Campaigns
The Children’s Movement builds power for kids by bringing these diverse voices together to sign letters calling on policymakers to take bold actions that benefit children.
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Final Signature Count as of 11/22/2024
Campaign Closed
Let the Governor know: State budget cuts cannot come at the expense of our kids!
Updated 12/12/2024
An Unstoppable Movement for California’s Kids!
The Children’s Movement has made its voice heard! Together, we rallied 1,006 organizations to urge Governor Gavin Newsom to prioritize children in California’s 2025-26 State Budget. This impressive show of collective advocacy underscores the power of working together for a brighter future for our kids. On November 26, our team delivered the final letter, signed by over 1,000 organizations, to the Governor and key policymakers. The letter is a testament to the incredible commitment of Movement members to putting children first.
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor
State of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, California 95814
Don’t Cut Kids in the 2025-26 Budget
Dear Governor Newsom,
Our state takes pride in its role as a national leader, crafting dynamic and impactful policy solutions that spark waves of change across the country. Yet when it comes to supporting our kids, we instead trail far behind too many other states. California’s state budgets for too long have sacrificed children’s well-being in favor of other priorities, instead of asserting our commitment to kids and our collective future.
As you prepare next year’s budget proposal, we call on you to truly prioritize kids and end the constant cycle of putting them on the chopping block: Preserve full funding for childcare, kids’ health, foster care, and education (pre-K through higher ed) and don’t cut kids in the 2025-26 budget.
Committing to our kids is especially critical given the alarming reality that California ranks 35th among all states in child well-being. Our inputs are poor — we rank well behind our tax burden in terms of per capita spending on kids — and so are our results. We are 3rd worst in both percentage of kids who receive a routine health checkup and who suffer from tooth decay or cavities. 77% of our 8th graders are below proficient in math, and over two-thirds of our 4th graders are below proficient in reading. This is unacceptable for a state that ranks so high nationally on per-capita spending on most other government programs.
We call on you to stop repeating the mistakes of our past. This includes the 2024-25 budget cycle, where draconian cuts were proposed to programs impacting all facets of child well-being, including youth mental health and youth in foster care whom the state is legally responsible for. Even in difficult budget years, California must prioritize our children – kids should be the last ones forced to sacrifice and the first to receive new additional dollars. We must prioritize where we are behind other states and where it’s most critical to our collective future.
It is time for California to ensure that every child can thrive and succeed. We urge you to prioritize our children. Don’t cut kids in the 2025-26 budget.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned Organizations