If It’s Broke, Fix it. How 20 Years of Unsuccessful Legislation is Hurting California Families

California has long been a leader in ensuring social safety net programs for poor families but the Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule is hurting our reputation. The MFG rule says that if a parent or guardian has been receiving aid from CalWORKS for ten months consecutively, any child conceived within that timeframe is blocked for life from receiving the same assistance granted to their siblings. CalWORKS is a program designed to temporarily provide financial assistance to needy families with (or expecting) children. Fifteen states currently impose burdens on the reproductive decision-making power of families receiving aid, including California, doing more harm than good in helping alleviate poverty.

The MFG rule restricts a family’s choice to expand because of their income, and does not take into account varying cultural ideologies that effect a family’s decision to grow. The goal of aid is to help uplift families and reduce the cycle of poverty and the way to do that is to provide resources and support, not restrictions and punishment. Support also means providing families with accessible and comprehensive family planning resources that will allow them to make the best reproductive decisions for themselves.

The restrictions imposed by the MFG rule undermine the meaning of family, and exacerbates the already damaging psychological effects of poverty on children. Parents work hard to provide for their families and MFG takes away their opportunity to give their children basic needs. All children, regardless of their order of birth, deserve equal opportunities to lead safe, healthy and successful lives. By targeting children born under specific circumstances the state has taken a step back in its commitment of uplifting children out of poverty.

The foundation of MFG is to control the way families grow. The MFG rule is a reproductive justice issue because it directly inhibits a family from their right to decide to have children or not have children, and the right to parent their children in safe and healthy environments. By taking away an individual’s reproductive freedom we are also limiting their opportunity to build a strong family and lead a meaningful life.

California has conducted a failed social experiment for the past 20 years, but now the state has the opportunity to lead once again. Senate Bill 899, sponsored by State Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, will repeal this harmful legislation in order to give families the chance they deserve to grow into healthy and thriving parts of our California community for generations to come.

On April 8 SB899 was passed by the Senate Human Services Committee on a 3-2 vote, and will move forward for further legislative action. In passing this bill California can influence other states to re-establish programs that promote long-term stability and security for Californian families.

To learn more about the effort to repeal MFG and lend support, follow @investinfams on Twitter!

Graciela Olguin is a forthcoming student at Mills College, and Communications and Reproductive Justice Intern at the ACLU of Northern California.