U.S. HHS Freezes California Funding for CalWORKs, Child Care  

On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a freeze on access to three federal child care and family assistance funding streams for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. Citing unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, HHS sent letters to the Governors of the affected states notifying them that approximately $10 billion in funding would be withheld pending the submission of extensive documentation and further federal review. California Attorney General Rob Bonta indicated today that the State of California will be joining with the four other states in a lawsuit over this funding freeze. 

The three impacted funding sources are: 

• Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): nearly $2.4 billion 
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): $7.35 billion 
  • California’s TANF program is known as CalWORKs 
• Social Services Block Grant (SSBG): $869 million 

In California, these three federal funding sources support critical social services and child care programs that uplift and serve California’s most vulnerable children and families. These resources help low-income families access affordable, high-quality child care, enabling parents and caregivers to work and pursue education. California’s TANF program, CalWORKs, is locally administered by counties and provides temporary cash assistance and supportive services that promote economic mobility, reduce poverty, and help prevent involvement with the child welfare system. 

CSAC will continue to work closely with state and county partners to restore access to these funding streams and to prevent disruptions to the critical safety net services Californians rely on.