SACRAMENTO – The California Health Facilities Financing Authority, or CHFFA, chaired by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, announced on Thursday that a webinar will be held this coming Tuesday to develop emergency regulations that establish timeframes and application forms for awards to the Children’s Hospitals Program.

Eight private nonprofit children’s’ hospitals are each eligible for $135 million, five University of California Children’s Hospitals are eligible for $54 million, and public or private nonprofit hospitals that provide pediatric services for children eligible for California Children’s Services (“CCS Hospitals”) are eligible for $150 million in total funding. 

CHFFA is in the process of developing emergency regulations for the Children’s Hospital Program so that awards can be made on a non-competitive basis and to the CCS Hospitals on a competitive basis.

“We are moving quickly to help children who are facing life-threatening illness or injury,” Treasurer Ma said. “The public’s input is needed on how we do that.”

To register for the webinar, please visit CHFFA’s Web site. It will be held Feb. 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Ma said she encourages people to participate in the upcoming webinar.

During the webinar input will be sought from stakeholders, questions will be answered about the proposed regulations, and an overview will be provided of the development of the program’s structure specific to hospitals that provide services to children eligible for the CCS program.

In November 2018, California voters, voted to approve Proposition 4, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act of 2018 enabling California to issue an additional $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds to fund the Children’s Hospital Program of 2018. 

California’s network of regional children’s hospitals provide vital health care services to children in need. Over one million times a year, children are cared for at these hospitals without regard to their family’s ability to pay.