The White House, under the direction of the Biden-Harris Administration, this week issued an updated response and recovery strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced the strategy during his State of the Union Address to U.S. Congress on Tuesday evening, highlighting a series of actions to continue the nation’s response to…
Read More »This week, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue its emergency and disaster assistance available to state and local governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic through June 30, 2022. Under the directive, FEMA will continue its 100 percent federal cost share for all work eligible for assistance, including…
Read More »The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently issued a report examining the demographic trends of who remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 throughout the state. In PPIC’s February statewide survey, more than eight in 10 California adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with three in four receiving either both doses of…
Read More »On Thursday during a visit to a mental health treatment center in Santa Clara County, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new policy framework to assist people living with untreated mental health and substance use disorders. The framework, entitled the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court, would require counties to provide comprehensive treatment to the…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released additional details regarding its proposal to sunset the Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program, as set forth in the Governor’s January Budget. DHCS proposes to sunset the CHDP Program by July 1, 2023, to simplify and streamline the delivery of services to children…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) unveiled Medi-Cal’s Strategy to Support Health and Opportunity for Children and Families. Noting that DHCS is responsible for the health care of more than 50 percent of California’s children, the department is launching a strategy for families enrolled in Medi-Cal to unify threads of existing…
Read More »This week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $6 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family over their role in the opioid epidemic. Under the agreement, if Purdue’s bankruptcy reorganization plan is approved, the Sackler Family will pay up to an additional $1.675 billion to help abate the opioid crisis nationwide, bringing…
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Tips From Former Smokers, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, this week unveiled a series of new advertisements encouraging people who smoke to quit. The campaign has had significant and sustained impact over the past decade, helping more than one million U.S. adults quit smoking. The Tips…
Read More »On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized guidance to help companies prepare to remove violative products quickly and effectively from the market. The guidance describes steps companies should take before a recall is necessary to develop recall policies and procedures that include training, planning, and record-keeping to reduce the time a recalled…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing all state agencies and departments to ensure their contractors are complying with economic sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The order requires state agencies and departments within the Governor’s Administration to review their contracts for commodities, services, and technology and to terminate any…
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