Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services
held an oversight hearing to discuss the role of the CalWORKs
program on Thursday, November 3, in Sacramento. Subcommittee
Chair Holly Mitchell was joined by Assembly Members Felipe
Fuentes, Richard Pan, and Wes Chesbro. The hearing focused on the
role of the CalWORKs program in meeting the needs of low-income
families and their children. The testimony focused on trends in
child poverty and homelessness and how CalWORKs functions as a
safety net. The subcommittee also heard testimony on the current
economic conditions and the challenges of meeting program goal of
self-sufficiency during the current job market and the education
and training challenges for adults in the program. The
subcommittee also heard testimony of how the recent budget and
policy changes have impacted families and children on the
CalWORKs program. A number of current recipients testified.
Phil Ansell from Los Angeles County and Bruce Wagstaff from
Sacramento County provided testimony on behalf of counties. Chair
Mitchell asked county testifies about promising practices.
Subsidized employment programs were cited as promising local
initiatives. However, federal funding for subsidized employment
programs is no longer available.
