Our collective voices are key to making sure ending child poverty is top priority for policy makers.

• Background: Read California’s End Child Poverty Plan and press release announcing the plan.
• Click for social sharing images and quotes from Child Poverty Task Force members. Add an image to your posts so you can tag additional people and organizations in the photo.
• Use the hashtag: #EndChildPoverty

12/3 press conference

End Child Poverty and the Poor People’s Campaign are hosting a press conference to #EndChildPoverty on Monday, December 3, at 10:15am on the North Steps of the Capitol in Sacramento.

• The press conference livestream begins at 10:15am on Asm. Autumn Burke’s page: https://www.facebook.com/AssemblywomanAutumnRBurke/
• Press conference media advisory: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/media-advisory/
• Share these posts:

It’s time for ACTION. Join the #EndChildPoverty & @CaliforniaPPC press conference today starting at 10:15am to call for an end to child poverty. Livestream pinned at https://www.facebook.com/AssemblywomanAutumnRBurke/. Add your voice: tag @EndChildPovCA.

We can end deep child poverty for half a million kids. We’re at the Capitol for the @EndChildPovCA & @CaliforniaPPC press conference + rally. 10:15am livestream pinned at https://www.facebook.com/AssemblywomanAutumnRBurke/. Let us know you’re here & share why the #EndChildPoverty fight is important to you.

• Grab one of the images below to add to your social share, and use the photo to tag others. Accounts to tag:
  • Press Conference Speakers:
    • Conway Collis, End Child Poverty in California, @conway_collis
    • Reverend Dr. Floyd D. Harris, Jr., Founder of Fresno Freedom School
    • Sister Julie Kubasak, Daughters of Charity
    • Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Civil Rights Leader,  @RStevenBJacobs
    • Pastor Lesley “Les” Simmons @LesSimmons
    • Rabbi Seth Castleman, Davis
    • Ruth Ibarra, Northern California Poor People’s Campaign @CaliforniaPPC @UniteThePoor
    • Cori Ring-Martinez, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water @EJCW
    • Jessica Bartholow, @jess_bartholow, Western Center on Law and Poverty @western_center
    • Lenny Mendonca @lenny_mendonca, Children Now @childrennow and CA Forward @MoveCAFWD, joined by David Rattray @david_drattray, LA Chamber of Commerce @LAAreaChamber, and Matthew Horton, Milken Institute @MilkenInstitute
    • Assemblymember Autumn Burke @AsmAutumnBurke (author of the legislation that created the Child Poverty Task Force)
    • Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula @drarambulaAD31
    • Assemblymember Laura Friedman @laurafriedman43
    • Assemblymemer Timothy Grayson @AsmGrayson
    • Assemblymember Kevin McCarty @AsmKevinMcCarty
    • Senator Scott Wiener @Scott_Wiener
  • Community Groups & Advocates:
    • CalEITC4Me @CalEITC4Me
    • California Poor People’s Campaign @CaliforniaPPC @fayetalking
    • CAPPA Advocacy @CAPPAonline
    • Children Now @childrennow
    • Children’s Defense Fund–California @cdfca
    • Choose Children @choose_children
    • County Welfare Directors Association of California @cwda
    • First 5 California @First5CA
    • First 5 Los Angeles @First5LA
    • Friends Committee on Legislation of California (FCLCA) @KevanInsko
    • Fresno Economic Opportunity Commission @FresnoEOC
    • Hayward Promise Neighborhood @HaywardPromise
    • Mission Promise Neighborhood @medasf
    • Parent Voices California @ParentVoicesCA
    • Poor People’s Campaign @UniteThePoor
    • Western Center on Law and Poverty @Western_Center
    • Youth Policy Institute @YPIusa
  • Tag our governor: @GavinNewsom

ISSUE AREA SHARES

450k kids in deep poverty

There are 450K kids in deep poverty in CA. That would be CA’s 8th largest city. There’s no moral or political justification for this–especially now that CA has a research-based, community-informed plan to #EndChildPoverty. We need your help: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/

Organizations to tag: @Western_Center @CDFCA @ChildrenNow @CWDA @CalEITC4Me @EndChildPovCA @YPIusa

targeted child tax credit

Families in poverty know exactly what they would invest extra money in. That’s why the #EndChildPovertyPlan includes a targeted child tax credit for families in deep poverty–because $12,500 per year for a family of four is unconscionable. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @Western_Center @CDFCA @ChildrenNow @CWDA @CalEITC4Me @EndChildPovCA

The targeted child tax credit in the #EndChildPovertyPlan will let families pay for rent and medical costs. It’s based on the California Poverty Measure, which considers our high cost of housing & out-of-pocket medical expenses. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @CalBudget @PPIC @CenterPovIneq @MathPolResearch @Western_Center @CDFCA @ChildrenNow @CWDA @CalEITC4Me @EndChildPovCA

child care

Right now when parents in deep poverty apply for child care, they get days or weeks. You can’t rise out of poverty without safe, reliable care. That’s why guaranteed child care for kids 0-8 in deep poverty is part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. Sign on: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/

Organizations to tag: @First5CA @First5LA @ChildrenNow @CCRC4Kids @CDFCA @CAPPAadvocacy @CWDA @KidAlliance @EndChildPovCA

promise neighborhoods

With Promise Neighborhoods, programs in communities are coordinated so families get the support they need with less red tape. That’s why expanding #PromiseNeighborhoods is part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @YPIusa @HaywardPromise @EndChildPovCA

eviction protections

Family homelessness is on the rise in California. Families who can afford it may only find RVs and trailers with no running water to live in. That’s why eviction protections are part of California’s #EndChildPovertyPlan. Sign on: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @CountyofLA @CWDA @CRLA @EndChildPovCA

simplified entry application

Getting help when your family is in financial crisis can be a part-time job filled with paperwork and appointments. That’s why the #ChildPovertyPlan includes a simplified entry application for services to cut red tape. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @Western_Center @YPIusa @EndChildPovCA @cwda

home visiting

Voluntary home visiting provides critical prenatal & neonatal support to ensure kids have the building blocks to help them thrive. It’s proven that #HomeVisitingWorks. That’s why expanding it is part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @YPIusa @Latinas4RJ @CDFCA @First5LA @BW4WLA @First5CA @First5LA @wellchildorg @childrennow @TheWomensFndtn

health care

Health care is a human right and all kids deserve it. People living in poverty need access to preventive care–it helps kids stay healthy and reduces ER costs. That’s why expanding coverage is part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. #Health4All Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @Calendow, @HealthAccess, @wellchildorg @childrennow

juvenile justice fees

Charging families juvenile justice fees does nothing to help kids. It only hurts poor families. The fees are harmful, unlawful, and costly. That’s why they’re eliminated as part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. Sign on to support the plan: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/

Organizations to tag: @YouthJusticeLA @Western_Center @CDFCA @CABMOCFunders @CPOC_Probation @NCYLnews @AntiRecidivism @EBCLCnews @LCCRBayArea

foster care

When foster kids age out of care, they can face huge challenges. That’s why the #EndChildPovertyPlan includes increased #fostercare support so young adults can avoid #homelessness. Our kids need support as they transition to adulthood. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @kidalliance, Advocates for Youth, @childrennow, California Coalition for Youth, United Ways of California, UW of Greater LA

Parents caring for a foster child shouldn’t lose wages because a new child in their home doesn’t have child care. The Child Care Bridge Program makes sure foster families have child care. That’s why it’s part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. Find out more: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/#theplan

Organizations to tag: @KidAlliance @childrennow @CCRC @CDFCA @First5CA @First5LA @CCRC4KIDS

workforce development

A good-paying job with opportunity is critical for working parents. That’s why workforce development is part of the #EndChildPovertyPlan. CA needs to invest in training, job development, and career pathways to support long-term upward economic mobility. http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/

Organizations to tag: @LA Chamber @RubiconPrograms (#BreakPoverty)

additional share videos

Questions? Email evelyn@grace-inc.org

California is the only state in the union with its very own dream. For generations, people have flocked to this state with hopes of a better future—to fulfill their “California Dream.”

Today, that dream is beginning to dim. A new report showed that nearly two-thirds (64%) of Californians say they would tell young people in their communities to actually leave the state to find opportunity elsewhere.

As a Californian, I find that distressing. This campaign is about keeping the future of our state alive, and giving children opportunity to be the best they can be right here in California. Sign up to make that a reality: http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/signup/

This past week, our state’s first-ever Child Poverty Task Force gathered in Los Angeles to continue charting a path forward for a comprehensive, statewide plan to keep this dream alive for the 1.9 million children currently living in poverty.

Made up of community leaders and other experts from across the state, we continued looking at how we can coordinate services and invest in research-backed programs to better give working families the chance to live, work, and dream of a better future.

As Task Force member Camille Maben of First 5 California said: “There’s not one silver bullet. There’s a lot of them.” Housing, food, childcare, social services—these core issues beat at the heart of the Task Force’s plan currently taking shape.

Beyond looking at these crucial barriers to families, we also examined how we can make the system smarter and simpler. Far too often, one unexpected expense spirals and it’s nearly impossible for families to navigate our complicated web of social services.

Task Force member Iris Zuñiga of Youth Policy Institute said it best: “It’s almost like a part-time job trying to figure out these different systems.” When many parents are working two to three jobs just to make ends meet, that’s unacceptable.

The numbers don’t lie. In the same survey from PRRI, 42 percent of workers in the state reported cutting back on a doctor’s visit or food just to get by. In the world’s fifth-largest economy, this is shameful.

When implemented, the comprehensive proposals from the Child Poverty Task Force will change California forever. Change takes hard work, though, and it takes Californians of all walks of life speaking out until politicians sit up and listen. Take one minute today and join our movement to make California a land of opportunity for all kids, not just the wealthy few. Our future depends on it.

http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/signup/

Toward a better future for all kids,

Conway Collis
End Child Poverty in California

Make no mistake: working families in Los Angeles face countless challenges when trying to get ahead. From skyrocketing rents to the jaw-dropping cost of childcare, families on a budget have difficult choices to make every single day.

That’s what makes organizations like our partners Shields for Families so essential. We recently visited their ASK program in Compton to see what’s working on the ground and how those solutions can be part of California’s statewide plan to end child poverty.

“In this community, there’s this pervasive feeling of hopelessness. So that’s what this program offers people: hope,” said Shields President Dr. Kathryn Icenhower.

How? The key is providing integrated services. Parents who walk through the Shields doors may arrive looking for help with housing, and then discover parenting classes, job training, and childcare right down the hall. It’s all under one roof.

Shields also focuses on helping the whole family in order to help children. Carlos is a working dad who was just completing Shields’ 12-week fatherhood course when we visited, which gives dads emotional support, job training, and a hand navigating complicated bureaucracies. “I feel good about myself now. I had no idea I could fight for my children.”

That positivity and support is a tide that raises all ships. As program manager Reginald Van Appelen said: “When we heal, we teach others to heal. And that trickles down to the children.”

How do we replicate this type of approach statewide? The answer is simple. The Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force is creating a comprehensive, community-first approach to end child poverty. That means creating a smarter, better system where services are streamlined and integrated for working families.

“People suffer in silence because they don’t want to be judged,” John Paul, head of Shields’ job training program said.

It’s time to break the silence. We’re making a plan to end child poverty once and for all. We just 100,000 Californians to demand that our elected leaders put the plan into action. Urge your friends and family to speak out and tell our next governor to put kids first. The future of our state depends on it.

http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/gov-petition/

Onward,

Conway Collis
End Child Poverty in California

 

People ask us all the time: “How can we possibly end child poverty?” Here’s the good news: In California, we have the answers. We just need the courage and will to finally bring proven methods to bear state-wide.

In many ways, Fresno is a model for this state-wide approach to fighting child poverty. Thanks to our friends at the Fresno Equal Opportunities Commission, I recently visited the Central Valley and saw first-hand how advocates on the ground are working together to help kids and working families get ahead.

Here are some solutions that work:

#1. Early Head Start

Early Head Start students at the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission center on Divisadero Street, downtown. “We’re getting calls constantly. We’re only just scratching the surface,” said program director Kathleen Shivaprasad.

Eighty-five percent of the brain develops by age three. That’s what makes Early Head Start programs so critical. The numbers prove that these two perfect kids pictured above will develop language skills quicker and learn better concentration in class. Programs like Early Head Start work. The challenge is funding. The state budget opened 16,000 new childcare slots. That’s great. But 1 million kids still need access. The richest state in America must do better.

#2. Housing

“We need more. We need more housing for these youths. Our model is working, we just don’t have enough resources,” Chrystal Streets at the Sanctuary Youth Shelter in Fresno.

Chrystal Streets manages the Sanctuary Youth Shelter in Fresno, the ONLY youth shelter for kids ages 12–18 in the entire Central Valley from Merced down to Bakersfield. The shelter provides not only a safe place to stay, but mental health counseling as well as guidance navigating a frustrating bureaucracy. The model works—over 90% of kids return to their families or find a permanent home to stay within one month.

The problem: out of 20 beds in the shelter, eight were empty when we visited. These beds could have helped take kids off the street. Instead, they were left vacant because of a lack of funding. We’re the fifth wealthiest economy on the planet. This is shocking, and there’s no excuse not to invest in helping kids in need get back on their feet.

#3. Workforce Training

Photos of graduates from Fresno EOC’s Valley Apprenticeship Connections. Many of these graduates of the 12-week bootcamp went from no jobs to earning $31/hour. “Working makes them think differently about their whole future,” said program director Lydia Gutierrez.

Fresno EOC Valley Apprenticeship Connections is a 12-week bootcamp guiding adults, many of them parents, through the skills need to attain better paying jobs. Director Lydia Gutierrez told us that some participants slept in their cars in the parking lot after overnight shifts at the local Farmer John’s slaughterhouse. All so they could arrive for class at 7am. That dedication pays off—literally. Graduates of the program earn as much as $31 an hour with a staggering job retainment rate of 82 percent after one year. That’s almost double the state average for such programs. These kinds of programs are crucial to making parents and their children independent.

While all of these programs from Fresno EOC have been successful, one thing I kept hearing time and again was this: “We need more.” The staff of Fresno EOC are literally changing lives every day — and they could change more if they only had more. More support. More funding. More help. As the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force continues to make its comprehensive child poverty plan, we will look into expanding programs just like these that empower children and families to take their future into their own hands.

As Jeff Davis of Fresno EOC told us: “We like to think of ourselves as hope merchants. We’re giving the community hope.”

That’s exactly what we aim to do for children across this entire state with this campaign. Thank you for being part of our journey, and bringing hope to the next generation. In order to be successful, we need 100,000 Californians like you to join our movement. Please ask your friends and family to join now. We need you.

http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/signup/

Towards a better future for all kids,

Conway Collis
End Child Poverty in California

Dear Fellow Californian,

Last Friday, we took a step forward in our movement to end deep child poverty once and for all in our state. Thanks to the work of the California State Legislature and the Brown Administration — as well as the voices of concerned Californians like you — our new state budget strengthens the safety net for children and families in communities across California.

Here’s how the new budget helps children in need:

– A $360 million increase in CalWORKs funding to help keep food on the table for working families

– An extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit for Californians working at the new state minimum wage

– First-time state funding of $158.5 million for home visiting programs that provide vital pre- and post-natal services care to low-income children

– Expanded childcare opportunities so parents can get to work supporting their families

–$200 million in reserve to protect against future cuts during a recession

While this budget brings us closer to our vision of a California that gives opportunities to all children, it’s only the bare minimum. For instance, 1.4 million disadvantaged children still lack access to subsidized childcare. California’s new budget only provides for 16,000 additional slots. How can parents work without it?

Now is the time to create a comprehensive plan to end deep child poverty in our state. That begins by showing the many legislators who fought for these increases to the safety net that we stand with them and support their efforts. Real and sustained commitment to ending deep child poverty requires an army of Californians who demand it.

Please ask your friends and family to join this army and speak up for children. More than 35,000 Californians have joined the movement—with hundreds more joining every week. As the new budget shows, we’re starting to make our voices heard. Imagine what we can do to truly end deep child poverty once we reach our goal of 100,000 Californians by year’s end. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Conway Collis
End Child Poverty in California

I’m frustrated and you should be, too. Here’s why: We know how to end child poverty in the fifth largest economy in the world. Yet 1 in 5 California children still wakes up hungry or on the edge of homelessness. Every. Single. Day.

The good news: There’s a simple way you can make a big difference today. Share this petition in support of Senator Holly Mitchell’s bill to raise CalWORKs in our state.

Please urge your community to expand this life-saving benefit for working families. Today, a family of three receives nine dollars less in CalWORKs than they would have 10 years ago. That makes no sense.

CalWORKs works, full stop. It puts food on the table, keeps lights on overhead, and gives children of hardworking parents the opportunity to become the best Californians they can be.

Change takes courage, compassion, and political will. We want to live in a California where every child can dream of becoming the next doctor, scientist, or governor of our state. Don’t you? Stand up for children. Share our petition today and give all kids a chance.

In solidarity,

Sandra Sanchez
End Child Poverty in California

When you were a child and needed help, who did you call? Maybe you leaned on a parent, an aunt, or an uncle for some much-needed advice or simply a comforting voice.

Ask a foster kid this same question, though, and you’ll most likely get a very different answer: nobody.

As former foster youth, we know this painful truth firsthand. We’ve experienced the struggle foster kids face as they try to navigate a complicated world completely on their own. We’ve seen with our own eyes how this lack of support can lead foster youth to homelessness, deep poverty, or worse.

It doesn’t have to be this way. If we want to truly make a difference, though, it’s going to take all of us.

Please, take a minute to share our video with your friends, family, and colleagues. Your voice will inspire more concerned Californians like you to join our movement to end child poverty. Let’s give our state’s most vulnerable kids the support they need to be healthy, happy, and safe.

Sincerely,

Laura Lomeli & Andre Shirley
Former foster youth