The agency that oversees early-childhood education and health
programs in Sacramento County is looking at joining a lawsuit
against the state. Toni Moore is Executive Director of the First
Five Sacramento Commission.
"Our commission will be addressing this topic on their June
agenda."
Half-a-dozen counties are suing the state to protect money
reserved for First Five programs. Earlier this year, Governor Jerry
Brown signed a bill into law allowing the state to take money away
from each county's First Five budget in order to fund children's
services under Medi-Cal.
Moore says that law violates Proposition 10 which prohibits
First Five funding to be used to supplant other programs.
"So the idea of using First 5 funds to pay for Medi-Cal
services for young kids I think is clearly supplantation and those
lawsuits do address that issue as well."
Sacramento's First Five Commission has already cut nearly $50
million in early childhood development programs to comply with the
new law…programs covering everything from dental care to early
education.
