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Issues
The
Women's Caucus
actively monitors issues of concern and advocates on behalf of
legislation
relating to families, children, and women.
Working Families
Family
Friendly Workplaces
California has been at the forefront of creating
family-friendly workplaces. California is the only state in the nation that
offers paid
family leave to private sector employees in businesses with 50 or more
employees. However, more must be done. California does not have paid
sick leave
for its families or other flexible work schedules. The Women’s Caucus
is
dedicated to promoting more family friendly workplaces and improving
the
awareness of the current paid family leave program.
Affordable, Quality Child Care
One of
the
biggest hurdles facing families is access to affordable and quality
child care.
Safe and quality child care is the lifeblood for families. California’s childcare programs
should be better
coordinated to reduce confusion among parents and child care centers. We must create a better infrastructure for
child
care programs with adequate consumer information for families. The Women's Caucus is dedicated to ensuring
California's working families can
obtain
quality, affordable child care.
Education
A good
education helps women and their families escape poverty. We all know
that a
good, solid education helps families amass wealth and a good living.
The Women’s
Caucus is committed to reducing high school drop out rates and
increasing
access to higher education.
Children
Children's
Health
Improving children's health depends on increasing access to quality
health
care. Although we have health insurance programs for children, more
than
800,000 children in the state remain uninsured. The Women’s Caucus is
working
to ensure that all California's children have access
to health care.
Foster
Care
The Women's Caucus continues to reform California's foster care system by
providing
better training and information to prospective parents, expanding
housing
options for youths leaving foster care and encouraging foster youth to
complete
job training programs.
After School Programs
In 2002, California enacted one of the most comprehensive
after-school
programs in the nation. The Women’s Caucus has supported after school
programs
in the budget, and will continue to advocate for after school programs
for all
schools.
Universal Pre-School
More than 40% of California’s 3-and 4-year olds currently attend
preschool
according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The
Women’s Caucus has endorsed universal preschool
for California’s children.
Women
Gender
Equity
California has done a better job
than most
states in improving gender equity, but there is more progress to be
made. The Women's Caucus is at the forefront of
fighting
discrimination against women and discrimination of all kinds.
Pay Equity
Although women’s wage
gains continue to increase, women as a whole continue to earn less than
men.
The Women’s Caucus continues to fight for pay equity.
Women's
Health
Members of the Women’s Caucus are working to improve women's access to
quality
health care.
Domestic
Violence
Violence against women is the leading cause of injury to women between
the ages
of 14 and 54. The Women's Caucus has made securing
funding for domestic violence shelters
and protecting the victims of domestic violence a top legislative
priority.
Women
in
Prison / Women Seeking Parole
The Women's Caucus
has held several informational hearings on issues surrounding women in
prison.
Members of the Caucus have been actively supporting the parole approval
for
women who are victims of domestic violence but who were unable to use
the
Battered Woman's Syndrome defense, as it did not legally exist in California at the time of their
trial.
Aid to Low
Income Families
The Women's Caucus
works to help families on welfare overcome the barriers that prevent
them from
moving out of poverty through increasing knowledge of, and access to,
CalWORKs
programs, as well as increasing educational opportunities for
low-income
families.
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