Tell WA State Legislators: Don't balance the budget by slashing child care and early learning!

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

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 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.

Tell the Washington State House and Senate: Don’t follow Governor Ferguson’s bad budget! Balance the state budget equitably—and not disproportionately with cuts to child care and early learning!

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.

Contact Information

Name*

Email address*

Street address*

City*

ZIP Code*

Get text message alerts (Standard text message charges may apply)

Mobile Phone*

Privacy Policy (the basics): We do not share the information you've given us with unaffiliated groups without your explicit permission. For petitions, letters to the editor, and surveys you've signed or completed, we treat your name, city, state, and comments as public information. We will not make your street address publicly available, but we may transmit it to members of Congress, the President, or other targets specifically noted on the signup page. We will send you updates on this and other important campaigns by email. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from our email list, you may do so. For our complete privacy policy, click here.