Post Election Update

As the dust begins to settle on the presidential & Congressional elections, we reaffirm the California Alliance’s commitment & collective voice in advancing policies that protect youth and families. Regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, we invite you to join the CA Alliance in uplifting the voices of community-based organizations that support and serve our most vulnerable and systemically marginalized Californians. The CA Alliance supports its members in caring for children, youth, and their families, and ensuring the services they depend on, including healthcare coverage, access to behavioral services, and education, remain in place and protected. We are ready to stand arm in arm to help protect Medi-Cal and other critical services to which families and children are entitled. Our commitment will not waiver as a new federal administration steps in.

We remain committed to:  

• Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights: Over thirty percent of foster youth identify as LGBTQ+ - we must continue to advocate for them to receive the care and support they need through our public systems and protect their rights.  
• Advocating for access to behavioral health supports and services: As federal healthcare policies change, we will continue to advocate for youth and families to have timely access to both health and behavioral health services. This is a bi-partisan issue that impacts all of us both directly and indirectly. Ensuring that Medi-Cal services are broadly available to all youth, and specifically foster youth, especially youth involved in the foster, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems, is a top priority for Alliance members.  
• Protecting children and youth's rights to a full continuum of educational opportunities: We have made strides in expanding community schools, providing necessary special education services, and integrating mental health supports in schools. We remain committed to advocating for youth with specialized education needs, as well as access to public education.  
• Supporting immigrant children and youth: Our member organizations serve and support unaccompanied children and youth entering the country due to violence and exploitation in their home country. These children deserve our protection, and we will continue to advocate for policies that provide this protection and support.  

We are honored to serve our member organizations and the children, youth, and families they care for each day. We expect that there will be challenges, but together we will persevere. With our member organizations, the CA Alliance will continue to live our mission and vision, our commitment to reducing racial disparities, and our drive for equitable systems, and we will partner to champion policies that protect the rights of those we are called to serve.