California's needy may bear brunt of budget crisis

From drug addicts facing longer waiting lists for rehab -- or jail terms if they fail to get in -- to recession-battered families newly dependent on low-cost health insurance for their children, California's budget turmoil is about to hit home for hundreds of thousands of its most vulnerable residents.

The scope and duration of impending cuts remain uncertain as state lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tussle over a balanced-budget plan. Advocates of the poor say reductions under consideration would be devastating to the needy and impede the state's economic recovery.