S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. How Trump's funding freeze could impact childcare in San Diego , plus the impact of the administration's attacks on the Somali community. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. So last week , five state attorneys , including California Attorney General Rob Bonta , sued the Trump administration for freezing roughly $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding. 5 billion of those funds are allocated to California. The freeze comes amid allegations from conservative activists of fraud in the childcare industry. Well , today we're here with two childcare experts to talk about what this could mean for families and providers here in San Diego and across the state. I'm joined now by Max Arias , chairperson of Child Care Providers United. Max , welcome to the show. Hello.
S2: Hello. Thanks for having me.
S1: It's good to have you here.
S2: I'm sorry.
S1: Also with us is Stacey Lee. She's the chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at Children Now , a research nonprofit. Stacey , welcome to you , too.
S3: Thank you. Nice to be here.
S1: Great to have you as well.
S3: Um , given the basis for which they made that decision , which there is none. Um , it was very concerning that they would freeze child care funds for children and families , which we know is vitally needed in all of our communities. Um , and we knew in the next , you know , reaction was just concern. Even the idea of a temporary or intermittent pause in funding is tremendously challenging for this sector to endure because they operate in such razor thin margins , and so we knew that this could create further challenges and vulnerability for both children , families and workers , as well as those providers who provide care for children and families.
S1:
S2: Well , not so much. This belief is kind of waiting. What is he going to do ? Because , you know , he's been threatening withholding funds. And he did try to withhold funds of the Department of Education funds for K through 12 schools. Uh , but disbelief to that , that anybody could be so callous as to , you know , risk. Um , the , the , you know , the jobs , the livelihoods of thousands of people because , uh , there is no such thing as temporary funding freeze. Uh , it could be a temporary funding freeze. But for our members , family childcare providers , temporary could be permanent. And if , if if the funding is kind of stopped that many , many , you know , thousands of families , childcare providers probably have to close and that impacts tens of thousands of families that have to go to work. So that was the first reaction. And and just really trying to figure out how is it affecting our members and the families to serve , and what is it that we need to do at this moment ? Hmm.
S1: Stacey , I do want to talk more about the specifics of of this freeze and who it could impact , because I know it most directly affects families who receive subsidized childcare. But talk more about that and where else these funds go to. Sure.
S3: Sure. So , um , relative to this proposal , you know , in California , about 286,000 children receive subsidized childcare. Um , and a portion of those children are receiving funds from the TANF program. And Cal works , as well as other funds from the childcare development Block grants. All of those funds are , um , blended by providers and by other programs to make sure you can provide a full day of care for children. That's only 14% of eligible eligible children in California who are receiving subsidies. So there's many families who are eligible but are not able to receive subsidies because there's just not enough resources available at this time. But there are , you know , 286,000 children is a substantial number. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And a federal judge temporarily paused the freeze. And this came after the lawsuit was announced. What does that mean for you know the status of the funding freeze at least for now.
S3: So what we know for now is that in very important for families to hear and for providers on the ground to hear is that nothing has changed as of now. So because of the the injunction from the federal courts , um , there has not been a change and they're not changing requirements or who's eligible or how the funding is flowing to providers at this time.
S1: Max , can you talk more about the withholding of these funds , you know , and how they could specifically affect child care workers.
S2: Well , uh , association , the , the family childcare providers and the centers that , as Stacey mentioned earlier , really working on razor thin margins. So , for example , for family childcare providers , the current subsidies they perceive from the state only covers around half of what they have to spend to care for their child. So you can imagine if these temporary , uh , um , temporary , um , free freezes , sorry , were to happen and be effective , it could mean closure. And we saw that recently. Well , a few years ago in Covid , we saw how Covid affected providers and that really laid bare , uh , the , the flaws of the system , how razor thin is so. So that is and then they will be they they serve the most vulnerable , uh , children , children of working families , children of essential workers. And and so these if this happens , it could really have a serious impact , not not only in people's lives , but in the providing , uh , of care in the state of California. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , and Stacy , you alluded to the basis of the freeze earlier. These claims of fraud first emerged in Minnesota when a YouTube influencer surveilled a Somali run childcare center. And we'll be talking more about the specifics of that , actually , later in the show.
S3: Um , as they went through a scrutiny process to see if the programs aligned with their specific political ideologies. And that was overturned in the courts as well. So I think it's this extremism that has led to this kind of behavior and really , you know , the questioning of vulnerable communities who , unfortunately , may not have the same visibility or resources to to be able to push back against people like influencers who have , you know , lots of followers and such. But really the scrutiny should be on them , especially with someone who has previous claims that have been proven to be false. And we know , you know , it's already been over a year of this kind of behavior. We know that these things tend to lead to spurious claims that can gain traction because people use them for their political gain. So we should really press harder on these individuals and hold them accountable , more so than the hardworking childcare providers and families out there just trying to make make it , you know , make it out there.
S1: And really , so there is no evidence.
S3: It's just political. Um , there are plenty of mechanisms in place for providers and those who receive public funds to make sure that they are doing due diligence and meeting all the requirements to use the funds appropriately. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: And also it's it's it's racist. Uh , you know , it's very clear , uh , and , and , uh , and , uh , sorry. Uh , yeah. It's very racist. I completely agree with everything that Stacey said. And I would just like to add that also , uh , the Trump administration has been , um , systemically targeting , uh , the immigrant communities in this case , you can see it right there and that it is very difficult. I have I've , I've worked with family childcare providers and the controls in California are extremely tight. In fact , family childcare providers cannot leave their homes if licensing comes , which there's a lot of licensing , just comes and catches them not there , they get fined. So to say that that there is fraud when there are such that controls is really is really false.
S1: Um , and Max , I mean , I know there have been reports of harassment against providers and , you know , later in the show , again , we'll be talking more in depth about how Somali child care providers are being targeted and even surveilled here in San Diego by perfect strangers.
S2: Just saw the some of the press conference that they had recently. And there's a lot of fear and , and members , you know , that are not necessarily at this point , uh , being affected or have received. They are all alerted right now. And we have so as a union to to work with them for them to understand the rights. But it seems at this point that just knowing your rights is not enough with this administration and how far they're pushing the rule of law , just blurring the lines. So it is important for us to continue to build networks and be alert and support each other. So there's a lot of fear right now , and the fear has been there since , you know , all of this started last year , uh , and has not stopped , but right now is being exacerbated specifically in the Somali community. But but our members are feeling it.
S1: And I know there are already extensive protections in California through the child Care Providers United Union contract. You all struck a deal with the state last year. Can you talk about some of those protections ? Yes.
S2: Well , there's a lot of protections. For example , if there is anything in a contract hold harmless , it's enshrined , you know , the the payment based on enrollment and attendance. So , for example , if the administration were to continue to push , even though the rule that they issued states , the state may , uh , may do it differently , may continue to , to pay based on attendance. But a contract would not allow that because a contract is enshrined. It's enshrined in our contract. Also our contract has , uh , you know , the the the rates are locked in our contract , and it would be very difficult for these rates to be lowered by the standard California. But in this case , the attack is not coming from the state of California. Um , the attack is coming from the federal government. So we are standing in support of the state of California in pushing back on these. But providers have many protections , uh , in the in their contract , not only regarding to pay and benefits , but also that have to do with , uh , conditions or conditions. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And , Stacy , I also want to ask you about the ripple effects of this freeze on the childcare industry outside of of subsidized care. I mean , how can families who don't rely on subsidized child care also be affected ? Sure.
S3: So something to to understand about the child care industry is that it is all very enmeshed within each other , right ? There are providers who have a mix of children who are supported by various subsidy opportunities so that they can either pay. Low or no rates to be able to have care. And there are families who pay full pay out of out of pocket , and those are at the same facilities very oftentimes. Right. And so it's like a the thread of a sweater sort of being pulled if you , um , eliminate a source of funding or , um , children who are being subsidized and they no longer are able to attend , then that means that there's less resources to pay those providers and keep that business open. And as we said , even if you're a private pay child care system or centre , um , you are not operating on huge margins. And so this makes everyone vulnerable and it makes it much harder to have a functioning childcare sector in the state of California , where it's already difficult to operate.
S1: Well , indeed. I mean , it's certainly not lost on me that we're having this conversation at a time when the cost of childcare is skyrocketing. You know , many San Diego families can barely afford it as is.
S3: And there's also a statistic that says 25% of all families of any income level seeking a licensed childcare provider for their infant can find it. So we really have a structural and systemic lack of adequate , high quality care for all children. And so that's what we should be talking about. We should be talking about how we , together with our state leaders and others , are strengthening and investing more in this system and not wasting time on these frivolous activities caused by the federal administration that is taking up resources to do unnecessary things that don't help children and families. So that's a great frustration on our part is that this is actually more wasteful to. To engage in these policy endeavors that don't help children and families , it actually just wastes resources and time. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , I mean , speaking of resources and time , the Trump administration is demanding that states submit documentation like attendance records. What information are child care providers already expected to provide ? Stacy.
S3: Um , so depending on their the sources of funding , child care providers , uh , keep meticulous records and a variety of information about the families who are , um , accessing various public funds. So you may have children who are accessing resources relative to Head Start , um , state preschool , federal child care development funds , um TANF through Cal Works and other things. So it's a mix. And so in order to make that work , they take very detailed information about what justifies their eligibility for a variety of programs and then how those are used. And those are reported back to all of the different entities involved in allocating those funds to the provider. I often say it has to be one of the hardest jobs out there is sorting out the records and finances for child care because it is overly complex. And so all of that data is collected. And now based on what the federal administration is asking for , you know , for the defense spend activities that are in addition to this five state , um , specific action. Um , we're not clear yet. I think we're still awaiting direction from the state on what they would like. And I think there's questions about legality of some of the things that they're asking for in terms of privacy , of information. And there's already been , um , you know , federal court decisions related to Head Start when they tried to ask them to collect information on immigration status. And that was , um , turned back by the courts and said , you can't do that. Um , so I think there's a lot in flux right now in terms of what that means for providers. And we're asking folks just to stay tuned and wait for information from the state before they have to do anything to make sure we're responding appropriately. And we understand this creates a lot of fear for those in the system. And we , you know , we're hoping that people are connected and have real time information so that we can assuage their concerns until and respond as we need.
S1: Well , something you said there makes me want to zoom out a bit here because , you know , as you kind of touched on , other federal funding cuts by the Trump administration have have threatened the stability of childhood , early childhood care and education. Max , you're also a union leader with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
S2: I mean , for example , the the Medicare , the Medicaid , sorry , the Medicaid or the cuts actually to the Affordable Care Act , right , in which have doubled the the have doubled the premiums for many , many , many people. Thousands of people. Uh , and , uh , and and also the threat. The consistent threat of cuts to education that have been happening and or the threats to factorized education is something that would affect students in that the privatizing education , we know is not the route. And also , uh , fear , you know , we just saw in Minnesota how they , they don't the , the the current administration does not respect schools. Uh , they literally went into a high school in Minnesota and , and tackled the student. And that's something that we live here in , in LA alert to in Los Angeles as well as throughout California , in school districts , as unions , we are forced to organize ourselves and organize our members to be able to protect each other and push back. And these are students there that are not only are they , they're , you know , they're not not receiving the classes they need to receive , but they're also in the middle of an environment of fear. Uh , many students are afraid that when you know , that students that are , uh. Um , children of of parents that are the undocumented in this case , it doesn't matter whether you're documented or not , it really matters what you look like , uh , or in fear that the parents may not be there. Uh , you know , when they come out. So it's a lot of the policies and the funding , the threats of funding. And , you know , when these threatens to cut , uh , Medicaid or cut any type of healthcare funding that affects state's budget , and it also can affect the budget for education and early education. And , uh , and so we have to continue to organize to push back on these things. Uh , like , uh , Stacey said , you know , the there is no early education system in the state or that I know in any state , but we all have been working so hard to make sure that that happens because we understand how important early education is. The science has shown now that it is essential for for children to have a leg up to receive early education , and that's really the work that we need to be doing. So , um , so it's really , really creating , generating an impact not only potential financial impact , but a psychological impact on students.
S1: Yeah , indeed , it is traumatizing. Stacy , you also look at early education policy. How do you I mean , I mean , do you have anything to add on how all of this might impact children ? Sure.
S3: So , you know , I think in our state in particular , we've done a lot of learning and education about the impact of toxic stress on children and adults. Um , and notwithstanding any actual change , the political discourse impacts children's mental health negatively , right ? When they hear things that could hurt their family status , when they hear their parents are stressed out about finances , which the overwhelming majority of families with children under the age of five , I believe it's well over 80% , are experiencing distress about meeting their basic needs and being able to support their families because things are just too expensive , whether it's housing , health care challenges , childcare access. All of those things combined are creating a huge amount of distress for families who have young children. And , you know , importantly , when families have young children , they tend to be at their lowest earning potential. And so those things are just much harder when you're starting out. And we should make those things easier for people because it makes sense both for the family economic perspective , but also in nurturing , healthy , nurturing , healthy child development , um , making sure families have good resources , have stability , and are able to nurture their child's well-being without fear and without worrying every month if they can make it happen in terms of meeting their expenses and costs , that is what's going to create the best and strongest California we can have. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Max , looking ahead , how will the union continue to fight for these protections and for families and providers.
S2: Well we will continue to organize , you know , like here in California and in other states. We will continue to organize to improve the conditions of providers and expand the care that they give to more students , to more children. As you heard from Stacy , there's a deficit of slots to be able to care for students and educate children that need it and that their families would qualify for the subsidy. So we need to continue to organize and uplift the the not just the voices of providers that people do the work. Currently in the state of California are family. Childcare providers are struggling because they the costs of caring for the children is not met by the by the rates that the state provides. And we are continuing on our fight with a lot of allies to push the states to actually achieve what is called the true cost of care , because that is part of building that stable system. And also start to think about how we create a system in which parents have true choice , and what parents choose what type of care and education their children need. And then the system wraps around it and it's and it's creating an environment in which all , all children can actually perceive early education in any setting that they need , because there has to be choice , you know , working families that work 3 or 4 jobs need family childcare providers that are that , that provide care 24 hours a day or on weekends. So we are going to keep organizing. We will continue to defend , uh , defend against uh , for example , uh , and continue to , for example , the health care fund , uh , in which in these in these times , as the administration is trying to cut funding for health care and many , many and many other things and creating economic crisis , uh , members want to contract. They want a health care fund so they can continue to have their health care. That's part of the union difference. But we will continue to organize. We will continue to create those networks to protect each other and look out for each other's back , uh , and continue to , um , to , work , you know , here in coalition with organizations such as status organization.
S1: All right. That's something we'll continue to follow. I've been speaking with Max Arias , chairperson of child care Providers United. Max , thank you. And also Stacey Leigh , chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at Children Now. Stacey , thank you as well.
S4: Thank you. Thank you.
S1: Still to come. Somali child care centers are being surveilled by strangers as a result of white House rhetoric. Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. You just heard the latest on the Trump administration's freeze on child care funding to five states , including California and those states efforts to block it. Here in San Diego , Somali child care providers say strangers are surveilling their centers over alleged fraud. KPBS racial justice and social equity reporter Katie Hyson has been following this story. Katie , welcome.
S5: Hi , Jade.
S1: So , Katie , last week you covered a press conference where Somali child care workers described this surveillance firsthand. In your story , you spoke to one of those providers.
S5: She was scared , so she kept looping the block , hoping they would leave. But they didn't and she needed to get the kids inside. So she finally braved parking and going in. And she says when they saw her with the children , they pulled away. But the incident really rattled her. Here's how she said it made her feel.
S6: I can't believe that I'm feeling this fairness in here in the United States that I came , you know , all the way down because of my country to flow to. Here. To. To feel safe. And now I'm feeling this way. I mean , under the Constitution in America. It surprises me.
S1: It sounds terrifying.
S5: And he said there's likely many more that weren't reported out of fear or just not being connected to the union.
S1: Take us back , you know , to when these claims of child care fraud first emerged.
S5: A YouTube influencer began filming Somali run child care centers in Minnesota , claiming that he was exposing widespread fraud , that they were receiving public funds but not providing care. Um , and he calls himself an independent journalist. The union I spoke with described him as an extremist provocateur. His video went viral and it's already been debunked. But the Trump administration seems to have really seized on this video , and it's having real ripple effects across the country.
S1:
S5: And these so-called independent investigations where people are showing up at child care centers , those are not official investigations. They're not following good investigation protocol. It's not solid evidence of anything. And they are sometimes engaging in illegal behavior to do it. So trespassing , harassment in some cases stalking. I heard one provider being followed to the grocery store. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. You know , the fallout from this has been huge last week. The Trump administration froze billions in child care funding to five Democratic led states , including California. As of today , all five states are suing the government and a federal judge has temporarily blocked the freeze. But how might all of this impact San Diego families who rely on care provided by these centers ? Mhm.
S5: For now , as you said , things are proceeding as normal. But if child care funding were frozen , it could be detrimental to families , especially who rely on that child care to hold down jobs. Here's a here's a parent who spoke at the press conference. He said Gonzalez.
S7: If I lose my childcare , it will make things much harder for me and my family. I have never had a job that I understand , that I was a mom and sometimes had to take care of my kids. It is even hard to get a day off of work when my kids are sick. What are we going to do ? Mm.
S1:
S5: So imagine if overnight , their parents lose their childcare and they can't go to work. And of course , there are childcare providers who will lose the majority of their clients and may have to close their doors during an already existing care shortage. Here's Gonzalez again.
S7: People will lose their jobs. They could lose their homes and become homeless. If they will , if they won't have a child care. It is a it is already hard enough providers to pay their bills. Stay open. So many providers had to close since the pandemic because they didn't make enough money to the president. I want to say this. You're putting our families at risk by holding back money. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. City Council member Sean Rivera spoke at the same press conference last week about this increased surveillance and harassment on the Somali community.
S5: He says he'll work with the police department to make sure these incidents are responded to appropriately. And he also had some pretty strong words about how he sees what's happening. Here's what he said.
S8: A weak and failing president decided to choose a clearly vulnerable group as scapegoats and as a distraction from his failures. And that is so wrong. And he chose. And this is what what fascists and authoritarians do all over the place. A couple instances of wrongdoing from folks within a group and decided to scapegoat an entire group of people. And there is a definition for that sort of behavior , and it's racism.
S1: Yeah , that last part is really important there. You know , Somali Americans have been a recent target of harassment by the Trump administration. Just last month , the president called Somali immigrants , quote , garbage. And just today , Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the temporary or determination , rather of temporary protected status for Somalia. How are these racist comments ? Increased surveillance and immigration raids all snowballing and impacting San Diego's Somali community ? Mhm.
S5: It really is a snowballing of a xenophobic rant by the president to very real world consequences for our Somali neighbors. San Diego's home to the country's second biggest population of Somali refugees after Minnesota , and no community is a monolith. But from the people I've spoke with , families are afraid and they're also resilient and they're not alone. There are many community leaders and members standing with them right now.
S1:
S5: Sam. Sam told me she was so afraid that she installed a new security system on her house , and her neighbor noticed and came out to tell her that he and his wife would protect her however they could. And Sam , Sam herself. She was reflecting on what would happen if the childcare funds were frozen , and she said she would have to get a different job. But she told the parents that until she was hired somewhere , she would watch their children for free. And that's the kind of community , generosity and solidarity that I've been seeing during very concerning times.
S1:
S5: And they also want them to report the incidents to the union so that they can better track them and support providers.
S1:
S5: I actually just saw on my Neighborhoods Next Door group a post from a parent that showed a man filming outside her child's Somali run daycare center , And he appeared to be wearing a self-made , unofficial press badge. And so I don't think this is over yet , and I'll be watching to see if and how the harassment is handled by local law enforcement.
S1: It is definitely terrifying. And of course , we'll continue to follow your reporting. And folks can also follow it@kpbs.org. I've been speaking with KPBS racial justice and social equity reporter Katie Hyson. We'll link to the full story at KPBS. Katie , thank you so much.
S9: Thanks , Jade.
S10: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
