Media & Resources

The CalEITC Advocacy Coalition is pleased to see the Governor proposing support and continued expansion of the California's Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families. The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) provides much-needed assistance to working families and individuals who are struggling to make ends meet.

Children remain the poorest age group in California, with 1.6 million living in poverty in 2017, according to American Community Survey (ACS) data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Although the child poverty rate declined from 19.9 percent in 2016 to 18.1 percent in 2017, it is still unconscionable that nearly 1 in 5 children live with economic hardship in California – the world’s fifth-largest income and yet among the highest poverty rates of all states.

U.S. Census Bureau data released today reveal that 1.78 million California children (19.9%) lived in poverty in 2016. Children remain the poorest age group. Children of color continue to be disproportionately poor: 26.6% (1,236,452) of Latino children and 29.6% (142,588) of Black children were poor in 2016, compared to 9.6% (221,622) of White children. Nearly 1 in 12 California children (723,923) lived in deep poverty in 2016, putting them at severe risk of hunger, homelessness, and toxic stress. The Census Bureau's official poverty measure defines poverty as an annual income below $24,563 for an average family of four, or less than $2,047 a month or $ 67.30 a day. Deep poverty is half of that level. An alternative Census measure, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), suggests that these figures substantially understate how many children face economic hardship in California due [...]

In response to Governor Brown's May Revise budget proposal released today, Alex Johnson, Executive Director of Children's Defense Fund-California, issued this statement: "Governor Brown has taken a positive first step to reduce California's highest-in-the-nation child poverty rate by proposing a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that will help working poor families make ends meet. We are pleased that Governor Brown is recognizing the urgency of addressing the state's child poverty crisis and proposing some relief for Californians who have not seen the benefits of the economic recovery. "Growing up poor negatively impacts the entire trajectory of a child's life and reinforces a generational cycle of poverty that steals hope and opportunity from our most vulnerable children. California needs a bold, comprehensive multi-year plan to end child poverty – and with state revenue surging, we have the resources to make [...]

Groundbreaking Report Released by Children's Defense FundLos Angeles, CA – Today, the Children's Defense Fund released a groundbreaking report entitled Ending Child Poverty Now Children's Defense Fund that details how the U.S. could substantially reduce child poverty immediately. Ending Child Poverty Now Children's Defense Fund–California If policymakers invested an additional 2 percent of the federal budget to expand existing federal programs and policies to increase employment and make work pay for parents and ensure children's basic needs are met, 60 percent of poor children across the country – and 58 percent of California's children – would be lifted out of poverty and 97 percent of all poor children would benefit.A California companion report by the Children's Defense Fund - California presents key state policy recommendations for how California can reduce child poverty by investing in programs that work: including enacting a [...]

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 [...]