A Moment of Relief for Child Care Providers

Last week, the Los Angeles Times published an article about recent federal actions that raised understandable concern across the child care community, including a proposal that would have frozen billions of dollars in child care funding nationwide and about $1.4 billion in California. News like this can feel troubling, particularly for providers who already do so much to keep programs running for children and families. The good news is that a federal judge has blocked that freeze, allowing funds to continue flowing.

California and several other states moved quickly to challenge the action after federal officials raised fraud concerns without providing evidence. In blocking the freeze, the judge agreed that abruptly cutting off child care funding could cause real harm. Our Executive Director Nina Buthee was quoted in the article, advocating on behalf of EveryChild CA members; “The underscoring issue is that child care and these other federally funded social services programs are major family supports. They are essential infrastructure that our communities need and depend on, and should not be political tools. So the fact that this judge went in and blocked this very dramatic freeze, I think is only a good thing.” Please click the following link to read the full article: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-09/federal-judge-blocks-trump-administrations-freeze-of-10-billion-in-child-care-funds 

For providers, this ruling means there is no immediate change to how programs operate or how payments are made. This decision reinforces what our community already knows: child care is essential infrastructure, and your work is deeply valued. Our team will continue to monitor developments closely and share updates as they become available, with the goal of keeping you informed, grounded, and supported.