Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?

That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.

County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.

"It's difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this," Wagstaff said. "It would be devastating to the people we serve."

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said California is in an unprecedented fiscal situation that has made all programs, from education to human services, vulnerable to deep and painful reductions.

"I don't wish for a moment to minimize the profound impact" that eliminating CalWORKs would have, Palmer said. "But the easy decisions are way past being in the rearview mirror for us. We face the specter of California not having cash on hand to pay its bills in July."

Wagstaff and other administrators are betting that the state will rescue the "welfare to work" program. But they are bracing for cuts that would slash benefits to the lowest levels since the late 1990s, when CalWORKs began as part of the federal government's bold reform of the welfare system.

Read the complete story at sacbee.com

Wonder how the recipients would make it,excist? is there another program to take its place, I wonder?

With the Caucasian race being the minority in not only California but also in I believe 5 other states but it might be 7 states , and knowing the majority of welfare strain is coming from illegals seems the logical thing to do is no green card, no benefits. They have brought this on themselves. All dropping welfare would cause is increased crime and many more underground cities like the one recently found under the freeways in what looks like storm drains .
Sending illegals home or implementing work for benefits will be the only way out of this mes. California has always lived above their means anyway, step down a notch and become realistic .

CalWORKs (CalWORKs report): California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids. This program replaced ADFC in 1997 as part of California's response to federal welfare reform.

t-A-Glance: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program at Contra Costa College provides services to low-income people who have children 17 and under and who are receiving cash aid from the county. Participants have been approved by the county to attend school. CCC offers many vocational and educational programs to assist students to obtain a certificate and immediate employment or to transfer to a four-year institution. CalWORKs pays for all expenses while a participant is enrolled, including books, supplies, transportation, and child care. Services provided on campus include case management, counseling, employment assistance, work-study, tutoring, ESL assistance, and child care. County liaisons hold "office hours" on campus each week to meet with CalWORKs students.
Mission statement button

Mission Statement:

The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program at Contra Costa College affords students the succor, support and liaison with the county Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) needed to achieve immediate - and prepare for long-term - education and career objectives.

What is CalWORKs?

Briefly, CalWORKs replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1998. Administered by the county, CalWORKs offers programs and services including cash assistance and welfare-to-work activities, such as employability assessment and job search/job club for those in need of training to obtain employment. Participants may use their entire time on aid (60 months) to complete a county-approved training program.

The CCC Connection:

Many vocational and educational programs approved by EHSD are available at Contra Costa College. Most courses can be completed within 18 to 24 months, and have been labor-market tested to afford graduates immediate entry-level employment. Once that initial goal has been achieved, students are encouraged to further their educational and career objectives.

Career Advancement Program:

When students are employed and are off cash aid, they may be eligible for the Career Advancement Program (CAP), which may extend supportive services for one year, so long as the participants are working at least 32 hours per week in unsubsidized employment.

There is greater flexibility during this phase of the program. Students may opt for further training, or to work towards a degree or credits to transfer to a four-year institution. The CAP is part of the post-employment phase of the CalWORKs program, which assists participants to advance in their fie

Is this program state wide of limited to certain counties with high hispanic population ?

SSC wrote:Is this program state wide of limited to certain counties with high hispanic population ?

i think they released this news for shock factor, and it will be bailed out somehow, but maybe like it said with reduced benefits, california is a strainge place in my view, and i agree brings on so many of it own problems. our county is having money probs, one big one is they have a huge sewer loan bill that is in trouble and has been, i dont understand it all , im on septic tank, and they wanted to tax ppl like me not even on the sewer system , i live where there is no sewer system and glad i do, but for now the taxing of ppl that are not on sewer system, has gone away, also i think a judge has ruled against the county being able to cut 1/2 percent of ur pay as a payroll tax, we have done that for years, now they cant collect it while it under appeal in court, so the county is going to slash things they do, like close all the satelite places u go for drivers licence, car tags, house taxes etc, and they just opened one finally near me, and other services i dont know,