Bringing Hope to California Children

California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, but it is also the state with the largest number of children living in poverty, and the End Child Poverty in CA Education Campaign by GRACE is changing that.

“This is a fight that has been happening for over four decades, to end the war on poverty,” says Shimica Gaskins, president and CEO of the nonprofit GRACE, which has spearheaded enormous government investments in children and families. “We know it takes a lot of political will, but it also takes individuals and advocates fighting and having a movement to ensure… children have the ability to grow and live and play. We can only do that by investing in our communities early on.”

GRACE, which stands for Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage, was founded in 2013 by the Daughters of Charity in their tradition of humility, simplicity, and charity in service to those living in poverty. 

GRACE established the End Child Poverty in CA Education Campaign in 2016 to focus on enacting legislative and policy changes in California to address the gaping inequalities between children of color who are disproportionately impacted by poverty, many living in families who make less than $32 a day. In California, almost two and a half million children live in poverty.

Gaskins joined the Pasadena-based organization in 2021 following a role heading the Children’s Defense Fund’s California office. She also previously served in the Obama administration’s Justice Department, which shaped her work in policy advocacy. 

Through its extensive work with community-based organizations and state policymakers, the End Child Poverty in CA Coalition in 2019 helped push California to adopt its first in the nation Young Child Tax Credit, an initiative which enables low-income families to claim up to $1,000 for children under six. That same year it also championed successful state legislation that gave $4.2 billion towards implementing the End Child Poverty Plan that they hope will be fully utilized towards cutting child poverty in half by 2030. Other goals of the organization include expanding California’s young child tax credits and increasing cash assistance and access to childcare.

“Poverty is created, and poverty can be eliminated if we had the right systems in place to support families,” Gaskins says.

It’s critical that California ensures children and families have access to equitable education, housing, economic opportunity, nutritious food, healthcare, childcare, and workforce development. That’s why the organization focuses on comprehensive, evidence-based strategies that not only strengthen social safety nets for families, but also create pathways to abolishing intergenerational poverty.

“It’s important to ensure families have economic opportunity and support to ensure all children are healthy, housed, and fed,” Gaskins says.