Newsom signs budget expanding subsidized child care

After months of threatened cuts that left families and advocates bracing for fewer options, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California’s final budget Monday to expand state-subsidized child-care by 22,770 spaces. The increase brings funding for about half of the 44,0

For working parents in California, the suspense had a familiar shape: wait for the budget news, scan the headlines for the next possible cut, and hope the child-care plans you rely on will still exist when you’re ready to drop off a child.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the final state budget. adding 22. 770 more state-subsidized child-care spaces after months of uncertainty and threatened cuts to a program advocates describe as essential. The expansion means roughly half of the 44. 000 slots promised for the upcoming fiscal year will be funded. and brings the overall expansion to nearly three-quarters of the 206. 800 slots Newsom promised in 2021.

Even with the increase, state funding would still subsidize only about 18% of eligible children.

“Considering that we didn’t have any of those spaces and we had cuts proposed in the May Revise, I’m really happy to see that, and grateful to the EC advocates and our legislative champions that made that possible,” said Laura Pryor, research director at the California Budget & Policy Center.

The additional child-care slots were woven together in negotiations among Senate negotiators. using a strategy that in part relied on moving nonprofit state preschools to Proposition 98. which sets a minimum funding guarantee for schools and community colleges. That shift has drawn pushback from groups including the California School Boards Assn. which has expressed concern that preschool funding could be diverted away from school districts and community colleges.

The budget also changes how families qualify for state preschool. All families—regardless of income—who live or work in school district boundaries where at least 80% of children qualify for free or reduced lunch will automatically be eligible to enroll in state preschool. Children of school district employees will also qualify for enrollment regardless of income if spaces are available.

“That greatly reduces the hurdles that parents face to be admitted into a state preschool program. ” said UC Berkeley professor emeritus Bruce Fuller. “Now it’s more comparable to automatic admission into TK. It’s a really positive step to simplify access rather than making it really difficult to qualify.”.

For early childhood advocates, the practical impact is immediate even if it’s hard to measure on day one. Additional slots can translate into movement on waitlists that can stretch for years.

“The more we make care accessible, the more it gives families the opportunities to truly make the choices that are best for them,” said Stacy Lee, the chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at Children Now.

But affordability remains a pressure point for families who still find themselves priced out. According to data from the California Budget & Policy Center. the median cost for full-time care for an infant in Los Angeles County was $1. 209 a month at a family child-care home and $1. 818 a month at a center in 2024. For a preschooler, it was $1,121 at a home and $1,271 at a center. For school-age children, care cost $884 at a home and $959 at a center.

Over his last term. Newsom expanded early childhood education and created a new grade—free transitional kindergarten for all 4-year-olds—at a cost of $2.7 billion. He also approved legislation creating Child Care Providers United. which unionized child-care workers across the state. increasing provider pay and establishing healthcare and retirement funds. Family contributions for subsidized care were capped at 1% of a family’s income rather than nearly 10%.

Even so, advocates say the new budget stops short of fully stabilizing the system. They said they will continue seeking more support for child-care providers. including changes that have stalled—especially funding that would support rate reform to better reflect the actual cost of running a child-care home or center.

The final budget does not increase the 2.01% cost-of-living raise for state preschool staff and child-care providers who run programs with subsidized spaces, a move child-care advocates pushed for.

“If you’re expanding spaces, you need to be making sure that we have a stable and growing workforce, and our budget does not account for that second half of the equation,” Pryor said.

In the Los Angeles region. current state subsidies are tied to the 2018 market rate for care: up to $1. 122 for full-time infant care. $1. 006 for toddler care and $753 for school-age care at family child-care homes. Advocates argue those rates are below median costs and don’t match what providers spend to operate today.

To address that gap, child-care advocates are supporting new legislation, Assembly Bill 1981, to lock in a timeline that would allow providers to be reimbursed for their services at increasing rates.

For Bruce Fuller, the most tangible change is still the scale of the added spaces—even as he urges attention to what happens after children are finally offered a spot.

“I think the new governor will arrive with a more stable and more generous early education system than we had eight years ago,” Fuller said. “I think hopefully a new governor will shift the focus more toward improving quality.”

The budget’s expansion reshapes the near-term landscape for thousands of families. particularly by easing access rules and moving more children off long waitlists. Still. the state’s overall capacity remains constrained: even after the gains. only about 18% of eligible children would be subsidized under current funding levels.

This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children, from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed.

California budget child care subsidized spaces Gavin Newsom early childhood education state preschool transitional kindergarten Proposition 98 Children Now