State Leaders Must Prioritize Helping Californians Pay for Basic Needs Amidst Federal Safety Net Program Rollbacks, Tax Giveaways to the Wealthy

February 10, 2026 // Sacramento, CA — The End Child Poverty California (ECPCA) Coalition, California families, and other leading advocates on Tuesday called on state lawmakers to take bold actions to reduce poverty and insulate Californians against Washington’s retribution-driven funding cuts.

Legislators and Governor Newsom must prioritize lifting children from poverty as they craft the state’s 2026-27 budget and policy agenda. Sustainable, ongoing revenue solutions can pay for investments in child tax credits, community building programs, cash aid and supportive services, and child care assistance. These programs are paramount to protecting children and families in the face of draconian federal rollbacks and a dismal economy made worse by Washington policies such as tariffs.

“Now is the time for California, the fourth largest economy in the world, to use every tool at our disposal to protect Californians’ ability to meet their most basic needs and live with dignity,” said Yesenia Robancho, Associate Director of Policy & Strategy, End Child Poverty California powered by GRACE. “Our state has ample resources to meet this moment—if we choose fairness over fear and people over profits and politics. This is our opportunity to show the federal administration that California will fight for its people.” 

The ECPCA Coalition, representing 180+ groups, unveiled its 2026 IMAGINE Agenda, a responsible path forward to invest in California families through fair and just revenues. In addition to promoting investment in proven anti-poverty tools, the IMAGINE Agenda opposes proposed state funding cuts or expenditures that fall short for safety net programs, including those that would shrink access to health care just as the federal government is slashing Medicaid.

“These cuts don’t fall evenly. They fall hardest on low-income families, communities of color, immigrants, unhoused neighbors, seniors, and people with disabilities,” Robancho said. “We are asking those who have benefited the most from California’s economy to contribute their fair share, so that our kids can thrive, our seniors can age with dignity, and our communities can be safe and healthy.”

Federal cuts made via 2025’s H.R.1 will drive up costs for all Californians and threaten to push millions into poverty. Thousands risk losing access to Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits and being shut out from the federal Child Tax Credit, while also facing other financial hardships as a result of immigration enforcement.

The California Budget & Policy Center estimates that 3.4 million Californians could lose Medi-Cal access, while the California Department of Health and Human Services says nearly 578,000 households risk losing benefits because of federal cuts to nutrition assistance. New exclusions to the Child Tax Credit, meanwhile, would deny eligibility to 4.5 million U.S. citizen children nationwide, including nearly 1 million in California because they live in mixed-status households.

Jeanneth Carmelina Chavez, a mother of three and first-generation college student at UCLA, said she grew up in poverty and experienced childhood homelessness despite her immigrant parents’ lifetime of hard work.

Chavez, a former Student Parents Are Reimagining CalWORKs (SPARC) Leader, CalWORKs Student & Policy Advocate, and “Bruin Parenting Scholars” board member, tries to protect her children from the same reality, but said that delays in safety net programs can easily plunge families like hers into crisis. Her family, for instance, did not receive their food assistance payment when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were frozen during the federal government shutdown in November.

“Suddenly, I was forced to make an impossible decision: Do I pay my rent with my monthly CalWORKs funds, or do I make sure there is food on the table for my children? No parent should ever have to make that choice,” Chavez said. “I chose food.”

The uncertainty affected her focus at school, as well as her ability to show up as a mother.

“When support systems fail, it doesn’t just jeopardize my future, it puts my children’s future at risk as well,” Chavez said. “Programs like CalWORKs don’t create dependency. They create opportunity. They provide parents the stability we need to work, study, to raise healthy children, and contribute to our communities. These programs are not handouts, they are investments in families and the next generation of California.”

Kalisha Monee’ Goodwin, M.S., a Fresno-based marriage and family therapist, said that California’s Young Child Tax Credit, CalEITC, and CalFresh “have been the building blocks for life” that are enabling her to move her family into a larger home. She praised ECPCA-backed AB 1690, authored by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, which would raise the eligibility age for California’s Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC).

“That tax credit is not just a check; it is the down payment on our future,” she said. “This is what happens when California invests in its families. We don’t just survive. We graduate from programs, we buy homes, and we build a stronger community. And most importantly, we thrive.”

Edgar Chavez, Executive Director, Hayward Promise Neighborhoods, said that place-based, cradle-to-career initiatives, which are proven to benefit families and the economy, are facing devastating cuts. His community lost $12 million in federal funding over the next two years, halting programs including family navigation services and adult learning programs in libraries, while reducing school-based mental health supports.

“We are all here today because we know what’s at stake when public systems fail to protect children and families,” he said. “Even when we demonstrate that these systems work, our efforts are being undermined by new federal policies and funding cliffs.”

Jennifer Greppi, Director of Parent Policy at Parent Voices California, called on elected officials to boost funding for child care in the upcoming state budget. California has mounted a legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ move to freeze billions of dollars of federal child care and social services funds for five states including California. But she said Newsom’s new budget plan still falls short of his 2021 promise to fund 200,000 new childcare slots by the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

“Families, children, and child care providers are counting on the Legislature and the Governor to do the right thing and honor their word,” Greppi said. “We are calling on them to immediately invest in creating a childcare system that truly works for everyone.”

About End Child Poverty California:
End Child Poverty California (ECPCA) is a campaign that supports public policy and advocacy, collaborations and partnerships, and community efforts to end child and family poverty in California. End Child Poverty California is powered by GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage) and sponsored by the GRACE End Child Poverty Institute. For more information visit End Child Poverty California.