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 to protect child care in WA!
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.
Child care cuts will only worsen the affordability crisis in our state. These proposed 2026 cuts come at the same time as the federal government threatens additional funding cuts and 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.
When you click, you’ll automatically sign on to our petition that reads:
Dear Washington Lawmaker,
We are writing to urge you to reject cuts to child care and early learning in Governor Ferguson’s proposed supplemental budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. MomsRising is hearing directly from parents across the state about the impacts of over $1 billion in delays and cuts to child care and early learning from last session. The Governor’s proposed cuts would be devastating to child care access and worsen Washington’s affordability crisis.
Specifically, MomsRising is deeply opposed to:
- A cap on Working Connections Child Care caseload of 33,000 households, resulting in a funding reduction of $217 million. Currently, 47,000 families have been deemed eligible by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families for WCCC and 37,000 families are currently receiving subsidies. This cap would result in 14,000 families removed from childcare subsidy and reinstate a recession-era caseload cap that will force moms and working parents out of the workforce.
- A reduction to the subsidy rate for child care centers to the 75th percentile of market rates, which is a funding reduction of $41 million. The decreased subsidy rate puts child care providers in the difficult position of choosing between raising prices on private pay families, and/or enrolling fewer – if any – children on subsidy. It also puts more of the cost burden on private pay families to make up the difference between what the state pays and the cost of care.
- A 50% reduction for professional development activities for child care providers, resulting in a funding reduction of $2.1 million. Reducing professional supports and development for child care providers – who are overwhelmingly women – affects career advancement opportunities for providers as well as quality in the classroom for children.
We urge you to use every tool available to raise new, progressive revenue, utilize the Budget Stabilization Account, and avoid cuts to essential services, including child care
Thank you for raising your voice to protect the future of our children and our state. Together we are a powerful voice for families.
With gratitude,
– Lauren, Sara, Maricela, Kristin, Olivia and the whole MomsRising / MamásConPoder team
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