by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Another day, another story about the devastating impacts of a missing budget on Californians. Today is comes the story of the 500,000 low income children who could lose their child-care due to the $1 billion in payments that are being held up by the lack of a budget. State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell brought the issue forward yesterday. LAT:

O'Connell said thousands of licensed child-care programs served by the agencies are on the brink of closing, with many issuing IOUs to employees or taking out costly lines of credit that could mean future reductions in services. The ripple effect if programs cannot weather the budget delay could be devastating, he said, putting in jeopardy the jobs of parents who depend on child care as well as the state's 24,000 child-care workers.

"Many of the most vulnerable and helpless Californians are in fear of losing important services," O'Connell said during a news conference at the Emerson Children's Center in Burbank. "The programs provide developmentally appropriate instruction for students from the day they're born to 12 years old. The programs also provide meals, and for many children they are the most nutritious they will receive all day."

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[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The budget impasse may force child-care agencies across the state to stop providing services to tens of thousands of low-income children according to the LA Times. The shortfall would not only deprive thesechildren of developmental education and meals, but also jeopardize thejobs of thousands of child-care workers and parents. “Feeling a bithelpless” is right.

If that sounds pathetic, the Associated Press has quoted Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata as saying, "We are really governing ourselves like a Third World country."The AP also reminds us that California is one of the world’s largesteconomies, which ought to make this even more embarrassing.

Governor Schwarzenegger has dispatched an undisclosed number of CHP officers to Oakland as part of CalGRIP,a new state anti-gang initiative, according to the Oakland Tribune.Oakland mayor Ron Dellums persuaded the Governor to test the newprogram in the beleaguered city, which has been fighting a recent crimewave. But yeah, guess what...the officers will be paid using overtimefunds, because the forthcoming money for the program is tied up in thestalled state budget.