WHEREAS, The County Welfare Directors Association of California was first established in 1926 as the Association of California’s Executives of Public Welfare at the California Conference of Social Work; and

WHEREAS, In 1943, the organization became known as the County Welfare Directors Association; and

WHEREAS, The County Welfare Directors Association, known as CWDA, has, for 100 years, represented county human services agencies throughout California; and

WHEREAS, CWDA has worked at the local, state, and federal level advocating for the social safety net and the Californians served by its programs; and

WHEREAS, CWDA has, since its inception, worked closely with the State Department of Social Services on developing policies and regulations, including creating formal meetings beginning in 1944; and

WHEREAS, CWDA has played an integral role in the development and implementation of major policy initiatives to serve the people of California; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, CWDA helped create the statewide Adult Protective Services Program to protect elderly and dependent adults from abuse and neglect; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, CWDA led the effort to protect elderly and dependent adults from financial exploitation by making banks and other financial institutions mandated reporters for elder abuse; and

WHEREAS, CWDA has a long history of advocating for and implementing welfare reform programs to better serve the poor and low-income families of California; and

WHEREAS, In 1997, CWDA helped create the CalWORKs program in response to federal welfare reform; and

WHEREAS, CWDA continues today as part of the Reimagine CalWORKs coalition to continue to reform and improve the CalWORKs program to benefit California’s families and children; and

WHEREAS, CWDA, representing child welfare agencies in California, has long advocated for the protection of children in the foster care system; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, CWDA cosponsored legislation that expanded foster care from 18 years of age to 21 years of age so that young adults in the foster care system would have access to housing, education, and employment supports to improve their outcomes as they moved into adulthood; and

WHEREAS, CWDA continues to advocate for the betterment of California’s foster care system to ensure that foster children are given the tools they need to heal from trauma and thrive; and

WHEREAS, CWDA also continues to advance policies, practices, and funding to help prevent foster care entry and reduce disparities and disproportionality in the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, CWDA played an integral role in implementing the federal Affordable Care Act in 2013, and ensured that millions of new clients could enroll and access health care through the state Medi-Cal program; and

WHEREAS, CWDA continues to advocate for Californians to have access to Medi-Cal and affordable health care and food assistance despite the attack on those programs by federal House Resolution 1 through investment in county enrollment and administration; and

WHEREAS, For 100 years, CWDA has advocated for the welfare of all Californians and will continue to advocate for and shape human services policies for many more years to come; now, therefore, be it