ACTion ALERTS

Call-In Day to Stop the State Budget Cuts – Tuesday July 29, 2008
1-888-268-4334

We need your help to protect our state's future! The Governor’s budget proposal contained several cuts that would have huge and disproportionate negative impacts on the health and lives of women and their families. Cuts to healthcare, education, and other basic needs include:

· End cash assistance payments to nearly 200,000 children in the CalWORKs Program, which would make it more difficult for their families – the vast majority of whom are headed by women - to meet their basic needs.

· Cause thousands of adults – many of them women – to lose Medi-Cal coverage by increasing paperwork requirements.

· Reduce payments to many providers who treat Medi-Cal patients by 10 percent. Cutting Medi-Cal provider rates by 10% will come at the expense of women and their children. More than 7 in 10 adult Medi-Cal beneficiaries are women and nearly half (46%) of all beneficiaries are children. Research suggests that California ’s low provider payment rates are a barrier to accessing health care services.

· Reduce payments for family planning services paid for by Medi-Cal by 10 percent and reduce funding for the Teen Pregnancy and Prevention Program. Implementation of this proposal would cause 37,400 teens and parents of teens to lose services.

· Reduce the number of children in child care and preschool by more than 18,000 by cutting funding for child development programs by $198.9 million in 2008-09. The Governor also proposes to reduce funding for before and after school programs by $59.6 million.

· Freeze the income eligibility limit for child care services at the 2007-08 level in 2008-09. As a result, low-income working families who earn above the income limit would lose child care assistance, and families who have left public assistance risk returning to aid due to the high cost of child care.

A majority of these proposals were REJECTED by the legislative Conference Committee. The Committee was able to accomplish this because of their balanced approach to the budget. We need to tell our legislators to vote for the Conference Committee Budget, (AB 1781), which includes some cuts, closes tax loopholes and provides additional revenues to prevent even deeper cuts to health care, education and other vital programs that impact women and their families.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Women advocates and activists urge you to participate in a Community Call-In Day to Stop the State Budget Cuts. The Call-In Day is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29. THE SAME DAY LEGISLATORS PLAN TO VOTE ON AB 1781. We urge you to call your Assemblymember and Senator. Thanks to the California Teachers Association, we have a free number for you to use to call your representative.

Here’s how:

On July 28th - Call Toll-Free to your Assemblymember and Senator:

1-888-268-4334

Tell Your Assembly member and Senator:

“My name is _________________________ and I live in (your town).

I'm calling to let you know that the cuts to human services, health care, and education will hurt me, my family, and my community.

This is because (use examples: I am on Medi-Cal, and use the community clinics, or I go to community college….or my children go to public schools, or I rely on a child care consumer… etc.)

California needs more than a cuts-only approach to fixing the state budget. Vote for AB 1781. We need a more balanced solution that guarantees that everyone pay their share.”

We are asking all of you who care about health, education and your families to call your legislator on Tuesday, July 29. By calling 1-888-268-4334, the toll-free "Cuts Hurt" hotline will connect you directly to your legislator so you can tell them why taking a fair and balanced approach to the state budget is so important to YOU. California 's future is just too important not to pick up the phone and call. It's time to make YOUR voice heard!

Please share this Action Alert with your colleagues, families and neighbors so that the Legislature gets a flood of calls from concerned constituents!

What to expect when you make the call to 888-268-4334:

You will hear a brief message about the state budget from David Sanchez, President of the California Teachers Association.
You will be ask to press “1” to find and connect to your State Senator or “2” to find and connect to your State Assembly Member.
You will be asked to enter your five-digit zip code, then press the pound (#) key.
If there is more than one legislator in your zip code, you will be given the choice of legislators in your zip code. You can press “9” if you do not know which legislator represents you.
The “CUTS Hurts” phone line will at that point automatically connect you to your legislator’s office.