Governor Newsom signed the 2021-22 Budget, which includes critical investments in the child welfare system, including millions of dollars in pandemic relief for attorneys, youth, and providers.
Thanks to your advocacy, the budget includes a $40 million boost in funding over the next year for dependency counsel and to address an increase in costs that resulted from the closure of many courts and rising caseloads in counties like Los Angeles.
“The pandemic created even greater obstacles in access to justice for children and families who are already disenfranchised and then suffered through court delays, family separation, increased isolation and lack of access to services,” said Leslie Heimov, executive director of the Children’s Law Center of California. “The increased funding provided in the California budget is critically important to helping families involved with the child welfare system move forward and to ensuring that the advocates who support them have the tools we need to do our jobs to the best of our ability.”
Read more about California’s investments for families and children in The Imprint.