***WATCH A RECORDING OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE***

(Washington, D.C.)—Today, the Child Care for Every Family Network, ZERO TO THREE, the National Women’s Law Center, and MomsRising hosted a press conference with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on the Trump administration’s continuing attacks on child care and Head Start–and how they contrast with President Trump’s campaign promises on child care. 

Specifically, advocates on the call discussed the impact of the recent mass firings from HHS’ Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care–which lost 20 and 25% of their staff, respectively–and the Trump Administration freezing Head Start funding earlier in February. The advocates also sounded the alarm on the House budget resolution the president has endorsed and that passed last night which would also cut billions of dollars from programs that help families afford the cost of care, including potentially child care.

“In a shock to no one, a billionaire like Donald Trump and his boss, Elon Musk—the literal richest man on the planet—have absolutely zero clue why child care is so important to families and to our economy. Despite the President’s grand campaign promises to lower families’ costs, Trump and Musk have done absolutely nothing to increase child care openings, nothing to lower child care costs, nothing whatsoever to address the child care crisis,” said Senator Murray.“When it comes to helping themselves, they are gearing up to give themselves and other billionaires trillions in tax cuts—but when it comes to helping parents and kids, a big fat zero.”  

“During the 2024 campaign, child care was a hot topic. Parents hoped that their needs would finally be met. Instead, they face long waitlists—sometimes over a year; skyrocketing costs; and widespread child care deserts, where no options exist,” said Matthew Melmed, executive director of ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit focused on ensuring a strong start for all babies and toddlers through research-based programs, resources and advocacy. “Families need solutions. … The Administration promised to expand child care and make life easier for families. How does freezing funds, firing experts and gutting health care help families? It doesn’t.” 

“Meanwhile, we know that in a child's first years of life, the brain is growing at lightning speed—over A MILLION new connections [form] EVERY SECOND—making this a critical time of early development and impossible to get back,” continued Matthew Melmed. “With child care programs – and families – already stretched thin, these policies threaten to bring down the very safety net that keeps our youngest safe, nurtured and ready to learn.”

"Over the last weeks, Head Start and programs like it have dealt with chaos and confusion from the Trump Administration's funding freeze. ... And you might be wondering how does it impact Head Start kids and families if civil servants are let go at the Office of Head Start? A lot of our Head Start programs need to make updates... sprinklers, playgrounds, all the things that make sure kids are having a great and safe experience. If [providers] can't get approval to move forward with a grant from the Office of Head Start, those are kids that aren't being served." said Joel Ryan, Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). "The Trump Administration is clearly out to bully, attack and try to dismantle programs that support low-income families all in the name of giving a giant tax cut to millionaires and billionaires and large corporations. There are real families that are impacted by this ... so we are here today to sound the alarm about what's continuing to happen to Head Start and the impact of the staff cuts on people and their families."

"The past month has been harrowing for child care providers like me," said Carolina Reyes, MomsRising member and director of Arco Iris Bilingual Children's Center. "Any interruption in funding could impact my ability to pay my staff, and force us to close classrooms. So many of the families we serve struggle to make ends meet. Suddenly losing care could force them out of work and put them in crisis, immediately. This chaos is causing enormous harm to our country’s most vulnerable children and families."