In June, Governor Newsom and the Legislature reached an agreement for the California 2024-25 Budget. The 2024-25 Budget includes total spending of $279.9 billion. The Budget covers a $46.8 billion deficit with a combination of budget delays, deferrals, revenues, fund shifts, reductions and by tapping into reserves. A summary of the final Budget can be found at https://ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf.

DRC appreciates that the 2024-25 budget maintains some of the critical programs utilized by people with disabilities including the In-Home Supportive Health Services program for undocumented immigrants. The proposed May Revision cuts to this crucial program could have put thousands of elderly and disabled people that rely on these services for daily care and well-being at grave risk. 

The final Budget also restores prior year funding for crucial housing and homelessness programs, previously slated for cuts in the May Revision. These programs ensure that affordable housing production continues, and local governments can continue to provide services that prevent and end homelessness. 

Unfortunately, the final Budget also provides $250 million over two years to continue dismantling encampments without providing adequate funding for permanent housing solutions. If California continues to face budget shortfalls, we must fund programs and services that support vulnerable populations and don’t cause further harm to them. 

The following are some of the key items in the final Budget impacting persons with disabilities and the programs that assist them:

Department of Developmental Services (DDS) 

The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) final Budget includes: 

• Provider rate increases effective on January 1, 2025. This marks a compromise, with the original proposal from the Governor’s office postponing the rate increase originally scheduled for July 2024 by a full year. Instead, it will be delayed by 6 months.  

The following policy changes were made through the budget process: 

• The ability for people served and families to have Individual Program Plan (IPP) and Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings virtually upon request is now permanent.  
• Social recreation services, camping services, and non-medical therapies will be easier for people to obtain.
• The Family Cost Participation Program that previously imposed fees on families whose earnings exceed a specific amount for daycare, respite, and camping services for children has been repealed. 
• The Master Plan for Developmental Services has been codified into state law. 

You can read more about these changes here.  

Department of Rehabilitation (DOR)

• The final Budget does not include a name change for the Department of Rehabilitation. 
• The Office of Employment First will remain at California Health and Human Services, not changed to DOR as previously proposed. 

Education 

K-12 Education

The final Budget restored some TK-12 and child-care cuts that Governor Newsom had proposed in his May Revision while maintaining others. In order to do this, the governor suspended the Proposition 98 guarantee and backfilled funds using borrowed money or funds originally designated for other programs. The changes include:

• Restoring $60 million for the Golden State Teachers Program, with means testing to limit eligibility.  
• Restoring $100 million in funding to help preschools prepare classrooms and train teachers in order to enroll more children with disabilities, while retracting larger plans to expand the program.
• Continuing the existing agreement to serve 200,000 more children in the state-subsidized child care system but pushing back the timetable for full compliance to 2028.
• Rescinding $895 million in one-time spending on electric-powered school buses and instead use the funds to reduce some of the late payments in state funding for schools.

The final Budget does not invest in facility improvement funds and instead placed those budget items in a school bond (Proposition 2) that voters will determine in November.

Proposition 2 is a $10 billion bond and will be allocated as follows:

• $8.5 billion to K-12. 
  Of that:
  • $3.3 billion for new construction, which will include seismic retrofits, climate measures, preschool and health facilities, and replacement of unrepairable school buildings at least 75 years old; 
  • $4 billion for modernization, which would include replacing portables at least 20 years old, with $115 million earmarked for the lead in water abatement;
  • $600 million for qualifying charter schools;
  • $600 million for career technical education facilities.

State Preschool Program

The final Budget:

• Includes $53.7 million for reimbursement rate increases previously supported by available one-time federal stimulus funding;
• Authorizes program providers to serve two-year-old children, in addition to three and four-year old children, until June 30, 2027;
• Suspends provisions to increase the number of disabled children served, and reverts to the existing requirement of providing 5 percent of slots to children with disabilities; and 
• Provides authority for the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop and implement a streamlined request for application process to award new State Preschool slots to existing providers.

Early Literacy 

The Budget provides $25 million one-time funding to support necessary costs, including training for educators to administer literacy screenings to meet the requirement to screen students in kindergarten through second grade for risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia, by the 2025-26 school year.

Universal School Meals

The final Budget allocates an additional $179.4 million in ongoing funding and $120.8 million in one-time funding to fully fund the universal school meals program in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years. 

Modernizing Schools

See details of Proposition 2 above.

Higher Education

The California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) will receive modest increases in the enacted budget. The final budget is in better shape than what was proposed in January, despite state revenues declining since then. 

The UC and CSU will get a 5% budget increase in 2024-25 that the governor had proposed delaying earlier this year, equal to $227.8 million for UC and $240.2 million for CSU, to support enrollment growth of California residents this fall. 

Foster Youth 

The final Budget maintains cuts to programs benefitting foster youth. Specifically, the Housing Supplement for Foster Youth in Supervised Independent Living Placements faces a reduction of $200,000 in 2024-25 and $18.8 million in 2025-26 and ongoing for the housing supplement for foster youth in Supervised Independent Living Placements.

Health and Human Services 

Equity and Practice Transformation Payments to Providers: A reduction of $280 million (one-time over multiple years) for grants to Medi-Cal providers for primary care infrastructure.

Bringing Families Home Program: The Budget delays $80 million (General Fund) with up to $40 million shifted to 2025-26 and $40 million to 2026-27. The Program provides housing first services to families experiencing homelessness when Child Protective Services are involved.

Housing and Homelessness 

The final Budget agreement restores prior year funding for crucial housing and homelessness programs, previously slated for cuts in the May Revision.

Some of the funding restorations include:

• $315 million for the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP)
• $260 million for the Regional Early Action Program (REAP) 2.0
• $14 million for the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program
• $500 million for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
• $1 billion for a new round of local Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program grants, including updated accountability rules

These funds are critically needed to address homelessness, and we call on the Legislature and Governor to dedicate ongoing funding toward permanent housing and voluntary services to ensure Californians remain housed.

In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) 

IHSS is a statewide program that provides home care services to help eligible people with disabilities including children, adults and seniors remain in their own homes. The final Budget rejects the cuts to IHSS based solely on immigration status and includes $25 billion ($9 billion General Fund) in 2024-25. Average monthly caseload is estimated at 703,921 recipients in 2024-25.

To address the budget shortfall, the Budget reduces by $3 million (General Fund) in one-time funding for the IHSS Permanent Backup Provider System.

Mental Health 

Behavioral Health Reform and Infrastructure: Voters passed Proposition 1 in March of this year, substantially amending the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which was passed by voters in 2004 as Proposition 63. Substantive budget adjustments to implement Proposition 1’s MHSA changes include $202.6 million ($77.9 million General Fund, $29.3 million Behavioral Health Services Fund, $31.6 million Opioid Settlements Fund, and $63.8 million federal funds) in 2024-25 for the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

The Budget includes $6.4 billion in bond funding under Proposition 1’s Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act for the Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Housing and Community Development to support new behavioral health treatment beds, outpatient capacity, and permanent supportive housing units for Californians with behavioral health needs, including veterans.

Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI): The Budget includes $9.5 million ($4.1 million General Fund) in 2024-25 increasing annually to $78 million ($33.8 million General Fund) in 2027-28 to establish the Medi-Cal wellness coach benefit. Coaches will primarily serve children and youth as part of a care team in school-linked settings and across the Medi-Cal behavioral health delivery system. The Budget includes CYBHI reductions of $72.3 million (General Fund) in 2023-24 and $313.9 million (General Fund) in 2024-25 for school-linked partnership and capacity grants. 

The Budget reverts back $10.5 million (General Fund) from 2022-23.

Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks of Equitable Care and Treatment (BH-CONNECT) Demonstration: The Budget includes  $7.7 billion ($351.5 million General Fund, $87.5 million Behavioral Health Services Fund, $2.6 billion Medi-Cal County Behavioral Health Fund, and $4.6 billion federal funds) to implement the BH-CONNECT Demonstration, effective January 1, 2025.

Budget Shortfall Solutions:

CalWORKs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: To address the budget shortfall, the Budget contains a reversion of $30 million (General Fund) from 2023-24 and reduces $37 million (General Fund) in 2024-25 and $26 million (General Fund) in 2025-26 while continuing to provide $89 million.

Behavioral Health Continuum Bridge Housing Program: The Budget reduces the Program by $250 million (General Fund) and shifts $90 million to the Mental Health Services Fund.

Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program: The Budget reverts back to the General Fund $70 million in 2024-25 and $380.7 million in 2025-26. 

Public Safety

California Department of Corrections (CDCR)

Prison Capacity and Closures

The planned closure of Chuckawalla Valley State Prison is being accelerated to November 2024 with an estimated one-time General Fund savings of $87 million in 2023-24 and $148 million General Fund savings annually beginning in 2025-26. The Budget also includes $9.6 million General Fund savings in 2024-25, increasing to $11.1 million ongoing, to reflect a reduction in administrative workload and positions associated with supporting the four prison closures.

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and the California Model

In March 2023, the Administration announced a plan to transform San Quentin State Prison into the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center with a focus on providing incarcerated persons access to rehabilitation and education programs, as well as the opportunity to gain resources and skills to improve their outcomes upon reentering society.

• A multi-disciplinary advisory council was appointed to present recommendations to achieve transformational change in the facility.

Housing Unit Deactivations

A reduction of $81.9 million ongoing (General Fund) for deactivating various housing units across 11 prisons.

Rehabilitation and Reentry

• Community Correctional Reentry Centers—Consolidation of $102.8 million in remaining funding available to support reentry expansion with base reentry center funding in 2024-25 for the projected costs associated with expanding reentry center beds and to support increased contract rates for existing reentry center facilities. 
• 439 additional beds and new facilities slated to come online from October 2024 through January 2026. Increased bed capacity for existing reentry centers, bringing the total number of reentry beds for existing facilities to 1,269 beds. Once full expansion is achieved, CDCR will operate a total of 1,708 reentry beds.
• Post-Release Community Reentry Programs—$2.3 million (General Fund) in 2024-25, increasing to $3.4 million in 2028-29, to increase contract rates for post-release reentry programs.
• Free Voice Calling for Incarcerated Individuals—$32.3 million ongoing General Fund to provide access to free voice calling services for incarcerated individuals, consistent with Chapter 827, Statutes of 2022 (SB 1008).

Health Care Services for Incarcerated Individuals

• $4 billion (General Fund) in 2024-25 for CDCR health care programs, which provide incarcerated individuals access to medical, mental health, and dental care services. 

Supplemental Security Income / State Supplemental Program

The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplemental Programs provide a monthly cash benefit to individuals with disabilities, including children and adults, and individuals who are ages 65 and over who meet the programs’ income and resource requirements.

The final Budget maintains a 3.2-percent federal SSI cost-of-living adjustment and maintains the 9.2-percent SSP increase, which took effect on January 1, 2024. These adjustments raise the maximum SSI/SSP grant levels to $1,183 per month for individuals and $2,023 per month for couples. 

Transportation 

Active Transportation Program: 

The final Budget rejects the proposed cut to the Active Transportation Program and shifted funds to the State Highway Account. The Active Transportation Program encourages increased use of active modes of transportation, such as walking and biking.

Competitive Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program

Rejects the proposed cut to the Competitive Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, which provides capital improvements to modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems.