HOW PARENT VOICES SAVED CHILD CARE IN NEWSOM’S FINAL STATE BUDGET AS GOVERNOR

An influential parent-led grassroots group spearheads six months of action across the state to save child care funding in California

CALIFORNIA—Parent Voices CA (PVCA) saves child care funding in Governor Gavin Newsom's final state budget after six months of grassroots organizing across the state. In January 2026, Gov. Newsom’s state budget proposal did not deliver on the child care promise. It showed:

• 6,800 preschool spaces cut

• Zero dollars to fund the remaining 200,000 child care spaces

• Zero dollars to expand child care in the next budget cycle

• Zero cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) increase for child care providers

When Parent Voices got loud, Gov. Newsom had to listen. In the final 2026-27 state budget, PVCA helped secure:

• 6,800 preschool spaces restored

• 22,770 new affordable child care spaces

• 2% COLA, up from zero, locked in for child care providers.

• $25M federal disaster relief for impacted child care providers

• $11M in Prop 64 funds for L.A. wildfire-impacted providers.

  
  

PVCA believes parents are closest to the solutions, like PV Los Angeles parent leader Marilynda Bustamante, who has been instrumental in grassroots organizing. She is a single mom to her two‑year‑old daughter, Serenity. They live in Santa Ana, where Marilynda went from living in a homeless shelter to earning a master’s degree in social work from USC this year, thanks to child care through CalWORKs.

"Our stories make it clear: funding child care is the difference between realized dreams and delayed futures," said Marilynda. "No child care means lost wages for many California families. Governor Gavin Newsom once recognized that waiting is a policy failure. He made a promise to expand child care, and that promise gave families hope. But then the promise was delayed, and families are hurting all over again."

According to the California Budget & Policy Center, if Marilynda loses access to child care, she will miss out on approximately $5,800 per month, the mean monthly wage for social workers in Orange County. She is counting on this income, and it is only possible with reliable child care. To watch PVCA news coverage with Marilynda on Stand for Children Day, click here.

PVCA says there is more work to be done to fund child care. Newsom fell short of his entire child care promise. PVCA demands:

• 50,000 more child care spaces to reach the goal of 200,000 spaces

• COLA parity and funding for the true cost of care among providers

California has nearly $40 billion in its “Rainy Day Fund,” yet only 1 in 6 eligible children get the child care benefits they’re entitled to. This grim statistic points to inequality, and PVCA calls for universal child care in California. To watch PVCA news coverage on the nationwide movement for child care, click here.

PVCA is a parent-led grassroots organization fighting to make quality child care accessible and affordable for all families. There are eight local chapters across California, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Sonoma.

Media Inquiries RSVP: Dita Quinones, Parent Voices CA Communications Director:

[email protected] | (619) 386-3371