Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, released the following statement in response to the state Department of Social Services Task Force Report on Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty:
- “Through a lot of work and consideration, The Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force has compiled a valuable report with many recommendations to alleviate harm and create opportunities for poor children in California to thrive.”
- “This report gives the Legislature and Administration a useful tool filled with information that lays out the problem of poverty and its many negative consequences with great thoroughness. I thank and congratulate the task force members and the staff of the California Department of Social Services for their hard work and I welcome them in joining an effort that I care deeply about and have worked on for many years.”
- “Increasing the CalWORKs grant is one of the most important things we can do to counter the debilitating effect of deep poverty on children. CalWORKs grants have lost more than one-third of its purchasing power in 1998 and remains at below deep poverty for 11 years in a roll; in contrast, the cost of housing and other necessities have gone up. That is unacceptable.”
- “I have fought to eliminate deep poverty through the 2018 Budget Act; and the state will be implementing the first of three steps to eliminate deep poverty for children in California effective April 2019. I am in complete agreement with the Task Force that taking steps two and three to increase grants is crucial in the near-term to help alleviate poverty and improve social outcomes. Expanding the California Earned Income Tax Credit is another. I anticipate these will be key Senate priorities for the coming year.”
- “I recommended expanding support like transportation and child care to parents who are working or going to school, but who are timed out from the CalWORKs program. I thank the Task Force for including my recommendation”
- “When we see impoverished Californians trying to do better for themselves and their children, we have an imperative to help them. When we do, we promote the general welfare of our society and all boats are lifted with the rising tides.”
