Proposed Cuts to Social Services Programs – California

Welfare-to-work debate takes center stage in California budget stalemate, By Steven Harmon, June 13, 2012, Santa Cruz Sentinel: “SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown finally made it clear this week how important welfare reform was to his budget when he invoked an old nemesis, President Bill Clinton. The governor chastised his fellow Democrats for rejecting his proposed $1.3 billion in cuts to social services programs, including a plan to cut parents off welfare-to-work grants after two years if they haven’t found a job or sought job training. He implored Democrats to support a reform “built on President Clinton’s framework and focused on getting people back to work. We’re not there yet.” The showdown over welfare reforms has become an unlikely hurdle as state legislators close in on a Friday deadline to solve the state’s $15.7 billion budget deficit. Democrats argued Wednesday that Clinton’s 1990s welfare reform worked better in a strong economy and that eliminating services for people on the edge . . .”