Network Response to the 2026-27 State Budget

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 9, 2026) - Governor Newsom signed the 2026-27 State Budget Act last week, taking effect July 1, 2026. The state’s estimated start-of-year $35 billion structural deficit and H.R.1 cost implications meant that the state faced significant challenges before reaching a three party agreement that both balanced the budget and protected critical funding for basic needs programs like child care.

We commend the Governor and Legislature for adding 22,770 new child care spaces as well as adding disaster relief funding for child care providers impacted by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. At the same time, we recognize that as the fourth largest economy in the world, California can and must do more to strengthen its child care workforce and infrastructure.

“Child care is not simply a family issue, it is a workforce issue, an economic issue, and a critical support for children’s development.”- Assemblymember Gregg Hart

Furthermore, while California makes historic investments in its TK-12 education system, its early care and education educators, who build the cognitive and behavioral foundation for our youngest children, continue to struggle with low wages and rising costs of living that make keeping their doors open more and more difficult. Investment in TK-12 education marks important progress that improves our education system as a whole, but without equal investment in child care, our state fails to meet families’ full needs for flexibility, cultural and linguistic diversity, and stability.

As we look forward to welcoming a new Governor and as we collectively navigate an uncharted federal landscape, we will continue to advocate fiercely beside our members and advocacy partners for fair provider wages and universal access to child care. We remain equally dedicated in our advocacy for equitable funding across our TK-12 (CDE) and child care (both CDE and CDSS) systems, which work in tandem to achieve the same goal: to provide children and their families with a strong foundation for long term success. Lastly, we will continue to fight both statewide and federally for meaningful investment in our child care workforce and infrastructure which keeps our families working.

In Partnership,

Kelly Graesch
Interim Executive Director
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Network)
kgraesch@rrnetwork.org