This report commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Getting Down to Facts project, which sought to provide a thorough and reliable analysis of the critical challenges facing California’s education system as the necessary basis for an informed discussion of policy changes aimed at improving the performance of California schools and students. The report focuses on the four key issues that received emphasis in the Getting Down to Facts studies: governance, finance, personnel, and data systems.

California's growing child population will require significant increases in public spending, particularly in education due to immigration, working parents, poverty, and family disorganization. Counties and school districts bear the brunt of providing children's services, but cities have greater fiscal flexibility and revenue-raising potential. This paper provides information on county children's services and trends in county budgets to support further research on county financing for children's services.