COLA Info
AFDC/CalWORKs COLA STORY
Money Available for 2017-2018 $7.4 billion
Dollars to be Expended for CalWORKs During 2017-2018 - $5.1 billion
TANF Dollars Used to Suplant State General Funds Expenditures - $2.3 billion
A CalWORKs Family Average Cash Aid Payment for
FY 2017-2018 34% of the Federal Poverty Level
No Cola for CalWORKS in 2017-2018
This is committing “State Child Abuse” upon California’s CalWORKs children, sentenced by the Brown Administration and California’s lawmakers to deep poverty, which research shows adversely effects brain children’s development.
IMPOVERISHED FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN'S MEAGER COLA KILLED BY SCHWARZENEGGER AND THE DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE IN 2009 WITHOUT ANY COMMITTEE VOTE
The AFDC COLA was a proposal signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1971, when he was governor of California. While Governor, he honored his commitment to pay decent benefits to impoverished families. After Reagan left, Republicans and Democrats have launched numerous successful attacks against the meager benefits of poor women with children of California - easy targets for budget cuts.
Today California poor babies and children with families live in deeper poverty that they did during the 70s.
And the worse is yet to come. The attack against poor babies, children and families is fashionable in this new century.
Due to the fact that the COLA has been suspended for 13 out of the last 20 years, the Cal-WORKs fixed income is only worth 60% of what it was worth in 1989. If the Governor’s proposal to freeze the COLA is allowed to remain in the final budget, it will be the third consecutive year that CalWORKs families don’t have an increase, while expenses for families, continue to grow. The Governor cannot freeze the COLA unless Democrats allow it.
Since four out of five CalWORKs recipients are children, and since families need every penny of cash assistance for housing, utilities, food and clothing, we are concerned that the impact on approximately 900,000 of California’s most vulnerable children will be significant.
2009-2010 State Budget Kills the COLA
Without any committee hearing in the Legislature the CalWORKS COLA, in one single night, was eliminated by the State Legislature in 2009 and signed by the Governor.
HISTORY OF THE COLA
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Year |
$ Payment |
COLA |
Governor |
1971-1972 |
$235 |
0.9% |
Ronald Wilson Reagan |
1972-1973 |
$237 |
2.5% |
Ronald Wilson Reagan |
1973-1974 |
$243 |
7.8% |
Ronald Wilson Reagan |
1974-1975 |
$262 |
11.8% |
Ronald Wilson Reagan |
1975 |
$293 |
8.9% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1976 |
$319 |
6.0% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1976-1977 |
$338 |
6.3% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1977-1978 |
$356 |
0.0% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1978-1979 |
$356 |
15.2% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1979-1980 |
$410 |
15.4% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1980-1981 |
$473 |
-2.1% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1981-1982 |
$463 |
9.3% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1982-1983 |
$506 |
0.0% |
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. |
1983-1984 |
$526 |
4.0% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1984-1985 |
$555 |
5.5% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1985-1986 |
$587 |
5.8% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1986-1987 |
$617 |
5.1% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1987-1988 |
$633 |
3.6% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1988-1989 |
$663 |
4.7% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1989-1990 |
$694 |
4.6% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1990-1991 |
$694 |
0.0% |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. |
1991-1992 |
$663 |
-4.4% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1992-1993 |
$624 |
-5.8% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1993-1994 |
$607 |
-2.7% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1994-1995 |
$607 |
0.0% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1996-1997 |
$538 |
-8.9% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1997-1998 |
$538 |
0.0% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1998-1999 |
$581 |
2.84% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
1999-2000 |
$596 |
2.36% |
Peter Barton Wilson |
2000-2001 |
$613 |
2.96% |
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. |
2001-2002 |
$ 647- $679 * |
5.31% |
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. |
2002-2003 |
$ 671 -$704 |
3.74% |
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. |
2003-2004 |
$ 671- $704 |
0.0% |
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. |
2004-2005 |
$ 704- $723 |
2.75% |
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. |
2005-2006 |
$ 689- $723 |
0.0% |
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger |
2006-2007 |
$ 689- $723 |
0.0% |
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger |
2007-2009 |
$ 689- $723 |
0.0% |
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger |
2009 |
$ 689- $723 |
Killed |
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger |