CFRA 2022/2023 Legislative Advocacy
Family Resource Centers have proven to be a critical lifeline for families, and yet they are not constantly or equitably available in all California communities. Without a consistent, stable funding source, each FRC organization needing to hustle to patch together funding, which is generally program-specific and time-limited.
To remedy this situation, CFRA Members made history in this past year, rising the occasion to advocate for Family Resource Center funding in the state budget. For the first time ever, funding for FRCs were included in the state Democratic Party Platform, and, more significantly, 425 million in the joint State Legislative Budget. In the end, the FRC funding was deleted at the eleventh hour of budget negotiations, but we have great successes to build on.
CFRA intends to waste no time in ramping up advocacy efforts to correct this situation for the 2023/24 budget year. On July 6th and 7th, 2022, CFRA hosted two strategy sessions with members to provide updates about the budget proposal and brainstorm possible strategies to implement in preparation for the 23/24 proposal. Among the strategies discussed:
- Working with government departments as potential allies, to get FRCs written into the Governor’s January 2023 Budget.
- Pursuing both legislative and budget process solutions.
- Securing legislative champions early on.
- Leveraging resources to study the positive impact of FRCs and the damage caused when they lose support.
- More deeply studying successful models from other states.
- Mobilizing families, allies, and new partners.
- Continue to highlight CFRA members as the voice of the field and expert in what is happening in their communities.
- Contact legislators to let them know how the loss of the $25 million will impact FRCs and communities
- Cultivate local champions and allies, such as Board of Supervisors, city mayors, county department leads.
- Set up FRC site visits with legislators and local allies.
- Attend CFRA Community Voice webinar series to join the conversation about how we can foster and mobilize parent and community leadership in our movement.
Strategy Sessions:
FRC Funding Strategy Session 7/6/2022
FRC Funding Strategy Session 7/7/2022
Regional Policy Forums
The Regional Policy Forums took place during the month of September and discussed the outcome of the 2022 $25 million budget proposal, strategies for legislative visits, and provided opportunities for CFRA members to share best practices and experiences with their legislative advocacy efforts. The forums centered on preparing CFRA members for legislative visits and giving advocacy resources and tools.
If you missed the Regional Policy Forums attached is the PowerPoint: CFRA Regional Policy Forums
Below is a list of your local senators and assembly members by region: