Child care and early education programs have been on the cutting block for the past year between Trump administration policies and Washington State’s ongoing budget deficit crisis.
Parents, child care providers, and other advocates hope their presence in Olympia on Tuesday, Feb. 3, will help convince state lawmakers to say no to the proposed cuts.
Child Care for WA Advocacy Day participants will rally on the Capitol steps starting at 11 a.m. before heading out across the Capitol campus to meet with lawmakers and voice their concerns about Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposed supplemental budget for the 2025–27 biennium.
Under that proposal, the state would cap its Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) program at 33,000 households, potentially leaving 14,000 families who currently rely on subsidies without quality care. Right now, 34% of Washington children in licensed care depend on that support. The proposed reduction also lowers rates paid to child care centers to the 75th percentile of market rates, leaving providers struggling to cover the real cost of quality care.
The proposed cuts don’t stop there. Ferguson is also proposing reductions to professional development for child care staff, Home Visiting Services, and the Transition to Kindergarten program. Families and providers alike face hard choices: either pay more, go without, or risk losing programs that support children’s learning, development, and a strong start in school.
Working families need help, no barriers
The advocacy day is sponsored by the nonprofit Child Care for WA. The organization’s 2026 legislative agenda is supported by a broad swath of child advocacy organizations, including the statewide Children’s Alliance. More than 60 parents and child care advocates are signed up to meet with lawmakers after the rally.
“The proposed cap on Working Connections and reductions to early learning and provider reimbursement rates mean that families will lose their child care. Do we really want to add barriers to families being able to work and kids being able to thrive?” day care provider Lakeda Sullivan said last week in a news release from Child Care Aware of Washington.
Child Care for WA will also ask lawmakers to ensure Washington continues to have the most accurate information for making decisions about child care costs by passing Senate Bill 5500, a proposal that would codify the Cost of Quality Care Rate Model into law. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Emily Alvarado (D-West Seattle).
Join the rally
Concerned about the too-high cost of child care in Seattle, where care for an infant and toddler can cost a family as much as $50,00, and about cuts to state child care programs that help families afford quality care and parents continue in the workforce? Join the rally in Olympia on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m.
While visits with lawmakers are limited to those pre-registered, the rally is open to all.
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