The math is not math-ing! Governor Ferguson’s budget proposal balances our state’s budget deficit by disproportionately targeting child care and early learning with devastating funding slashes. 

Why should our littlest learners shoulder 40% of the state’s total budget cuts?! It’s unconscionable. 

CLICK HERE to tell your state legislators to protect kids and families in their budgeting!

Together, our voices can ensure our legislators in the Washington State House and Senate do NOT follow Governor Ferguson’s upside-down equation that balances the state budget by axing child care subsidies for 14,000 families.

The House and the Senate typically use the governor’s budget as a starting point, but we want them to take a very different approach. Now is the critical moment to raise our voices!

QUICK SIGNATURE: Urge your district’s lawmakers in the House and Senate to balance the state budget equitably—and not disproportionately with cuts to child care and early learning! 

Right now, the Governor’s budget includes $322,000,000.00 (yes, $332 million) in cuts to child care and early learning. Whether you receive a child care subsidy or not—this would be devastating to our families and communities. When the state cuts investments to child care, it’s parents and providers who have to foot the bill for the difference. Child care providers would feel the impact directly too, with a 50 percent reduction in professional development for child care providers on the line. The continually growing child care crisis will take a $6 billion hit on the state’s economy each year if the Governor’s version of the budget were passed. 

That’s why we’re not going to let these cuts happen! Navigating budget shortfalls is a hefty task—but the solution isn’t to balance the budget on the backs of children and families. We have other options available to us, and the scale of the challenges facing Washington families demands that our Governor and state legislature utilize every tool we have to protect child care and early learning investments. 

Instead of ripping away safety nets for kids and families, we can equitably tax the very wealthy and create new, progressive revenue for our state that will balance our state budget for years to come. Parents and caregivers can’t work if child care isn’t working for them, so it’s essential to safeguard the programs that we know help working families and children across the state thrive. 

Tell the Washington State House and Senate: Don’t follow Governor Ferguson’s bad budget! Protect child care funding by balancing the budget with new, progressive revenue!

Child care cuts will only worsen the affordability crisis in our state. These proposed cuts come at the same time as the federal government threatens additional funding cuts and cruel immigration enforcement. The child care programs that kids and families depend on are in a fight to survive, while many of our families are already scrambling to balance our own household budgets. 

It’s time to equitably tax the very wealthy individuals in Washington State that aren’t currently contributing their fair share to the health of our state budget. 

CLICK HERE to urge your WA State legislators to balance the budget with fair taxes, NOT by slashing our kids’ child care and early learning!

Thank you for raising your voice to protect the future of our children and our state. Together, we are a powerful voice for families.