The ScholarShare Investment Board asked the Assembly budget subcommittee Wednesday for three permanent staff positions and ongoing resources to support outreach, customer service and data management for Cal Kids, the state’s automatic college‑savings program created in 2022.

ScholarShare executive director Cassandra de Benedetto said the program has enrolled more than 5 million children—about 1.1 million newborns and nearly 4 million low‑income public school students—and that nearly 600,000 students and families have claimed accounts so far. "We are now focused on increasing participation and raising awareness among families who may not yet know this opportunity exists," de Benedetto told the committee, adding that a current paid media campaign and partnerships with schools and county agencies have driven recent spikes in claims.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office supported two staff positions tied to operations and data management but recommended rejecting a requested manager position for now. LAO analyst Natalie Gonzales said the board is spending $7.5 million on a two‑year marketing campaign with an external firm and urged analysis of those results before adding a managerial hire. "We recommend revisiting the need for this position after these marketing efforts have been completed and ScholarShare has analyzed the marketing efforts to better understand what is the most cost effective way to increase Cal Kids program participation," Gonzales said.

ScholarShare said targeted efforts such as a texting campaign through CalWORKs produced a 71% increase in website traffic and that in‑school lessons and in‑person events have led to on‑site account claims. Officials also described ongoing data‑sharing efforts: the board has a Cradle to Career partnership under way and is finalizing a data‑sharing agreement with the California Student Aid Commission to enable broader classroom‑level outreach similar to a county pilot in Riverside that the board and county officials said substantially raised claim rates.

Lawmakers pressed ScholarShare on the balance between vendor marketing dollars and agency staff, asked for more detail on campaign results, and raised equity concerns about program reach. De Benedetto confirmed that newborns are automatically enrolled but that the program’s public‑school arm covers only public school students who meet income criteria; children attending private schools do not qualify under current law.

The subcommittee held the item open for follow up material on campaign effectiveness, costs and the proposed staffing and data‑sharing implementation.