In early January, Governor Brown released his 2015/16 Budget Proposal. Overall, California is in a much stronger position due to the recovering economy and changes made over the past few years. The Governor’s January Proposed Budget focuses on saving money, paying the state’s liabilities and continued implementation of new programs. These programs include the Local Control Funding Formula for schools and MediCal expansion. In Child Care and Development Programs, the Governor’s proposal reflects a caseload driven budget for subsidized child care that fulfils the agreements made in last year’s budget deal with the legislature and includes the following key components.
Major areas to note include:
- Full year funding for the increase of the Regional Market Rate to reflect the 2009 Regional Market Rate Survey at a 10.11% deficit of the 85th Percentile. (Total Year funding for Stage 2, 3 and AP is estimated at $33.5 million)
- Cost‑‑Living Adjustment (COLA) — 1.58% for capped child care programs. ($9.2 million increase in Proposition 98 and $12.3 Million increase in Non – Proposition 98 General Fund)
- Growth of .57% is applied to General Child Care, AP, Migrant and Handicapped programs in Non-Proposition 98 ($3.29 Million in Proposition 98 and $4.29 Million in Non-Proposition 98)
- Stage 2—A decrease of $11.6 million non‑Proposition 98 General Fund in 2015‑16 to adjust for decreased CalWORKs Stage 2 cases. These numbers will be adjusted based on actuals in the May Revision
- Stage 3—An increase of $38.6 million non‑Proposition 98 General Fund in 2015‑16 Reflecting an increase in the number of CalWORKs Stage 3 cases and an increase in the cost per case these numbers will also be adjusted to reflect actual cases in May Revision
- Child Care and Development Funds—A net decrease of $14.9 million federal funds in 2015‑16 to reflect a reduction of available carryover funding. Total federal funding is $565.2 million. These numbers do not yet reflect the budget agreement at the Federal Level or their mid-year apportionments per discussions with Department of Finance
During the spring, the legislature will begin the hearing process to review Governor Brown’s proposals and provide their input and priorities for the year ahead. The first hearing will be held by the full Senate Budget Committee Perspectives on the California Child Care and Development System on March 4 in Sacramento. This will be followed by hearings by the Budget Subcommittees the week of April 13.
In May, the Governor will release his revised budget, taking into account the state revenues and negotiations between the Governor and Legislative leaders. The completed state budget is due on June 15, 2015.
You can follow us on Twitter @ccrc4kids for regular updates on hearings and check out the links below for more detailed information about California’s Budget.
Links for more information:
California Budget Project – Infographic on the State Budget Process
https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/navigating-the-state-budget-process/
California Department of Finance
California State Senate – Budget Committee
California State Assembly – Budget Committee
