Beckie Moralez

I recently saw Magali Sanchez-Hall and Beckie Moralez share their personal stories. A single mother and survivor of domestic violence, Magali will soon graduate from UCLA – precisely because she was able to get help from CalWORKS, childcare and Cal Grants – with a degree and a commitment to helping others succeed.

Beckie Moralez, a mother with two children, struggled with addiction and homelessness. To turn her life around, she signed up for CalWORKS, child care and community college classes. She now has a home and works as an alcohol and drug counselor. The first in her family to go to college, Beckie said, “These programs made me see the real possibility of escaping poverty.”

Magali and Beckie are proud of what they’ve accomplished. They’re proud to give their children role models who are more confident and committed to making not just their own lives better, but improving the lives of others too. At the same time, they’re afraid of what budget cuts to CalWORKS, childcare and CalGrants mean for other women – other mothers – like them.

And now we’re down to the wire. On Friday, the Legislature presented Governor Brown with a balanced budget that preserves these programs that are critical to women and children. However, the governor is pushing back on CalWORKS in particular. He wants to reduce the amount of time that people can stay on CalWORKS from four years to two. He is citing former President Clinton’s welfare reform. But guess what? This is not 1996. In 1996, we had a stronger economy. Furthermore, Clinton allowed five years for people to get training, post-secondary education, childcare, and other services to help them transition to work. With today’s tough economy and high unemployment, it is unlikely that many of the people who transitioning off CalWORKS will be able to find work. In fact, the employment rate for single female headed households has dropped by 10% in the last 4 years. Now is not the time to make any more cuts to CalWORKS.

CalWORKS and other safety net services have ALREADY been cut enough. So far, in the last 3 years, $3.3 billion has been cut out of CalWORKS alone and $15 billion from safety net services. The other important fact to remember? Every dollar invested in safety net programs like CalWORKS and subsidized childcare return at least $1.31 to local economies. Long term, programs that help women move out of poverty, by increasing their education and helping them find employment, save the state money and contribute to the tax base.

The Legislature has presented a balanced budget to Governor Brown. Check out our 1 minute video, then please, call the Governor. Or send him a letter, calling on him to pass the Legislature’s budget.