Alex Johnson, Executive Director of Children’s Defense Fund-California, released the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s 2015-16 budget proposal:
“The Governor’s proposed budget fails to make the significant investments necessary to repair the tattered safety net and provide the critical support services children, particularly those living in poverty, need to survive and thrive. While the Governor’s continued investment in K-12 education is a positive step, children also need health care, quality child care and development, and family supports to succeed in school.
Recession-era state budget cuts to critical health and human service programs continue to harm the state’s most vulnerable children and families. We urge the Governor and the Legislature to do right by our children and protect and invest in essential safety net programs.
California cannot afford to continue allowing more than one in four children to grow up in poverty, harming their health and well-being and undermining their academic and future economic success. We can, and must, restore critical programs for California’s children and families that have been decimated in recent years and invest in the quality child care, health care, income support and other programs that will help create a level playing field for all children.”
Media Contact
Cadonna Dory
cdory@childrensdefense.org
o: (213) 355-8790 // c: (323) 385-6342
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Children’s Defense Fund-California (CDF-CA) is a state office of the Children’s Defense Fund, a national child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for over 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. CDF-CA champions policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, ensure all children have access to health coverage and care and a quality education, and invest in our justice-involved youth.