Cap on child care would harm families and employers

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Parents of young children can’t work without child care. Access to quality, affordable child care is vital for parents to support their families, for employers to maintain a reliable workforce, and for children to experience high quality early learning opportunities.

Child care is critical to the health of our families, children and economy. Yet child care and pre-k are being targeted for devastating, disproportionate cuts in the governor’s budget. Over 40 percent of the $797 million reduction proposed in the governor’s budget is in early learning on top of a $1 billion-plus reduction last year. The impact of these cuts on children, families and our economy will be predictably dire.

The proposed budget would limit parents’ access to child care by placing a cap of 33,000 families on Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) on July 1. Some 39,000 families were expected to be enrolled in WCCC when the cap goes into place. The budget assumes savings from “natural exits,” and will freeze out new families seeking child care subsidies so they can go to work or school.

This cap will mean parents completing maternity or paternity care and wishing to go to work or school will not be able to get financial assistance for child care. Parents entering the workforce for the first time or after spending a few years home to care for young children will not have access to WCCC. The freeze will impact families needing child care for years; until the caseload drops by 6,000 families.

This freeze will not only harm parents and employers. It will destabilize our child care providers as many young children will not be entering care. The existing children will “age out” and the careful balance between infants, toddlers and pre-school children in child care centers and homes will be upended.

In addition, the administrative burden of a child care cap will be challenging and expensive.

The state faces a large budget shortfall. We understand that this is not the time for new investments – but these cuts would be a dramatic step back from the investments the state made in recent years to expand access to child care at a time when many states are increasing their commitment to child care. Few issues garner such broad bipartisan support, as everyone recognizes the importance of child care to parents, employers and the economy. A 2024 study found that the lack of affordable, quality child care cost Washington’s economy $6.9 billion due to lost family income, absenteeism and turnover. Businesses lost $2.8 billion.

Parents, children and child care providers should not take another disproportionate cut in this supplemental budget. Families, employers and our economy would pay too high a price.

Ruth Kagi is a former state House member who represented the 32nd Legislative District (1999-2019). Lisa Brown is a former Senate majority leader who represented the 3rd Legislative District (2005-12). Andy Billig is a former Senate majority leader, who represented the 3rd Legislative District (2013-25).