Here’s how California can do better for domestic violence survivors | Opinion

Survivors of domestic and gender-based violence are often forced into impossible choices: Stay in a dangerous situation or risk losing financial stability.

For those relying on public assistance, the barriers to safety are even steeper.

Domestic violence is more than a private tragedy — it’s a public crisis. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 34% of California women and 31% of California men experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Financial abuse is a major factor, occurring in 99% of domestic violence cases. Survivors often find themselves unemployed, unhoused and struggling to break free from cycles of harm.

The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program was designed to help families in need, but when it comes to survivors, it has failed. This program is the state’s public assistance program for low-income families.

But CalWORKs rules can be dangerous: Survivors are required to meet work participation requirements and to identify and report the paternity of a violent partner in order to apply for or maintain benefits — putting them at further risk.

That is where the waivers come in.

CalWORKs allows counties to temporarily waive certain rules for survivors — rules that can put people at greater risk. Survivors may be forced to work a set number of hours or seek child support from a violent partner just to apply for or keep their benefits. And their 60-month lifetime clock (the total number of months someone is allowed to receive CalWORKs aid) keeps ticking, even while they’re in crisis.

Waivers are meant to pause that clock and to lift requirements that can put survivors in danger or keep them trapped in unsafe situations. For example, someone in a shelter without childcare may not be able to meet work rules. Another could face serious harm if forced to cooperate with child support enforcement against their abuser — a requirement under CalWORKs that puts many survivors at risk.

But most survivors don’t even know these waivers exist. Whether or not someone gets help often depends on inconsistent practices between counties, partially the result of a lack of clear statewide guidance. Others, including disabled survivors on Supplemental Security Income, aren’t eligible at all even though they face the same risks.

Assembly Bill 969, authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, D-San Fernando, and co-authored by Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, would fix that by expanding eligibility and ensuring that all domestic violence survivors are able to request necessary CalWORKs waivers. It requires counties to inform people of their rights, provide clear, written information about available waivers and utilize the same standardized request forms across the state.

AB 969 directs the Department of Social Services to create clear, statewide procedures to eliminate confusion and ensure survivors across California receive equal access to support.

These waivers were established in 1996 as part of the federal Welfare Reform Act through the Family Violence Option. But California has never taken full advantage of them. This isn’t just about checking a box or complying with federal welfare rules, it’s about ensuring survivors have access to the support they need without unnecessary hurdles.

The urgency behind AB 969 is colliding with a funding crisis that began under the first Trump administration when the Department of Justice started draining the federal Crime Victims Fund. The Trump administration continues to devastate survivor services today. In April 2025, the DOJ canceled or slashed more than $800 million across 365 active grants, including many that supported domestic violence advocacy, trauma recovery and crime‑victim services.

In California, those cuts are already being felt: The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, a co-sponsor of the bill, has warned that Victims of Crimes Act funding will fall by at least $105–$132 million starting in July 2024. Meanwhile, survivor support organizations — especially those led by and for Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities — are being forced to choose between staying solvent and staying true to their values.

That’s because new DOJ grant conditions pressure organizations to avoid language about “gender ideology” or race, and to omit programming that centers LGBTQ+ people or communities of color. These mandates silence the very groups doing the most trusted, culturally competent work.

Paméla Michelle Tate, the executive director of Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence, refused to agree to these conditions. Her organization turned down a two-year, $500,000 DOJ grant.

“What profit gains a man if he loses his soul?” Tate said. “We will not exclude survivors.”

This isn’t just about bureaucracy. It’s about erasure — about who gets to be seen as a survivor, and who is asked to disappear in order to be helped.

Washington may be failing us, but California doesn’t have to. Our state can choose to push back against the erasure happening at the federal level. AB 969 is that choice.

California prides itself on being a progressive leader, but too often, those promises don’t translate into real help for the most vulnerable. Survivors should not have to navigate endless red tape to access protections they are already entitled to.

California cannot continue to let gaps in the system put people in danger. Without AB 969, survivors will continue to be left behind by a patchwork system that depends on where they live and who happens to pick up their case. Inconsistencies mean more people stay trapped, simply because the help they need is hidden in fine print.

Tracee Michelle Porter is a 2025 Solís Policy Institute state policy fellow and public voices fellow with The OpEd Project. She is a writer and advocate working to shift narratives, influence policy and build Black women’s political power through reentry, economic justice and community-rooted leadership.

This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how California can do better for domestic violence survivors | Opinion."