Sign the Official Petition: End Extreme Poverty for 450,000 California Children

Californians are people who don’t shy away from tough problems. We’ve saved lives by passing the country’s strictest gun-safety laws. We’ve fought climate change by implementing ambitious clean-air rules. We’re the nation’s leaders. California’s End Child Poverty Plan creates a huge opportunity for us to break new ground again. 

The End Child Poverty Plan’s full implementation would make us the first state to end extreme child poverty, which affects almost half a million California children.

No other state has a plan as ambitious and well-researched. Our progressive governor and state lawmakers showed their confidence in the Plan by investing in recommendations around child care, health care, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, and more in the 2019 state budget — and those investments are already helping families.

But five crucial elements of the End Child Poverty Plan need support from Californians across the state this year. Child poverty is not a fact of nature — it’s a result of public policy, and we can change it together.

When the End Child Poverty Plan is fully implemented, our families who are striving to get ahead will have the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty. We’re talking about almost 2 million children — 450,000 of whom live in extreme poverty, meaning their families are working to get by on less than $13,400 a year. If those numbers seem staggering, it’s because they are.

California has the highest number of children in poverty in the nation. It’s a crisis and a moral failing — especially when we have a clear plan to fix it.

As our elected officials in Sacramento lay plans for the 2020 state budget, we must show them that we will not rest until they pass the End Child Poverty Plan in FULL. Sign the petition to show your support today.

Our Message to Governor Newsom & California State Legislators: 

The 2019 investments passed in California were crucial steps toward reducing child poverty in our state, but as Californians, we know this isn’t enough. In 2020, we ask you to give California families the tools to escape the cycle of poverty by passing the End Child Poverty Plan in full. With your support today, we can:

1. Provide a tax credit that helps provide stability for children and families in extreme poverty so they don’t have to choose between having a place to live, keeping the lights on, putting gas in the car, or paying for child care.
2. Increase overall housing availability and reduce evictions so that children don’t face the trauma and stress of homelessness.
3. Improve access to child care and make sure child care workers can afford to send their own children to preschool or daycare.
4. Strengthen and expand community-based and school-based health care clinics to meet families where they are so they can get the care they need.
5. Continue to improve the cost-effectiveness of programs that support families, focusing on collaborative community- and research-based solutions.

With your support, voice and action, California can become a model for the nation. We’re the fifth-largest economy in the world. We’ve organized to fight climate change and demand gun safety. With our ingenuity and community power — and your political will — we know we can end extreme child poverty in California for good. We cannot delay these crucial investments.