CONNECT COMMUNITIES, END CHILD POVERTY: Asm. Mia Bonta Delivers Kid-First Package to Gov. Newsom's Desk

California's child poverty rate has nearly tripled since 2021, now the fourth-highest in the nation, with nearly 1 in 5 children living in poverty. Three in four California families with young children can't afford at least one basic need: food, housing, utilities, child care, or health care. Behind that number are missed meals, delayed care, and kids who start kindergarten already behind.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) is sending her legislative response to Governor Newsom's desk: AB 1969, the It Takes a Village Act of 2026, and AB 1996, the California Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. Together, the two bills recenter how California invests in children: coordinating the services families already rely on, and holding the state accountable for whether that investment actually delivers for working families.

"These bills represent values I've believed my whole life, and the experiences I gained on the ground right out of college through cradle-to-career networks and place-based learning, that work on the ground has shaped how I legislate. Promise neighborhoods work because they treat a child's success as a whole community's job, with schools, health providers, family organizations, and local government all pulling in the same direction, instead of families having to find their own way through a maze of separate systems," said Assemblymember Mia Bonta. "AB 1969 takes that model and finally gives it the infrastructure to work at scale: recognizing Promise Neighborhood organizations as real partners to our schools, and letting communities coordinate the investments California has already made in our kids. Paired with AB 1996's commitment to cut child poverty in half within a decade, this is what it actually looks like to build the village it takes to raise a child."

AB 1969 builds off of California's $1 billion investment for Community Schools by strengthening their partnerships with Promise Neighborhoods, proven place-based partnerships that link schools, health providers, community organizations, and local governments center on achieving improved outcomes for kids, regardless of zip code. AB 1969 empowers local educational agencies to use existing Community Schools funding to serve as a network lead across multiple school sites within a Promise Neighborhood, so families can access academic, health, and behavioral health supports without navigating a maze of separate systems. AB 1969 received bipartisan support in the legislature.

AB 1996 establishes the California Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council within the Department of Social Services, charged with building a statewide plan to cut child poverty in half within 10 years and evaluating how state budgets and legislation affect children and families going forward. It passed the Assembly floor unanimously.

The two bills arrive as California's own data show that sustained investment in children works: following investments in Community Schools, expanded learning, and universal school meals the state's 2025 School Dashboard found graduation rates at an eight-year high and improvement across every tracked student indicator. AB 1969 and AB 1996 build on that proven foundation, coordinating what's already working, and making sure the state keeps score on getting it to every child who needs it.

"Although California invests heavily to support young children and their families, the level of poverty in our state remains staggering. If we want children to thrive, we have to invest in the ecosystem around them. That means supporting children and families from before birth through college and beyond - and breaking down the silos that too often prevent families from getting the support they need," said Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO of End Child Poverty California powered by GRACE. "Promise Neighborhood and place-based partnerships do just that. When we coordinate our resources and center equity, we can dismantle racial and economic barriers and create the conditions for every child to thrive."

This package is personal for Assemblymember Bonta and represents years of persistent work, alongside so many dedicated advocates and service providers. Before coming to the Legislature, she led Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-college and career initiative built on the same ideal: that a child's success depends on a whole community working in coordination, not in isolation. She has spent her tenure in the state legislature working to adopt that ideal into California's laws, including AB 2517 (2022) and AB 1321 (2023).