At a Fiscal Crossroads: How Federal Decisions Are Shaping the Future of Early Learning in CA

At a Fiscal Crossroads: How Federal Decisions 

Are Shaping the Future of Early Learning in California

This week our Executive Director, Nina Buthee, connected with more than 60 providers and leaders from across the state to unpack a question that’s been hanging over all of us: What does the federal landscape mean for the future of early care and education in California? On paper, the answers are about continuing resolutions, CCDBG, Head Start, rulemaking, and rate reform. However, we know that what providers are seeing on the ground is families questioning whether they can find affordable, high quality care, while providers worry about keeping their doors open with stable, predictable funding.

California’s budget often looks huge from the outside, but federal dollars are woven into almost every early learning program we have. These federal funds are braided with California’s own investments, about $4 billion in state funding and $2 billion in federal funding, for a total of roughly $6 billion supporting early care and education. At the time of our Fall Technical Assistance in late October, the federal government was in the midst of its longest shutdown in history, stretching more than 40 days that ended on November 12 after Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government. 

However, the CR will keep the government funded only through January 30, 2026 at current levels. Some programs got special protection and are now funded through the end of the federal fiscal year (September 30, 2026), but there were important programs noticeably missing from that list. This blog post just hints at the deep dive our Executive Director offered into the federal/state relationship, rate reform, and what’s ahead for early learning in California. You can watch the full recording here: https://tinyurl.com/3s963ubv