Who’s going where? This is a great opportunity to let us know who is promoting and or joining your organization. These are their new positions.

Would you like to let us know who is moving and where? Send an email to Danielle Wermund to share in our next issue of OneVoice.

BUTTE
Dakota Jones	CSS II (Promotion)
Dwana Johnson	CSS II (Promotion)
Rhonda Ross	Retired (Assistant Director)
IMPERIAL
Arita Riddle	Legal Clerk I (New Hire)
Daniel Lopez	Child Support Assistant I (New Hire)
Janette Govea	Child Support Specialist I (New Hire)
Jennifer Pipkin	Child Support Assistant I (New Hire)
Jewelissa Calderon	Child Support Specialist I (Promotion)
Karla Lopez	Child Support Assistant I (New Hire)
Kristie Andreotti	Legal Clerk II (New Hire)
Monica Lopez	Legal Clerk I (New Hire)
MERCED
Ana Compean	Child Support Specialist I – Spanish Bilingual (New Hire)
Gladys Avitia	Child Support Specialist I – Spanish Bilingual (New Hire)
Leslie Bell	Child Support Specialist I (New Hire)
Monica Garcia	Child Support Specialist I – Spanish Bilingual (New Hire)
Tiffany Ramirez	Child Support Specialist I (Promotion)
RIVERSIDE
Art Gonzalez	Child Support Services Supervisor (Promotion)
Kippra Scott	Office Assistant III (Promotion)
Lupita Andrade	Child Support Services Supervisor (Promotion)
SAN BENITO
Ariana Ponce	CSS I (New Hire)
Merced Montes	Retired (CSS II)
SAN BERNARDINO
Andrew Cortez	Supervising Child Support Officer (Promotion)
Tina Sides	Administrative Supervisor (Promotion)
SAN FRANCISCO
Teri Huang	Payroll and Personnel Clerk
Tina Cen	Accountant III
SAN JOAQUIN
Alejandra Maldonado	CSO I (New Hire)
Arcelia Hernandez	CSO I (New Hire)
Ashley Hullen	CSO II (Promotion)
Barbara Little	Retired (CSO II)
Brenda Carrillo	CSO I (New Hire)
Carol Walker	CSO I (New Hire)
Chinse Weaver Daniel	CSO I (New Hire)
Larissa Stedman	Senior Office Assistant (Promotion)
Michele Gemigniani	Retired (Sr. Legal Tech)
My Neal	CSO II (Promotion)
Nichol Meritt	CSO I (New Hire)
Stephanie Ware	CSO I (Promotion)
SAN MATEO
David Collins	Supervisor (New Hire)
SANTA CRUZ
Cathy Montgomery	Retired (CSS II)
Juliana Williamson-Page	Transfer to HSA (CSS II)
Julie Ballesta	Retired (CSS II)
Kay Brundage	Retired (Typist Clerk III)
SISKIYOU/MODOC
Colleen Samuelson	Retired (Information Systems Specialist)
SOLANO
Sandra Lee	Retired (Child Support Specialist – Supervisor)
TEHAMA
Diana Sanchez	Child Support Specialist I (New Hire)
Sherry Diane Smith	Retired (Office Assistant)
VENTURA
Jackie Tilkens	Retred (Senior Attorney)
Karen Quesada	Retired (Managing Attorney)

By Sacramento, Solano and San Bernardino Counties

The Hackathon project at the State DCSS provided LCSAs with an amazing opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of the Child Support Enforcement system. The collaboration between the state and LCSAs fostered the development of new, creative ideas that led to incredible success. Furthermore, the project allowed LCSAs to provide valuable input into changes that will affect caseworkers on a daily basis. A few of us who participated would like to share our incredible experiences and successes.

From the perspective of Laura Galsi (Sacramento County DCSS), what stood out was how much intricate work goes on behind the scenes in CSE. Her project involved designing a way for an LCSA to easily create and manage teams specializing in a specific language. For example, many LCSAs with specific Spanish caseloads have had to manually reassign cases to such designations. Her team went ‘behind the scenes’ and constructed a way for CSE to automatically reassign cases to a specific caseload (if it exists) depending on the language of the participants. This involved many hours of computer engineers repeatedly ‘fixing’ and then ‘breaking’ the CSE environment until everything worked properly. Laura gained a new appreciation for the complexity of this system that we work in every day; it is easy to take this technology for granted. Overall, her team felt that the diversity in perspective resulting from the partnership between the state and the LCSAs allowed for their success.

Jeremy Bauer’s (Sacramento County DCSS) project was to add an arrears calculator to the state website with the purpose of providing a universal application for all LCSA workers and our customers. His team discovered that there are several different arrears calculators used by the majority of the LCSAs, which were found on their individual websites. His team started with the foundation of the Alameda County arrears calculator due to the functionality and visual display of their application. The goal was to ensure that this application was user friendly for our customers making them the priority when the team made changes or updates. They reviewed the entire application and updated the wording throughout all pages and sections, attempting to simplify the vocabulary and remove legal terms if possible. His team then updated the summary section to highlight how long it will take a customer to pay off their principal balance because this is when they will stop accruing monthly interest. Jeremy’s team also created additions to the payment schedule, again with the customer in mind, to make the payoff schedule easier to understand and follow. During the two weeks of collaboration, they were also able to create a Spanish version of this arrears calculator in order to reach a larger demographic of our customers who do not speak English. For LCSA workers, the team created three letter templates, which are found on CA Central. These templates will aid the use of this application in certain customer communication scenarios, which should help the LCSA workers summarize the information from the arrears payoff calculator after a conversation or present the payoff schedule to a nonpaying noncustodial parent. Jeremy thoroughly enjoyed his experience volunteering on the Hackathon project. For Jeremy, it was very insightful to learn the processes and procedures on the State DCSS level and to see what goes into updating CSE, adding or updating a form and adding or updating an application to the State DCSS website.

Tracy Zimmerman (Sacramento County DCSS) and Martin Horvilleur (Sacramento County DCSS) worked on a project that specifically addressed a Worker’s Compensation Collection action that not all LCSAs were using because it was too cumbersome to put all of the documents together. Furthermore, all of the necessary documents were only accessible through the LCSA website, or the LCSA would create their own document template. The team was able to create not one but two form sets in CSE to accomplish this same action as well as allow the caseworker to upload the documents to the case. This will save the caseworker time by eliminating the additional steps needed to accomplish the same objective as well as create uniformity in the documents submitted to the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Boards throughout the state. The addition of these forms in CSE should encourage LCSAs to use this collection tool and thus see their collections increase.

Tina Lorenzo (Solano County DCSS) had the opportunity to work the “Just A Snapshot” challenge. She wanted to work on this when she read the description because Solano is one of four LCSAs using the Ad Hoc Q-1191 query each week. The goal was to convert the existing query into a report which would be available to generate in CSE. She was amazed at how complex the process is and how many programmers it takes to make any changes to CSE. Each step they took came after much discussion as a team and required specific expertise and knowledge from both CA DCSS and LCSA staff to move forward towards the goal. Knowing the LCSAs would be able to generate a report with data current as of the prior business day was her motivation to completing the challenge.

Scott Proffitt (San Bernardino DCSS) worked on the CSE Home Page revamp. His team worked on getting the things that LCSAs wanted to see in CSE’s new look and feel. We provided input on every title or page developed and even made changes to the pages already in existence. We worked on improving the way the system looked and how it was going to function at the LCSA level. We developed a summary to ensure that everything was included and that at the LCSA level it made sense. We were able to review the demo project from front to back and top to bottom and see exactly how it would work at the local level. Scott’s experience was amazing as he got to work with so many great new people and see what it took to make CSE work for the LCSAs on a daily basis.

Through collaboration, the efforts of both the state and local LCSAs made it possible to complete not only the thirteen assigned projects but also two additional projects, all in only ten days. With the success of its inception, the LCSAs look forward to future hackathons.

Registration Opens Monday, January 28, 2019

The 2019 Mission Possible CSDA Annual Training Conference & Expo being held April 29 – May 2, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove is just over 100 days away. The conference planning committee members are doing an excellent job of securing engaging and knowledgeable speakers and coordinators for the 68 workshops. A variety of workshops subjects will include leadership skills, law & casework, caseload management, and professional development. Your mission will be trying to choose between the many outstanding workshops offered.
We are thrilled about our Keynote Speakers this year. You will hear from Michelle Gielan, bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change. Michelle has spent the past decade researching the link between happiness and success. She was named one of the Top 10 authors on resilience by Harvard Business Review. Michelle is the Executive Producer of The Happiness Advantage on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness Course.
We are fortunate to have Scott Lekan, Commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), and David Kilgore, Director of California Department of Child Support Services.
Scott Lekan started out in public service as a law enforcement officer and quickly moved into policy work with the Division of Aging & Adult Services for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security. He is a former IV-D program director for the state of Arizona and has served on the board of directors for NCSEA. Just prior to his current appointment, Scott was Business Development Manager for Informatix, Inc. Drawing on his experience in both public and private work, Scott has proven to be a tremendous advocate for the child support program and often sets visionary goals.
David Kilgore is known in the child support program for having a highly creative approach to policy work with a strong reliance on data. David was the designer of the Case Management Tool (CMT) used by Child Support professionals statewide to assist in managing their casework. He has served in several positions in local child support programs throughout California including Program Manager in Tulare, Deputy Director of Operations in San Bernardino, Chief Deputy Director in Los Angeles and as the Director of the Riverside County Department of Child Support Services. He readily shares big ideas for moving California’s child support program into the next century.
We’re excited to hear from Tracy Miller, an Orange County prosecutor with over 21 years of experience. She is currently the highest-ranking woman in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Tracy is also an Executive Coach and a dynamic and energetic speaker. Tracy initiated and leads the Orange County Gang Prevention Partnership (OC GRIP)—the largest gang prevention program in the United States. Tracy has prosecuted hundreds of cases throughout her career and currently supervises Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, Gangs, and Juvenile Crimes units. Tracy has had numerous accomplishments over the years, some of which include the 2010 Ambassador of Peace Award and the Raise Foundations 2017 Champion of Children Award. Tracy teaches her audiences to connect with themselves, each other, and then their clients in a way that guarantees success. We’re sure this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Whether you’re interested in building your leadership skills, learning new and exciting topics for professional development, or hearing about various law and casework topics, please join us as we make our Mission Possible.

Co-Chair: Barbi Brokhoff, Director, Kings County DCSS
Co-Chair: Julie Prado, Executive Director, Central Sierra Child Support Agency, JPA

Don Semon, Director, El Dorado County DCSS, 2018 President of CSDA Board of Directors

I wrote an article for the One Voice Newsletter back in January as I began my Presidency of CSDA. In that article, I talked about 2018 being a “Defining Moment” for our association. I explained that one of my biggest mantras in life was based on a line in the movie, Tin Cup, when Roy says, “…when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment…or the moment defines you.” As I mentioned in that article, I believe life is made up of defining moments, and either you define the moment, or the moment will define you. So if 2018 was a defining moment for our association, how did we do?
In early spring, we hit a home run when we hired our new Executive Director, Greg Wilson. Not a single meeting went by this year where I didn’t think about how much value Greg has added to our association. His advice, wisdom, and strategic thinking constantly amaze me. We defined this moment.
Still in the spring, the association stepped up during the Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearing when the initial funding proposal of the original 14 LCSAs was being questioned by the legislature, the administration, and the LAO’s Office. The association then did something that has not happened once in the last two decades of this program. We lead four very critical funding meetings during a three-week period that ultimately gained consensus for an allocation methodology, new funding to the program for 19 LCSAs, and a legislative commitment to discuss operational efficiencies in the program to include a way to address the rising operational costs in the LCSAs. Ultimately, these efforts lead to an additional $9 million to our program. If a moment has ever been defined, it was this one.
As summer rolled around, our very own David Kilgore became the Director of State DCSS. CSDA worked very hard with David, Mark Beckley, and the DCSS executive staff to strengthen our relationships. While we continue to build the relationship, I believe it has never been stronger than it is today. Defined another one…
In late summer, early fall, CSDA formed three taskforces to prepare for another run at bringing additional funding to California’s Child Support Program. We had learned a lot from our spring funding efforts and we were not done yet. With the creation of the New Funding, Legislative Relations and Phase 2 Taskforces, we took the bull by the horns…moment defined.
As we got deeper into the fall, our taskforces began working with DCSS on a potential funding request from the administration which could include separate call center funding, performance incentive funding, an allocation methodology, and new funding to our program. Through the Level of Effort Study, a number of LCSAs came together, working with DCSS and CSDA in a very short timeframe to produce a study that became the foundation for what could be the administrations funding proposal…moment defined, again.
As winter approached, CSDA announced arguably the biggest piece of news of the year for the association and the LCSAs. Through a lot of work and collaboration with State DCSS and the administration, CSDA could once again begin lobbying as an association. After almost a decade of being told lobbying was not allowable, the association defined this moment like no other. Our brand-new Legislative Advocacy Committee will now take the lead for the association in this area. This one accomplishment will change the trajectory of CSDA from this point on.
Throughout this year and all of these defining moments there have been a few very consistent themes, which I think have become the backbone of this association as it looks to the future. We cared enough about one another to finally start having some very difficult conversations as a membership. We practiced getting to consensus. We moved out of the minutia long enough to actually lead this program.
So I’m going to push back on all of you one last time. You absolutely defined 2018. Now what? I have gotten to know many of you during my time in this program. I can honestly say that you are an amazing group of people. When so many amazing people come together and are inspired, magic can happen. So now what? There is work to be done. Keep having those difficult conversations. Keep working towards consensus. Stay focused on the big picture.
Thank you to Lisa, Stacy, and Danielle. You guys are amazing. Thank you to Greg for all of your wisdom and counsel during this year. Thank you to the Board of Directors for putting up with me. Thank you to my friend Vic Rea for your support, hard work, and our listening sessions.
Thank you guys and all of our members, for your support and friendships. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of leading you. Thank you for letting me push back and challenge you. But most of all, thank you for what you do every day. You lead this very important program that truly makes a difference in the lives of others. Keep defining moments. I’ll be watching from afar.

Using a Mobile Vehicle to take Child Support Services to the Community

Using a Mobile Vehicle to take Child Support Services to the Community

By Julie Watson, Deputy Director of Operations, Los Angeles County CSSD

How do you spread the word about available child support resources in a county as big as Los Angeles? When you participate in resource fairs or outreach, how do you provide real-time case information, generate license releases, or collect child support payments? These were the problems facing our department, and we knew we needed to find creative solutions. A full-service Mobile Vehicle Unit (MVU) seemed like the perfect solution.
Caseloads continue to decrease statewide, yet the need for support is not. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, we learned that approximately 21,000 of our existing case participants reside more than 10 miles from any of our public contact offices. In one part of our county, public transportation stops at 6:00 p.m., making it difficult for working parents to visit us and address their child support-related issues. Pursuant to 2010 Census Bureau data, Los Angeles County has 331,173 single-parent households with no spouse present and children under 18 years old. Additional data shows that only 31.5% of single-parent households are due current child support, and 68.5% have no child support order. An estimated 343,371 children are unserved in the County of Los Angeles. Furthermore, there are over 50,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in the County of Los Angeles, and if they have a case with our department, they are most likely unable to visit one of our public contact offices. Many people don’t know we’re here to help, that we’re basically a free service, or what services we provide. The MVU allows us to take our services out to our community rather than wait for our community to find us.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors created the Quality and Productivity Commission (QPC) in 1981. In 1984, they established the Productivity Investment Fund (PIF.) The QPC awards loans, grants, or loan/grant combinations to fund department-specific projects designed to improve the quality of service to the public. In April 2018, the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) submitted a proposal for a PIF grant to purchase and customize a Mobile Vehicle Unit. After several presentations and additional submissions, and with the help of Assistant Division Chief Jennifer Coultas, our QPC Productivity Manager and Chair of the Productivity Manager’s Network, we were successful in obtaining a grant. CSSD is currently working with our Internal Services Department to obtain the vehicle. We’ve finalized the specifications needed for this state-of-the-art-vehicle, including two workstations, a printer/fax/scanner combination, seating for five child support professionals, and solar panels on the roof of the vehicle, which will be used to power the HVAC system and equipment when we’re conducting outreach in the community.
In addition to taking child support services out to the community, we’re partnering with our Registrar Recorder/County Clerk’s office. Once their new voting machines are ready, they’ll be able to use our MVU to take those machines to members of the community who are unable to visit a more traditional polling location. We’ve also partnered with the Los Angeles County Women and Girls Initiative to enable their staff to learn more about the unique needs of women and girls in different parts of the county. Lastly, we’re partnering with the Department of Public Social Services as part of their CalFresh marketing campaign. Thousands of families don’t realize they might qualify for CalFresh services, and working with DPSS, we hope many individuals will sign up for this program, to address any food insecurity issues they may be experiencing. In each of these collaborations, our office will be along for the ride, enabling us to reach a wider population of constituents.
We’re very excited about this new Mobile Vehicle. We hope to have it up and running by summer 2019. We are already making a list of communities to visit and outreach events to attend. We look forward to sharing stories and data with you once we’re on the road!

By Rob Lafer, Chief Legal Counsel, San Diego County DCSS

No, it’s not the theme for a new sitcom. A recent appellate case highlights the relatively new California law (Family Code section 7612 subdivision (c)), which allows a court to determine that a child has more than two parents.
In the case of C.A. v. C.P. “(2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 27, a man (plaintiff) wanted to be legally recognized as the child’s father, so he filed an action in court against the child’s mother and the mother’s husband. The mother in this case had conceived a child with a coworker (plaintiff) while still married to her husband. The child’s mother (wife of co-defendant) had led plaintiff to believe she was separated from her husband (co-defendant) at the time. Thereafter, the wife and husband allowed the plaintiff to act in a parenting type role for three years. Plaintiff was involved in child’s medical evaluations and treatment, openly held her out to be his daughter, received the child into his home, exercised regular visitation, and voluntarily paid child support until he was no longer allowed to see the child. The child bonded with the plaintiff and his relatives.
The trial court found that both the plaintiff and the husband were presumed fathers. After weighing both presumptions regarding the two possible fathers, the court found it was appropriate to recognize both as fathers and thereby determined there to be three parents. The key finding was the child would suffer detriment if the court separated her from one of her three parents.
Generally, where there is an intact marriage, as was the case here, the court will not allow someone to disrupt that relationship by impinging upon their parental rights. The husband had argued that only he could be the father based upon the conclusive presumption under Family Code section 7540. The court disagreed with the husband and essentially ruled that the “conclusive” presumption is not an “exclusive” presumption. It distinguished this case from others where a married couple consistently excluded a biological father from participating in the child’s life. It went on to say that the married couple could have prevented the plaintiff from being a legal father by excluding him from the child’s life from birth.
It is important to note that the court found this to be a “rare” case and that each of the three parents should be legally recognized as such to prevent detriment to the child. A court should not determine that a child has more than two parents unless it first finds that the child has an existing bonded relationship with another potential parent, the termination of which would cause detriment to the child.
For more information about this case, please contact Rob Lafer at rob.lafer@sdcounty.ca.gov.

By Alan Skidmore, Child Support Attorney, San Bernardino County DCSS

In California, we have more than 128,000 active-duty personnel and over 56,000 reservists increasingly called to active duty. We are seeing more and more cases involving military parents. As such, it has never been more important to engage with our customers on duty.

Recently the San Bernardino DCSS (SBDCSS) conducted outreach events involving the Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), and the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC). Our liaison team for these events consisted of Chief Attorney Marci Jensen-Eldred, Child Support Attorneys Alan Skidmore and Anne Chen, Operations Manager Will Williamson, and Supervising Child Support Officer Shannon Fowler.

On October 25, 2018, SBDCSS hosted officers and staff of the Fort Irwin Judge Advocate General’s office at the San Bernardino court facility and Loma Linda office. The JAG staff observed child support hearings and participated in a question and answer session with two of the IV-D Commissioners, Commissioner John Crawley and Commissioner Charles Fuertsch. Subsequently, our liaison team delivered a presentation regarding child support issues and services highlighting specific areas of concern to military customers. Of special interest to the guests were UIFSA issues, guideline calculator factors, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act process.

A few days later, on October 29, 2018, the JAG officers and staff at the 29 Palms Marine Corp Base in 29 Palms hosted SBDCSS. In an informal, but comprehensive presentation to the JAG staff, we shared the child support services provided to the Marines in their charge and answered a myriad of important relevant questions.

The Fort Irwin and 29 Palms JAG officers were extremely appreciative of the information imparted. We are scheduling annual or bi-annual update meetings with both military organizations. We are working to broaden our military outreach efforts to include several Veterans Administration partners.

It was heartening to hear from several JAG officers that our presentations enabled them to better advise the service members they serve regarding child support issues. Even more important are the connections we established and the ongoing collaborative relationships we built.

I spent most of my childhood in Yuba City enjoying the many outdoor experiences that Northern California has to offer. During my teenage years, I worked at Glacial Trails Scout Ranch, located near Donner Summit, for five summers. I really enjoyed my experiences working at this summer camp and I am proud to have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
I attended college at CSU, Chico earning a B.S. in Business Administration. I financed my education primarily by enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Combat Engineer. During my college experience, I took a life-changing semester off and backpacked Europe alone for a period of five months. This was truly an amazing experience as the Berlin Wall had recently come down and I was able to visit several countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about myself and other cultures during this adventure. This trip sparked a life-long interest in travel and meeting people from around the world.
After graduating from college, I took a year off to work at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in the marketing department. My first “serious job” was a management-training program with Westinghouse Electric in the Bay Area. From there I took a job at State Farm Insurance in Redding as a fire casualty adjuster. In the mid-1990s, many private companies were downsizing due to a soft economy. I met my amazing wife Tami while living in Redding.
In 1995, I accepted a job as an Administrative Analyst in Butte County’s Chief Administrative Office. I proposed to Tami the same day I accepted this new career opportunity. I look back at my experience in the County’s Administrative Office as a period of time when I had many opportunities to grow professionally and build trusting relationships with other county employees and department heads. I was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in 2000.
In 2007, I left the county for a position at CSU, Chico as the Associate Vice President for Business and Finance. I returned to the county one year later as a Deputy Chief Financial Officer, followed by Assistant Director of Employment and Social Services, and finally obtained my current position of Director of Child Support Services in February of 2016. I believe my greatest contribution as a Director will be to help my employees reach their full potential.
Tami and I have a lot of fun with our identical twin 17-year-old boys named Riley and Bretten. As a family, we enjoy many outdoor activities including hiking, backpacking, snow skiing, and riding bikes in Bidwell Park. Our family has hosted numerous foreign exchange students from all over the world. My wife and I believe this is an excellent way to expose our boys to different cultures and that the world is a better place when people get to know each other.
I enjoy working with all of my colleagues at CSDA. I appreciate the support that this organization and many directors have given me as I continue to learn and grow as the Director for Butte County’s Child Support Services program.

By Greg Wilson, Executive Director, Child Support Directors Association

Newsom released state revenue details that show an estimated surplus of $24.1 billion going into 2019-2020. His proposed budget allocates over 86 percent of that surplus to one-time spending, including a $4.8 billion contribution the state “rainy day fund” which is expected to total $19.4 billion by 2022-2023 and another $4.8 billion contribution to unfunded pension liabilities.
The Governor’s new spending focus appears to be on education for children. The budget proposal includes funding over three years to work toward universal preschool and a 3.46 percent increase in state general fund spending for K-12 schools. The budget also proposes universal full-day kindergarten and greater access to subsidized child care. There is also an increase of $119.4 million for CalWORKs Stage 2 and 3 Child Care programs which help current and former CalWORKs families.
Of interest to county programs and departments, the budget proposes an increase of $241.7 million for In-Home Supportive Services (IHHS), growing to $547.3 million in 2022-23. These increases would reduce county funding requirements for IHSS, providing welcome relief for counties who may reallocate the funds to other needed services. The budget estimates average monthly IHSS caseloads will increase by 4.5 percent over the prior year to a total of 564,000 recipients in 2019-20.
As was widely expected, Governor Newsom also proposed additional spending for housing and homelessness programs. The budget includes $250 million in county financial support to spark housing production and another $500 million in incentives for local agencies that meet certain housing-related goals. However, the budget also includes provisions that would hold back local agency funding in areas where housing production does not meet targets. There is another $500 million for emergency shelters and supportive housing. The Governor also desires to expand a pilot that allows unused state property to be used for emergency shelters.
The Governor’s budget proposal includes $347.6 million General Fund to increase CalWORKs grants to 50 percent of the 2019 federal poverty level (FPL). The 2018-19 budget agreement had included a 10 percent increase to grants effective April 1, 2019, and this budget proposal will increase grant levels by 13.1 percent, effective October 1, 2019.
Governor Newsom also proposed to greatly expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, from $400 million to $1 billion while renaming it the “Working Families Tax Credit”. The expanded tax credit is expected to provide $500 for low-income families with young children and would reach fulltime workers making up to $15 per hour. The Administration is expected to develop plans to provide this tax credit on a monthly basis rather than annually in a bid to provide greater month-to-month income stability for hourly workers.
The proposed budget also includes a provision to backfill $31.3 million in property tax revenue lost from the recent wildfires and other natural disasters. Butte and Lake counties are slated to receive longer-term backfills as well as waivers from a local share of cost for debris removal related to the November 2018 wildfires. The budget proposal also includes $20 million in general funds for a one-time allocation to increase funding available to repair, restore, or replace public real property damaged or destroyed by a disaster, and to reimburse local government costs associated with activities taken in response to a state of emergency.

Budget information at Department of Child Support Services:

http://www.childsup.ca.gov/home/childsupportbudget.aspx

CalChannel movie of press conference: (child support specific comments at 31:35)

http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=5849

Dept of Finance Budget information:

http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/