JPAC Board Chair Marc Carrel and JPAC Representative Cliff Berg testified yesterday before a joint oversight hearing of the Assembly and Senate committees that oversee the state’s pension funds. JPAC was integral to the passage of AB 221 in 2007 and will continue to pursue its [...]]]>

L-R: JPAC Representative Cliff Berg and JPAC Chair Marc Carrel

JPAC Board Chair Marc Carrel and JPAC Representative Cliff Berg testified yesterday before a joint oversight hearing of the Assembly and Senate committees that oversee the state’s pension funds. JPAC was integral to the passage of AB 221 in 2007 and will continue to pursue its full implementation — for the sake of California’s public employees and teachers and for the sake of global security.

RESOURCES:

• Click HERE for the Los Angeles Times coverage
• Click HERE for coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle
• Clich HERE for a write-up in CalWatchdog
• Click HERE for the FULL TEXT of JPAC Chair Marc Carrel’s Testimony 
• Click HERE for the FULL TEXT of AB 221

30 Years After is a robust new organization that seeks to educate, inspire and mobilize the Iranian Jewish community through civic action conferences, quarterly lectures and seminars, a high school mentorship program, voter registration drives, and an anthology of short stories and video interviews to commemorate and [...]]]> Welcome to JPAC’s newest Member Organization: 30 Years After!

30 Years After is a robust new organization that seeks to educate, inspire and mobilize the Iranian Jewish community through civic action conferences, quarterly lectures and seminars, a high school mentorship program, voter registration drives, and an anthology of short stories and video interviews to commemorate and shed light on the sacrifice, courage, and resilience of the community’s path to the United States.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES on AB 1650:

The State Legislature is meeting in emergency session over the next 3 weeks to act on a series [...]]]> PLEASE CALL LEGISLATIVE LEADERS AND URGE THEM TO REJECT THE GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE THE ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE (ADHC) PROGRAM – Budget Item 4260

The State Legislature is meeting in emergency session over the next 3 weeks to act on a series of mid-year budget cuts recently proposed by the Governor.  Cuts must be enacted by Feb. 22, 2010.  Your help is therefore needed ASAP to save the ADHC program from total elimination!!

The proposed elimination of ADHC would throw approx. 37,000 elderly and disabled Medi-Cal participants and their caregivers into absolute turmoil.  The program serves frail, low-income individuals whose typical age is 80+, providing them with nursing care; occupational, physical, and speech therapies; and dietary assistance.  Eliminating ADHC would irrevocably harm the most vulnerable members of our society - frail seniors and those with Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness and developmental disabilities - and prevent them from accessing the care they need.

Talking Points: 

• 7,600 jobs will be lost as ADHC centers lay off personnel, adding $94 Million to the already deficit-ridden State Unemployment Insurance Fund.  Another 13,892 working middle class Californians will be forced to quit their jobs to take care of their loved one, creating additional loss of income tax revenue to the state.
• Increased costs of at least $221.4 Million to the Medi-Cal State General Fund will occur due to costs shifting to hospitals and nursing facilities as clients are pushed into over-crowded emergency rooms, hospitals and nursing homes.  This is $88.7 Million greater than the Governor’s estimated savings of $134.7 Million.
• Loss of $216 M in federal matching funds.  It is inconceivable to think California would give up federal money that we currently receive at the same time that the Governor is calling on the federal government to give California more money to sustain important state health programs.
• Nursing home facility beds for Medi-Cal are extremely limited and some counties have no bed capacity.  The cost of moving people to far away facilities will be significant and isn’t in the best interests of the individual or his/her family.
• Thirty years of progress in developing home and community-based alternatives would be wiped out if ADHC and other services are eliminated - just as baby boomers are reaching retirement age and community-base care options are needed more than ever in California’s history. 
• Rather than eliminate ADHC, Legislators should approve legislation to amend eligibility criteria in order to conform with federal laws and clarify the definition of medical necessity. Cost savings can be achieved by targeting services to those most in need while still maintaining the viability of the ADHC program model.

In summary, the Governor’s proposal to eliminate ADHC does not make fiscal sense and is a cruel, harsh and ineffective way to balance the budget.

Legislative Offices to call and/or e-mail

Dear JPAC Board Members, Volunteers, and Interested Parties:

We are writing to update you on the very latest proposed State Budget cuts just recently released. These new [...]]]> ACTION ALERT

Dear JPAC Board Members, Volunteers, and Interested Parties:

We are writing to update you on the very latest proposed State Budget cuts just recently released. These new proposed reductions in government funding will have a major impact on social services in the State of California.  We need your help to oppose these devastating cuts.

As you may know, the dire State budget deficit has grown to an additional $24 Billion (in addition to the $36 billion deficit that was dealt with by the Governor and Legislature in only February of this year).  The news has gone from bad to devastating for low income, frail and disabled individuals in the State with the Governor proposing the complete elimination of numerous medical and social service safety net programs. 

Several programs administered by our Jewish agencies are on the chopping block, including the case management-focused Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP); the Linkages program (case management for disabled adults); Adult Day Health Care which serves frail, very low income seniors; and Domestic Violence programs.  The combined financial impact for JFCS-San Francisco and JFS-LA of government cuts to date would be a loss of approximately $8 million annually, or almost all of their state governmental funding. The impact on comparable social service agencies from throughout California are similarly destructive.

The proposed cuts would be devastating in numerous ways.  The proposals would result in the State’s loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching grants and not even save the State a dime as most clients would very soon need to be placed into much more costly nursing home facilities (assuming that the beds are actually available) or receive crisis care in local hospital emergency rooms.

We are working closely in coalition with our colleagues around the State and our representatives in Sacramento to oppose these proposals in every way possible. In addition to hurting the most dependent in our community, these proposed cuts will NOT achieve the longer term cost savings needed. We will be meeting with key legislative leaders and the Governor’s office to voice our strong objections and to educate them about more cost effective approaches to achieve needed savings.  Similarly, letters, calls and local meetings will be arranged. 

 Take Action Now!

Please assist us in this effort by also making calls ASAP to the State Legislators that we have identified below* and to the legislators in whose districts you reside. CLICK HERE for a link to help you find your legislator. Talking points are detailed below** and are also attached to assist in your conversations.

Should you be able to make calls, please ask to speak with the Budget staff person and let them know that you are calling to urge that the proposed cuts to the Adult Day Health Care program, MSSP and Linkages be rejected. If you have a personal relationship with any members of the State Legislature, trying to reach them directly would of course be great and we hope you will keep us informed so that our efforts are coordinated.

Please feel free to contact our JPAC Legislative Advocate Monica Miller at (916) 448-8240 with any questions you may have. Caron Spector, JPAC’s Association Director, can also be reached directly at (323) 761-8163.  Thank you for your ongoing support for our state’s most vulnerable citizens during this critical time. All that you do as important members of the California Jewish community is very much appreciated, especially at this time.

As [...]]]> Our recent JPAC Mission to Sacramento was a great success and we just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to all of you who took a time out of your busy work and personal lives and joined us in our state’s capitol to lobby on the important issues that affect our lives as Californians.

As you know, with the budget situation as critical as ever, it is vitally important that you stay engaged in the process.  Funding to vital social services is at stake and the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Californians who depend on these services need you to speak out for them.

If you attended the Mission, a survey was emailed to you recently.  Please take a moment to complete it.  We are always looking for ways to improve the Mission and your input goes a long way.

We will post follow up on the issues we lobbied on as it becomes available but in the meantime, here are photos from the Mission -

David O. Levine (Jewish Family Service), The Hon. Joel Anderson and Paul Castro (Jewish Family Service, Los Angeles) at the Legislator Reception

Ann Millman (NCJW), The Hon. Ted Lieu and Sandra Horwitz (Long Beach Federation)

Jessica Kianmahd (Milken Community High School) introduced The Hon. Mike Villines, Assembly Republican Leader, as our morning keynote speaker

Mike Genest, State Director of Finance, and Marc Carrel, JPAC Chair

Holocaust Survivor and Yom HaShoah speaker Bernie Marks with Nancy Goldberg, Immediate Past Chair of JPAC

Marc Carrel, JPAC Chair, and Kim Belshe, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency

Anita Friedman, President, Jewish Family and Children's Services, presents Nancy Goldberg with JPAC's Earl Raab Award for community activist of the year

Rabbi Doug Kahn, Executive Director of the San Francisco JCRC, Nancy Goldberg, JPAC Immediate Past Chair and 2009 Earl Raab Honoree, and Anita Friedman, JFCS Executive Director

Past Earl Raab Honorees Howard Welinsky (Los Angeles), Carol Velarde (Sacramento), Norma Satten (San Francisco) and Barbara Yaroslavksy (Los Angeles) welcome Nancy Goldberg to the rarified air of being an awardee

JPAC Chair Marc Carrel with The Hon. Kevin De Leon, Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee