FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2021
Contact: Sara Ortega, [email protected]
Children Now Statement on 2021 State Budget Agreement
Ted Lempert, President, Children Now, issued the following statement in response to the final budget agreement:
California ranks 34th nationally on child well-being with significant equity gaps due in part to historic underinvestment in the systems that serve kids. We’re thrilled that the final budget agreement takes long overdue steps in the right direction towards improving the health, education, and economic security of our kids, birth through age 26. But we urge state leaders to view these as only initial increases in the systems that serve kids, especially Black, Latino, and other children of color, and youth in foster care, who have historically been underserved and continue to be disproportionately impacted by the devastating effects of the pandemic. Significant more money and reforms are needed to make California Pro-Kid. This is particularly true of child care, where rate increases are a key first step but billions more are needed to pay providers a competitive wage and ensure universal access for all families.