Budget puts California children at risk

August 3, 2009

Re:"Budget chaos offers some long-term hope," Editorial, July 29: The editorial suggested that the budget offers long-term hope, when in fact, the governor and Legislature shredded the state's safety net, and put the health and safety of millions of California children at risk.

The budget cuts will result in more than 900,000 children, the equivalent of 10 times the entire population of Carlsbad, being denied or cut from health coverage over the next year. These children will miss more school, use emergency rooms for care and face an increased risk of suffering developmental delays.

The budget eliminates the Domestic Violence Program, which provided funding for local emergency shelters and other vital support services. Families experiencing domestic violence will have fewer resources, and more children will remain in abusive homes. The budget also cut $80 million from local child welfare programs, meaning there will be fewer social workers available to investigate reports of abuse and neglect.

These budget cuts endanger the lives of our state's most vulnerable children. No voter should take "joy in the resolution of our budget mess," as you suggest. Instead, we should all be terrified for our children, and for the future of our state.