In Washington, child care determines whether parents can work, children experience stability and local economies thrive. It is a foundation of true economic opportunity and an essential part of keeping Washington’s communities flourishing. And as families navigate the rising costs of care and providers find it harder than ever to keep their doors open, we are grateful that the Legislature rejected Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposal to cap Working Connections Child Care.
WCCC is a program that helps low-income families pay for child care. Despite its value and tiny share of the state budget, the governor targeted it for nearly half of his proposed cuts, which would have left 16,000 families without a realistic path to affording care.
It is unsustainable to ask families to shoulder these astronomical costs. It costs more to put an infant in child care than to pay for a year of tuition at the University of Washington. In Yakima and Franklin counties, the 200-plus Latina providers of Provedoras Unidas de Eastern WA see the fallout every day. They watch parents, many of whom are agricultural and service workers, choose between going to work or finding high-quality child care for their children.
Rural Resources — a child care nonprofit serving south-central Washington — notes that in Klickitat County, there are fewer than 10 care slots for every 100 children. When costs exceed mortgage or rent, losing access through WCCC can mean evicting the workforce that keeps towns like Goldendale and White Salmon running.
Child care is economic infrastructure. It is the work that makes all the other work possible and is as important as our roads and bridges. Protecting Working Connections reinforces a foundation that supports our economy. After $1 billion in cuts to early learning in 2025, this protection happened because parents, child care workers and providers unified with advocates and legislators to push back and say “no more cuts to our care.”
This movement was led by those with the most to lose. Nearly 500 parents descended on the Capitol for the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program lobby day, and every Tuesday, child care workers from SEIU 925 traveled from across the state to meet with legislators. Through advocacy from organizations like MomsRising, Children’s Campaign Fund and Children’s Alliance, we built partnerships with legislators to protect WCCC.
Although we are encouraged by this protection, we are deeply concerned about proposed reductions in child care provider reimbursement rates. Providers operate on thin margins, and lower rates will destabilize their ability to recruit and retain staff, maintain quality and keep classrooms open. They are drowning in rising costs and staffing shortages, and families still struggle to make the math work each month. These reductions aren’t just balancing our budget; they are dismantling critical economic infrastructure one provider at a time, robbing children of access to early learning that shapes 90% of their brain development before reaching kindergarten. We cannot afford to do this — especially since early learning is still being cut at historic levels disproportionate to the rest of the budget.
Our ask to the Legislature is simple: Protect WCCC, stop cutting early learning programs and pass the “millionaires tax.” While we won’t see funding from this tax for several years, passing it now provides the sustainable revenue needed to help ensure child care is not on the chopping block again.
From here, we will work to claw back last year’s cuts, fight for additional progressive revenue and move toward making child care a guarantee for all Washington families. We envision a future where child care is a right, similar to the steps taken in New Mexico and New York. We are joined in this vision by national leaders such as Save the Children Action Network, Community Change Action, Caring Across Generations and Child Care for Every Family.
Washington experiences an annual economic cost of $5 billion because of inadequate child care, according to a study by ReadyNation and Child
Care Aware. The Legislature made the right choice by rejecting the governor’s proposal. We ask that this commitment continues as budget negotiations move forward. If it doesn’t, our children will pay the heaviest price.
