The
Health and Human Services Policy Committee met on Tuesday,
November 19 during the CSAC 130th Annual Meeting in
Los Angeles County. The meeting was jam-packed with attendance
and took the entire two hours allotted, ending with the
recognition and celebration of outgoing Santa Cruz County
Supervisor and Chair of the Health and Human Services Policy
Committee, Zach Friend.
The meeting kicked off with the welcoming of the new Executive
Director of the County Welfare Directors Association of
California (CWDA), Carlos Marquez III, who shared some of the
Association’s priorities for the coming year, including continued
advocacy efforts to protect safety net services. Next, the
Committee held a panel discussion on the current Foster Family
Agency (FFA) liability
insurance crisis. The discussion focused on the lack of
insurance coverage available to FFAs, short and long term
solutions being explored, and how counties can help support the
FFAs in their communities.
Following the FFA panel discussion, the Committee heard an update
on
Proposition 1 planning and implementation activities from
representatives of the California Health and Human Services
Agency and the California Department of Housing and Community
Development. Next, the Committee received an overview of
First 5 California’s recent initiatives from their Executive
Director, Jackie Wong, including an update on their new child
care campaign.
Finally, in addition to adopting the
proposed changes to the relevant County Platform chapters,
the Committee also forwarded the following 2025 CSAC health and
human services priorities for approval by the Board of Directors:
CalAIM Implementation;
CARE Act Funding/Implementation and Technical Assistance;
Early Childhood;
Homelessness;
In-Home Supportive Services;
Proposition 1 Planning and Implementation / Behavioral Health
Funding; and,
Safety Net Programs.
All meeting materials and slide decks presented during the Health
and Human Services Policy Committee are available on the CSAC
2024 Annual Meeting webpage.
In addition to the items above, the
HHS Policy Committee packet also includes an informational
item highlighting legislative and budget actions from 2024 of
relevance to the Committee. The CSAC HHS policy team would
like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the 2024 Health and
Human Services Policy Committee Chair and Vice Chairs -
Supervisor Zach Friend (Santa Cruz), Supervisor Rosemarie
Smallcombe (Mariposa), Supervisor Karen Spiegel (Riverside) – for
their leadership and dedication throughout the year.
