The Department of Health Care Services is expected to release the
application for the Low Income Health Program (LIHP) today.
Please check the Department’s website for
the application. In addition, the Department updated the site in
the last few weeks, including the Frequently Asked Questions
section. Counties are encouraged to check the site regularly for
new information.
CalWORKS
AB 1 (Pérez) – Support
As Introduced December 6, 2010
AB 1, by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, would appropriate $233.5
million for CalWORKs Stage Three child care, effective
immediately upon passage.
AB 1 fulfills Speaker Pérez’s promise to attempt to restore
Governor Schwarzenegger’s October 8 veto of $256 million in
CalWORKs Stage Three child care subsidies from the 2010-11
budget. Since that time, more than 40 local county First 5
Commissions have stepped in to provide bridge loan funding to
sustain the program until a legislative solution is
adopted.
AB 1 would reappropriate $118 million in unobligated balances
from the 2009 federal Child Care and Development Block Grant, and
provide $115.5 million from the state General Fund for the
program.
While the bill is not keyed as an urgency bill, it would go into
immediate effect because it “makes appropriations for the usual
and current expenses of the state.” According to the Legislative
Counsel’s Office, this clause also categorizes the bill as a
majority vote bill, rather than the two-thirds that is usually
required for expenditures. Lastly, AB 1 also contains language to
make it retroactive to November 1, 2010.
CSAC is supporting the bill because it funds an important
component of the CalWORKs continuum by creating opportunities for
working parents to obtain and maintain stable employment. AB 1 is
on the Assembly Floor Third Reading File
