SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As federal funding cuts loom, California families, leading advocates and the End Child Poverty California Coalition are demanding that state lawmakers take bold action to reduce poverty and help insulate residents from what they describe as retribution-driven reductions from Washington.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators, according to ECPCA, must prioritize helping children out of poverty as they continue to craft the state’s 2026-27 budget and policy agenda. Sustainable and ongoing revenue solutions are effective in paying for investments in child tax credits, community-building programs, cash aid and child care assistance.
These programs are important in protecting children and families in the face of federal rollbacks and a dismal economy that has now been made worse by Washington policies, including tariffs.
Yesenia Robancho, associate director of policy and strategy at End Child Poverty California powered by GRACE, told ECPCA: “Now is the time for California, the fourth largest economy in the world, to use every tool at our disposal to protect Californians’ ability to meet their most basic needs and live with dignity.”
The ECPCA coalition, which represents more than 180 groups, unveiled its 2026 IMAGINE Agenda, which it described as a responsible path forward in investing in California families through fair and just revenues. While promoting investments in proven anti-poverty tools, the IMAGINE Agenda also opposes proposed state funding cuts or expenditures that fall short for safety-net programs.
Robancho also spoke on this issue: “These cuts don’t fall evenly. They fall hardest on low-income families, communities of color, immigrants, unhoused neighbors, seniors, and people with disabilities.”
According to ECPCA, federal cuts made through 2025’s H.R. 1 will increase costs for every Californian and threaten to push millions into poverty. This means that thousands risk losing access to Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits, as well as being shut out from the federal Child Tax Credit.
Jeanneth Carmelina Chavez, a mother of three and a first-generation college student at UCLA, stated that she grew up in poverty and experienced childhood homelessness even though her immigrant parents worked very hard.
She also said she tries to protect her children from the same reality but noted that delays in safety-net programs can easily plunge families such as hers into crisis. For example, they did not receive their food assistance payment when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were frozen during the federal government shutdown in November.
Chavez said, “Programs like CalWORKs don’t create dependency. They create opportunity. They provide parents the stability we need to work, study, to raise healthy children, and contribute to our communities. These programs are not handouts; they are investments in families and the next generation of California.”
Kalisha Monee’ Goodwin, a marriage and family therapist, explained that California’s Young Child Tax Credit, CalEITC and CalFresh “have been the building blocks for life,” which enable her to move her family into a larger home.
“That tax credit is not just a check; it is the down payment on our future,” she said. “This is what happens when California invests in its families. We don’t just survive. We graduate from programs, we buy homes, and we build a stronger community. And most importantly, we thrive.”
As multiple testimonies illustrate, poverty remains a prominent issue in America. Government-funded programs such as Medi-Cal and CalFresh are vital to families living in poverty, and reducing access to them can have disastrous effects on their lives. Therefore, advocates say bold action is needed to help prevent those effects.
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