 News
and Information
West Sacramento School Readiness News
Washington Unified School District (WUSD) is restructuring
its approach to delivery of School Readiness services. Currently
the district is actively recruiting a new "Bilingual
Home School Liaison - Spanish" position which will provide
information and support to families with young children that
are 0-5 years of age. The objective is to help families prepare
children for success in Kindergarten. The families will be
offered developmentally appropriate activites, parenting education
and/or referrals to different health and social services,
if needed.
THE WUSD SCHOOL READINESS ACTIVITIES CALENDAR IS COMING SOON.
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING THE LOCAL PLANNING COUNCIL (LPC) WEBSITE.
THANK YOU.
Governor Schwarzenegger's Proposed Budget, January
2006
Excerpts from CAEYC News Bulletin
Governor Schwarzenegger presented his proposed 2006-2007
state budget in January. Although state revenues have increased,
the state is still expected to have an operating deficit in
the future. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO),
the Legislature’s non-partisan analyst, has estimated
that the state will experience budget shortfalls over the
next five years. The Governor’s budget does not propose
any tax increases.
The proposal does not include any major child care “reforms”
or funding reductions as in past years. However, the proposed
budget does not provide sufficient funding to meet families’
child care needs, which means that 200,000 eligible children
would remain on waiting lists and the shortage of available
care for infants and toddlers would continue.
The $125.6 budget includes the following increases:
- $6.7 million for Community Care Licensing, including $5.2
million to increase the number of random licensing visits
from 10 percent to 20 percent annually so that facilities,
including child care facilities, would be visited at least
once every five years
- $70.2 million for a 5.18% child care cost of living adjustment
(COLA)
- $14.8 million for growth (1.2 percent) for child care
programs
- $428 million for the After School Education and Safety
(ASES) program (Proposition 49)
- $3.7 billion increase in K-12 Proposition 98 spending
- $72.2 million to help enroll 428,000 eligible children
in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs
The budget proposal includes the following decreases:
- $40 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) funding provided to counties for CalWORKs
employment services, child care, and administration (uses
those funds to reduce state spending for Child Welfare Services
and Foster Care)
- $114.6 million in current year county CalWORKs child care
funding
- Continued suspension of the CalWORKs COLA so that the
maximum amount a family of three could receive would be
$723 per month
- Suspension of the teacher tax credit for an additional
year
The Governor’s January proposal is only the first step
in the process of devising a state budget. The Legislature’s
budget sub-committees will begin their work on the budget
in March, the Governor will present a revision of his budget
proposal in May, and the Legislature is required to pass the
final budget plan by June 15th (though it’s usually
late). The beginning of the new fiscal year is July 1st. The
Governor is expected to sign the budget by that date so the
state has the authority to pay its expenses (though frequently
that doesn't happen either). The budget bill becomes effective
on July 1st or immediately after the Governor signs it if
the signing takes place after the beginning of the fiscal
year.
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