8/4/2019 Childrens Cabinet

1/3

AB 823 (Dickinson): Childrens Cabinet of CaliforniaSeptember 2011

AB 823 establishes the Children's Cabinet of California to ensure all stateagencies and programs that touch the lives of children work in a coordinated andcomprehensive fashion.

The needs of children and youth are increasingly complex and the networks ofservices available to them are managed by multiple agencies and departments,often with different goals and objectives.

Californias budget crisis and realignment efforts demand even greatercoordination to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of services, theelimination of duplicative efforts and the maximizing of federal funding, inaddition to clearly established priorities and outcome measures for children. Thedelivery of health, education and child/youth services will benefit from stateleadership that supports interagency collaboration, integrated services, andpolicies that support stronger communities.

According to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Astrong and effective Childrens Cabinet can improve coordination and efficiencyacross state departments and local levels of government; mobilize resourcesaround the governors priorities for children; facilitate a holistic approach toserving children; and strengthen partnerships with the non-profit and privatesectors.

20 states currently have established cross-agency childrens coordinating bodiesthat are systematically changing the fragmented and ineffective way statestypically do business for children and youth.and they are getting amazingresults. The Forum for Youth Investment reports that Childrens Cabinets havebeen able to:

Eliminate Wasteful Programs. Kansas Childrens Cabinet identifiedunderperforming programs and redirected funds to more effective approaches;

Improve Outcomes. Marylands cross agency early childhood strategic planled to a 20% increase in school readiness;

Reduce the Need for Expensive Services. Maine and Maryland both siteexamples of moving young people out of expensive care in facilities and intocommunity based settings, which is both cheaper for the state and better forthe youth;

Increase Federal Funds. 8 out of the 12 Race to the Top winners, whichcollectively received over $3 billion in federal funding, have a strong ChildrensCabinet;

CHILDRENNOW.ORG

8/4/2019 Childrens Cabinet

2/3

Leverage Non-State Resources. Iowa secured federal and private grants inexcess of $21 million to build on youth development initiatives and expandpromising youth development practices. In addition, Maine found that bycoordinating across systems, they can share limited resources among stateagencies while identifying new funding streams including federal grants andfunds from the private sector. The Childrens Cabinet has generated a net ofover $40 million in new money for kids in Maine, including federal and private

dollars.Specifically, AB 823 (Dickinson) would:

Establish the Children's Cabinet of California to advise and makerecommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on ways to improve thedelivery of services to children and their families.

Provide that cabinet membership include the Superintendent of PublicInstruction and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, whowould serve as co-chairs, and the heads of each agency and departmentwithin the state that provides services for, or has jurisdiction over the well-

being of, children.

Provide that the cabinet meet upon call of the co-chairs at least quarterly.

Provide that the cabinet establish committees, as necessary, to further thework of the cabinet or to address specific issues.

Submit a biennial report to the Legislature on or before October 31st.

AB 823 would not create a new board or commission, and it is not duplicative ofthe Child Welfare Council (CWC), which focuses on children in the child welfaresystem.

The bill passed the State Assembly this May and is a two year bill. The author,sponsor and supporters of the measure are continuing to advocate with theAdministration and the Legislature so that the bill can be enacted next year. Inaddition, there are significant efforts underway to generate support for thedevelopment of a Children's Cabinet by way of an Executive Order directly fromGovernor Jerry Brown.

There is a growing consensus across the country, and here in California, thatthere is a need to change the way business is done for our states youth, andAssembly Bill 823 provides an important opportunity to move the state and our

youth forward.

Included below are the list of organizations who are supporting AB 823(Dickinson).

Children Now (Sponsor) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees(AFSCME) American Academy of Pediatrics ASPIRAnet Atwater Policy Activities League BayArea Council California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA) California Center forPublic Health Advocacy California Childrens Health Initiative (CCHI) California ChildrensHospital Association California Coalition for Youth California Correctional Peace OfficersAssociation (CCPOA) California Family Resource Association California School Health Centers

8/4/2019 Childrens Cabinet

3/3

Association California School Nurses Association California State Association of Counties(CSAC) California State PTA Center for Collaborative Solutions Childrens Defense FundCalifornia Children Specialty Care Coalition Choices for Children Community Social ModelAdvocates, Inc. Family Paths, Inc. Family Violence Law Center Fight Crime: Invest in KidsCalifornia First 5 Association of California First 5, Humboldt County First 5, Los Angeles First 5, Monterey County First 5, Santa Clara County International Institute of Los Angeles

Judicial Option.Com Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital Marin Community Clinics Marin CountyOffice of Education Marin Kids Merced County Local Child Care and Development North

Regional SELPA Planning Council Merced County Office of Education Mission Focused Solutions PACE Professional Association for Childhood Education Plumas Court Appointed SpecialAdvocates for Children (CASA) Public Health Law and Policy Santa Clara County Board ofSupervisors The Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAP Center) The Childrens Partnership TheLink to Children (TLC)

For more information on the Childrens Cabinet of California please contact Brad Strong atbstrong@childrennow.org or Nicette Short atnshort@childrennow.org.

mailto:bstrong@childrennow.orgmailto:nshort@childrennow.orgmailto:bstrong@childrennow.orgmailto:nshort@childrennow.org