Category: News
May 20th, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact:
Shaleeka Powell, shaleeka@endpovertyinca.org, (916) 907-4456
STATEMENT FROM LEADING ANTI-POVERTY GROUPS ON NEWSOM PROPOSED CUT TO BABY BOND PROGRAM
May 14, 2025 – Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a proposed $50 million funding cut to the HOPE Accounts program, halving the country’s most ambitious initiative to stem child poverty and create opportunity for children in the foster care system and children who lost parents to COVID. The cuts are part of a broader attempt to offset California’s budget deficit and targets a program that is intended to give California children a financial head start, reduce wealth inequality, and create long-term economic stability.
In response, anti-poverty and racial justice advocates, End Poverty in California (EPIC), End Child Poverty in California, Liberation in a Generation, John Burton Advocates for Youth, and Marked By Covid, released the following statement:
“We thank Governor Newsom for creating the HOPE Accounts program, the largest baby bond program in the country, which would provide trust accounts for more than 55,000 foster youth and children who lost a parent to COVID. While we understand that in this fiscal climate difficult decisions must be made, cutting $50 million from its $100 million funding is both excessive and unnecessary, particularly when we consider the billions of dollars the state spends annually on tax breaks for the wealthy and rich corporations–people and entities that enjoy the greatest economic security in our state and nation.
This investment is vital for the futures of foster youth who are three times more likely to be homeless than other children; and the 70% of youth who age out of foster care and are arrested by age 26. Moreover, children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID have lost a breadwinner and the security that all children deserve, with generational impacts.
These children and their families were told that the state had made a commitment to them–they were counting on and beginning to plan around these resources. What does it do to their trust in government to pull away those funds now–as if pulling a chair out from under them? What does it say about our leadership as adults if we break our commitments to the most vulnerable children rather than ask the most privileged to pay their fair share?
California has made important strides in recognizing and addressing racial and gender inequities. Scaling back HOPE accounts now would stifle this progress at a critical moment. These accounts are a powerful tool to address the racial wealth gap, as Black and Brown children are disproportionately poor, while simultaneously tackling the opportunity gap that all poor children face.
We ask that the Governor and Legislature revisit this policy choice and fully restore HOPE Accounts. The fourth largest economy in the world has the resources to make good on this promise.”
Organizational Quotes
“TheHOPE Accounts Program is more than a promise—we owe it to more than 55,000 children to turn loss into legacy. Established in the heart of the pandemic, this groundbreaking program recognizes that building wealth is not just about dollars—it’s about dignity, healing, and hope. By investing directly in children who’ve lost parents to COVID-19 or spent years in foster care, we are disrupting the cycle of poverty and confronting the racial wealth gap head-on. California has the moral responsibility to ensure that every child has the chance to thrive, not just survive. We urge Governor Newsom and legislative leaders to restore the full $100 million promised to children.” – Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO, End Child Poverty California
“Dramatic cuts to programs like HOPE aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re real cuts to the hopes and dreams of tens of thousands of young people. People like Marta DelSur, a foster youth and college student who writes, “With this kind of creativity and leadership, I believe the work to ensure that everyone in the Golden State has a fair shot at the American Dream will continue in 2025”; or Fawn Robinson, a Susanville Indian Rancheria (SIR) tribal member, who also writes, “The bottom line is we are all doing the best we can with the hand we were dealt. HOPE Accounts [give] former foster youth opportunities to overcome financial barriers that may be a roadblock to building a life they want.” Many future HOPE recipients—relying on the promise made to them by the state—have already begun making plans on how they would use these funds to build a better future. This investment in young people was among the most ambitious we’ve seen anywhere in the country, and state leaders must do what they can to ensure we deliver on HOPE’s promise.” – Devon Gray, President, End Poverty in California (EPIC)
“The Governor’s cuts to the future of our most vulnerable children, begs the question, what happens to a dream deferred? Foster youth and young people across the state have been shaping the HOPE account program in anticipation of building a $100M program. Despite their hardships, they have given their time and effort in building HOPE, literally and figuratively. While it may seem like we can afford to borrow from our children’s future to resolve today’s challenges, we know this isn’t sustainable, equitable or fair. What does it say about the 4th largest economy in the world that we cannot provide a basic support to current and future generations? Let’s not defer these dreams; we ask policymakers to restore the full funding of the HOPE account program.” – Solana Rice, Co-Executive Director, Liberation in a Generation
“The HOPE Accounts Program is exactly what it says—it’s HOPE. For foster youth like me and for those grieving the loss of a parent to COVID-19, this program represents more than just financial support. It’s a recognition that our futures matter. That our stories matter. As a former foster youth, I know firsthand how rare it is to be seen, let alone invested in. HOPE is not charity—it’s justice. It’s the state acknowledging that we deserve the chance to dream, to build, and to thrive. I personally was involved with the development and recruitment efforts to help youth shape this program. Youth have been excited about the promise that California has made to them. Taking that away now would not only break a financial commitment—it would break the spirit of hope that so many young people have finally begun to believe in. Now, in my role at John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), I continue to support and uplift the voices of foster youth. I see every day how transformative this investment could be. Let’s make sure we don’t turn our backs on them. We urge Governor Newsom and our legislative leaders to restore the full $100 million. To keep the promise. To protect the future of young people who’ve already endured so much.” – Cody Van Felden, Senior Project Associate, John Burton Advocates for Youth
“As a Latina who lost my father to COVID, I know firsthand that these children aren’t just statistics – they’re real youth facing economic devastation alongside their grief. Had this happened when I was younger, my path to college would have vanished instantly.
HOPE represents California’s promise that we don’t abandon children who’ve borne the consequences of our society’s failures during the pandemic–failures that disproportionately impacted communities of color. These accounts ensure that systemic inequities magnified by COVID don’t permanently limit their futures. To withdraw this support while continuing to protect the wealthy isn’t just fiscally irresponsible—it’s morally unconscionable. The fourth largest economy in the world has both the resources and the obligation to ensure these children have what they need to recover from a burden they should never have had to carry. California must fully fund the commitment we’ve made to our most vulnerable children.” – Kristin Urquiza, Executive Director, Marked By Covid