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FEATURED ARTICLE
Governor's 2007-08 Budget
Analysis: What does the State Budget mean for
family-serving
organizations.
Since its introduction, the budget has received praise
from education leaders and environmentalist while
being sharply criticized by social services providers.
The Governor has clearly made it a priority to present a
balanced state budget. However, he accomplishes
this goal with deep cuts to CalWORKS, freezing of
rates for several foster care programs and several
overly optimistic assumptions regarding future
revenues and pending state litigation. CFRA's budget
analysis is a targeted look at proposed budget
decisions that will affect family-serving organizations.
To read
the full analysis...
To
read CFRA's Press Release...
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The legislative session
is underway! CFRA will be there representing your
interests. Our perspective: Does it help families
achieve self-sufficiency? Our message is simple: If it's
not good for families,
it's not good for California.
To that end, CFRA is moving forward with its policy
strategy. We have contracted with William Gonzalez of
Gonzalez Public Affairs as our policy consultant. Mr.
Gonzalez is a seasoned and respected consultant with
experience in public policy and strong relationships
with legislators, staff, advocates and lobbyists. He will
provide a Capitol Report as
part of this monthly newsletter as a means to provide
you with legislative updates. CFRA is monitoring
and acting on legislation relative to our policy priorities -
family
economic success, child welfare, school readiness
and mental health. In addition, we will be engaging
you in a variety of ways
including capacity building, testifying at hearings, letter
writing, meeting with
your state and local representatives and
engaging the families and communities that you
serve.
Thank you for your membership and support of CFRA!
Leticia Alejandrez, Executive
Director
COMING SOON:
- Spring 2007
-CFRA will provide each
member with a policy kit that will include local and
state representative information, how to build
relationships with key
policymakers and when and how to host site visits
with legislators and local officials. Plus much more!
-CFRA in partnership with Strategies will conduct a
series of regional convenings to increase the capacity
of CFRA's membership to understand the benefits of
networks, emphasizing
shared knowledge, strategies and resources and the
power of a unified policy voice.
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CFRA is a statewide membership association of
organizations and individuals working to build vibrant
communities that put children and families first.
Founded in 2005, CFRA advocates for policies,
programs and resources that help families and
communities to thrive and succeed utilizing
common sense approaches that help families
achieve stability and self-sufficiency by developing
community resources and building on the strengths,
committments and integrity of families.
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| POLICY |
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The Capitol Report This monthly report will
keep you informed about what is happening in
Sacramento and how CFRA is working to make
families
a legislative priority. The report will
feature legislative updates, committee assignments,
new member profiles and legislative information that
will
keep you apprised of what's going on at the Capitol
and
the areas of focus for CFRA. We hope you find the
Capitol Report useful and look forward to your
feedback.
To read the
full report...
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For more policy information... |
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| RESOURCES |
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The California Wellness Foundation is offering
grants to organizations that provide direct services in
disease prevention, health promotion or wellness
education in California. Some of the areas that
activities should fall into are: environmental health,
mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence
prevention, women's health, issues related to work
and health or other programs within the foundation's
mission. Requests for core operating expenses
support are encouraged. Grants range from $5,000 to
$200,000 each over one to three years.
For more information...
Earned Income Tax Credit Toolkit The National
Assembly's Family Strengthening Policy Center, with
support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has
created an EITC Toolkit that will give limited income
earners access to an important federal tax benefit that
may be worth more than $4200. Clients and
employees of family resource centers and
family-strengthening organizations can utilize this
antipoverty investment strategy as a means to financial
sustainability. To download the EITC
toolkit...
The Child
Trends Databank is a one-stop-shop for the
latest
national trends and research on over 100 indicators of
child and youth well-being. The Child Indicator is a
newsletter produced by Child Trends Databank that
offers the latest developments in the collection,
dissemination, and use of child-and youth-focused
social indicator data at the national, state, and local
levels. This information is invaluable to family resource
centers and family-strengthening organizations' grant
and fund development efforts.
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For more resource information... |
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| NEWS & EVENTS |
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Save the date...
February 27, 2007 (Sacramento)
March 20, 2007 (Santa Ana)
March 22, 2007 (San Diego)
March 27, 2007 (Fresno)
The Budget and Family-Strengthening
Organizations: What Does the Budget Process Mean to
You and the Work You Do? To help you - our
valued members - understand the budget process,
CFRA is offering four budget briefings in partnership
with the California Budget Project (CBP). CBP is a
respected, non-profit, non-partisan organization that
engages in fiscal and policy analysis and public
education. Its goal is to improve public policies
affecting the economic and social well-being of low-
and middle-income Californians. We are delighted to
be working in partnership with CBP to help you
understand the implications of the budget process on
the families and communities you serve. Registration
fees are nominal for CFRA members thanks to the
generous support of the S.H. Cowell Foundation.
For registration
material...
March 15, 2007 - The California Budget Project's
2007 Policy Conference Moving Forward: How Can
We Build a
Better Future for All Californians? Plenary
sessions and workshops will examine what's on the
horizon for the budget debate, recent wage and income
trends, and the economic insecurity that has left
many families in danger of losing their jobs, health
coverage, and retirement savings. This year's
conference will also look at policies aimed at moving
California forward including proposals to extend health
coverage to the uninsured, innovative approaches to
financing education, and strategies for giving workers
the skills they need to compete in a changing
economy. For more information and
registration material...
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