Child Care Law Center

Advocating for Children Since 1980

Updates

Analysis of the May Revise

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Child care funding decisions affect all of us, from the families who depend on it, to providers who nurture the next generation, to the children who learn and grow every day.

What is the May Revise? 

Each year, the Governor releases a spending plan for the state in January, and then revises it in May, after the April tax revenues are collected. 

April tax revenues are lower this year.  This is partly because the federal government moved the tax deadline from April to October. Many people just haven’t paid their taxes yet. The Governor expects revenues to be lower than last year, too, due to the changing economy.

Governor Newsom released the May Revise on May 12, 2023. His total spending plan is $224B and reflects lower revenues – but it also protects the rainy day fund, and does not propose any new revenue sources to make up for the shortfall in corporate and personal income taxes.

For a detailed summary of expenditures, read our full analysis here.

What is in the May Revise for child care?

  • Pause 20,000 new child care spaces originally slated for the 2023-24 Budget Year* 
  • Temporary stipends to child care workers in the amount of $281.2 million federal COVID-19 funds 
  • Continuation of the family child care fee waiver to September 30, 2023*
  • $111 million to increase payments to families in CalWORKs
  • No mention of increasing payment rates for child care providers, other than a reference to the negotiations with Child Care Providers United
  • No mention of the alternative methodology to replace the Regional Market Rate Survey currently used to calculate child care payment rates

The Governor and the Legislature have already agreed, through a process called Early Action, to use federal pandemic relief funds for stipends, and to extend the family fee waiver till September 30, 2023.

* In 2021, the Legislature agreed to fund 200,000 spaces by 2025. 

How does the Governor’s Plan compare to the Legislature’s?

Senators and Assembly members on the Budget Committees expressed their support for increasing child care payment rates, continuing the expansion of child care spaces, and an equitable family fee policy.

The Senate budget blueprint “Protect Our Progress” proposes $800 million in new funding for these items. 

The Assembly proposed a “Care COLA”  increasing child care funding by 25.44%.

What happens next?

Over the next month, the Legislature and the Governor must find agreement on spending on these child care items. The Budget must be finalized by June 15, 2023.

Conclusion

Affordable and enriching child care is the foundation for a child’s wellness. It helps families to work so they can work and provide for their housing, health care, and other needs. 

Child care policy and budget decisions affect all of us. Families, providers, advocates agreed to this unified request this year: 

  • Comprehensive child care payment rate reform and increasing the amount child care providers get paid* 
  • Establishing an equitable child care fee schedule for families that is not based on discriminatory policies from the past
  • Fulfilling the promise of 200,000 new child care spaces over three years by releasing  final 20,000 spaces immediately
  • Keep in place the child care health and safety protections for preschool programs for three year olds in public schools 
  • Allow licensed, community-based child care programs to run preschool and TK

*This may gain enough time for a new Executive Order by President Biden to become effective. On April 18, the President directed the Dept. of Health and Human Services to consider actions to reduce or eliminate families’ co-payment for child care. Read the full fact sheet here.

For a detailed summary of expenditures, read our full analysis here.

What is in the Governor’s Child Care Budget for 2023-2024?

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The state budget is the most important legislation affecting child care each year. The number of families who get child care assistance, payment rates for child care providers and programs, and related expenses are all decided through the state budget legislation.

Governor Newsom announced his proposed 2023-2024 budget on January 10, 2023. Governor Newsom builds on our past progress in child care spaces and payment rates with these proposals:  

  • Reformed payment structure for child care providers that builds on child care community   recommendations and the agreement with Child Care Providers United to create a “single rate structure” 
  • Maintain funding to support a total of 200,000 new child care spaces promised in the 2021-22 budget
    • Continued funding to support 146,500 new child care spaces added over the past three years, with adjustments for those spaces that haven’t yet been filled.  
    • Commitment to funding a total of 200,000 new spaces by 2024-2025
  • Cost-of-Living adjustment (COLA) increase to 8.13% for child care and development programs

Reformed Payment Structure

Two recent reports seek to reform current payment rates to providers with a “single rate structure” which takes into account the true cost of care and seeks to undo historical inequities. 

In his proposed budget, Governor Newsom pledges to rely on the approach set forth in the stakeholder workgroup recommendations of August 2022. Governor Newsom also referred to the agreements with Child Care Providers United, which represents child care providers who contract with the state to care for children with subsidies. 

Additional Child Care Spaces 

In 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Legislature and Governor agreed to fund additional child care spaces. This year’s budget proposal makes allowances for the newer spaces which have not yet been enrolled, and pledges spending for additional 53,500 spaces over the next two years. 

What was left out – Child Care Fees

California can afford to fully fund child care – without additional fees – for families with low incomes. Instead, the state relies on collecting child care fees paid by families in the subsidy programs – those who can least afford it. 

To reform the child care fee policy, one that is rooted in a legacy of racism, Governor Newsom and the Legislature must include funds in the budget for equitable child care fee policy.

Conclusion

The Governor’s Budget proposal takes significant steps forward. But for generations, policymakers have underfunded child care. The impact on women, Black women, immigrant women and women of color is disproportionately negative. To create a truly equitable child care program for Californians, the Governor and the Legislature must decide a final budget that addresses systemic inequities in child care policy.

The following links provide additional information.

JLMC Report of 11.14.22, Nov. 14, 2022

Child Care Fees, Oct. 7, 2022
Rate and Quality Workgroup Report, Aug. 15, 2022

Helping Child Care Providers Get Free from Red Tape

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California’s child care shortage is dire. A key requirement for a provider to open a large family child care home is to pass a fire inspection. Safety is critical, but the inspection process has historically been onerous and expensive, with requirements that did not impact safety. “It’s a huge financial burden on family child cares,” one provider said.

With Child Care Law Center’s advocacy, the State Fire Marshal issued guidelines that made requirements in all cities uniform. But many fire departments, including Sacramento’s, were unaware. Their reliance on outdated information meant providers were paying hundreds of dollars in fees.

Our Family Child Care Advocate, Toni Robertson, helped the fire department update its guidelines to match the state. The department is now refunding approximately $400,000 to more than 1,300 Sacramento-based child care providers unlawfully charged for more than a year. That money is crucial to providers operating on razor-thin budgets and working upwards of 12 hours per day. It is a huge breath of relief for the future.

Building Just Futures with Child Care Providers

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Nancy Wyatt opened her San Fernando Valley-based family child care in 1985. Since then, she has provided care for hundreds of families. Throughout her career, Nancy knew she could reach out to Child Care Law Center when she needed us.

Nancy’s passion pushed her to be a leader fighting for child care equity and provider rights. Currently, she volunteers as the public policy coordinator for the California Family Child Care Network, leading actions and calls for hundreds of people each month. “Child care providers are definitely at more decision-making tables now than ever before,” she said. 

Through her time in the field, Nancy has seen both the wins and disappointments in the fight to win equity for family child care providers. She believes in a just future. “We want every child to have access to free, quality care, and for parents to be able to choose the kind of care that they want. We want a world where parental choice and family-like care are appreciated and supported.” 

Nancy is a partner in our advocacy and a donor. “The staff at Child Care Law Center are brilliant, so well-informed, and dedicated. The amount of work that they get done is amazing. These people really care, and they’re interested in justice. They’re the real deal.”

Making the Law Work for Justice

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11/14/22

When Dr. LaWanda Wesley was raising her five children, juggling work, college, rent, and expensive fees for child care meant ever-present stress. LaWanda was part of California’s subsidized child care program. Her child care should have been free. But the state surprised her and other families with child care family fees. When fees were due, LaWanda would think, “I need to pay for gas, and the kids need school clothes and new shoes. How do you pay for it all?” 

LaWanda with granddaughters Aszara and KaMya

LaWanda is one of the thousands of California parents forced into impossible decisions because lawmakers never changed a racist policy that stems from lies about Black women. “Family fees are based on that welfare queen myth, that ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ idea. But if I don’t have a bootstrap, then what? I need to one day be able to buy a boot so I can pull the bootstrap,” LaWanda said. 

Now, LaWanda’s family is thriving. Two of her daughters are engineers, and she wants the same success and opportunity for every family. As the Director of Government Relations at the Child Care Resource Center, she joined the Law Center and Parent Voices to advocate for legislation to reform family fees for child care and end a policy that has harmed generations of California families. “Waiving the fees makes a difference,” LaWanda said. “You want families to be focused on thriving, not survival.”

Thanks to your support, we sponsored legislation to win another year-long waiver, giving between $60 to $600 a month back to families with low incomes. The Legislature and Governor Newsom agreed – especially after hearing from LaWanda and other parents. There is always more to do to bend the law toward the side of justice. Until we have a fair and equitable policy for child care fees and make child care a civil right, we will continue the fight.

Read more about our advocacy and partnership this year in our 2022 Impact Report.

Governor Misses Opportunity to Get Rid of Racist Child Care Policy that Has Hurt Families for Generations

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9/15/22

Gov. Newsom this week missed a critical chance to fix an unjust child care policy that hurts women of color. Newsom vetoed the Affordable Child Care Family Fees Act, a bill with broad bipartisan support, that would have upended California’s racist child care family fees system. Parents, child care providers, and advocates are gravely disappointed. 

Parent Voices CA Parent Leader Micaela Mota testified at hearings, and recently graduated with her Master’s: “All my household costs have gone up in the pandemic, and I had to decide if I pay my family fee [or] pay PG&E. Imagine having to risk electricity to pay for child care.” 

Publicly-funded child care programs provide affordable care to families who need it most. This child care provides stability and enrichment for children, and allows parents and guardians to finish their education and build careers. But after qualifying, families are slammed with unexpected fees that force them into impossible decisions. California has the money to fund its subsidized child care system, but instead has burdened families of color (mostly mothers) who are low-paid and can least afford it. When an equitable system is set up, families will be able to pay off debt, cover rent and essential bills, and have more time with their children. While families benefit now from a temporary fee waiver through June 2023, to undo historic inequities, permanent funding solutions are required. 

The Affordable Child Care Family Fees Act (AB 92, Gómez Reyes) would have created an equitable child care families fees system into the future. The spark for this groundbreaking bill came from Parent Voices CA and the parents and families most hurt by family fees. It was crafted by Child Care Law Center, the nation’s only law center focused on child care. The bill was co-sponsored by Parent Voices CA, Child Care Law Center, Child Care Resource Center, the CA Child Care Resource & Referral Network, and American Association of University Women California. It passed the state Assembly and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. It was supported by over 750 parents, child care providers, and state and national organizations. 

Parents worked hard for over two years to identify the problem, find the solution, and act with conviction by testifying at hearings and participating in meetings with state agencies. Their efforts need to be honored by acting on the policies they have identified as problematic.

Californians are ready to eliminate policies and laws based in racism, sexism, and oppression. Advocates and parents look forward to making this missed opportunity right by working with the Newsom Administration to fund this policy in Governor’s January budget proposal.  

Advocates are also deeply appreciative of Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, who authored and championed the bill. Bill supporters want to thank the hundreds of parents and providers who lent their stories to this effort. It is their experiences that led to the temporary waiver of fees through June 2023. 

Background:

Policies like child care family fees are part of a constellation of racist laws that have plagued the care economy dating back to the forced, unpaid caregiving labor of enslaved African Americans. With the end of one era of care oppression, began another. In 1938, caregivers were written out of the Fair Labor Standards Act because of racism; denying them labor protections and fair wages. In 1971, Nixon vetoed universal child care. In the 1980s, Reagan perpetuated the lie of the welfare queen. In 2022, Congress had the chance to make a landmark investment in child care equity that would have included the provisions in AB 92, but excluded care economy funding in budget reconciliation. California can lead the way, and we look forward to working with the Governor to be a beacon of justice for the future.  

More on AB 92: click here.