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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (5 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
Recent Work (2012)
This policy brief highlights results from a survey of a broad sample of the California legislature on their data and information needs, as well as their familiarity and use of various economic measures. It finds that legislative staff most often use the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) when they are making recommendations about policy and evaluating programs for low-income populations. Yet the FPL does not meet most of the criteria for economic data that legislative staff say they want. Specifically, the FPL does not measure local conditions, it is not based on current costs,and it does not take into account all types of expenses faced by low-income families. Other measures of economic security more accurately meet legislative staffs’ stated data and information needs, including the Elder and Family Economic Security Indices, the U.S Census Supplemental Poverty Measure and Relative Poverty Measures. Improving awareness and usability of these other measures of economic security can better match the data and information needs of the California legislature and can contribute to innovative solutions to help California's most vulnerable populations. 
    Cover page: The Federal Poverty Level Does Not Meet Data Needs of the California Legislature
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UCLA Previously Published Works (2014)
    This policy brief looks at the financial burdens imposed on older Californians when adult children return home, often due to a crisis not of their own making, to live with their parents. The findings show that on average in California, the amount of money that older adults need in order to maintain a minimally decent standard of living while supporting one adult child in their home increases their expenses by a minimum of 50 percent. Low-income older adults are usually on fixed incomes, so helping an adult child can provide the child with a critical safety net but at the cost of the parents' own financial well-being. Policy approaches to assisting this vulnerable population of older adults include implementing reforms to increase Supplemental Security Income (SSI), improving the availability of affordable housing, assuring that all eligible nonelderly adults obtain health insurance through health care reform's expansion of Medi-Cal and subsidies, and increasing food assistance through SNAP and senior meal programs.
      Creative Commons 'BY-NC-SA' version 4.0 license
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      Recent Work (2013)
      Grandparents over the age of 65 who are raising grandchildren are a small but extremely vulnerable population in California. These older adults usually become the primary caregivers of their grandchildren after an unexpected event. They are further faced with the financial challenge of having an additional dependent without additional income. This policy brief documents that the actual income needed to support a basic standard of living for older adults with grandchildren in California is about twice the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), depending on the county. Using 200% FPL as an approximate measure, about two-fifths of older grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren in the state do not have enough income to make ends meet. The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) for California calculates that the costs of housing, food, and the older adults' health care account for more than two-thirds of total household expenses for grandparents and the grandchildren they are raising. Despite the high cost of basic needs, public assistance for low-income older adults and children continues to be squeezed. If they are to efficiently serve members of this fragile population, the existing programs that serve them need to maximize and streamline their impact through better coordination and collaboration.
        Cover page: The High Cost of Caring: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
        • Article
        Recent Work (2007)

        A collaboration of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the Health Initiative of the Americas, this report explores the health care challenges faced by Latin American immigrants, and Mexican immigrants in particular. The report dispels the common misperception that these immigrants come to the United States primarily to seek health services. Key findings from the report include: Latino immigrants come to the United States to work The U.S. relies on Mexican immigrant workers in agriculture, construction and service jobs These jobs pay very low wages and rarely offer health insurance These jobs have higher levels of occupational health risk

          Cover page: Immigration, Health & Work: The Facts Behind the Myths
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          Recent Work (2012)

          Half a million uninsured adults in California who need mental health treatment could gain access to those services through health care reform, according to this Center study. 

          In addition to providing new or improved health insurance coverage to as many as 4.6 million Californians, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will also implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, the publication notes. 

          Mental health services will be part of the essential benefits package, which is a set of health care services that must be covered by certain plans. These include insurance policies that will be offered through Medi-Cal and the California Health Benefit Exchange. 

          An estimated 1.6 million California adults reported symptoms that were consistent with severe psychological distress and experienced difficulty with their day-to-day functioning, according to the Center's 2009 California Health Interview Survey. About a third of those adults — or half a million — were uninsured all or part of the year. 

            Cover page: Half a Million Uninsured California Adults with Mental Health Needs Are Eligible for Health Coverage Expansions
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