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2026 has been rocky for child care providers in five Democratic-led states. They're struggling with the uncertainty of what had been a promise of federal funding. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports.
UNIDENTIFIED MOM: You need to learn how to say baba.
ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: It's 8 in the morning, drop-off time at Michelle's Place, a child care center in Granite City, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. A mom apologizes for handing over a baby with a soiled diaper. It happened in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MOM: I always change it before I leave the house.
UNIDENTIFIED WORKER: No worries.
HSU: The staff cheerfully step in. They know Mom's got to get to work.
MICHELLE WRIGHT: It's OK. We know.
HSU: That's the owner of Michelle's Place, Michelle Wright. She says these parents are hardworking people.
WRIGHT: We have people that are working the gas stations, clinics, the local clinics, the grocery stores. We have a couple of clerks from there.
HSU: Also, fast food workers, car wash attendants, people who don't make a lot of money. In fact, 90% of the children at Michelle's Place qualify for child care subsidies, paid for by the state with funds from the federal government. So when news broke that Illinois' child care funds were being frozen, parents panicked.
WRIGHT: All of a sudden, I'm hearing parents say, hey, are you going to close? I'm like, closed? What do you mean? Are you going to take my kid? I was like, yes, what is going on?
HSU: What was going on was that allegations of child care fraud had erupted in Minnesota, more than 500 miles away. In response, the Trump administration announced it was freezing funds for several programs that help low-income families, not just in Minnesota but also California, Colorado, New York and Illinois. The administration said it needed to review how the money is being spent. The state sued, arguing this wasn't about fraud, that they were being targeted for political reasons. A court has blocked the freeze for now, but the legal fight continues. And Michelle Wright is clear-eyed about what a funding freeze would mean for her.
WRIGHT: If it freezes and freezes too long, yes, we would close.
HSU: And not just this center but another one she owns half an hour away. Nearly her entire budget depends on those subsidy payments.
WRIGHT: There'll be 78 children right now that would immediately lose care. And there's nowhere to refer them, nowhere to send them. I don't know where they would end up.
HSU: Before she opened in Granite City, Wright says there was no infant care nearby. It's why she chose this spot. She could've opened a day care in an affluent community instead, where families don't rely on subsidies, where she could've charged more for each child in her care. But she believes it's her calling to serve those in need. She once relied on child care subsidies herself.
WRIGHT: Years ago, my first child. So I know the struggle.
HSU: And it's not just families who depend on Wright. Between her two centers, she employs 21 people. She says, already, they don't earn enough. Many rely on public assistance themselves. And now she fears the added uncertainty will drive them away.
WRIGHT: They have to be able to earn their living as well.
HSU: Now, over in the toddler room, Summer Skanina (ph) is hugging her 3-year-old goodbye.
SUMMER SKANINA: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Give muffin.
SKANINA: OK, go eat your muffins (laughter).
HSU: It's an easy drop-off. No tears.
SKANINA: She loves it. She loves her friends. She loves the teachers. She talks about them at nighttime. She prays for them at night.
HSU: Skanina cleans houses for a living. She is grateful to have reliable child care and help paying for it.
SKANINA: If I didn't have day care, I wouldn't make money, I wouldn't pay my bills.
HSU: And now, with another baby on the way, she is counting on Michelle Wright to stay open.
SKANINA: (Laughter) I wouldn't send her nowhere else. I'm so scared.
HSU: And Wright wants to stay open.
WRIGHT: If nothing, I would rather do.
HSU: But in this political climate, she knows nothing is a given.
Andrea Hsu, NPR News, Granite City, Illinois.
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