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Assembly panel hears how federal funding freeze could destabilize California child care
Summary
State and local officials, providers and parents told an Assembly budget subcommittee that a recent federal pause on major child care grants risks closing programs, forcing parents from work and creating long-term harms; California and four other states secured a temporary restraining order that has kept funds flowing while litigation proceeds.
SACRAMENTO — State and local officials, child care providers and parents told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight on Wednesday that a recent federal pause on major child care grants threatens immediate service disruptions and long-term damage to California's care infrastructure.
The committee heard that federal funding streams that help run subsidized child care in California include the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Social Services Block Grant. Dylan Hawksworth Lutzow of the Legislative Analyst's Office told the panel that the 2025—26 budget includes about $5.5 billion for child care programs and roughly $2.0 billion for related supports, and that federal CCDF and TANF funding account for a substantial share of that mix.
"Child care is not a luxury in California. It is economic infrastructure," the committee chair said in opening remarks, framing the hearing around the effect of federal actions on state…
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