Questions to start 2007 with

1. Will the Democratic Congress stop the war and redirect at least some of the money to programs that children and families desperately need? One of the most urgent questions on my mind is: Will they stop cutting Section 8 and put in more money before housing costs push even more families into hunger and homelessness? The federal government has also been cutting job-training funds—while increasing the pressure on parents to get off welfare. Will they provide enough funds to enable parents to get the kinds of jobs that can support their families?

2. Will California really make health care available to all kids who live here? Advocates say yes, and according to the polling, Californians really support this, but the stumbling block is anti-immigrant ideology. If you want to help, see http://www.100percentcampaign.org/

3. Will the governor be able to provide high-quality, comprehensive health care to all Californians without raising taxes? (Hint: the answer to this one is: No. Even if he increases the number of Californians with “health insurance,” I’m sure you know that many health insurance policies leave people stranded a lot of the time—oh, we don’t cover that.)
Many people favor a requirement that employers pay for health insurance. But what happens when you change jobs or are unemployed for a while? And who’s going to guarantee that the health insurance they provide will cover the care you need?
The follow-up question is: Will advocates for children and families finally add their voices to the movement for a nonprofit, single-payer health care system that includes everyone, set up by the state? A nonpartisan think tank commissioned by the legislature found that such a system could provide high-quality, comprehensive care for everyone in the state for less money than we now spend on our inadequate non-system of health care.

4, What’s going to happen to the families on CalWORKs?!?!
* The state is under increased pressure from the feds to make them get jobs.
* The governor wants to deny them cost of living increases and take away the whole grant, not just the parent’s share, if the parent violates a CalWORKs rule.
* On the plus side, California has done a good job so far in protecting support services like job training and counseling.
More questions:
* As many CalWORKs parents struggle with homelessness, limited English skills, lack of job skills, domestic violence, depression, substance abuse, etc.— the reasons they went on welfare in the first place -- is increased pressure really what will enable them to support their families?
* If more parents are pushed to go to work, will the state increase the amount of child care available for their kids?

Stay tuned! And watch the Children's Advocate for updates on these and other issues. www.4children.org