Trump’s Childcare Funding Freezes Are Going to Hit All Kids Hard

“Once they close their doors, there’s no coming back from that,” Lehnoff said.

Christina Killion Valdez, the director of a childcare center in Rochester, Minnesota, said in a press briefing that the Minnesota state government had promised support, and that her organization had a cushion of three months for its overall program. But if the freeze continues for several months, her childcare center will be at risk, along with others in the state.

“If the children we serve lose their tuition assistance, it will destabilize our entire budget, like it will for 4,000 other programs. In many areas, there aren’t enough families that can afford childcare to take these spots, and programs will have to cut staff,” said Valdez. “Cutting staff means cutting spots for kids, whether they receive assistance or not. In many cases, it means closing childcare centers altogether. It means a collapse of the childcare system in Minnesota.”