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:

• SEN Budget Subcommittee 3 on Human Services - Thursday, May 8th, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m. or upon adjournment of Session - 1021 O Street, Room 1200
• California Health and Human Services Agency
• EBT Issues
• Department of Social Services
• Overview
• CalFresh and Food Programs
• CalWORKs
• SUN Bucks

Click here to go to TFC's Budget Page.

TFC's Featured Bill of the Week

SB 33 (Cortese) Homeless pupils: California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience (SOAR) Guaranteed Income Program.



Author: Senator Dave Cortese

Senator Dave Cortese was elected in November of 2020 to represent State Senate District 15 which encompasses much of Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley. Along with his accomplished career as an attorney and business owner, the Senator previously served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for over a decade, with four years as Board President, on the San Jose City Council for eight years, including two years as Vice Mayor, and as a trustee for the East Side Union High School District for eight years.

He grew up in San Jose as part of a family that has been active in civic, cultural, and business activities for generations. Dave graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory then University of California, Davis where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science. He earned his Juris Doctorate at Lincoln University Law School in San Jose. He has four children and is married to his wife Pattie Cortese who is currently a Trustee on the Eastside Union High School Board.

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 9, 2025 - Last day for policy committees to hear and report to the Floor non-fiscal bills introduced in their house.
• May 16, 2025 - Last day for policy committees to meet prior to June 9.

Upcoming Bill Hearings:

• SEN Appropriations Committee - Monday, May 5th @ 10 a.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 2200
• SB 33 (Cortese) - Homeless pupils: California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience (SOAR) Guaranteed Income Program.
• ASM Appropriations Committee - Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 @ 9 a.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 1100
• AB 1528 (Committee on Human Services) - Childcare.

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.

• SCR-72 (Wahab) Childcare Awareness Month
• Would proclaim May 2025 as Childcare Awareness Month. Good data on the economic impact of child care was cited.

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.

National Day Without Child Care: Monday, May 12th

Next Monday, May 12th, childcare providers, parents, and families across the country will shut their doors, call out sick, or close down early to participate in Community Change Action’s 4th Annual National A Day Without Child Care. Want to post on your organization's social media pages? Access the social media toolkit here. Check out TFC's social media pages on May 12 - we will be posting graphics that you can share and repost!

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

President Trump Releases "Skinny Budget" After His 100th Day in Office - No Cuts to Head Start or CCDBG Mentioned

Last Friday, President Trump unveiled his presidential budget request to Congress giving insight into the Trump administration's priorities and preferred spending direction. This White House wish list was missing key details and did not include any cuts to Head Start or the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). However, the budget outline known as the president's "skinny budget" did include a 26% reduction to the Department of Health and Human Services and proposed an elimination of Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS), the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which assists many low-income families in California. The full presidential budget will be released at a later date.

Head Start Update: ACLU sues to halt Trump administration attacks on Head Start child-care program

Last week, a coalition of parents and Head Start providers filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s coordinated and unlawful efforts to dismantle the Head Start program. Click here to read more about this lawsuit on our new website page. Click here to view the lawsuit.

TODAY - 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

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

Federal Government Update

Your advocacy is working - keep up the momentum!

House GOP leaders are pushing key committees’ mega bill markups another week as Republicans try to resolve lingering issues over spending cuts to Medicaid, and food assistance, among other key priorities.

• GOP leaders take more time for key megabill markup after Medicaid snags - POLITICO
• GOP leaders push Agriculture markup amid megabill delays - POLITICO

As outlined below in the section on reconciliation, slowing down this process is key to preserving funding for our priorities. 

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).

Escalating Attacks on Head Start & Early Head Start

Developing: Email mistake reveals secret plans to end research on Head Start and other child safety net programs | AP News

Also, this week, a coalition of parents and Head Start providers filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s coordinated and unlawful efforts to dismantle the Head Start program, which would be catastrophic for the millions of people who rely on it. By slashing staff, delaying funding, and imposing bans that block programs from fulfilling their mission to support young children from low-income families, the administration is defying Congress’s mandate to continue Head Start services nationwide. This multi-pronged attack puts at risk the quality and safe early educational, health, nutritional, and social services that Head Start programs across the country provide to 800,000+ young children and their families every year.

“Since taking office, the Trump administration has tried to destabilize, paralyze, and sow chaos in Head Start. They have frozen funding, conducted mass layoffs at the federal HHS regional offices, slow walked grants—which led to 400 families scrambling to find childcare—and now are proposing to eliminate Head Start completely,” said Joel Ryan, executive director, Washington State Head Start & Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. “If we want to preserve Head Start for the children currently being served and uphold its commitment to ensuring that all children are ready for school—regardless of their background, income, race, ethnicity, or zip code—we must stand up to the unlawful actions this administration has taken to kneecap Head Start.”

Read more: Parent Advocacy Groups and a Coalition of Head Start Providers File Lawsuit to Stop Trump Administration’s Dismantling of Head Start | American Civil Liberties Union

NOW is the time to 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 demand that HHS deliver timely payments without additional burdens on grantees 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.

⇒ 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

These attacks are 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. 

More:

• 5 Things To Know About Head Start - Center for American Progress (including map & district data)
• Head Start Fact Sheets - NHSA

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, long-term 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 and cuts on the table, 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. Additionally, we know that states will not be able to make up the difference without these federal funds.

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.
• Ex. The White House wants to avoid Medicaid cuts. To GOP hard-liners, they’re essential. - POLITICO
• Some in GOP want big cuts to food assistance in Trump’s tax bill. Committee chairs say no. - Washington Post
• 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 Friday, May 2nd, President Trump released his “skinny budget” request to Congress for FY26. He is seeking massive funding cuts across the federal government, unveiling a budget blueprint asking Congress to slash the nation’s overall spending on non-defense programs by more than $163 billion.

The proposal pressures Republican lawmakers to cleave more than 20% from federal coffers (including 26% from HHS) Trump has already been freezing without their approval since Inauguration Day. Congress isn’t accustomed to cutting anywhere near what Trump is proposing, amplifying tension between the White House and congressional Republicans as GOP leaders work to fund the government before the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline. More: Trump sends a scorched-earth budget plan. GOP lawmakers hate it already. - POLITICO

While we were relieved to see that Head Start was not eliminated in this version, this version does call for the elimination of CCAMPIS, PDG, and LIHEAP. Lastly, we are concerned that this version of a president’s skinny budget doesn’t contain the amount of detail that we’re accustomed to seeing.

• White House resources
• Detailed cuts/reductions

While this partial budget does not specify any cuts to Head Start or the CCDBG, we know that many of the harmful cuts outlined already would directly impact women, families, children, and early educators. It will ultimately be up to Congress to decide what aspects of this proposal to enact.



More:

• NEW: Closures of Head Start Regional Offices Jeopardize Critical Services for Children and Families - Center for American Progress
• Executive Action Watch | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• EducationCounsel - Executive Actions Chart.docx - Google Docs

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

5.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.

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

7.S.129 [119th] No Tax on Tips Act

8.H.R.482 [119th] No Tax on Tips Act

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

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

R&R Network and Thriving Families CA Foundation 2025 Hybrid Joint Conference - Call for Presentations NOW OPEN!

Call for Presentations NOW OPEN!

Submit a Workshop Proposal Today!

We invite you to submit a workshop proposal to this year's Hybrid Joint Conference. Please see the 2025 Call for Presentations Announcement  for more information.

Please share the below Call for Presentations links with others you feel could present workshops which would be of benefit to conference attendees.

Workshop proposals are due, Friday, June 13th.

2025 Conference

Save the Date and join your peers for an amazing 2025 Joint Conference! The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network and Thriving Families CA Foundation, are excited to announce that we will once again offer a joint conference in 2025 that has both an in-person and virtual option this Fall!

We are working with the Conference Committee to offer thoughtful, user-friendly options with keynote presentations, workshops, networking opportunities, and connection time with vendors. For the in-person conference, we will once again be at the Double Tree Hotel in Sacramento. For those who prefer the conveniences that come with virtual attendance, we’ll have an option that is similar to the last five years. Regardless of the option that works best for your agency, we look forward to connecting, supporting and partnering with you!

Registration information, along with a preliminary conference program, will be released soon! At that time, online registration will be open, and attendees will be able to select from the in-person conference or the virtual conference. Those that register for the in-person option will also receive access to the virtual conference. The in-person option will be limited to 450. When registration opens, all agencies will have an opportunity to register a limited number of people by a specific deadline. If spaces remain after the deadline they will be made available to interested agencies.  

Visit the Conference Webpage for more information as it becomes available.

Upcoming CDSS Events

PIN 25-08-CCLD: GUARDIAN TRAINING WEBINAR FOR LICENSEES AND PROVIDERS

PIN 25-08-CCLD announces a Guardian webinar for all providers on May 14, 2025, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM.

An electronic copy of PIN 25-08-CCLD: GUARDIAN TRAINING WEBINAR FOR LICENSEES AND PROVIDERS is available for viewing/downloading by clicking on the following link:

PIN 25-08-CCLD: GUARDIAN TRAINING WEBINAR FOR LICENSEES AND PROVIDERS

Previous PINs are available at the CCLD website.

PIN 25-07-CCLD: UPCOMING ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION BUREAU VENDOR WEBINAR

PIN 25-07-CCLD provides notification that the Administrator Certification Bureau will be hosting a webinar for administrator certification program training vendors. Topics include website enhancements, Vendor Automation Platform updates, course monitoring, course and certificate reminders, and policy updates.

Webinar Date: May 29, 2025

Webinar registration link

An electronic copy of PIN 25-07-CCLD: UPCOMING ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION BUREAU VENDOR WEBINAR is available for viewing/downloading by clicking on the following link:

PIN 25-07-CCLD: UPCOMING ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION BUREAU VENDOR WEBINAR

Previous PINs are available at the CCLD website.

THIS FRIDAY: 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 

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

Social Media Spotlight

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, May 5- May 9, 2025:

Monday, May 5th:

• Webinar from Center for American Progress (CAP) - Stealing From Our Children: Trump’s Dismantling of Head Start Harms Children and Families, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. PT. Click here to RSVP

Tuesday, May 6th:

• TFC Weekly Member Connections Meeting @ 1:00 pm. Email to register.

Wednesday, May 7th:

• TFC Public Policy Meeting @ 2:00pm.
• 2025 Program for Infant Toddler Care Webinar Series: Supporting Multilingual Development, 6:30-7:30pm. Register Here.

Friday, May 9th:

• Rate & Quality Advisory Panel, 12:00-2:30pm. Register here.

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.