community strength)
  • Community powered
  • Equity focused

California currently has five Promise Neighborhoods (including our End Child Poverty in California partners Hayward Promise, Mission Promise, and YPI), and more are needed. This year Senator Ben Allen (D-Los Angeles) introduced Senate Bill 686, the California Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2019, that would expand this successful, community-centered model to more neighborhoods.

Find out more:

  1. Click here to find out more about SB 686.
  2. See a map of all Promise Neighborhoods from the California Promise Network.
  3. Read about the incredible impact of one Promise Neighborhood in the blog post below by our partners at the Mission Promise Neighborhood and MEDA (Mission Economic Development Agency) in San Francisco.

2019: THE MISSION AND BEYOND, FOR ALL CALIFORNIA KIDS

Photo from MEDA blog. Read the full, original blog post here. 

[…]

Our numbers [at Mission Promise Neighborhood] spoke for themselves. Over the six-plus years of our initiative, we used a shared case-management tool to connect 2,744 families with 5,590 different program referrals, ranging from housing and tenants’ rights to job readiness and health care. We were a collaborative of 20 community organizations, aligning our efforts to provide wraparound services to our students and families to work toward common goals. We broke through silos and shared data along the way. Together, we held ourselves accountable to turning the curve on community indicators.

MPN saw the following outcomes in our schools and with our partners:

  • Latino graduation rates increased from 63 percent to 88 percent
  • African American graduation rates increased from 46 percent to 93 percent
  • Ninety-four percent of elementary school families feel a sense belonging at their schools
  • Rate at which students change schools mid-year decreased from 13.9 percent to 7.9 percent
  • Eighty percent of all Latino 4-year olds in the Mission are now enrolled in preschool
  • Social emotional development scores for 3-year-olds jumped from 24 percent to 82 percent

These outcomes are even more impressive when you take into account the extreme pressures our families are experiencing: unprecedented levels of housing displacement, growing income inequality, all coupled with a national political climate translating to an assault on our community. Our collective work of providing families with coordinated access to mental health services, legal representation, asset building, housing services and more has helped MPN stabilize the Mission by using schools and affordable housing as community anchors.

The U.S. Department of Education grant is an affirmation of the work our partners have done. Our second iteration of MPN is focused on aligning with the City of San Francisco and its School District’s Beacon Initiative, expanding from four to nine schools in the Mission District, increasing our presence at early learning centers, developing parent leaders and reaching out to Family Child Care providers to give their families access to our network of supports. We estimate that we will now be serving approximately 8,000 children and their families in the Mission. With our collective-impact approach, MPN is on pace to have the scale of the solution match the scale of the challenge.

Joining with other Promise Neighborhoods
Other Promise Neighborhoods across the state have seen similar outcomes. Together, the five Promise Neighborhoods in California created a network called CPNN.  The results from the CPNN network, informed the development of a statewide plan to end child poverty. This plan includes a recommendation for the investment by the State of California into a total of 20 Promise Neighborhoods at $5 million per neighborhood, complemented by increased spending on child care, CalWORKS and much more. The plan estimates that the combination of these factors will result in benefits to state and local governments of more than $12 billion annually.

The plan lays out the seven unique characteristics of Promise Neighborhoods:

  1. Cradle-to-college-to-career continuum to move families out of poverty
  2. Place-based to focus on high-need geographies
  3. Collective impact: collaborate with partners to provide solutions at scale
  4. Align funding streams to achieve shared outcomes
  5. Results-driven, with a focus on population-level results
  6. Equity-focused and explicit in addressing disparities
  7. Community powered to address local needs and build on local strengths

Data sharing, collaboration, accountable to results, good for the economy: Promise Neighborhoods are the embodiment of what we call “good government.” MEDA will be calling for these pilot initiatives to move beyond being simply boutique operations and for them to become the normal way that government delivers services….

One community is not waiting for the State to approve funding for Promise Neighborhoods; instead, it is taking the lead in using its current budget to create Promise Neighborhoods. San Diego County has approved $4 million for a pilot Promise Neighborhood based on the success of its existing Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood. If the pilot is also successful, the plan is to create even more Promise Neighborhoods throughout that county.

Closer to home — and based on  the success of San Francisco’s Promise Neighborhood in the Mission District — we believe it’s time for the City and County of San Francisco to begin asking itself if other neighborhoods in the City would benefit from a Promise Neighborhood, particularly during this time of widening income inequality and displacement of working-class families and people of color.

From School Board to Mayor, State Superintendent of Schools to Governor, all the way to the House of Representatives, we are seeing inspiring new leaders take the reins of government. As they highlight the need for a more just society, now is the time for bold equity initiatives based on proven models. Perhaps 2020 will put us on pace to end child poverty.

After all, much can happen in a year!

***

Read more about the End Child Poverty Plan strategies here. Join in by signing on to the campaign for updates.

Let’s Get Loud: Social Media for End Child Poverty Plan Budget Hearings

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Big decisions are being made right now about the End Child Poverty Plan. Let’s make our voices loud: 450,000 kids living in deep poverty depend on it. 

The CA Legislature is in the middle of its budget process. Leaders are deciding where money goes and which programs get funded. We know that these End Child Poverty Plan recommendations take financial commitment:

  1. The Targeted Child Tax Credit
  2. Expanded CalWORKs grants
  3. An expanded California Earned Income Tax Credit

These three programs will eliminate deep child poverty and have a significant impact in reducing overall child poverty. We need to make sure our leaders know we want them funded. The State Assembly Budget Committee on Tax Credits meets to discuss budget priorities at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12. 

Here’s what to do:

  1. Send a tweet or two (tweets & social graphics below)
  2. Make a call (script & phone numbers below)
  3. Join us at the hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 3/12 (RSVP details below)

1. TWEET THESE

Copy, paste, and download a graphic OR push “click to tweet” without a graphic.

A. ==> CLICK TO TWEET <==

A strong California economy should make all of us stronger. Let’s support #CalEITC #CalWORKs and a #TargetedChildTaxCredit. With these powers combined, we can end deep child poverty. @autumnrburke @AsmJimCooper @GavinNewsom @Rendon63rd @PhilTing #EndChildPoverty #PassThePlan

–

B. ==> CLICK TO TWEET <==

We can END poverty for 450K kids in CA with this triple threat:

-a Targeted Child Tax Credit

-an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit

-expanded CalWORKs

Let’s dream big: #EndChildPoverty #PassThePlan

–

C. ==> CLICK TO TWEET <==

Young or old. Big or small. Brave or bold… The California Dream is for ALL OF US. Let’s push for a #TargetedChildTaxCredit and expanded #CalEITC & #CalWORKs so the CA Dream is in reach for everyone. #EndChildPoverty #PassThePlan

–

D. ==> CLICK TO TWEET <==

Californians are doing everything they can to make ends meet. That’s why ALL low-income workers in CA should get the Earned Income Tax Credit. Spread the word—the #CalEITC is for everyone. @autumnrburke @AsmJimCooper @GavinNewsom @Rendon63rd @PhilTing

2. MAKE TWO CALLS BEFORE NOON ON 3/12

  1. Committee Chair Asm. Jim Cooper: (916) 319-2009
  2. Committee Chair Asm. Autumn Burke: (916) 319-2062 

CALL SCRIPT:

Hi, my name is ___. I live in ___. I’m calling, in advance of this week’s budget hearing, to support the End Child Poverty Plan. Almost half a million kids in our state live in extreme poverty. This is a moral crisis. Please help by supporting a Targeted Child Tax Credit and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and CalWORKs for low-income families and families in deep poverty. I support the California Dream for all of us. Thank you!

3. JOIN US for the hearing on 3/12 at 1:30 p.m. in Sacramento

We want to pack the room with as many End Child Poverty Plan supporters as we can. We’ve already heard from legislators that they’re seeing our red stickers all over the capitol. We need to keep it up! If you can make it, email Evelyn at evelyn@grace-inc.org to let us know you want to come. You can also mark your calendar for one of our next big dates:

  1. March 25 hearing for SB 298 (Caballero) the End Child Poverty Act
  2. April 11 Senate Budget Committee Hearing

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Thank you! The End Child Poverty Plan is a coordinated set of solutions that will eliminate deep child poverty and cut overall child poverty in half. Stay tuned for more action opportunities focused on these and the other End Child Poverty Plan recommendations.

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