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Advocates Note Chaos Created By White House’s Proposed Funding Freeze on Life-Saving Programs

For Immediate Release

Jan. 28, 2025

WASHINGTON – On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would pause federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance. The announcement sent shock waves across the country. On Tuesday, Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan temporarily halted the administration’s funding freeze. By late Wednesday morning, the White House Office of Management and Budget rescinded its proposal.

Human rights advocates, including some affiliated with the Raising Child Care Fund, noted the chaos the proposal had on families and communities. They voiced concerns over the impact of cuts to lifeline programs such as Medicaid, Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and more:

“Children are not Democrats nor Republicans,” said Tyrone Scott, Director of Government and External Affairs, First Up. “They are simply looking to us, the adults, to make decisions that give them the best possibilities for their futures.  The proposed freezes and political gesturing do not do that. We urge all elected and appointed officials to reach out to actual experts and use their input to make decisions. Campaign slogans and rhetoric do not help children. High quality education, healthcare, food security and housing help children.”

“Freezes to federal funding that cuts access to food, shelter, healthcare, or other essential support services will be an economic disaster for working women and nonbinary people of color,” said Mica Whitfield, 9to5 Co-President/CEO. “One missed payment is an unacceptable loss for hard-working people. Any gaps in service or payments will devastate working families. While hiding behind eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, the administration wants to destabilize the very people they seek to silence– people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and women who are already navigating systemic inequities in an economy designed to leave them behind.”

“For small businesses across America, the administration’s decision to freeze all federal funding could be catastrophic. Federal funding serves as the backbone of many community programs and initiatives that small businesses rely on to thrive,” said Richard Trent, Main Street Alliance Executive Director. “Without it, essential services like infrastructure development, workforce training, and childcare programs—services that allow small businesses to operate and grow—will crumble and the ripple effects will hit Main Street hard. As a member of the Wisconsin Care Coalition, Main Street Alliance stands with other coalition members like 9to5 Wisconsin and Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN), in highlighting the severe consequences this freeze will have on small businesses and the broader community.”

“”Parents, child care providers, and early childhood educators across Ohio are uniting to demand real investments in child care and early childhood education because every child deserves a strong start,” said Tami Lunan, Organizing Director, The Care Economy Organizing Project in Ohio. “Programs like Head Start, Medicaid, and SNAP aren’t optional; they are the foundation of healthy child development and family stability. Freezing federal funds for these critical programs is irresponsible. It directly undermines the care and education systems that working families rely on, putting our youngest and most vulnerable children at risk. We need long-term funding solutions that support those who care for and educate our children, not political decisions that jeopardize their future. Ohio families deserve better, and we won’t stop organizing until every child has access to the quality care and early learning they need to thrive.”  

“We knew this was coming,” said Marina Marcou-O’Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, co-Executive Directors, Alliance for Quality Education. “His goal is to create chaos, fear, and helplessness. By spreading lies and misinformation, he wants to erode our trust in government, so that our collective efforts to fight back are lost in the confusion. Here are the facts: Congress—not the president—controls federal spending. New York State has significant power to protect and support our communities. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Call your Member of Congress and demand they reject this. Tell the Governor and Mayor that complacency is not an option. And before you do anything else—remember to breathe.”

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The Alliance for Quality Education is a coalition mobilizing communities across the state to keep New York true to its promise of ensuring a high-quality public education to all students regardless of zip code.

The Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) is an initiative of ECFC that pools private foundation dollars to give grants to groups that lift up the voices of families, early educators, and allies—working alongside them to build powerful coalitions to transform child care and expand equity.

The CEO Project organizes parents, child care providers, and teachers to take collective action on issues that impact the care economy in Ohio.

9to5 fights for worker justice and family and community sustainability and is building power in our communities. We have active voter engagement, paid leave, utility justice, climate justice, childcare, anti-discrimination, and anti-harassment campaigns throughout the state of Georgia. Our members span from the Metro Atlanta area to Southwest and Central Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia.

 

Advocates React to President Trump’s Proposed Funding Freeze on Life-Saving Programs

For Immediate Release

Jan. 28, 2025

WASHINGTON – On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would pause federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance. The announcement sent shock waves across the country. On Tuesday, Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan temporarily halted the administration’s funding freeze. Human rights advocates, including those with the Raising Child Care Fund, voiced concerns over the impact of cuts to lifeline programs such as Medicaid, Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and more:

“With wages so low, and the price of basic necessities like food, health care, and rent so high, working families depend on federal programs like child care, Head Start, SNAP, and TANF to make ends meet,” said Mary Ignatius, Executive Director of Parent Voices.

“This administration has been in power for less than a month and it is already clear that the President is determined to pay for tax cuts for his billionaire friends by taking resources away from working people,” said LaDon Love, Executive Director of SPACEs in Action. “Every community in America is harmed by this order, from children in HeadStart to veterans, from medical researchers to construction workers.”

“Not only does this order bring harm and confusion to some of our most vulnerable community members, it is an attack on our Constitution which does not allow the President to disobey laws simply because he does not like them,” Love added. “If the President wants to repeal programs like Medicaid and HeadStart, let him take his case to Congress.”

“For this reason, our organization has chosen not to rely on federal grants. However, we actively advocate for child care providers who do benefit from these supports, working to advance the critical infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of marginalized families and children across Alabama,” said Lenice Emanuel, Executive Director of the Alabama Institute for Social Justice.

“Federal funding has been crucial in sustaining early education programs, especially in under-resourced communities where access to quality childcare and education is already limited,” said Dr. Constance Smiley Dial, owner of Trinity Kids Learning in Mobile, AL. “For providers like me, these grants are essential to maintaining operations, supporting staff, and offering affordable care to working families. These funds enable us to invest in updated educational resources, implement advanced curricula, and ensure safe and nurturing learning environments for the children of Alabama.”

“There is a very fragile and thin line between keeping a roof over your head or homelessness,” Ignatius said. “It is abhorrent that there is any discussion to freeze and essentially cut life-saving relief while boasting extending tax cuts for the 1% who don’t need it. This will cost taxpayers $400 Billion per year, and increase poverty at unprecedented rates.  The administration is limiting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to only the richest in this nation. It’s shameful.”

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SPACEs in Action is a non-profit, grassroots organization that advocates for the health and dignity of Black and Brown communities in the DC Metro region.

Parent Voices is a partnership of parents throughout California that combines leadership development and community organizing in its efforts to increase funding, improve quality, and provide better access to child care for all families.

Alabama Institute for Social Justice (AISJ) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for social justice and racial reconciliation across the state of Alabama.

Trinity Learning Center is a Christ- Centered Daycare that always strive to show each child that God’s world is a beautiful place to live, love and learn!

The Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) is an initiative of ECFC that pools private foundation dollars to give grants to groups that lift up the voices of families, early educators, and allies—working alongside them to build powerful coalitions to transform child care and expand equity.

 

Advocate: Cutting Life-Saving Programs While Extending Tax Cuts For The 1% Is Abhorrent

For Immediate Release

January 28, 2025

OAKLAND – In response to the Trump administration’s decision to pause federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance, a child care advocate, Mary Ignatius of Parent Voices, released the following statement:

“With wages so low, and the price of basic necessities like food, health care, and rent, so high, working families depend on federal programs like child care, Head Start, SNAP, and TANF to make ends meet.

“There is a very fragile and thin line between keeping a roof over one’s head and homelessness. It is abhorrent that there is any discussion to freeze, and essentially cut, life-saving relief while boasting extending tax cuts for the 1% who don’t need it. This will cost taxpayers $400 Billion per year, and increase poverty at unprecedented rates. The administration is limiting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to only the richest in this nation. It’s shameful.”

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Race Forward Condemns President Trump’s Executive Orders

For Immediate Release

Jan. 21, 2025

WASHINGTON, DC – The national racial justice organization Race Forward today issued a statement in response to President Trump’s executive orders. Race Forward President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Harris said: 

“The Executive Orders signed by Donald Trump directly threaten the ideals of democracy and justice we strive to uphold. To create a more perfect union requires people of conscience and the racial justice movement must continue to play a central role in ensuring their voices are heard above the swirl of executive orders.

“Public support for racial justice has left Trump with one option, executive orders. His decision to ignore the process of democracy is a direct reaction to the success of racial justice efforts over the last decades. The fierce attack on racial justice is driven by the reality of its eventual success given most Americans support addressing historic inequities and creating a fair society. According to a poll by The Washington Post and Ipsos, roughly 6 in 10 Americans believe diversity, equity and inclusion programs are ‘a good thing.’

“Attacks on racial equity do not happen in isolation. These executive orders, while targeting different populations, have the cumulative effect of erasing past gains toward advancing racial justice and a multicultural democracy in service of creating systems that ensure the levers of power and wealth are controlled and maintained by only a few. 

“The attack on government employees is particularly egregious.  Harassment of federal workers and the American public they serve, particularly communities of color, harm all communities. Efforts to eliminate federal employees from protections by unions are contradictory to civil servants performing their duties for all communities  without fear of retribution. 

“President Trump’s executive order on gender identity seeks to further endanger trans communities and non-binary people. Likewise, the administration’s attacks on immigration will continue to separate children from their families while weakening the foundations of our economy. The denial of fundamental rights and civil liberties is antithetical to the racial justice movement.

“One need not be a part of these communities to understand that justice and equity are dependent on the most vulnerable in society. Our fates are interconnected; the struggle is for all. We must remember the words of Ella Baker  “… freedom for all of us rests on ensuring it for the most marginalized among us.”
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