Increased Licensing Fees for Family Child Care Providers & Centers Announced

New fees for child care providers and centers as well as other facilities are now in effect as part of the budget revision Arnold Schwarzenegger signed on July 28.  

Unfortunately, virtually all fees for all programs will rise by at least ten percent.

Both the annual fee and application fees for small, licensed providers increased from $60 to $66.

For large licensees, the fees increased from $115 to $127. 

Additional fees have also been assessed:

• Existing licensee moves ($33 small); ($64 large) 
• Orientation ($25) 
• Failure to pay annual fee on time ($33 small); ($64 large)
• Increasing capacity ($25)
• Licensee placed on probation ($66 small); ($127 large)
• Failure to complete plan of correction on time ($200)

For more information, visit the Community Care Licensing website or call us toll free at 1-866-336-9333.

Child Care Providers United: The only union for child care.

Update on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:16PM by Admin

Additionally, as part of the same 2009-2010 state budget revision, licensing offices statewide will be closed three Fridays every month.

Below are the relevant dates.  Remember to plan accordingly.

September Friday, 9/4 9/11 9/18	October Friday, 10/2 10/9 10/16	November Friday, 11/6 11/13 11/20
December Friday, 12/4 2/11 12/18	January 2010 Friday, 1/8 1/15 1/22	February Friday, 2/5 2/12 2/19
March Friday, 3/5 3/12 3/19	April Friday, 4/2 4/9 4/16	May Friday, 5/7 5/14 5/21
June Friday, 6/4 6/11 6/18

What Kind of California Do You Want to Live in?

New Budget Deal Bad for Schools, Working Families, Local Governments

Schwarzenegger all smiles with State Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg (D-Sacramento) & State Assembly Speaker Bass (D-Los Angeles)California's legislative leaders have reached a tentative agreement with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on a budget deal to close the state's $26 billion budget deficit with massive cuts to schools and social programs, while refusing to raise taxes on oil companies.

The so-called "Big 5"—Democratic and Republican leaders in the Assembly and Senate plus the governor—agreed to nearly $16 billion in devastasting cuts to schools, California's welfare to work program, community colleges and universities as well as public health and the state's In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.

Additionally, the state will take several billion dollars of property tax revenue from cash-strapped cities and counties, which will most certainly mean more devastating cuts by local governments.

Massive cutbacks in safety net, income assistance, and public health programs only deepen the economic hardship faced by California's low- and moderate income working families. Many families will no longer be eligible for some essential programs such as Healthy Families, California's health insurance program for children in working families.

State workers face more cuts to their paychecks as the Big 5 agreed to three unpaid days per month. Curiously, istead of taxing oil companies, legislative leaders overturned a 40-year ban to allow more drilling off Santa Barbara's coast.

The California legislature could vote to approve the budget deal as early as Thursday this week. California law requires a two-thirds vote in both houses to approve the budget plan.

This means that there is still time to oppose this plan, as Bass and Steinberg have yet to secure enough votes in both houses of the legislature to adopt the deal.

For more information or to contact your state legislator, call us at 1-866-336-9333.

Update on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:37PM by Admin

The Los Angeles Times has provided a good summary of the latest budget proposal. Click here and here and here to read. 

Meanwhile, those who prefer to listen to their news can hear very good and informed discussions about the seminal details of the current budget plan by clicking here and here.

IOUs for Child Care Providers?

California State Controller John Chiang's office began issuing IOUs on July 2, 2009, to pay the various businesses, big and small, that contract with the state.

The IOUs have an interest rate of 3.75% and a maturity date of October 1, which assumes that California will have a state budget in place by then.

Chiang's office has also compiled a list of programs and agencies that will receive IOUs in lieu of cash payments as well as a list of those that will continue to receive their regular cash payments for the foreseeable future.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), which administers that portion of the CalWORKS program known as stage 1 that provides temporary cash assistance for basic family needs and issues specific welfare-to-work requirements, is on the list of agencies to receive IOUs.

Educational institutions, however, will continue to receive their monthly budgetary allotments, since funding for K-12, community, colleges, and public universities are constitutionally mandated.

This includes the California Department of Education (CDE), which administers that portion of CalWORKS known as stage 2 and stage 3 that provides child care subsidies to low-income families and individuals.

Click to read more ...

Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency to Force More Cuts

After rejecting Democratic proposals to help close California's $24 billion budget deficit through new taxes on oil companies and cigarettes and alcoholic beverages that are supported by a majority of California voters, Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of fiscal emergency in California in order to be able to impose the types of budget cuts that he previously sought in May.

Under Schwarzenegger's state of fiscal emergency, the state legislature has 45 days to devise another budget plan to close the state's more than $24 billion deficit.

After 45 days, legislators cannot adjourn or act on other bills until they solve the crisis.

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has ordered the closure of state offices three days a month along with the associated furlough of 235,000 state employees on those days.

Because the furloughs are unpaid, state workers will effectively be taking a 14 percent pay cut.

The fact that Republicans can block any budget plan advanced by the Democratic majority means that this fiscal emergency will likely be used by Schwarzenegger and the Republicans to extract those deep budget cuts previously rejected by Democrats without the prospect of new revenues.

These cuts include the virtual elimination of social, health, and educational programs that serve the state’s residents such as CalWORKS, Healthy Families, and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS).

Click to read more ...

Schwarzenegger Threatens to Shut Down the State

Democrats in the California state assembly employed a series of legal maneuvers to push through a proposal to balance the state's $24 billion budget deficit without any Republican votes over the weekend.

The plan, which includes $11 billion worth of cuts and $10 billion worth of accounting maneuvers, is now in the state senate.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to veto the plan on principle, should it reach his desk, because it contains $2 billion worth of revenue solutions consisting of an oil severance tax and a tax on cigarettes, measures that Schwarzenegger himself had previously proposed.

If Schwarzenegger believes that it is possible to balance the state budget without these revenue solutions, as paltry as they are, then he just doesn't understand economics.

Should he actually follow through on his threat to veto the Democratic plan, blame for shutting down the state would rest squarely on his shoulders.

While Schwarzenegger has been prone to using threats, coercion, and other ham-fisted approaches to realize the vision of a state with no capacity to provide social or educational services to the citizens of California, it is unclear whether he actually has the courage to take the blame for shutting down the state.

With California just a few days away from having to issue IOUs to pay its bills, the only way to win this game of budget chicken and avert the prospect of California taking its place among the Third World, an outcome that corporatists like Schwarzenegger and the Republicans have been planning for decades, is for Democrats to concede nothing and place a budget on Schwarzenegger's desk that includes new revenues.

This will put Schwarzenegger into a position where he will either have to make good on his threats or look like a complete hypocrite. If past performance is any indication, he will find an excuse to sign it.

Republicans Reject Democrats' Budget Fix

The budget plan proposed by our allies in the state assembly and senate has failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass the legislature.

All the Republicans in both chambers voted NO on the budget plan advanced by Democrats this past Wednesday, June 24.

Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to cut child welfare and foster care services and end state contributions to state employee health plans.

This is on top of the devastating cuts he previously proposed including the elimination of CalWorks and Healthy Families.

Time is running out, and providers—especially those living in Republican districts—need to urge their legislators to support a budget proposal that invests in our future.

Please call and write your legislators:

• Tell them that you are a registered voter and don't want to see the budget balanced on the backs of our children and seniors.

• Tell them to end the $2.5 billion worth of wasteful tax breaks that have been given to big business.

• Tell them that polls show a majority of California voters support taxes on oil companies and alcohol and tobacco producers.

• Tell them that polls show a majority of voters oppose cuts to public services.

If you live in a Republican district, tell them:

• You are a registered voter and will vote them out of office, unless they vote YES on the Democrats' current budget proposal.

• Tell them to voteYES on the Democrats' current budget proposal when the vote is held again.

Click here to find the legislator in your district.

CCPUnited's parent organizations (AFSCME& SEIU) will also be conducting various protests and rallies throughout the state to pressure lawmakers to do the right thing.

If you are interested in participating in these upcoming events, call 1-866-336-9333 or 1-866-574-8907.

Click here for a list of upcoming events.

Remember to keep those cards, letters, and phone calls coming.

Raise Your Voice! Stand Up for California!

CCPUnited California legislative postcardThanks to the letters, postcards, phone calls, and protests held by providers and thousands of other activists around the state, we have managed to beat back some of the more terrifying proposals that were advanced to close the state budget deficit including the total elimination of the CalWORKS and Healthy Families programs.

Now, Democrats on the Assembly budget conference committee are offering a new budget plan, and we need this proposal to pass in order to eliminate the possibility that Schwarzenegger's devastating cuts will be revived.

CCPUnited California budget flierKeep those cards, letters, and phone calls coming.

There is no guarantee that this new proposal will pass the legislature, and even if it does, Schwarzenegger may still veto it, which means that we may be facing a new round of outrageous attacks on providers and on the families who rely on us.

That's why we need you to tell our legislators to vote FOR the Democrats' new budget plan as it now stands and to stand ready to turn our focus towards the governor once it passes.

Click here to find the legislator in your district.

Click here to find the contact information of Assembly Budget Committee members.

You can also read more about how CCPUnited would balance the state budget by clicking here.

State Budget Update: A Fair & Balanced Approach?

The state legislature's budget conference committee recently unveiled its plan to close California's $24 billion budget deficit, but Arnold Schwarzenegger has already threatened to veto this plan, because it includes $2 billion worth of taxes on oil companies and tobacco companies.

Although conference committee members have attempted to moderate many of the draconian cuts proposed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in May, which included the complete elimination of Healthy Families, CalWORKs, Cal Grants and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), the conference committee's budget proposal still relies heavily on spending cuts to balance the budget.

Specifically, the budget conference committee is proposing:

• $11 billion worth of cuts to education, health, social, and other programs
• $10 billion worth of accounting maneuvers
• $2 billion worth of revenue solutions consisting of an oil severance tax and a tax on cigarettes.

While Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of California applauds the budget committee's decision to reject many of Schwarzenegger's most damaging proposals, CCPUnited feels that the committee must be more courageous in its pursuit of a fair and balanced approach.

We understand that the two-thirds budget rule makes it nigh impossible for Democrats to pass a budget containing any tax increases without Republican votes. However, $2 billion worth of revenue solutions in comparison to $11 billion worth of cuts can hardly be called balanced.

That is why we must continue to press the legislature and the governor by taking the following actions:

Click to read more ...

Remember: Elected Officials Work for the People

Child care advocates in the June 10th article "State proposing to cut funding for day care inspections" are correct when they say that the proposed cuts would put children in potentially unsafe situations.

In an attempt to justify the cuts, a governor's spokesperson says, "....with a $24 billion deficit there are simply no good options."

No good options? We're forgetting several options that are largely being ignored. In addition to some responsible trimming of the state's budget, we also need to look for new sources of revenueProp 1A Release—and yes, that includes increasing taxes on things such as big oil companies, alcohol, and tobacco.

Although many legislators start shaking in their boots at the mere mention of the words "tax increases," they face a far scarier proposition if these cuts go through—a furious public who saw their elected leaders do nothing as the safety of our children were put at risk.

Rasiene Reece Carter
Victorville