This week, California legislative budget leaders announced a two-house agreement between the Senate and Assembly. We celebrate the Legislature’s proposed restoration of $10 million to the HOPE Accounts program, reversing part of a previously proposed $50 million cut. Halving the country’s most ambitious initiative to combat child poverty would have been devastating for children in the foster care system and children who lost parents to COVID. 

With this restoration, we reaffirm the promise made to more than 55,000 children across California.

In response, anti-poverty and racial justice organizations, End Poverty in California (EPIC), End Child Poverty in California, Liberation in a Generation, and Marked By Covid, released the following statement: 

“We thank the Legislature and Governor for creating HOPE Accounts, the largest baby bond program in the nation, designed to provide trust accounts for more than 55,000 foster youth and children who lost a parent to COVID. The Legislature’s effort to restore funding to this critical program sends a clear message to these children: the state has not forgotten your sacrifice. 

This investment is essential. Foster youth are three times more likely to experience homelessness than their peers, and 70% of youth who age out of foster care are arrested by age 26. Meanwhile, children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID have also lost a breadwinner and the financial security that all children deserve. This impact will last generations, further exacerbating the wealth gap between children of means and children born into poverty.

California has made real progress in addressing racial and gender inequity. Scaling back HOPE Accounts now would threaten that progress at a critical moment when we should be accelerating it. These accounts are a powerful tool to address the racial wealth gap, as Black and Brown children are disproportionately poor, while simultaneously tackling the opportunity gap that all poor children face.

We urge Governor Newsom to support the Legislature’s two-house agreement and restore at least $10 million of the proposed $50 million cuts to HOPE Accounts. The fourth-largest economy in the world, California has the resources and moral obligation to keep its promise to our most vulnerable children.”

Legislative Leaders Quotes 

“I am proud of our commitment to restore $10 million to the HOPE Accounts program. This is a bold move toward equity and justice for the children who need it most: foster youth, low-income kids, and those who lost a parent to COVID. In my district of South Los Angeles alone, over 30,000 foster youth stand to benefit. Statewide, over 10,000 children who lost a parent to COVID are still waiting for the support they deserve. This is not just a budget decision. It is an investment in equity, generational wealth, and dignity, and in keeping our promise to children too often overlooked. A just society does not hesitate to invest in its future, and that starts with its kids.”

• Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, California Senate District 28 – Los Angeles

Organizational Quotes

“The HOPE Accounts Program is more than a promise—we owe it to more than 55,000 children to turn loss into legacy. Established in the heart of the pandemic, this groundbreaking program recognizes that building wealth is not just about dollars—it’s about dignity, healing, and hope. By investing directly in children who’ve lost parents to COVID-19 or spent years in foster care, we are disrupting the cycle of poverty and confronting the racial wealth gap head-on. California has the moral responsibility to ensure that every child has the chance to thrive, not just survive. We urge Governor Newsom to stand with the Legislature and restore funds promised to children.”  

• Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO, End Child Poverty California

“The HOPE Accounts program is a transformational investment in the futures of tens of thousands of young people at a critical juncture in their lives. At a time when federal actions are likely to further exacerbate California’s staggering wealth inequality, programs like HOPE—which seed wealth among those with the least of it—are as critical as ever. I’m relieved to see legislative leaders working to restore $10m from the proposed cuts, and urge Governor Newsom to join in this effort.”

• Devon Gray, President, End Poverty in California (EPIC)

“We are deeply grateful for today’s Legislature’s commitment to restore $10 million from proposed cuts. At Liberation in a Generation we know that generational wealth is more than a number on a ledger; it is about dignity, possibility, and hope for a future where every child can thrive. Today’s decision is a signal flare to young people who have faced unimaginable loss: They have not been forgotten. Because of countless advocates and champions–like Senator Smallwood-Cuevas– California is ready and able to end child poverty and start a path toward closing the racial wealth gap. We urge Governor Newsom to join us in moving toward hope and investing in our children’s futures.”

• Solana Rice, Co-Executive Director, Liberation in a Generation

“As someone who lost my father to COVID and knows firsthand how that loss could have derailed my entire future, I’m grateful the Legislature is fighting to restore funding for HOPE Accounts. These children didn’t choose to lose their parents or enter foster care, but California can choose to invest in their futures. This $10 million restoration isn’t just about money—it’s about keeping our promise to children who have already been forced to sacrifice too much.”

• Kristin Urquiza, Executive Director, Marked By Covid