A Review of the May Revision to the Governor’s 2023-24 Budget Proposal
Governor Newsom released his May Revision to the 2023-24 Budget Proposal on May 12, 2023. The Los Angeles Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium supports the governor's commitment to children and families, and the dedication to enhancing the equity of programs, services, and resources.
Below, you will find a breakdown of key differences between the Original Budget Proposal and the May Revision. This list is designed to provide families and home-visiting professionals with a clear comprehension of the governor’s May Revise and the investments and policy changes that support children and families.
Key Investments for Children
The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program (CalWORKs)
CalWORKs is a critical support that provides temporary financial assistance, employment services and supportive programs to low-income families with children. The goal of CalWORKs is to help families achieve self-sufficiency by promoting employment and personal responsibility. The May Revise does not include significant investments in the CalWORKs program.
The May Revise:
Includes a slight increase of 3.6% to the CalWORKs grant (up from the 2.9% in the original proposed budget) for a total of $7.2 billion.
Pulls back around $280 million in unspent funds, which would have supported employment services, eligibility determination, and administrative costs.
Delays of a previous proposal, which would redirect collected child support payments from the state back to former CalWORKs parents. This delay results in approximately $70 million that otherwise would have gone to families.
Withdraws $450 million originally budgeted to maintain existing CalWORKs and Medi-Cal benefits and service in case of an economic downturn.
Children’s Programs
California’s Children’s Programs encompass a range of initiatives and services designed to support the well-being, development, and overall welfare of children in the state. The original proposed budget emphasized Children's Programs, specifically Child Welfare Services, which encompassed family support, maltreatment prevention, child protective services, foster care services, and adoptions.
The May Revise:
The May Revision increased the allocation for children's programs from $884.9 million to $908.3 million.
Raised the total funding for children's programs from over $9.2 billion in the proposed budget to over $9.5 billion.
Introduced the Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) project. The system is designed to support child welfare professionals in assessing the needs and strengths of children and families involved in the child welfare system. It incorporates the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) framework, which is a standardized assessment approach that focuses on understanding the unique needs and strengths of each child. The Revise allocates $163.7 million for ongoing project development costs and provides the authority to access additional funds of if project activities accelerate.
Transitional Kindergarten (TK) & California State Preschool Program (CSPP)
TK is essential in bridging the gap between preschool and kindergarten, and offering a developmentally appropriate curriculum that supports children's academic and social-emotional growth. In the May Revise, the governor continues to focus investments in TK.
The May Revise:
Continues to fund the implementation of TK, it includes approximately $597 million for 2023-24 costs to expand TK access through expanded eligibility. This is a slight reduction from the $690 million in the original budget proposal, due to reduced TK enrollment projections.
Includes $9.7 million to waive family fees for state preschool programs.
Provides details on the multi-year plan to ramp up inclusivity adjustments for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and the required enrollment percentages for students with disabilities.
Includes roughly $95 million to support cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP)
Child Care & Development
The inclusion of child care and development in the budget highlights its importance in promoting the well-being of children, supporting working families, and facilitating early childhood education.
The May Revise:
Reduced the funds allocation for child care programs from $3 billion in the proposed budget to $2.7 billion.
An 8.22% increase for statutory Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) amount for Child Care and Development Programs ($183.3 million) and Child and Adult Care Food Program ($840,000).
Proposes to extend the 2022-23 policy to waive child care family fees using $29.4 million of one-time federal funds until September 30th, as the current fee waiver was set to expire on June 30, 2023.
$2 billion to preserve the 200,000-space expansion to child care programs by 2026.
Postponed the funding of 20,000 new child care slots from 2023-24 to 2024-25, allowing more time to utilize recently expanded slots. This adjustment was not mentioned in the proposed budget.
Universal School Meals
This initiative recognizes the importance of nutrition and food security in supporting children's health, well-being, and academic success. It guarantees two free meals per school day for any student that wants it.
The May Revise:
Includes a total of approximately $1.5 billion to support the Universal School Meals program. The original budget had allocated $1.4 billion for this program.
Allocates $47 million to phase in a new federal Summer EBT program for children who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The program would begin in the summer of 2024.
California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS)
The CalKIDS program funds college savings accounts targeted to low-income and underrepresented public school students, in addition to establishing college savings accounts for all newborns.
The May Revise:
Includes a decrease of $30 million to reflect revised estimates of eligible students.
Includes an increase of $158,000, to support the recent expansion of the CalKIDS program and financial literacy initiatives.
Key Investments for Families
Health
Health services in the California budget involve the allocation of financial resources to support healthcare and public health initiatives in the state. In the May Revision, the governor maintains his commitment to expand Medi-Cal to all undocumented Californians.
The May Revise:
Protects major health care investments that were enacted in the 2022 Budget Act.
Maintains the commitment to expand full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to undocumented immigrants ages 26 to 49 starting January 1, 2024.
Includes additional funding for the two most recent Medi-Cal expansions: $1.6 billion and an estimated $2.4 billion annually.
Accelerates the effective date of the Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax by nine months earlier than planned in the original proposed budget, which would result in $19.4 billion in funding to maintain Medi-Cal. This would help increase provider rates for primary care, obstetric care (including doulas), and non-specialty mental health services.
Includes an additional $9 million to Health and Human Services Innovation Initiative- an initiative where researchers and developers working to create solutions to the greatest health challenges facing Californians.
Targeting topics like diabetes-related morbidity and mortality, disparities in maternal and infant mortality faced by women and their babies, and preventing and mitigating infectious disease.
Housing & Homelessness
Housing and homelessness in the budget encompass a range of efforts to address the pressing issue of affordable housing and homelessness in the state.
The May Revise:
Continues to include $3.7 billion to address homelessness, including $1 billion in one-time General Fund 2023-2024.
Includes $500 million one-time Mental Health Services Fund in 2023-2024 in lieu of General Fund for the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program, effectively eliminating the governor’s budget proposed delay of $250 million General Fund to 2024-2025. The program addresses the immediate housing and treatment needs of people experiencing homelessness and serious behavioral health conditions, including mental illness and substance use disorders.
Does not include additional proposals or expanded investments to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Maintains funding for housing programs at approximately 88% of the allocations made in 2022-23 and proposed for 2023-24.
Proposes to defer 345 million of the 500 million one-time General Fund over 4 fiscal years for the Foreclosure Intervention Housing Program, which provides funds to non-profit agencies to foreclosed properties and turn them into affordable housing.
A proposal to revert 17.5 million in unexpected funding that was left in the Downtown Rebound Program after the Notice of Funding Availability. This program finances the conversion of vacant or underutilized commercial and industrial buildings into residential units
What’s Next?
The State Assembly & Senate are currently reviewing the May Revision and moving toward finalizing their versions of the budget. The legislature and governor will have through the end of June to negotiate a finalized budget and Newsom must sign the budget into law by June 30th. California’s new fiscal year begins on July 1st.
