State Budget Update: Child Care Services Extended Until Dec. 31

More than 60,000 California parents will feel relief from a settlement that will keep CalWORKs child care in place until the end of the year.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Parent Voices Oakland and four California mothers against the California Department of Education (CDE). Approved on Nov. 17 by Alameda Superior Court Judge Wynne Carvill, the settlement basically continues the status quo created by a decision from Carvill earlier in the month. Carvill ruled that CalWORKs Stage 3 child care would be extended through Dec. 31, giving families enrolled in the program the right to go through a screening process to see if they qualify for other state child care assistance programs. 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto authority to slash $256 million from the CalWORKs Stage 3 program in mid-October, giving families until Nov. 1 to find alternative child care.

CalWORKs Stage 3 serves families who have transitioned off CalWORK’s cash assistance into the workforce, but whose incomes remain sufficiently low that they can’t afford the cost of child care. In Los Angeles County, more than 17,000 children rely on Stage 3 child care; of these, approximately 6,788 are ages 0 to 5.

Democratic state lawmakers have pledged to introduce legislation that would restore child care funding early next year. In the meantime, First 5 LA and a number of other First 5 commissions throughout California have committed transitional funding to support families with children 0-5 years affected by the program’s elimination. If the Legislature succeeds in reinstating child care funds, organizations that receive the state funding are expected to reimburse First 5 LA and other First 5 Commissions that loaned money to sustain the programs. 

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