California has become a model for ensuring schools can provide nutritious breakfast and lunch for all students without accruing district debt and stigmatizing students whose families can’t afford to pay.
Students in Upland Unified School District, where I work, not only get to grow and taste their own food in our school gardens, they also get to taste new fruits and veggies through a Harvest of the Month program.
During the pandemic, California and other states didn’t require people to renew their membership Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California.
That changed on April 1, when California began sending out renewal packets once again. Renewals will be sent out in batches, based on the month in which beneficiaries originally applied for Medi-Cal.
Amid the federal debt ceiling talks, some lawmakers have their eyes set on cutting Medicaid funding.
That would be an ill-advised and costly mistake for everyone, not just for the vulnerable populations who are beneficiaries of the government-funded program.
Children who need medically intensive care cannot attend traditional day care programs. California has an option for these kids, called Pediatric Day Health and Respite Care facilities.
But the amount the government pays these facilities to care for children has not kept pace with inflation and rising staffing costs. Because of the stagnant rates, California’s pediatric care facilities are in danger of closing.
People living in poverty, tribal communities, immigrants and the elderly are expected to suffer disproportionately from problems caused by a changing climate.
A massive overhaul of the state’s substance abuse treatment system is making it easier for counties to help people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, a new report by the California HealthCare Foundation has found.
Silicon Valley faced a seemingly impossible task: create permanent housing solutions for its most vulnerable residents in one of the least affordable markets in the world.
Yet, despite this daunting challenge, over the past five years, the tide finally seems to be turning.
California’s capital is one of the toughest places in the state for low-income seniors to afford rent, according to a new study.
UCLA researchers found that 68 percent of low-income seniors in Sacramento County suffer a severe rent burden, which means half or more of their pre-tax income is going toward housing. Another 17 percent suffer a moderate burden, where 30 percent or more of their pre-tax income is going to rent.
On any given night, 3,665 people experience homelessness in Sacramento. Five days a week, two nurses take to the streets to care for medically vulnerable residents who live under bridges, in alleys or in tents along the river.
In an ideal world, Jennifer Kent would like to have added 1,000 new dentists across California willing to accept enrollees in Denti-Cal, the state’s low-income dental program, over the past year. Kent, director of the California Department of Health Care Services, the agency that manages the program, has had to settle for a much more modest number: 73 new dentists.