California State Budget, Legislature & The Capitol

California Budget Updates



To support our field keeping up with budget related information, TFC will host updates and information on our Budget Page. any questions.

Upcoming Child Care Budget Hearings:

• None scheduled

LAST WEEK Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - Joint Hearing - Assembly Budget Subcommittee 2 on Human Services & Budget Subcommittee 3 on Education Finance

• Watch the recording here
• Hearing Materials
• April 23 Agenda
• Budget Change Proposal: Child Care Development Fund Facility Savings to Authorized Positions
• Budget Change Proposal: Child Care Policy, Program, Administrative, and Support Staffing Needs

Click here to go to TFC's Budget Page.

California Becomes 4th Largest Economy in the World

Last week, Governor Newsom announced that California's economy has surpassed Japan's, securing California as the 4th largest economy with a GDP output of $4.10 trillion. Japan's GDP is $4.02 trillion.

California's GDP is remarkable, but so is the rapid rate at which it continues to grow. "California’s economy is growing at a faster rate than the world’s top three economies. In 2024, California’s growth rate of 6% outpaced the top three economies: U.S. (5.3%), China (2.6%) and Germany (2.9%). California’s success is long-term –the state’s economy grew strongly over the last four years, with an average nominal GDP growth of 7.5% from 2021 to 2024. Preliminary data indicates India is projected to surpass California by 2026." Click here to read more.

TFC's Featured Bill of the Week

AB 397 (Gonzalez) Personal Income Tax Law: young child tax credit

Author: Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez

State Assembly in November 2024 and appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly to serve as Majority Whip.

González represents the 54th Assembly District — one of the most diverse districts in California. District 54 encompasses Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Westlake, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown, and the cities of Vernon, Montebello, and Commerce.



González is the son of a single mother and grew up in Section 8 housing — he understands the challenges working families face in trying to make ends meet. After his mother suffered a stroke two years ago, Mark became her sole caregiver — taking his mom to the grocery store, doctor appointments, and attending church with her every Sunday. In this role, he witnessed the failures of government, social programs, and the healthcare system to support vulnerable seniors adequately.

How to Support a Bill

As bills move through California’s legislative process, they are presented to and heard by several committees who may recommend amendments and vote on whether or not the bill should continue through the legislative process.

As legislators decide how to vote, they consider public opinion as expressed through position letters. To support a bill, you can submit your letter through the California Legislature Position Letter Portal.

If you have any questions, contact TFC staff!

Important Dates, Deadlines,

Hearings, and Bills

Dates & Deadlines:

• May 2, 2025 - Last day for policy committees to hear and report to fiscal committees fiscal bills introduced in their house.

Upcoming Bill Hearings:

• ASM Revenue and Taxation Committee - Monday, April 29st, 2025 @ 2:30 p.m. - State Capitol, Room 126
• AB 397 (Gonzalez) Personal Income Tax Law: young child tax credit
• AB 1428 (Muratsuchi) California Affordable Childcare Act: Personal Income Tax and Corporation Tax
• SEN Military and Veterans Affairs Committee - Monday, April 28th, 2025 @ 3 p.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 2200
• SB 99 (Blakespear) Family childcare homes: United States Armed Forces.
• ASM Human Services Committee - Tuesday, April 29th, 2025 @ 1:30 p.m. - State Capitol Room 437
• AB 752 (Ávila Farías) - Child daycare facilities.
• AB 904 (Aguiar-Curry) - Childcare services: workday.
• AB 1471 (Soria) - Resource and referral agencies.
• AB 1528 (Committee on Human Services) - Childcare.
• ASM Education Committee - Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 @ Upon adjournment of Governmental Organization Committee - 1021 O Street, Room 1100
• AB 563 (Jackson) - Childcare: Early Childhood Policy Council
• AB 753 (Garcia) - Childcare: facility licensure: teacher requirements
• ASM Appropriations Committee - Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 @ 9 a.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 1100
• AB 804 (Wicks) - Medi-Cal: housing support services.
• ASM Human Services Committee - Thursday, May 1st, 2025 @ upon adjournment of session - State Capitol Room 437
• AB 318 (Alanis) - Child daycare: application: fees.

For next week's bill hearings and when letters are due, please visit TFC's State Legislation Page.

Bills to Watch:

The following bills of interest have been introduced. You can follow these bills and more on TFC's State Legislation page on our website. Please note that TFC does not formally support nor oppose any bill listed unless explicitly stated.

• AB 564 (Haney): Cannabis: excise tax: rate increase repeal.

Legislative Resources:

• See the full 2025-26 Legislative Calendar here.
• Visit TFC's Legislation Page to find a comprehensive list of bills of interest.
• Visit TFC's Budget Page for full budget bill details, as well as budget hearing video archive links.
• Click here to view all the bills that the Assembly and Senate introduced this legislative year.
• Click here to view legislative committee information, rules, and position letter deadlines.

TFC Member Crystal Stairs and Partner Organizations Unveil New Child Care Campaign: A Golden State For Kids

"Please join us for a webinar to introduce A Golden State For Kids–a new campaign bringing together child advocacy organizations, families, providers, and businesses to build demand for accessible child care for children from ages 0 to 3 in California.

The webinar will feature representatives from our partner organizations (Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles; Children Now; The Children’s Partnership; Crystal Stairs, Inc.; and UNITE-LA) and parent and child care provider voices. This event is open to the media and the public and will highlight the urgency of addressing California’s child care needs. Join us to learn more about the campaign and how to get involved."

Date: Tuesday, April 29th

Time: 10:00 AM PT

Click here to register on Zoom

Did You Know?

Child Care Q&A's

NOTE: If you have a question you would like answered or researched, please email.

Question: Will child care provider Cost of Care monthly payments continue?

Answer: Yes. Enacted in the 2024-25 Budget and referenced to continue in the 2025-26 Proposed Budget, this monthly amount will continue.

Federal Update

Release of the approved Appendix A to the Federal Fiscal Year 2025-27 Child Care and Development Fund State Plan and FFY 2024 Quality Progress Report

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has recently approved the Appendix A to California’s Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025-27 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) State Plan and the FFY 2024 Quality Progress Report (QPR). As required by Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR), sections 98.14 and 98.53 the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has posted the approved version of the FFY 2025-27 CCDF State Plan Appendix A and the FFY 2024 QPR on the CDSS CCDF State Plan webpage.

The FFY 2025-27 CCDF State Plan is effective October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2027. During this three-year cycle, the implementation steps described in the Appendix A will be updated to show the progress CDSS is making towards meeting the identified requirements.

The annual QPR describes the use of CCDF funds to support quality improvements in the child care and development programs.

NEW TFC WEBSITE PAGE:

HeadStart and Federal Social Safety Net Program Resources

TFC is excited to announce a new resources page on HeadStart and federal safety net programs to help capture actions, factsheets, reports, and news updates shared by partners on the growing threats to HeadStart, Medicaid, SNAP, and more. Bookmark and check this page weekly for updates!

Webinar from Center for American Progress (CAP) - Stealing From Our Children: Trump’s Dismantling of Head Start Harms Children and Families

Date: Monday, May 5th

Time: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. PT

Format: Zoom

Click here to RSVP

Webinar and Brief: Medicaid is a Critical Support for the Early Childhood Education Workforce

This webinar will dive into how Medicaid supports the child care workforce and, in turn, the early developmental stages of the millions of young children in their care. Panelists will discuss the already heavy strains on the child care system, the particular impact of Medicaid expansion, and how a healthy and supported workforce uplifts young children and families.

Click here to read the brief.

Webinar Details:

Date: Thursday, May 1st

Time: 3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT

Click here to read the most recent weekly federal update from the National Women's Law Center.

Federal Government Update

Congress is on recess in their home districts until April 28th. When they return, House Republicans will quickly work to move their reconciliation bill process forward.

⇒ Take Action: 2025 Congressional Recess Power Building Toolkit (C3) - Google Docs (Child Care for Every Family Network)

***

Coordinated and Escalating Attacks on Head Start & Early Head Start

Last week, we learned that the Trump administration seeks to eliminate Head Start. More: Internal budget document reveals extent of Trump health program cuts - The Washington Post

Importantly, the President’s Budget is a request to Congress which must ultimately decide annual FY26 appropriations. However, we have seen repeatedly that Congressional Republicans have been unwilling thus far to stand in the way of the President’s agenda.

We also know that this is not the first time the administration has attacked Head Start. In less than 100 days, we have seen funding freezes, mass firings at the national and regional levels, withholding of appropriated funds, slowing of funding disbursement, and growing uncertainty about Head Start’s future in an increasing number of communities. More: Federal Cuts to Child Care and Head Start are an Attack on Families with Low Incomes | CLASP

NOW is the time ensure that no further damage is done to this critical lifeline for nearly 800k children, their families, and communities. We must ensure that members of Congress reject the President’s budget AND demand that the Trump Administration reinstate fired employees and reopen ACF regional offices.

⇒ Urge your members of Congress to fight for and prioritize funding for Head Start and demand that the Trump Administration reinstate fired employees and reopen ACF regional offices.

⇒ NEW: If you’re a Head Start parent, caregiver, or former Head Start student or family member, your voice is needed now: Act Now: Sign This Letter to President Trump to Save Head Start - NHSA

This attack is also not a surprise - we’ve long known that there has been a decades-long campaign against Head Start, culminating in Project 2025, which the President has been implementing piece by piece. We cannot treat this fight as just another partisan battle but as the real threat to the existence of Head Start that it is. 

***

As a reminder, Congress is conducting two separate budget processes. They are concurrently working on annual appropriations for FY26, which determines discretionary yearly spending (e.g., CCDBG, Head Start), and a reconciliation bill to enact President Trump’s agenda, which affects mandatory spending (e.g., Medicaid, CCES, and SNAP).

Reconciliation/Budget Resolution 

What this means and why it matters:

• Using a special legislative process called reconciliation that requires only 50 votes in the Senate, Congressional Republicans plan to enact massive policy changes along party lines. Republican majorities in both chambers are planning to eliminate and cut funding to programs that families, children, and early educators rely on to pay for harsh immigration policies and tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. With less revenue available, CCDBG, Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, the Social Services Development Block Grant (SSBG), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and many others remain at risk.
• What proposed federal budget cuts and policy changes will cost children | First Focus on Children
• Cuts to SSBG, TANF Would Eliminate Child Care for 40K Children, Disrupt Care for Millions More | CLASP
• How Would Children Fare Under Proposed Cuts to Federal Spending? | Urban Institute
• We know that federal funding for programs serving our communities is woefully inadequate, and further cuts would be devastating.

What’s next:

• The House and Senate have given different instructions to their respective committees, and must resolve their differences before getting a bill signed into law. 
• GOP leaders have delayed a reckoning, but they have not avoided one. Resolving their budget disputes could prolong the next steps in the reconciliation process—and that could be a big problem for the entire enterprise.
• The passage of time alone does not guarantee a reconciliation push fails: it’s how people use that time.
• Bottom line: the longer Republicans in Congress take to move their reconciliation package, the more time there is to defeat it.
• Please continue to speak out about the critical importance of maintaining access to federal funding, not cutting funding for children, families, & educators, and increasing those funds through annual appropriations.
• More on reconciliation: Budget Reconciliation Talking Points and Background (Child Care for Every Family Network)

Executive Actions

On April 1st, federal regional office staff arrived at work only to find out that they were locked out of their offices and terminated. Five of the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) regional offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and New York, which serve 23 states and territories were closed without notice. 

⇒ Take Action: Tell Congress: Save Head Start for Families (NWLC)

More:

• Federal Cuts to Child Care and Head Start are an Attack on Families with Low Incomes | CLASP
• Executive Action Watch | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• EducationCounsel - Executive Actions Chart.docx - Google Docs
• Attacks on the Federal Workforce: Risks to Women, Children, and Families - National Women's Law Center

Most Viewed Bills of the Week:

1.H.R.22 [119th] SAVE Act

2.H.R.10127 [118th] Restoring Trade Fairness Act

3.H.R.1526 [119th] NORRA of 2025

4.H.Con.Res.14 [119th] Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034.

5.H.R.1332 [118th] Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act

6.H.R.8281 [118th] SAVE Act

7.H.R.561 [119th] Overtime Pay Tax Relief Act of 2025

8.H.R.482 [119th] No Tax on Tips Act

9.H.R.38 [119th] Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

10.S.596 [117th] Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2021

Save the Date! 2025 Hybrid Joint Conference

Upcoming CDSS Events

SAVE THE DATE: Equity-Centered Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Advisory Panel 

The California Department of Social Services is pleased to announce the fifth convening of the Equity-Centered QRIS Advisory Panel. The fifth Panel meeting will be April 29, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. All meetings are open to the public so that community members can participate and share advice and ideas. The meetings will include interpretation and translation in Spanish, Chinese and American Sign Language, and additional interpretation support will be added to later meetings if needed. 

Please save the following details for the next meeting: 

• April 29, 2025 
• 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
• Zoom Registration 

SAVE THE DATE: Rate & Quality Advisory Panel

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is pleased to announce a special meeting of the Rate and Quality Advisory Panel. This meeting will serve to provide the latest updates on the single rate structure and the cost model for family child care providers and centers. The meeting is scheduled on May 9, 2025 from 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. All meetings are open to the public so that community members can participate and share advice and ideas. The meetings will include interpretation and translation in Spanish, Chinese and American Sign Language (ASL) and additional interpretation support will be added to later meetings if needed.

Please save the following details for the next meeting:

• Friday, May 9, 2025
• 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• Zoom Registration

CDSS & CDE Information & Updates

Management Bulletin 25-03 and Frequently Asked Questions: Serving Two-Year-Old Children in California State Preschool Programs

Attention: Executive Directors and Program Directors of all California State Preschool Programs



The California Department of Education (CDE), Early Education Division (EED) has released Management Bulletin (MB) 25-03 and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to serving two-year-old children in California State Preschool Program (CSPP). Senate Bill (SB) 163 was signed by the Governor on July 2, 2024, and it allows, but does not require, CSPP contractors to enroll two-year-old children through June 30, 2027. With this, statute specifies that two-year-old children that are enrolled prior to June 30, 2027, may continue to be served in the program. This MB supersedes all email directives previously sent by the CDE on this topic.

The guidance found in this MB and the FAQs cover examples of age categories and definitions, eligibility, priority, ratio requirements for programs that choose to serve two-year-old children, diapering and toileting practices for serving young children in CSPP, licensing requirements, assessment requirements, and resources for contractors.

MB 25-03 can be accessed on the CDE MB 25-03 web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2503.asp.

The CDE Serving Two-Year-Old Children in CSPP FAQ web page can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/serving2yofaqs.asp.

CCLD has released two new Provider Information Notices: PIN 25-05-CCP & PIN 25-06-CCP 

Primary Audience:  ALL CHILD CARE CENTER LICENSEES AND PROVIDERS 

Summary:  

PIN 25-05-CCP announces a Child Care Licensing Program webpage for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to assist child care facilities and providers impacted by the January 2025 fires in. The FAQ webpage provides information on how to pursue a waiver to certain licensing or exemption from licensure requirements so providers may continue providing child care in the areas impacted by the fires.

PIN 25-06-CCP provides resources and guidance to assist child care licensees in providing care and supervision to the children of immigrant families.

Electronic copy of the PINs are available for viewing/downloading by clicking on the following links:  

• PIN 25-05-CCP - FAQs Additional Information Regarding Emergency Waivers
• PIN 25-06-CCP - Resources for Immigrant Population

Previous PINs are available at the CCLD website. 

If you have any questions regarding this PIN, please contact your local Child Care Regional Office

Follow TFC on social media!

We would love for you to tag us in your posts and use the hashtag #TFC2025

On Our Reading List

Information & Updates

Happening This Week, April 28- May 2, 2025:

Tuesday, April 29th:

• Equity-Centered Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Advisory Panel, 9:30am-12:30am. Register Here.
• TFC Weekly Member Connections Meeting @ 1:00 pm. Email to register.

Friday, May 2nd:

• Thriving Families CalWORKs Consolidation Workgroup @ 1:00pm

Thriving Families California is committed to supporting our field with a coordinated calendar. Click here to see our current calendar of events. If you have an event to add, email us and it will be added.

The Weekly Good

An uplifting way to start the week, for those of us who need a break from the chaos that is our lives.

During this time where we are all stressed, it would be great to celebrate the positive. Each week we will celebrate everyday heroes, inspiring movements and great things happening in our field. 

Thank You to Our Generous 2024-25 Thriving Families CA (TFC) Champions!

We appreciate the tremendous support from our 2024-25 TFC Champion Members. These members have stepped up, making it possible for TFC to support our field with more tailored support of individual organizations, ability to pay for legal, advocacy and social media supports, enhanced regional trainings, improving data collection, and more.