Takeaways from the CA Budget and Policy Center Memo on HR 1

Takeaways from the CA Budget and Policy Center Memo on HR 1

The California Budget and Policy Center recently released an article examining how H.R. 1, sometimes referred to as the “big beautiful bill”, is expected to affect California. H.R. 1 was a major federal proposal passed during the Trump administration after significant national debate. Prior to its passage, advocates from the early childhood field, including EveryChild California’s Executive Director Nina Buthee, traveled to Washington, D.C., to share concerns about how certain provisions might impact young children, families, and the early childhood education (ECE) workforce. Policy analysis at the time indicated that several programs serving these groups could lose crucial support. While the memo focuses on impacts across the broader education system, it is especially important for ECE providers to understand what these changes may mean for their sector and the families they serve.

Appropriations, the decisions the government makes about how to spend public dollars, offers insight into an administration’s priorities. Support services for families are essential to children’s well-being, covering needs such as food access, health care, and mental wellness support. As the California Budget and Policy Center notes, concerns surrounding H.R. 1 extend beyond funding reductions. In some cases, the executive branch proposed ending programs entirely by choosing not to allocate funding to them through the appropriations process. When programs that help families meet basic needs are minimized or discontinued, children’s readiness for school and overall development are affected.

These changes do not fall evenly across communities. Some provisions have particularly significant implications for families who have immigrated to the United States. For example, the authors highlight the removal of the Child Tax Credit for mixed-status families, households in which members have differing immigration or citizenship statuses. Mixed-status families contribute meaningfully to California’s communities, including through substantial tax contributions. Research shows that mixed-status and undocumented households contribute billions in state and local taxes annually while often receiving fewer public benefits due to eligibility restrictions (Davis et al., 2024; Lipman, 2024). Without access to the Child Tax Credit, families with young children, many of whom are U.S.-born, face increased financial pressure, making month-to-month stability harder to maintain.

In California, approximately 20% of children under age 18 live in mixed-status families (California Governor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, n.d.; Immigrant Data & Refugee Network, n.d.). Additionally, immigrants make up roughly 39% of the ECE workforce (Migration Policy Institute, n.d.). These figures mean that policy shifts of this magnitude have ripple effects across both the family and provider sides of the early learning system. Economic strain on families can quickly become budget strain for ECE programs; when household finances tighten, enrollment decisions often follow. We know these changes are likely to place strain on young families, and many ECE programs  may see these pressures reflected directly in their balance sheets. As finances become more challenging, the field must ask: How will this affect enrollment? Will families scale back participation in early learning programs because they are increasingly stretched financially? And if so, how will providers adapt? The months ahead will require close attention, coordination, and thoughtful planning as California’s early learning system navigates these federal policy shifts together. Please click to link to read the full memo from the California Budget and Policy Center: https://tinyurl.com/4emjvpya 

References

California Governor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. (n.d.). Immigration and California families. https://www.ca.gov/immigration/

Davis, C., Guzman, M., & Sifre, E. (2024, July 30). Tax payments by undocumented immigrants [Report]. Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy. https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-2024/

Immigrant Data & Refugee Network. (n.d.). Mixed-status families. https://immigrantdataca.org/indicators/mixed-status-families

Lipman, F. J. (2024). Taxing undocumented immigrants redux [Working paper]. UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2481&context=facpub

Migration Policy Institute. (n.d.). California: Quick stats on young children and workers – Early care & education workforce fact sheet. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/ECEC-Workforce-California-FactSheet.pdf