Feds Freeze $1 Billion in Family and Child Care Assistance
Gov. JB Pritzker lashed out at the Trump administration Tuesday for freezing $1 billion in federal child care funding for Illinois. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Governor JB Pritzker is blasting the Trump administration for freezing around $1 billion in funding for family and child care assistance, claiming concerns over fraud.
The freeze impacts the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), according to the Governor’s office.
“Rather than making life easier and more affordable for our families, Donald Trump is stripping away child care from Illinois families who are just trying to go to work,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Thousands of parents and children depend on these child care programs to help them make ends meet, and now their livelihoods are being put at risk. This is wrong, it is cruel, and we will take every step possible to defend the kids and families depending on all of us right now.”
The Governor’s office says 100,000 families in Illinois are served by the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program, which is funded, in part, by the frozen Child Care and Development Block Grant.
In a release, the Department of Health and Human Services claimed there are concerns over “serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs.”
“Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” said HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill in a statement. “This action reflects our commitment to program integrity, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with federal requirements.”
Programs in California, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York were also impacted.
We’re told legal action is likely.
