When Policy Creates Barriers: Why Proposed Child Care Changes Put Families at Risk

Dear Chairman Cassidy and Ranking Member Sanders:

My name is Dr. Jasmine Moses, and I serve as the Policy Manager at Black Child Development Institute-Ohio. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony in opposition to the proposed changes to the Child Care and Development Fund.

At BCDI-Ohio, we work closely with families and child care providers across the state. Based on those experiences, we are deeply concerned that these proposed changes would make it more difficult for families to access child care and more difficult for providers to sustain their programs.

Reducing the eligibility period from 12 months to 6 months would create significant instability for families whose work hours and income fluctuate. Requiring more frequent reporting and redeterminations will increase the likelihood that families lose access to care, not because they are no longer eligible, but because the process becomes increasingly difficult to navigate.

Eliminating self-attestation and presumptive eligibility would require families to provide all documentation before child care can begin, delaying access to care at the very moment families are trying to accept a job, return to work, increase their hours, or complete training. Families should not be forced to delay employment, lose wages, or turn down opportunities while waiting for paperwork to be processed. 

These delays not only affect individual families; they also have broader economic consequences. Employers across multiple sectors, including health care, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, transportation, and education, are already struggling to fill open positions. When families cannot secure child care quickly, businesses face increased absenteeism, delayed hiring, reduced productivity, and a smaller available workforce. Creating additional barriers to child care access ultimately makes it harder for families to participate in the workforce and weakens the economic stability of communities and states.

The proposal to require both the child and parent to meet immigration requirements is particularly concerning. This change would negatively affect mixed-status families and may discourage otherwise eligible families from seeking assistance.

The proposal to require payment based on attendance rather than enrollment also threatens the stability of child care programs. Providers continue to bear fixed costs, including staffing, rent, and utilities, regardless of whether a child is present on a given day. This change would disproportionately affect programs serving families who experience barriers such as illness, transportation challenges, or inconsistent work schedules.

In Ohio, these proposed changes would further strain a child care system that is already under significant pressure. Families across the state continue to face long waitlists, rising costs, and a shortage of available child care options, particularly in communities that have historically had fewer resources. Child care providers are already operating with limited staffing and narrow margins. Additional documentation requirements, reduced payment stability, and the possibility of withheld funding would make it even more difficult for providers to remain open and for families to access the care they need.

We also oppose the requirement that providers use electronic verification tools such as finger imaging or voice recognition. As I have stated in previous testimony, increased surveillance is not a form of support.

We have also seen similar conversations unfold in Ohio around increased monitoring and surveillance in child care settings. These proposals raise many of the same concerns. Rather than building a system grounded in trust, support, and partnership with families and providers, they move us toward one rooted in suspicion and punishment.

Finally, granting the federal government authority to withhold funding from states will not address the underlying challenges within the child care system. Instead, it will reduce access to care for the very families and communities that are already struggling to find and afford quality child care.

These proposed changes move us further away from a child care system that is stable, accessible, and responsive to the realities families and providers face.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge you to oppose these proposals.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Dr. Jasmine Moses

Policy Manager