Child care organizations and state colleges had a mild response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s $195.7 million budget cuts Friday, saying this is better than what they expected. The cuts targeted child care, college scholarships and state parks.

Brown is cutting Cal Grants, state-funded scholarships, by 5 percent in the upcoming academic year for incoming and current students at private colleges. Financial aid will also be reduced for some students using Cal Grants at public colleges.

Mike Uhlenkamp, spokesman for the California State University Chancellor’s Office, said the cuts break down to a $70 reduction per student, not a huge change but a change nonetheless.

“The reduction is very small,” Uhlenkamp said. “There isn’t a whole lot we can do.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that Brown cut more deeply into state-subsidized child care, taking 14,000 children out of a program. Funding will still be available for 217,400 children.

Susan Montalvo, communication manager for Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), said there are budget cuts every year but this year is better than expected.

CCRC was more prepared for budget cuts this year than in the past, she said. Over the last three years, the Cal Care program has been cut by a billion dollars.

“This year is better than we expected in some ways,” Montalvo said. “A lot of the things they proposed, they didn’t end up cutting.”

CCRC serves hundreds of thousands of children across the state.

The 8.7 percent cut to the program will prevent some children from going to preschool and their parents' work schedules, Montalvo said. What they can do is to move these kids and parents to another program, she continued, such as helping them find a different Cal Care situation.

“[Parents that] can’t get child care, they can’t work.” Montalvo said, “It not only affects the children, it affects the economy. That’s what the government is still missing.”

 

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