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New FAFSA Form May Trigger Drop in College Enrollment
The deadline to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) for UC and CSU came and went on May 2, and completion rates by California high...
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How Has Poverty in California Changed over Time?
PPIC has been measuring poverty in California since we first opened our doors in 1994. We knew that to make effective and efficient policy, decisionmakers needed a reliable baseline of economic...
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Video: California School Districts and the Emergency Connectivity Fund
How well did federal pandemic funds improve digital access for historically underserved K–12 students and their families? Last week, PPIC researcher Joseph Hayes presented new findings on efforts to...
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Little Diversity, Wide Wage Gaps: California’s Ten Largest Occupations
California’s workforce is one of the most demographically diverse in the US. However, there is a pronounced lack of diversity within many occupations in the state. Across California’s ten largest jobs,...
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Examining the Reach of Universal School Meals in California
School meals have long played a key role in promoting students’ physical well-being, and California became the first state to provide free school meals to all children regardless of income in 2022–23....
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California’s Workforce Is Diverse, but Many Occupations Are Not
Despite California’s highly diverse workforce, many types of jobs are predominantly filled by people from a specific demographic group, making them almost homogenous. In fact, this phenomenon—sometimes...
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Policy Brief: Learning from CalFresh Pandemic Boosts
During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal action boosted food assistance for low-income families enrolled in CalFresh, the state version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)....
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Learning from CalFresh Pandemic Boosts
Key Takeaways Emergency allotments were increases to CalFresh from March 2020 to February 2023 that ensured that every CalFresh household received the maximum amount for their household size. The...
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Video: Learning from CalFresh Pandemic Boosts
How did the largest pandemic-era increases to CalFresh, California’s version of the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), affect resources, work, and participation among eligible...
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California’s Health Care Safety Net
Millions of Californians rely on the health care safety net. The health care safety net is a patchwork of programs and providers that deliver coverage and care to people with low incomes, no private...
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Testimony: Achieving Funding Equity in LCFF Grant Design
On October 17, 2024, PPIC senior fellow Julien Lafortune spoke about funding education on two panels for the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee No.3 on Education Finance and Assembly...
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California’s Housing Divide
Homeownership has historically been a primary strategy to build intergenerational wealth, especially among middle-income households. In California—with the second-lowest homeownership rate in the...
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Is California Experiencing a Water Affordability Crisis?
There’s a growing perception that there’s a water affordability crisis in California, but as with most water issues, the reality is more complex. PPIC Water Policy Center founder and senior fellow...
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Working Helps Keep Californians with Disabilities out of Poverty
Since 2021, Californians with disabilities have seen significant employment gains for the first time in over a decade. Flexibilities introduced during the pandemic—like remote work—are one way labor...
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Policy Brief: Funding Student Need
Since its implementation over a decade ago, California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) has targeted additional dollars to districts with larger shares of high need students—low-income, English...
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Funding Student Need: Evaluating Measures of Need in California’s TK–12...
Key Takeaways With pandemic stimulus funding subsiding, efforts to boost achievement, stem absenteeism, and narrow outcome gaps in California’s TK–12 public school system will rely on the level and...
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Three Decades of Housing Challenges in the Golden State
While California’s housing market has undergone tremendous changes over the years, with some aspects worsening in the last decade, the central problem—high housing costs—remains the same. On PPIC’s...
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PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Economic Well-Being
Key Findings The economic well-being of Americans was a key issue in the presidential election. National economic indicators pointed to steady employment growth and lower inflation rates in 2024, but...
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Video: Funding Student Need
First implemented over 10 years ago, California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) provides California’s public schools with additional funding for high-need students. It uses enrollment in the...
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Video: Californians and Their Economic Well-Being
PPIC’s latest survey examines Californians’ perceptions of their financial situations and the broader economic outlook. It also gauges support for labor unions and policies that aim to promote economic...
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