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Gavin Newsom slashes funding for foster care program amid California budget crunch
By Jessica Chasmar
Published April 17, 2023
Republicans and Democrats alike in California are sounding the alarm over a proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom to slash his budget commitment for foster care services by two-thirds.
The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program assigns thousands of volunteers to act as liaisons for individual foster kids within California’s child welfare system. Newsom previously committed $60 million in new funding for the program over a three-year period.
Newsom’s $297 billion state budget proposal, however, slashed that commitment to $20 million as his state faces a $22.5-billion projected budget deficit.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Finance told Fox News Digital that the cut is necessary for closing the shortfall.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, March 16, 2023. ((AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File))
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"When the Governor submitted his budget to the Legislature in January, the state had to close a budget shortfall projected at $22.5 billion," H.D. Palmer, the deputy director for external affairs, said in a statement.
"This required the administration to propose a range of measures to pull back on spending that had previously been enacted," the statement read. "Pulling back future funding for the CASA program is a proposal, like many others, that would not have been put forward were it not for the necessity of closing the shortfall."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference on February 1, 2023 in Sacramento, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (R) speaks as state Senator Anthony Portantino (L) (D-Burbank) and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (C) look on during a press conference on February 1, 2023 in Sacramento, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))
Sharon Lawrence, chief executive for the California CASA Association, told The Los Angeles Times that CASA programs had already made plans for the original $60 million.
State assemblymembers on the budget committee met in February, when Republican Tom Lackey and Democrat Reggie Jones-Sawyer united in opposing the cut, The Times reported.
The California CASA Association thanked both leaders on Twitter over the weekend.
Kamilah Priforce, a councilmember for the City of Emeryville, said Saturday that the issue hit close to home.
"This is unfortunate," he tweeted. "If a program like this existed when my brother aged out of the foster care system, he would still be alive. #FosterCare #GroupHome #Orphans."
Negotiations between Newsom’s administration and the legislature will kick off in May after the governor releases his budget revisions.
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