Low-income Californians once lost millions of dollars a month to fraudsters who raided their accounts for food assistance and other public benefits. Gov. Gavin Newsom is highlighting security improvements as the Trump administration accuses Democratic states of tolerating welfare fraud.
California's unemployment department bought more cellphones than it needed for remote work during the COVID pandemic and kept paying for thousands of unused lines.
California uses federal dollars intended to help students train for better jobs, but the money often goes to for-profit schools — even some under investigation.
California officials have warned students for years that for-profit schools may make misleading career claims — leaving them with "a mountain of debt" but no job. Still, many for-profit schools remain on the state’s list of recommended job training programs.
California has amassed a catalog of programs and projects that fail to deliver as promised. The list of dysfunctional efforts has a couple of new entries.