Cal Wellness Issues in the News

Feb. 16, 2022

Community Well-Being

• Gun manufacturer Remington Arms settled liability claims with families from the Sandy Hook massacre. The families argued that Remington wrongfully marketed and sold firearms to civilians that were only suitable for the military and law enforcement. This marks the first time a gun manufacturer has been held accountable for a mass shooting in the U.S.  

Equity in Access

• State Senator Hertzberg has introduced a bill that would create a checkbox on state tax returns that taxpayers can use to express interest in health care coverage through Covered California. Covered California would conduct outreach to all taxpayers who checked the box on their tax returns.
• Encore Physicians is matching retired doctors with health clinics in need of providers. This program is helping to increase access to care to the millions of Californians who reside in areas with health professional shortages. The program has primarily focused on placing physicians in Bay Area clinics but community health centers in Los Angeles have also expressed interest in the program.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Children’s savings accounts (CSAs) aim to increase access to postsecondary education and a report by Asset Funders Network shows that philanthropic funding is essential for the CSA field. Over half of CSA programs across the country rely exclusively on philanthropic support and over 80% of programs receive philanthropic funding. CSAs help to address the systemic barriers to widening the postsecondary education pipeline that other college access programs can’t resolve alone.

Leading for Power and Change

• California’s redistricting commission unanimously approved the maps for the Legislature, Congress, and the Board of Equalization and there doesn’t appear to be any upcoming litigation challenging the maps. Avoiding lawsuits is not the only measure of success for the new maps; the true test will be the results of the upcoming elections this year and in years to come.

Feb. 2, 2022

Community Well-Being

• State Senator Portantino will introduce legislation that would require school administrators to collect information from parents about guns stored at home and would allow searches of personal belongings when there are credible threats to school safety. The bill would also require public and charter schools to provide annual educational materials on safe firearm storage.

Equity in Access

• The Department of Homeland Security will be increasing oversight of Border Patrol teams that have been characterized as “shadow police units” by immigration advocates. These teams have been operating without explicit federal authority and have been accused of misconduct and tampering with evidence to conceal culpability in wrongdoing.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Qualifying homeless and foster youth are eligible for a $1,500 refund through the Earned Income Tax Credit for tax year 2021. The refund is provided through the American Rescue Plan. Cal Wellness grantees, SchoolHouse Connection and John Burton Advocates for Youth, are leading partners in helping to spread the word about the tax benefit.

Leading for Power and Change

• The California Assembly is seeing an unusually high number of vacancies, most recently a resignation from an Assemblymember representing Inglewood. Vacancies are due to term limits, early exits, and redistricting and are a sign of what may be to come in 2024 when large scale turnover is expected. The current exits make it more difficult for the leading party to reach the two-thirds majority required to pass legislation.
• Capital B has debuted its national site and will bring original reporting to Black audiences across the U.S. Capital B is a nonprofit organization supported by philanthropic funding, individual donations, corporate gifts, as well as ads and sponsorships.
  

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Jan. 26, 2022

Community Well-Being

• The San Jose City Council approved a measure to require gun owners to carry liability insurance and pay an annual fee. According to the ordinance, liability insurance would cover damages resulting from accidental use of the firearm, including death, injury, or property damage. The annual fees collected would be used for firearm safety education, mental health services, and suicide and domestic violence prevention.

Equity in Access

• The California Department of Health Care Services released its Comprehensive Quality Strategy and laid out the department’s health equity strategy to improve care for Medi-Cal enrollees. DHCS proposes a collaborative process and plans to engage several stakeholders to develop a health equity road map. The report acknowledges that data collection will be key to reducing racial and ethnic disparities.

Economic Security and Dignity

• In a study, one year of cash stipends resulted in modest but potentially meaningful improvements in babies’ brain activity. The study will continue to offer payments to families until children are four years old and will conduct additional cognitive testing. The finding that cash subsidies can impact brain development could help make the case for an expanded child tax benefit or other benefits that provide an income floor to families in poverty.

Jan. 20, 2022

Community Well-Being

• A study shows that there is a correlation between weak gun laws and high rates of gun deaths. The researchers found that California has the strongest gun laws and has one of the lowest rates of gun deaths. Some of the most effective gun laws include background checks, permit to carry concealed firearms, secure firearm storage, omission of “Stand Your Ground” laws, and laws that remove firearms from people who pose a serious threat to themselves or others.

Equity in Access

• The California Health Care Foundation has released the first results of a study to understand the health care experiences of Black Californians. Results show that interview participants experience racism in the health care system and some avoid care due to distrust in the system. When asked to describe high-quality care, many respondents described a patient-centered approach to care provided by a proficient and compassionate provider.

Leading for Power and Change

• While voting rights at the federal level continue to be challenged, California’s voting rights laws offer a model for expanding representation at the city level. The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 is credited with helping to diversify the state’s local city councils. By requiring candidates to run in single-member districts rather than citywide, the CVRA has expanded the representation of people of color at the city council level.
• On February 3^rd, PolicyLink will host a webinar on the role of government in advancing racial equity. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley will be a special guest and will address ongoing work throughout federal agencies.

Jan. 12, 2022

Community Well-Being

• New data released by the CDC shows that firearm injury is the 13^th leading cause of death in the United States. A record number of gun deaths were recorded in 2020, up by 14% from 2019. The increase in gun deaths is due to a spike in homicides, which were up 35% from 2019. Young, Black males accounted for 42% of firearm homicide victims though they are only 2% of the population.

Equity in Access

• A committee of Assemblymembers has introduced a bill that would create single payer health care where all residents are covered by the same health plan. The bill would create a tax for large companies and wealthy individuals with an estimated revenue of $160 billion annually. If passed by the Health committee, the bill would move to the full Assembly.

Economic Security and Dignity

• The U.S. Census Bureau reported 5.4 million new business applications were filed last year, a third of which are for businesses deemed likely to hire employees. The rise in entrepreneurship can be attributed to job loss during the pandemic, but many people willingly left stable jobs to pursue their dreams.
• The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is accepting applications for its $5 million Women’s Recovery Response fund. The Commission has a preference for organizations serving women who have been affected economically by the pandemic including low-income, BIPOC, rural, disabled, and unhoused populations.

Leading for Power and Change

• The For the Love of Our People campaign is calling on family and generational pride to encourage vaccinations among Native people. Vaccination rates remain low in Native communities and surveys show that this group has a general distrust of the federal government. Campaign leaders are using social media and on-the-ground efforts to encourage young people and other vaccine-hesitant groups to get vaccinated.

Jan. 6 , 2022

Community Well-Being

• State Assemblymember Ting unveiled AB 1594, a bill that would allow individuals to sue gun manufacturers for liability in shooting deaths or injuries. The bill is modeled after a recent bill from New York that opens gun makers to lawsuits when they break state or local laws regarding the sale and marketing of their products.

Equity in Access

• Starting July 1, Medi-Cal asset limits for non-exempt property will increase from $2,000 to $130,000 for individuals and will make Medi-Cal available to thousands of Californians. By January 2024 the asset limit will be eliminated completely and will improve access to benefits for millions of residents.

Economic Security and Dignity

• A report from the Urban Institute examines key barriers facing young people seeking safety net benefits and offers actionable steps that can be taken to address challenges. Some of the recommendations include supporting young people in navigating safety net processes and replacing punitive approaches with support and minimized burden.
  

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Dec. 15, 2021

Community Well-Being

• Governor Newsom released a statement pledging to allow private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons. Governor Newsom drew inspiration from a Texas law upheld by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows private citizens to enforce the ban on abortions after the earliest fetal cardiac activity is detected.

Equity in Access

• Health Access has released their 2021 California Legislative Scorecard which details how each state Assemblymember and Senator voted on legislation Health Access sponsored or prioritized to build a universal, quality, affordable, and equitable health system. Bills on the scorecard include the expansion of Medi-Cal to all Californians over 60 and the Momnibus bill.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Pending federal approval, CalAIM would add new programs and make important reforms to many existing programs to transform Medi-Cal. CalAIM centers people with the most complex needs including foster youth and the reentry population. California has allocated $782 million for CalAIM from the general fund in the 2021–22 budget and the initiative will also receive substantial federal funding.

Leading for Power and Change

• The Latino Community Foundation launched the Latino Power Fund, a five-year initiative with a goal to grant $50 million to Latino grassroot organizations. Some of the fund goals include increasing civic leadership and political participation of Latinos by 40% in key regions of the state and increasing the pipeline of Latino political leaders with a progressive agenda for equity and justice.
  

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Dec. 8, 2021

Equity in Access

• The Biden administration has reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy which has affected about 70,000 asylum-seekers since the policy was introduced in 2019. A lawsuit by Texas and Missouri forced the administration to reinstate the policy President Biden ended on his first day in the White House. Unaccompanied children, pregnant people, and other vulnerable groups are exempt from the policy.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Roughly 250,000 children are moved into a shadow foster care system every year which fails to offer children or their caretakers adequate resources. “Shadow foster care” offers a cheap solution for underfunded agencies that need to lower caseloads and states have increasingly institutionalized hidden foster care through departmental policies. The government isn’t required to complete home visits that federal law requires with foster care and caretakers that take in children do not receive a boarding fee to raise them. Under shadow foster care the legal protections of the formal system disappear.
• California is home to 1.6 million small businesses, many of which are poorly equipped to navigate supply chain issues, labor shortages, and rising inflation. A survey shows that nearly 70% of small business owners raised prices and over half expect conditions to worsen in the next six months but many are attempting new tactics to keep customers coming back.

Leading for Power and Change

• IllumiNative and Netflix have partnered to launch the IllumiNative Producers Program which will give seven early to mid-career Indigenous fellows the opportunity to develop a film or television project. The program aims to support the next generation of Native producers and uplift authentic Native storytelling.

Dec. 1, 2021

Community Well-Being

• A federal appeals court backed the constitutionality of two California laws banning high-capacity ammo magazines. The defendants argued that high-capacity magazines threaten public safety; every mass shooting with over 20 deaths in the last five decades involved large-capacity magazines. Gunowners’ rights groups plan to appeal the ruling and the case could potentially reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Equity in Access

• Several Black entrepreneurs are using tech to close the cultural gap in health care with health companies focusing on underserved markets. Some tech platforms pair patients with culturally competent therapists and doctors while others secure low-cost transportation for patients. These tech health startups with Black founders are creating profitable businesses by prioritizing culturally competent care that centers patient’s heritage, beliefs, and values during treatment.

Economic Security and Dignity

• South San Francisco launched a guaranteed income pilot program last week and sent the first $500 monthly checks to 150 low-income families. The pilot prioritizes foster youth and families with young children. A local YMCA will manage the program in partnership with an Oakland-based nonprofit organization.

Leading for Power and Change

In California, Democrats have a supermajority in the Legislature and drafts drawn by the state’s independent citizen’s commission shows that is unlikely to change. While Republicans have little hope of securing a majority in the Legislature, a loss of the supermajority would require Democrats to garner Republican support to pass tax increases or put constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Nov. 17, 2021

Community Well-Being

• Though California has strict gun control laws, a number of loopholes put domestic violence victims at risk of firearm violence or even death at the hands of their abusers. Restraining orders call on the restrained person to relinquish firearms within 24 hours of being served but the onus is on gun owners to comply. Fewer than half of superior courts have access to Justice Department data which allows them to check if an alleged abuser owns a legally purchased weapon.

Equity in Access

• About 5,500 children were separated from their parents under the former administration’s zero-tolerance immigrant policy and the U.S. government has not yet reached a settlement on compensation or legal status for the families. Reports of a potential $450,000 payment to each person affected have been met by criticism but attorneys representing the families maintain that separated families were not entering the country illegally because they were seeking asylum.

Economic Security and Dignity

• The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to support legislation to amend the California Retail Food. The motion directs legislative advocates to enact changes to the food code that specifically consider sidewalk food vending to enhance economic development outcomes for sidewalk vendors.

Leading for Power and Change

• The White House released a memorandum that commits to elevating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) in federal policy processes. ITEK promotes environmental sustainability, and the memorandum will support efforts to consider and elevate Tribal and Native voices in finding solutions to address the climate crisis.
• Last week’s elections offer some valuable lessons for the upcoming midterm elections in 2022. Misinformation about fraud has lowered confidence in voting by mail and voters in New York rejected proposals that would have allowed same-day voting registration and no-excuse absentee balloting which are commonplace in various states.

Nov. 10, 2021

Community Well-Being

• The Justice Teams Network (JTN) launched the California Healers Network, a statewide network of Healing Justice practitioners creating an infrastructure for community care. JTN also launched a Healing Justice Train the Trainer manual which can help people to facilitate their own healing justice trainings to transform systems of violence statewide.

Equity in Access

• If legislation passes, Medicare enrollees may see significant savings in prescription drug prices over the next decade. The proposed social spending bill would concentrate savings for patients with serious chronic illnesses. Since Medicare prescription drug plans for 2022 are already set, if the bill passes patients will have to wait until 2023 to see tangible benefits.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Momentum for Guaranteed Income (GI) pilot programs is growing and the California Budget & Policy Center offers an explainer on GI programs and what they mean for existing safety net programs as advocates and policymakers consider GI as a permanent poverty alleviation program. California recently became the first state to provide funds to support local GI pilots.

Leading for Power and Change

• Northern California Grantmakers is kicking off an action plan to support philanthropy in making five transformative shifts to yield significant and lasting change at a regional level. Some of the recommendations include shifting from individual action to collective action and organizing and leveraging diverse capital sources to support problems at scale.

Nov. 3, 2021

Community Well-Being

• ProPublica mapped the spread of cancer-causing chemicals from thousands of sources of hazardous air pollution across the country between 2014 and 2018. In predominantly Black census tracts, the estimated cancer risk from toxic air pollution is more than double that of majority-white tracts. The EPA is rarely required to monitor for air toxics, leaving residents uninformed about what they’re breathing in.

Equity in Access

• Public health departments across California are losing experienced staff to retirement, exhaustion, politics, and better jobs. Though there have been temporary funding boosts, departments such as public health labs are experiencing a major brain drain and are struggling to recruit and retain new staff. Top health officials that the collective expertise lost since the start of the pandemic will be exacerbated by a swell of retirements this year.

Economic Security and Dignity

• California’s new $600 million Community Economic Resilience Fund sets priorities starting at the grassroots level for regional economies. The goal of the fund is to ensure that all Californians benefit from the recovering economy. County leaders are invited to gather with other regional stakeholders and grassroots leaders and develop cross-sector consensus to chart the course for a better economy at the regional level.

Leading for Power and Change

• According to research from UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Initiative, California’s electorate has changed significantly since the last recall election in 2003; Asian-American voters increased by 122% while Latino voters increased by 150%. LPPI’s report provides an analysis of Latino voting patterns in 18 California counties, including how voting patterns varied by geography.

Oct. 27, 2021

Community Well-Being

• In an attempt to curb the opioid epidemic, the Biden administration is proposing to potentially stiffen prison sentences for crimes involving certain synthetic opioids. Recently, 70% of defendants charged with fentanyl related crimes have been people of color and a coalition of advocacy groups is warning that the proposal would exacerbate racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Equity in Access

• Cal Wellness grantee, the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, conducted an analysis of California’s COVID-19 response strategies which relied on area-based social indices to better understand the strengths and limitations of these targeted interventions. The analysis lifts up four key findings including that area-based indices are most effective when paired with targeted community engagement and long-term structural reforms.
• The California Health Care Foundation has released the 2021 edition of the Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in California report which shows that people of color are more likely to experience poor health outcomes in the health care system and face barriers in accessing health care. The thorough report offers disaggregated data on life expectancy, health insurance enrollment, death rates for diseases, and COVID-19 vaccine rates.

Economic Security and Dignity

• A medical education program will launch at UC Merced to tackle the critical shortage of physicians in the Central Valley. Leaders expect the program to diversify the physician workforce so that it better reflects the region’s Latino community and are working on incentives to keep primary care providers in the Central Valley after graduation.

Leading for Power and Change

• The Creative Arts Agency Foundation has launched a program to support movement leaders, artists, and activists in advancing a pop culture narrative shift project such as books, podcasts, and television shows. The first cohort includes leaders from IllumiNative, Black Voters Matter, and United We Dream.

Oct. 21, 2021

Community Well-Being

• Our built environment has an impact on our health and trauma-informed design uses a  framework that understands how housing affects our physical and mental health. More affordable housing projects are incorporating trauma-informed design principles to support the health and healing of marginalized communities.

Equity in Access

• The Biden administration will overturn the decision to end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and will reinstate the policy in November. The MPP forces asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are processed.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Governor Newsom signed into law a bill that expands the eligibility criteria for foster youth to qualify for the campus-based support program for foster youth, NextUp. The bill was sponsored by two Cal Wellness grantees, John Burton Advocates for Youth and California Youth Connection.

Oct. 14, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• The California Attorney General has joined a lawsuit against a gun manufacturer and retailers for allegedly employing deceptive advertising practices leading buyers to believe that gun kits are legal and for failing to explain the legal obligations they will face if they assemble firearms at home. Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the San Francisco District Attorney.  

Equity in Access 

• California may be in for a transformative health care battle next year as Governor Newsom plans to limit health care spending. And move forward legislation that failed Bills to create a single-payer system and to regulate health care prices have been heavily opposed by health care industry leaders who will play a significant role in shaping the debate on health care affordability.  

Economic Security and Dignity 

• The California Domestic Workers Coalition, a Cal Wellness grantee, co-sponsored legislation recently signed by Governor Newsom which creates guidelines for the health and safety of the 300,000 domestic workers in California.  

Leading for Power and Change 

• On the heels of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, an issue brief offers timeless recommendations on what philanthropy can do to address the invizibilization of Indigenous migrants. Some of the recommendations include funding interpretation language justice initiatives for and by Indigenous people and funding the capacity of Indigenous-led groups. 

Oct. 8, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• Officer-initiated traffic stops are the most common proactive policing activity preceding a fatality and cities across the U.S. are implementing policies to disincentivize stops. In San Francisco, the District Attorney’s office is directing prosecutors to decline possession charges for contraband obtained during a minor traffic stop.  

Equity in Access 

• The California Telehealth Policy Coalition is hosting an upcoming webinar which will provide an overview of the state and national telehealth policy landscape. Speakers will discuss the future of telehealth policy in California including cost, quality, and payment issues related to telehealth.  

Economic Security and Dignity 

• The long-term recovery of the U.S. economy is inextricable from the recovery of Latino businesses. Latino entrepreneurs have started small businesses at a higher rate than any other demographic and according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Latinos will make up a projected 78% of net new workers through 2030. 

Leading for Power and Change 

• The salmon from the Klamath River the Yurok tribe have long depended on as a dietary staple and cultural cornerstone are scarce. Food sovereignty is linked to Yurok Tribe members’ rights and cultural identity as well as their health and activists are fighting for a healthier river and dam removal to help salmon populations recover.  

Sept. 29, 2021

Community Well-Being

• Homicides in the Bay Area increased by 25% in 2020, over 100 more deaths from the previous year. In the twelve-county region, the homicide surge was most pronounced in the cities of Vallejo, Oakland, and Stockton while more affluent, suburban areas saw little increase. The overwhelming majority of homicide victims were Black and Latino and most were male.

Equity in Access

• More than 7 in 10 adults report being at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 and the largest vaccine uptake since July was among Latinos in the 18-29 age group. Data shows that vaccine uptake disparities are wider among party lines, education level, age, and health insurance status than among race and ethnicity. Uninsured adults under the age of 65 have the lowest reported vaccination rate at 54%, trailing behind rural residents and registered Republicans.

Economic Security and Dignity

• Governor Newsom signed a bill making California the first state to require hourly wages for garment workersrather than the standard “piece-rate” payment practice. Garment workers are predominantly women of color and immigrants and the legislation aims to hold corporations accountable for exploitative practices.

Leading for Power and Change

• With roots in disability activism, the “curb-cut effect” refers to “targeted solutions with broad benefits.” The curb-but effect is being reframed to describe the widespread benefits of equity-based solutions but champion Angela Glover Blackwell explains that while curb-cut thinking will amount to outsized benefits, the goal is to achieve equity for those being denied equity.

Sept. 22, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• A report from the Council of State Governments shows that 42% of admissions intro prisons are the result of technical supervision violations such as missing a check-in with a supervision officer. Probation and parole appear to be driving mass incarceration rather than helping people transition out of the criminal justice system. Many states are working to reform supervision and some organizations have developed advocacy tools to address the supervision crisis.  

Equity in Access 

• Findings from the California Health Interview Survey show a range of results on how the pandemic, along with other factors, may have affected residents’ health and health care access. While COVID-19 was a rising concern, the high cost of medical care or lack of insurance remained pivotal reasons for going without care in 2020. 

Economic Security and Dignity 

• The Urban Institute offers a dashboard which can help foundations and policymakers to understand rural communities so they can better target recovery and infrastructure investments. The mapping tool invites practitioners to make investments beyond physical infrastructure, honor tribal sovereignty, and monitor widening rural inequities exacerbated by the pandemic. 

Leading for Power and Change 

• Liberty Hill has made a $3.34 million investment in the community organizing ecosystem with grants to 65 grassroots organizations. Liberty Hills’ Fund for Change grantmaking program features a “Rising Activist” strategy which focuses on emerging organizations with limited organizational infrastructure.  

The Root Institute offers a 30-minute Master Class in Grassroots Organizing featuring three changemakers building power in their respective communities. The short video offers actionable steps to build momentum and turn ideas into action. 

Sept. 15, 2021

Community Well-Being

• CNN has recently acquired the documentary THE PRICE OF FREEDOM, premiering Sept 19 at 6pm PT on CNN. The movie, directed by Judd Ehrlich, takes viewers through the history of the National Rifle Association, explaining competing factions in the 1970s and charting the increasing radicalization of the organization’s rhetoric.
• This podcast by the Heinz Endowment interviews investigative reporter Kristina Marusic who earlier this year published “Fractured: The body burden of living near fracking,” a four-part series that illustrates the health impacts on families that live near shale hydraulic fracturing (fracking) sites.

Equity in Access

• In this article, Rhonda M. Smith, Executive Director at CA Black Health Network applauds the expansion of Medi-Cal coverage to include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) while calling for equitable qualifying criteria for all. Diabetes continues to disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities and with a large number of Medi-Cal enrollees being people of color, this expansion is a positive step forward in increasing access to diabetes care.

Economic Security and Dignity

• A new Economic Policy Institute analysis looks at August jobs report which demonstrated an increase of 235,000 jobs, a notable decrease from the growth noted in June and July. EPI economists assert the decrease in jobs is likely related to the spreading Delta variant and a five-fold increase in cases in the month of August.
• An August brief by UCLA Williams Institute School of Law finds investigates the impact of COVID-19 on housing among LGBTQ+ people. The brief found that 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ renters are behind on rent, subsequently at risk of eviction. Among the factors studied it was found that these disparities were experienced most by LGBTQ+ people of color.

Leading for Power and Change

• A new report and dialogue guide by Nonprofit Quarterly investigates what it means to decenter whiteness in the work to address systemic barriers to racial justice. The report includes four narrative strategy recommendations that take into account underlying perceptions while generating an understanding of justice that is inclusive, not divisive.

Sept. 9, 2021

Community Well-Being

• President Biden is being pushed by activists and gun violence survivors to create a White House office on gun control.  Activists are pushing for this office to be headed by a Cabinet-level aid. Many believe the President’s actions to date have fallen short on the promises made while running for President.   

Equity in Access

• A health clinic in Colorado is utilizing a unique approach to the overall well-being of their patients by investigating the intersection between the need for accessible health care and legal services. Together, legal representatives, mental health providers, physicians, and social workers provide holistic care.

Economic Security and Dignity

• In honor of Labor Day, check out Imaginal Cells of the Solidarity Economy which uses the story of the butterfly’s metamorphosis as a metaphor for the metamorphosis of the capitalist system to a postcapitalist system: the solidarity economy. The solidarity economy (SE) has multiple, co-existing visions of democratic, postcapitalist economic systems and emerged in Latin America and Europe in the 1990s, with a core commitment to participatory democracy and is explicitly feminist, antiracist, and ecological.

Leading for Power and Change

• Since the 2020 election voting laws have changed across the country with some laws strengthening voting rights and many more curtailing those rights. Check out this article and map from the Voting Rights Lab to see what actions states have taken to address voting rights.

Sept. 1, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC, called gun violence a “serious public health threat.” The last time a CDC director spoke so boldly about gun violence was in the 1990s, likely due to strong lobbying opposition by the National Rifle Association. The CDC plans to restart research to identify the root causes of gun violence.  
• The Biden administration announced the establishment of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity which will seek to understand how fossil fuel emissions impact health. The office will encourage health professionals to talk to patients about hazardous climate effects and will research how extreme health affects older adults and communities of color.  

Equity in Access 

• Health industry lobbyists are pushing back against a push to expand dental, vision, and hearing coverage to Medicare in the proposed $3.5 trillion spending package. The expansion will have a hefty price tag and House and Senate committees are considering leaner coverage or means-testing that would limit expanded coverage to the lowest-income beneficiaries.  

Economic Security and Dignity 

• In a new joint venture, Kaiser Permanente and a healthcare union aim to fill the healthcare worker gap by designing courses, offering scholarships, and recruiting allied health professionals. California will need approximately 500,000 new health care workers by 2024 and Futuro Health’s goal is to train 10,000 health professionals in the next four years.  

Leading for Power and Change 

• California State University, Northridge will house a new equity innovation hub that aims to increase student success and equip Latino students and other historically underserved students with STEM skills. The Global Hispanic Serving Institution Equity Innovation Hub seeks to accelerate educational equity through a racial justice lens. 
  

Aug. 25, 2021

Community Well-Being

• A group of Native students from Northern California has been instrumental in protecting sacred land and water and in developing the Advocacy and Water Protection in Native California High School Curriculum that addresses youth anxiety around climate change. An estimated 600 educators from across the country have downloaded the curriculum since it was released in March of this year.

Equity in Access

• The California Health Care Foundation released the latest facts and figures related to Medi-Cal which provides health coverage to over 13 million Californians. The Medi-Cal program faces many changes in the coming years including new strategies that will address disparities in access, quality, and outcomes of care for historically underinvested communities.

Economic Security and Dignity

• A fact sheet by the Economic Policy Institute shows how unions help reduce income inequality and counteract disparate labor market outcomes by race and gender. As union strength has declined, income inequality has risen and inequality is now at its worst since the Great Depression.
• A webinar on August 30^thwill explore the long-term impact of the pandemic on family economic well-being. Panelists will discuss housing, unemployment, child care and paid family leave and will outline relevant federal, state, and local policies.

Leading for Power and Change

• The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to adopt an antiracist framework which calls on the Civil and Human Rights + Equity Department to produce an audit of city programs, policies and practices through a racial equity lens. The department is also tasked with developing a plan that addresses barriers to economic stability, particularly among African Americans.

Aug. 18, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• The single biggest risk factor for adolescent firearm injuries is access to an unsecured firearm and a new national survey shows that 10% of all households with high school-age teens bought a firearm between March and July of 2020. Researchers found that 14% of households that purchased a gun during the beginning of the pandemic also had a teen who was experiencing depression symptoms. 

Equity in Access 

• A 23-minute Health Affairs podcast explores the unique challenges immigrant populations face in obtaining health care services, some of which are caused by policies designed to explicitly limit or exclude immigrants. Researchers found that heath inequities between immigrants and US-born residents began to decline after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  
• The COVID-19 U.S. State Policy database was established last year and aims to inform policy decisions that promote health equity by tracking state policies implemented during the pandemic. Analysis shows that health and economic policies do not adequately or equitably protect our well-being as a nation. More research on which policies have been most effective for supporting people to inform federal and state actions is needed. 

Economic Security and Dignity 

• Starting October, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (CalFresh in California) benefits will increase indefinitely by more than 25%. The per-person monthly benefits will rise from $121 to $157 for all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries. SNAP benefits had been increased by 15% during the pandemic and the temporary boost was set to expire in September.  

Leading for Power and Change 

• The Oakland-based New Breath Foundation is launching the We Got Us Fund, a $10 million fund to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to build power, promote cross-racial solidarity, and cultivate healing. The We Got Us Fund is housed at the East Bay Community Foundation. 

Aug. 11, 2021

Community Well-Being

• An article makes the case for framing, naming and addressing school policing as a public health issue in order to abolish structural racism.  School policing has often been discussed without explicit acknowledgement of its connection to racism though contemporary racial disparities in school policing are clear.

Equity in Access

• The pandemic has put focus on the impact of structural and interpersonal racism on patient health. Results from interviews of Black adults show that over half of people interviewed personally experienced discrimination when seeking health care and perceived discrimination led to delayed treatment or misdiagnoses. Individuals who experienced perceived discrimination were more likely to be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines. 

Economic Security and Dignity

• Advocates are hopeful that some aspects of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which have not changed since the 1980s, will be updated in an upcoming spending package aimed to help fight poverty. The proposed plan is to raise monthly benefits to 100% of the federal poverty level(currently $1,073 a month for a single person household) and indexing them to inflation. Democratic leaders are also working to update the asset threshold for eligibility to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for families.

Leading for Power and Change

• In February 2021 the California Community Foundation launched the Black Empowerment Fund to support Black-led and Black-empowering organizations in Los Angeles County. The inaugural cohort of grant recipients includes 20 organizations leading transformational and community-centered solutions for the Black community.

Aug. 5, 2021

Community Well-Being 

• A consortium of physicians, scientists, and educators established new educational guidelines regarding firearm injury prevention training for health care professionals. Only 20% of health care professionals receive training on the role they play in firearm injury prevention and the new standards provide educators and clinicians a foundation for educational programming. 

Equity in Access 

• The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to conduct an assessment of the needs of Black immigrant communities and implement a culturally relevant plan to connect Black immigrants to County resources and services. Black immigrant communities face unique challenges including language barriers and heightened levels of criminalization and deportation. 

Economic Security and Dignity 

• The Biden administration is considering extending the expanded child tax credit through 2025 and a report shows how a permanent expansion can reduce child poverty, particularly during years unmarred by high unemployment rates. Expanding the child tax credit would lift over 600,000 children out of poverty in California alone.  
• Safety net programs help families overcome economic inequality and new research shows that about 27.5% of adults in low-income immigrant families avoided noncash benefits in 2020 because of immigration concerns. While avoidance of safety net programs was occurring prior to the expansion of the public charge rule, the lingering chilling effect will make it more challenging for families to recover from the pandemic.