Senate subcommittee presses CDSS on unspent childcare dollars, slot activation and rate reform timeline

California’s push to expand subsidized childcare moved under a microscope at a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 22 as Department of Social Services officials walked members through the governor’s budget, recent program milestones and the obstacles slowing activation of awarded slots.

Claire Ramsey, chief deputy director at the Department of Social Services, told the panel the governor’s FY26–27 budget proposes $6.8 billion for CDSS childcare programs and a one‑time $11.5 million Prop 64 transfer to support disaster‑impacted providers. Ramsey said California has nearly doubled total funding for childcare and development programs in recent years and raised the maximum number of children served from about 294,100 (2019–20) to more than 366,700 per month.

But the department also reported an $86.1 million federal CCDF reduction for federal FY2025 tied to a federal formula update and a projected $22.7 million Prop 64 drop for FY26–27. CDSS said those two changes could translate to roughly a 4,176‑slot reduction among CCTR (center‑based) slots and that staff will deliver a refined estimate in May.

Lawmakers pressed the administration on why many awarded CCTR contract slots remain uncontracted. CDSS officials and deputy…