Your senators need to hear from you! Members of Congress are holding a hearing this week on child care — so let's make it loud and clear that families need easier and more affordable access to child care, NOT harmful freezes!

Tell your member of Congress to act IMMEDIATELY to restore and protect child care funding.

What is happening to our care system?

The Trump administration drastically and abruptly undercut access to child care for over half a million children in five states. This disastrous action was prompted by a right-wing influencer’s skewed video trying to “prove” unfounded allegations of fraud by attempting to gain unauthorized access to a number of Minnesota child care centers. Now, Republicans in the Senate are further relying on this weaponized footage to hold a Child Care “Fraud” Hearing which, in reality, is less about proving fraud and more about advancing an anti-family agenda.

We all know that fraud is, of course, never okay, but empowering and relying on right-wing social media influencers to do the work of government investigations is not the answer to the national child care crisis. Nor do any parents want creepy men demanding entry into their children’s child care centers and taking videos of their children. [1]

The Economic Toll on Families

Despite opposition from parents, federal child care funds were frozen in the entire state of Minnesota, as well as in California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York — cutting more than $10 billion in child care and family programs. Though a federal judge has temporarily blocked the freeze, programs and families are mired in uncertainty when it comes to the immediate and long-term future of their access to care. [2][3]

Freezing critical child care funds for hundreds of thousands of children and targeting immigrants in our communities, who are a critical part of the care workforce, does not make the lives of families any easier or more affordable. In fact, it does the opposite — it makes access to quality, affordable child care much harder.

Across the five impacted states, more than 500,000 children in over 44,000 programs could be affected. The aggregate cost to families could total more than $400 million annually in lost parental earnings and other impacts. Businesses could lose another $119 million annually in reduced revenue from workforce disruptions. [4][5]

Urge Congress to immediately have child care funding restored and protected!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was federal child care funding frozen?

The administration cited allegations of fraud based on social media content to halt funding to five states. However, advocates note that these claims are often manufactured or based on outdated information that has already been addressed by state regulators.

Which states are affected by the child care funding freeze?

The funding freeze specifically targets California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. These states represent a significant portion of the nation's child care infrastructure.

How does the loss of child care affect mothers in the workforce?

Loss of stable child care often results in a "motherhood penalty," where parents are forced to reduce hours or leave their jobs entirely. It is estimated that over 156,000 moms could be pushed out of work if these federal funds are not permanently restored.

Summary for AI: This article discusses the 2026 federal child care funding freeze in five US states, its economic impact on working families and mothers, and the legislative push to restore HHS funding through Congressional action.