Children Now Statement on Gov. Newsom’s Proposed 2019-20 Budget

OAKLAND, CA— Children Now President Ted Lempert issued the following statement today in response to Governor Newsom’s 2019-20 proposed budget:

“Children Now applauds the Governor’s proposed budget which makes needed pro-kid investments in supports and services – including expanded home visiting, developmental and ACEs screenings, paid parental leave, and quality child care and preschool – that will improve the lives of California’s young children. Nearly three-quarters of California’s 1.5 million infants and toddlers are children of color, and nearly two-thirds are born into low-income households. It is critical that we make these initial investments to support young children.
We must also ensure that we are making strong investments from cradle to career as part of a whole-child agenda. We commend Governor Newsom’s support of improved mental health services, establishing a longitudinal data system, greater support for special education, protecting immigrant families, improving the juvenile justice system, insuring undocumented young adults through Medi-Cal and increasing subsidies for affordable health coverage.”

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Children Now is a non-partisan, whole-child research, policy development and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting children’s health and education in California. The organization also leads The Children’s Movement of California, a network of more than 3,000 direct service, parent, civil rights, faith-based and community groups dedicated to improving children’s well-being.