Free Republic

Things just got bleaker for California's poorest residents. CalWORKs, the state's "welfare to work" program, took a major hit in the state budget deal that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Thursday, reducing grants to their lowest levels in more than 20 years. Beginning today, monthly grants will be slashed by 8 percent, to an average of $460 for a family of three. That translates to an income that is less than 30 percent of the amount the federal government has determined is necessary to meet basic needs. In addition, the new budget reduces the lifetime limit on CalWORKs cash...

An Alameda County Superior Court judge today blocked the elimination of funds for a welfare-to-work childcare program until the state notifies parents they can be screened for eligibility for other programs. Judge Wynne Carvill ordered a stay on the cut until the state Department of Education issues new notices to parents that they can be screened to see if they qualify for alternative aid. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut the $256 million from the CalWORKS welfare-to-work program with a line-time veto.

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneger says welfare recipients can no longer use state-issued debit cards at medical marijuana shops, psychics and other businesses whose services have been deemed "inconsistent with the intent" of the program.

An Alameda Superior Court judge has delayed $256 million in budget cuts to a state program that provides child care assistance to low-income families. The funding cut for CalWORKs Stage 3 Child Care was part of the nearly $1 billion in line-item veto cuts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made to the budget passed earlier this month. Cuts to the program, which provides child care subsidies to parents who have secured employment after going through California's welfare-to-work program, were scheduled to take effect Monday.

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) ― Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order barring California welfare recipients from using state-issued debit cards at casino ATMs. Thursday's order followed a report by The Los Angeles Times that found CalWORKS cards were used to withdraw cash in more than half the casinos in the state. The newspaper reported Thursday that welfare recipients have withdrawn more than $1.8 million in taxpayer cash at casinos since October. Schwarzenegger's order requires welfare recipients to sign a pledge that they will use their benefits only to meet the basic needs of their families.

It's the kind of statistic that makes radio talk show hosts drool: California is home to about 12 percent of all Americans – and more than 30 percent of all Americans on welfare. Critics of the state's welfare program, called CalWORKs, say it's clear proof that the system is flabby and overly beneficent, particularly as compared to other states. "We are more lenient here; we are more generous in the state of California," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week, "and also we are giving greater benefits for longer periods of time, and there are really no consequences if someone doesn't...

Recent reports (here and here) in the media have been highlighting California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s kicking around of ideas aimed at reducing his state’s gargantuan budget deficit, which is currently projected to reach 21.3 billion dollars later this year, with one of the ideas being a proposal to end state funding of CalWORKS, which is the state’s self-proclaimed welfare-to-work program. It has to be said that much of this kicking around is a result of the turndown just last month by the state’s voters of a number of propositions (1A through 1E) aimed at –California voters were assured — eventually...

With empty pockets and maxed-out credit, California is debating whether it can continue honoring all parts of its social contract with the state's most vulnerable residents. The state faces an unprecedented drop in tax revenue and a widening budget deficit amid the deepest recession in decades, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to propose cost-cutting steps that once seemed unthinkable. At stake are programs for the poor, elderly and frail, placing millions of people in the nation's most populous state at risk of falling through a decades-old social safety net. Ending the welfare-to-work program for mothers and their children would affect some...

Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare? That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit. County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.

Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare? That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit. County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento. "It's difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this," Wagstaff said. "It would be devastating to the people we serve." H.D....

An ailing economy is threatening the success of welfare reforms that in the past decade moved millions of people off the public dole and into jobs.Caseloads are shooting up in Sacramento County and across the state as the economy slumps and unemployment rises. At the same time, the welfare system is facing unprecedented budget cuts from the state and a possible financial penalty from the federal government.The effect is fewer services for people who need them more than ever, administrators told The Bee. "I have a lot of concern right now," said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human...

But Republican senators are taking them seriously as they hold up passage of the budget, listing the sanctions as their largest single spending cut to bring the budget into balance. Picking up Schwarzenegger's earlier rationales, Republican legislators contend that the sanctions are needed to bring California into line with federal welfare reform rules on work. "The only people thrown off welfare ... will be felons, illegal aliens and persons who don't comply with such draconian rules as trying to find a job," Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, wrote in an op-ed piece circulated to California newspapers. Whacking welfare rolls would be...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose a major rollback of the state's welfare system this week, including a cutoff of aid to tens of thousands of children whose parents do not meet minimum work requirements or are in the country illegally, administration officials said Sunday. The proposed $465-million reduction in California's welfare budget came two days after the governor promised that his second term would feature "post-partisan" cooperation. It was met immediately with resistance from Democrats, who expressed bewilderment that the governor would attempt to cut welfare aid to children in the same week his administration is expected to...

<p>A poll says Californians don't want to refinance past debts from 2003 when they vote March 2. That's bad, because the $12 billion bond the Legislature and former Gov. Gray Davis already approved to cover their gross overspending last year is legally dubious, necessitating that voters approve the governor's March refinancing and replacement bond.</p>

<p>In a little-noticed provision of his initial budget proposal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking the Legislature to deny welfare recipients a cost-of-living increase that would have been triggered by his rolling back of the state car tax.</p> <p>The proposal came to light Wednesday as lawmakers started asking questions about the budget package Schwarzenegger unveiled the day before and held a strained first meeting with the governor's finance director.</p>