On February 10, advocates from across the state filled the halls of the Capitol in Sacramento with a clear message: California’s children cannot wait.

The End Child Poverty California Coalition, of over 180 organizations across the state, gathered for Community Power Building Day 2026. Together, we called on lawmakers to take bold action to reduce poverty and shield families from retribution-driven federal funding cuts coming out of Washington.

The energy was urgent, but it was also joyful, hopeful, and grounded in lived experience.

“That’s unacceptable in the richest state in the country.”

As federal leaders threaten deep cuts, advocates say California must lead.

“We’re calling for bold actions to reduce poverty and protect Californians against Washington’s retribution-driven funding cuts,” said Yesenia Robancho, Associate Director of Policy & Strategy for End Child Poverty California. “When the federal government pulls back, California families pay the price. And yet, here at the Capitol, we keep hearing the same refrain: there’s no money.

“That’s unacceptable in the richest state in the country.”

Robancho pointed to a fact that often surprises people: California is the fourth-largest economy in the world. “With a governor who named ending child poverty as his North Star, we do have the resources and the responsibility to fight for our people with every tool we have,” she said.

“We refuse the false choice of doing nothing or cutting vital programs. Our families deserve better.”

What policies mean at the kitchen table

For Fresno-based marriage and family therapist Kalisha Monee’ Goodwin, M.S., the debate isn’t abstract.

“Budgets and line items matter,” she said, “but what really matters is what policies mean at the kitchen table.”

Goodwin shared how tax credits like California’s Young Child Tax Credit and CalEITC helped her family move from surviving to stabilizing.

“Tax credits like the Young Child Tax Credit and Cal EITC helped turn survival into stability for my family, and now they’re helping us build toward a future where our kids can truly thrive. But support shouldn’t disappear when a child turns six.”

That’s why expanding the Young Child Tax Credit is critical, she said. “Families deserve policies that grow with our children. Programs like CalFresh and tax credits aren’t crutches — they’re ladders. And when we invest in families, we don’t just get by, we thrive.”

Youth voices rise at the Capitol

A highlight and point of joy from this year’s February gathering was the youth who came to share their experiences.Young people showed up ready to lead.

MEDA’s Mission Youth in Action from San Francisco’s Mission Promise Neighborhood joined the coalition for a full day of advocacy and exposure to the legislative and budget process. Students learned how federal and state budget cuts impact their families and communities back home. They wrote letters to elected officials, sharing their lived experiences and demanding a more just budget for children and families.

The Youth in Action students also participated in a roundtable about how the budget process works and how to get involved. They asked questions about how to best support their own communities, including teachers who are demanding fair conditions.

Mission’s own youth poet, Genesis Ulloa Martinez, received the coalition’s Radical Dreamer Award, recognized for her resiliency and her power to imagine a better future for youth in the Mission and beyond. Genesis and her family continue to advocate for families who have persisted through barriers and systemic inequities.

Le’Shay Burks of Parent Voices Contra Costa and Jose Herrera of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice also won the Radical Dreamer Awards.

Lawmakers including State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Assemblymember Sade Elhawary from South Los Angeles showed up to listen and collaborate with youth leaders. “The people in the room are already powerful leaders who can make a difference. Showing up in places like Sacramento is already a big step”, encouraged Asm. Elhawary. Senator Smallwood-Cuevas emphasized the collective power of people; including children, families, and grandmothers (“abuelas”), stating that when they unite, they are “so powerful” and “bigger and stronger than the other side” and that even when faced with billionaires or corporations, the people possess power. 

“We’re ready to SHOW UP,” students declared.

Childcare funding is family funding

Jennifer Greppi of Parent Voices CA brought the conversation back to one of the most immediate pressures on families: childcare.

“When childcare is underfunded, everything feels the impact,” she said. “Parents are forced to choose between caring for their children and earning a living. They pause their education. They delay their dreams. And our communities lose workers, leaders, and opportunity.”

Her message was simple and direct: “Investing in childcare means investing in economic stability, in children’s development, and in a future where families don’t just survive, they move forward.

“Childcare funding is family funding. Community funding. Future funding.”

“We have pitched our tents in the land of hope.”

Sister Lisa Laguna grounded the day in moral clarity and spiritual resolve.

“We have pitched our tents in the land of hope,” she said, quoting Scripture. “‘Nothing can shake me. I have pitched my tent in the land of hope.’ That’s from Acts Chapter 2. And isn’t that why we are all here today?”

She reflected on the story of Ruth, a widow, a foreigner, a daughter, a future mother, gleaning in the fields to feed her family.

“She is a foreigner in a foreign land… Does any of this sound like a story from today? Sound a little bit like 2026? Right here, right now?”

Even in ancient times, Laguna noted, there was recognition of the dignified right to work and eat; especially for women and children.

“We, all of us here, are pitching our tent in this land of hope, in this place where we imagine a California where every child is healthy, housed, and fed,” she said. Quoting St. Vincent de Paul, she added: “Let us work with the sweat of our brow and the strength of our arms… so that we no longer find ourselves only imagining that children are healthy, housed, and fed.”

“I wanna pitch my tent in the land where you and I get to live the reality that all children are healthy, housed, and fed,” she said. “We have, and we will, pitch our tent in that land of hope. There is nothing that can shake us. Amen. Amen!”

A just and fair budget

Throughout the day, one theme echoed across speeches, hallway conversations, and youth letters alike:

We won’t stop demanding that the state budget be just and fair.

Advocates and community leaders made clear they will not allow California’s budget to be balanced “on the backs of our children, families, immigrants, seniors, and disabled friends and neighbors.”

In the richest state in the nation, we argue, poverty is not inevitable:  it’s a policy choice.