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Childcare providers, food banks and foster advocates urge lawmakers to restore May revision cuts at budget hearing
Summary
During the public comment period at the Senate subcommittee hearing, childcare providers, food‑bank leaders, diaper‑bank organizers and foster‑care advocates implored the Legislature to reject proposed cuts to the childcare COLA, the emergency childcare bridge, the Family Urgent Response System, CalFood and di
Speakers during the hearing's public comment period highlighted a cross‑section of services threatened by the May revision and urged the Legislature to restore funding for childcare providers, food banks, diaper banks and foster‑care supports.
Childcare providers
- Marcella Graves, a Fresno family childcare provider for 29 years, said: "Governor Newsom and the state legislators must fix the state's outdated payment system to ensure that all California children have access to quality early learning care. Allow working parents to do their jobs and fuel the state's economy." She testified that current subsidy rates cover a small fraction of providers' actual cost.
- Sonia Sanchez (interpreted testimony) and Horace Turner described daily operational costs and the low per‑child subsidy amounts, saying providers face poverty wages if COLA and rate reforms are not preserved.
Food banks and diaper banks
- Multiple food‑bank leaders testified that the CalFood allocation should be restored from the May revision level to $60,000,000 for 2025–26 and made the new baseline. Speakers from Second Harvest, Sacramento Food Bank, and others said federal cuts and rising food prices make the state purchase fund critical for local sourcing and continuity of supply.
- Leaders of California's diaper bank network and local diaper‑bank executives emphasized the public health and workforce impacts of diaper insecurity; one witness said the diaper network had distributed millions of diapers and that losing the state allocation would harm families and capacity.
Foster care and child welfare advocates
- Representatives from the County Welfare Directors Association, Alliance for Children's Rights, and other foster‑care advocates urged the Legislature to reject proposed cuts to the Family Urgent Response System (FERS) and the proposed rightsizing of the emergency childcare bridge program. Advocates said shareable overspending data should not automatically translate to program reductions where local need remains.
A common thread
Public commenters repeatedly stressed that administrative reallocations or rightsizing based on prior underspending can harm service continuity where real demand exists. Many asked the Legislature to retain COLA, protect bridge and urgent response funding for foster youth, and restore CalFood and diaper bank lines so local providers can maintain services.
No votes recorded
These were public comments recorded in the hearing transcript; no committee votes or final actions were recorded on these items.
Ending note
Legislators heard firsthand accounts from providers and service leaders about operational pressures and asked administration officials for county‑level data and follow‑up; hearing testimony indicates significant organized pushback on May revision cuts from multiple service sectors.
