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Ending Soon: Public Charge comment period and more!

12.03.2018

On September 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a draft proposed rule to expand the scope of programs that can trigger a public charge determination for immigrants seeking green cards. “The proposed rule would threaten the health of more than a million Californians by penalizing them if they access basic nutrition and housing benefits for themselves and their families.”

The California Endowment’s organizational values of fairness, inclusion, and health and justice for all have prompted them to respond as an institution. They have produced an  “explainer” PSA with  The Children’s Partnership. Organizations have signed onto the  campaign led by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants & Refugees (GCIR) and Philanthropy California to encourage philanthropic partners to become engaged on this issue.

The proposed rule represents a massive change in current policy - yet it is put forth without any rationale and in contradiction of the available evidence. Under current policy, only those who cannot show that they will not become dependent on government programs, like cash “welfare” assistance for income maintenance and government-funded long-term care, are disqualified from seeking to obtain a green card. The proposed rule, if enacted, would put millions of working-class immigrant families already here at greater risk of hunger, poverty, homelessness, and other hardships and destabilize communities across California and the country.

Public comments are being accepted until December 10, 2018. Comments may be submitted directly via  the Federal Register . Comments can be of any length and submitted as a PDF.

If you are interested in learning more about “public charge,” several of organizations have created FAQs and other resources to assist you, including the  Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition,  National Immigration Law Center, and  California Immigrant Policy Center.

We are asking you to sign on to a very important letter that focuses specifically on our Family Resource Centers . To transform and preserve the future of California families, we must fund our future through public resources that reflect primary prevention and early interventions, community-driven practices, frameworks of equity rooted in service delivery, and holistic models of care which integrate whole child, whole family  and whole community  values. 

CFRA is working with a dedicated group of FRCs throughout California to urge legislators to invest in Family Resource Centers and other primary prevention and early intervention child abuse prevention strategies by leveraging federal funding and state and county level resources. The specific actions include:

Additionally, we are urging legislators to invest in promising practices of prevention implemented by Family Resource Centers, increase investment in Family Resource Centers' workforce, and increase investment in Family Resource Centers' infrastructure. 

Before we distribute our recommendations to legislators, we are asking our CFRA members to give us input on our recommendations, as well as help us gather support for our letter. To find out more information about our recommendations, read about the policy recommendations . If you have any questions, feedback, or would like to sign on as a supporter, please contact Jennifer Santos . 

Thank you for your continued support of children and families throughout the state, and your valued partnership with CFRA. CFRA values your investment and dedication to child abuse prevention, and together we can make a difference.

The Prevention Cabinet of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the California Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), and Strategies 2.0 will co-host a Prevention Summit on January 31 and February 1 in San Diego.

This summit will spur a leap forward in our shared goals toward child abuse prevention and family well-being, by convening cross-sector teams from select counties who are prepared to deepen their collaboration and commit to a shared strategy. By participating in the summit, counties will:

You can have a role in securing your county's participation .

All California CWDA members and CAPCs are invited to apply. Contact your local CAPC and/or Child Welfare leadership to encourage them to participate, and indicate your interest in being part of the team and/or the larger collaborative pre- and post-meetings.

For more information, review the Summit letter and application .

The purpose of the Information Memorandum (IM) is to strongly encourage all child welfare agencies and Children’s Bureau (CB) grantees to work together with the courts and other appropriate public and private agencies and partners to plan, implement and maintain integrated primary prevention networks and approaches to strengthen families and prevent maltreatment and the unnecessary removal of children from their families. Coordinated and robust primary prevention efforts are critically important to strengthen families, prevent the initial occurrence of and ongoing maltreatment, prevent unnecessary family disruption, reduce family and child trauma, interrupt intergenerational cycles of maltreatment, and build a well-functioning child welfare system.

CFRA would like to thank Assemblymember  Autumn Burke  for being a champion for children and families! The Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force Repor t shows that lifting children and families out of poverty by increasing CalWORKs funding will ensure that children suffering the most have the opportunity to live healthy and productive lives.

CFRA's Monthly Policy Calls