State hearing spotlights 2026–27 CSBG plan and warns of federal funding threats

At a special joint oversight hearing of the Senate and Assembly Human Services Committees, state and local officials reviewed the 2026–27 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) state plan and described how CSBG funds are used across California — while warning that proposed federal budget actions could reduce or eliminate that funding stream.

Jason Wimbley, director of the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD), told the committee that CSBG is a flexible federal anti‑poverty funding stream that the state administers and that in federal fiscal year 2025 California was allocated $68,400,000 in CSBG funds. Wimbley said California’s CSBG network served roughly 1.5 million low‑income residents last year and that CSD partners directly with 60 organizations across 58 counties to deliver services ranging from housing and employment supports to emergency and disaster response.

The state plan describes how CSD and local community action agencies use CSBG to address housing, employment, food insecurity, health care access, transportation and asset building. Wimbley emphasized local tailoring and the tripartite governance requirement for CSBG agencies, and highlighted a local example: King’s Community Action Organization helped convert a motel into Sunrise Apartments under California’s Project…