He also has proposed cuts to existing, early childhood funding that advocates worry could force child care providers to reduce the number of kids they serve, or even close their businesses.
For instance, only 1 in 9 children eligible for subsidized child care and preschool were enrolled in 2017 because of inadequate state and federal funding, according to research by the California Budget and Policy Center, which focuses on how state finances affect lower-income residents.
It also eliminates a plan to provide more child care for low-income parents receiving cash aid from the state through the CalWORKs social services program.
Providers already operate on very thin margins, with little room for rate cuts, said Mary Ignatius, statewide organizer for Parent Voices, a California parent organization that focuses on more subsidized child care for families.
Many child care centers and homes are currently closed, in response to the pandemic, and some providers who are open say they haven’t seen kids in weeks.
