In its latest harm to children, the Trump Administration has announced that it will withhold at least $2.4 billion in child care funding, as well as billions in other programs that support children and families from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The Administration asserts, without evidence, that these states have allowed the funding to be used fraudulently. While fraud must be prevented through strong oversight, this can and must be done without punishing children. Withholding this funding deprives children and their families of critical support and must be reversed.
This freeze would impact nearly a quarter of all children from low-income families who rely on federal child care subsidies. The U.S. child care system already is struggling. A blanket freeze on needed assistance for children and their families will at best cause confusion and uncertainty, and at worst, will result in the closure of child care providers, the loss of jobs for both child care professionals and parents, and a reduction in quality care for kids.
While a judge has temporarily put a hold on this action, a reversal is far from final. Tell Congress to do everything in its power to ensure this funding freeze is reversed and children are not forced to bear the consequences of lost care and education. Children must not be punished for unproven allegations of fraud or by partisan politics, and the Administration must immediately release the funding that children depend on.