Coronavirus: $42.5M Child Protective Services Funding Announced

SACRAMENTO, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $42 million statewide effort Monday to support Child Protective Services casework during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

With schools closed during the pandemic and statewide orders tore main indoors as much as possible, Child Protective Services activities like in-person visits and responding to referrals from teachers and others who frequently interact with children have been significantly limited, Newsom said.

The funding will support things like social worker outreach, family resource centers, county-level child protection programs and more resources for state Health and Human Services workers in order to support the roughly 86,500 children in the state's welfare system, including about 59,000in the foster care system, according to Newsom.

"When the schools are closed, that's another point of contact where people are able to make referrals based upon the interaction of children, interactions of school nurses to one another, interactions with our caregivers, not least of which our teachers," he said.

"Those referrals are down. Those in-home visits are down as a consequence of the virus.

"The state is providing about $40.6 million of the $42 million effort.

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More than half of the total funding will be used to send $200 per month to families that are deemed "at risk" to help them buy groceries and other necessities.

"It absolutely is an investment on a continuum to support both families at risk and our system, as well as those who are currently serving as resource families for our foster youth across the state," state Director of Social Services Kim Johnson said.

Public health officials across the state have confirmed 22,348cases of the virus, including 687 deaths.

There were also 3,015 people hospitalized due to the virus, 1,178 of whom were in intensive care, as of Sunday night, according to Newsom.

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