The Trump administration's sudden decision to freeze $10bn worth of federal funding for childcare and needy families has thrown the US childcare system into mass confusion and could lead to disaster for hundreds of thousands of families within weeks, experts say.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Tuesday it would block California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York from drawing down money from three major social safety programs over 'serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars'. To access the funding, the Democratic-run states must provide extensive documentation to allay fraud fears.
Ruth Friedman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and former head of HHS's office of childcare, said states likely do not have the required data on hand, as it has not been previously required. 'Very, very quickly, hundreds of thousands of families across these five states will not get the childcare assistance they need,' she warned, calling the situation 'absolutely catastrophic'.
The affected programs include the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which helps pay for the care of about 1.4 million children each month; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which annually helps more than 2 million people; and the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG), which helps about 20 million people each year.
Radha Mohan, executive director of the Early Care and Education Consortium, compared the suspensions to a government shutdown. While childcare centres may have three to eight weeks of backup cash, once that runs out, families could lose their childcare and jobs. 'Women will be disproportionately affected,' she said, noting that women often act as primary caregivers.
Christina Valdez, who runs a childcare centre in Rochester, Minnesota, said about 60% of her children rely on government assistance. If that help is lost, it will 'destabilise our entire budget' and could lead to closures. 'In many cases, it means closing childcare centres altogether. It means a collapse of the childcare system in Minnesota,' she warned.
