While more resources for after school programs are clearly needed, the state of California lacks information about where the greatest needs exist. Building upon the After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Act, California should increase funds for after school programs, with special attention to improving supply in areas of greatest need. According to the Institute of Medicine, insurance coverage is the major determinant of whether children have access to health care. Over one million California children lack health insurance and the majority have at least one working parent. A number of program streamlining measures should be made to ensure that children enroll in the public insurance programs for which they are already eligible.
Affordable housing can be a deciding factor in employee recruitment and retention.
The Legislature will consider a number of bills in the spring of 2000 that would place several hundred million dollars in housing bonds on the November 2000 ballot. These bonds would provide an important down payment toward improving California's affordable housing supply. The majority of California's poor children have a parent who is working, but not earning enough to raise the family's income above the poverty level. Eleven other states have established a state EIC, which supplements the federal credit. A state EIC in California would directly benefit millions of children, while rewarding their parents for their hard work.