Despite an agreement reached in February, the California state budget for Fiscal Year 2009-10 is back up for debate. The worsening economy has left the state with an estimated $24.5 billion shortfall for the upcoming year.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers appear poised to close that gap almost exclusively through program and service cuts, as opposed to increases in taxes. As part of that process, the governor recently released a revised budget plan that calls for major cuts to child development services and many other programs.

The LAUP Board of Directors has voted to oppose the proposed cuts to child development programs in the state budget, specifically in three areas.

1.    Elimination of CalWORKS and its associated child care program:

CalWORKS child care is a true investment in California’s future and it is also a driver of economic prosperity today. Low-income families need subsidized child care in order to work and be able to pay their bills. Cutting this benefit will undoubtedly lead to limiting the ability of many parents to work, not to mention forcing the layoffs of child care workers, both of which will worsen the state’s economic condition.

2.    Reduction of funding for the Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) and eliminating licensing of Family Child Care Homes.

The state's licensing program is already underfunded and inadequate. It would be negligent for the state to worsen the problem, and it would seriously threaten the safety of children.

3.    Increase of family fees to qualify for subsidized child care:

The burden of this increase falls most heavily on those families who simply cannot afford the costs of private child care. Yet, they are likely to lose their child care subsidy when they are inevitably unable to pay the increased fees.

However, at least one of the governor’s new early childhood education proposals does deserve support: putting $10 million of federal dollars at the discretion of the Early Learning Quality Improvement System (ELQIS) Advisory Committee for the purposes of improving the quality of early childhood education services. The ELQIS committee is currently engaged in a thorough public review of the State’s early education systems and methods for improving their performance.

To learn more about the current state budget proposals, visit the websites of the Child Development Policy Institute or the California Budget Project.