This statement can be attributed to Wendy Chun-Hoon, president and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).
Washington, D.C., January 9, 2026 – This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the withholding of funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) child care subsidies, and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. These states stand to lose a total of $10 billion in federal funding this year for allegations of fraud. And the administration has already signaled that broader cuts may be coming.
Arbitrarily withholding federal funds from these five states is illegal, reckless, and cruel. While instances of fraud should be taken seriously, these unilateral actions to freeze funding for basic needs programs cause widespread harm. In fact, there is no evidence to prove the alleged claims. Programs already have extensive built-in mechanisms for managing allegations, ranging from detailed state plans outlining intentions for how resources will be utilized to extensive reporting and audit requirements.
TANF provides families who have very low incomes with temporary monthly cash assistance, work activities and support, and child care services. Children and families will bear the brunt of these cuts, while already facing an affordability crisis and cuts to other critical public benefit programs, like SNAP and Medicaid. Without TANF funding, families with low incomes won’t have access to monthly cash assistance that helps parents afford essentials like rent, diapers, and groceries.
Freezing CCDF funds for child care centers and family child care homes will threaten providers’ ability to provide services and keep their doors open, which will challenge access to care for parents. Most programs operate on razor-thin margins with limited or no reserves. This comes on top of all states being required by the “defend the spend” directive to provide detailed justification to draw down resources to support child care subsidies.
SSBG freezes will not only impact child care but also local health services, services for vulnerable and elderly adults, services for individuals with disabilities, and more.
This all comes at a time when states face an increasingly challenging budgetary environment, especially as they begin to implement mandatory changes in SNAP and other programs specified in H.R. 1, which narrowly passed last July and creates new barriers to food assistance and health coverage that will leave millions hungry and uninsured. Moreover, the increased costs of health coverage follow the failure of Congress and the administration to extend the enhanced premium tax credits for the ACA Marketplace. Families are already experiencing increased costs of living. The administration’s persistence in further burdening families by stripping away supports that allow them to thrive will have devastating consequences for all our communities and states.
The Trump Administration is using politically motivated, racist, and anti-immigrant commentary to villainize those who oppose them and excuse the illegal withholding of federal funding. Children, families, and child care providers will suffer from these actions. Moreover, state administrators of these programs are already facing confusion and chaos, adding to the existing burden of navigating the barrage of regulatory contradictions from the administration. HHS should reverse this decision and provide all states with their funding to serve children and families.
By Tami Luhby
(EXCERPT)
TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which was broadly known as welfare. But unlike its predecessor, TANF is a fixed block grant to states — with an annual allocation of $16.5 billion annually since its inception. That means inflation has taken a toll — the value of the block grant has fallen by half, according to The Center for Law and Social Policy, a left-leaning advocacy group.
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) submitted a comment opposing the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to rescind the 2022 public charge regulations without replacement. The proposed rule would intensify fear and confusion by failing to replace the 2022 regulations with clear standards or guidance. Instead, DHS signals that it may reinterpret public charge in the future. Without clear guidelines on what benefits may be considered, the proposal would trigger a renewed chilling effect, discouraging immigrant families from accessing essential health, nutrition, and housing supports. This would increase poverty, hunger, poor health, and housing instability, particularly for children, including U.S. citizen children. The proposal would also harm states, localities, and child-serving providers by undermining participation in programs designed to support economic stability and security. CLASP urges the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the proposed regulation in its entirety and maintain the 2022 public charge regulations currently in effect.
One hundred, ninety organizations concerned with the well-being of children submitted a public comment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opposing a proposed rule that would provide the agency discretion to deny green cards based on factors such as an applicant’s health or use of any federal health or social services program.
By Monica Potts
[EXCERPT]
But the two biggest factors coming into play that are hitting families especially hard heading into the new year are the costs of childcare and health care, said Ashley Burnside, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, or CLASP. “We can’t talk about affordability in this moment without naming the huge health care costs that families are now facing because of the expiration of the premium tax credits,” she said.
…
Lorena Roque, associate director for labor policy at CLASP, said she sees data showing that a lot of families are taking on two or more jobs just to make ends meet. But even that might no longer provide a full picture of who is struggling because the administration has been hostile to the kinds of data-gathering efforts that would give us a fuller picture of the economy, like the rates of Black and Latino unemployment.
Read the full article in The New Republic.
Op-Ed by Jesse Fairbanks, Kaelin Rapport, and Isha Weerasinghe
[EXCERPT]
In early September, officials in Utah announced a plan to build an encampment just outside Salt Lake City where up to 1,300 people experiencing homelessness would be forced to receive treatment for mental health challenges. Unhoused people who refuse to stay in this state-run facility could instead end up in jail.
Forcing people to relocate to a facility described by its advocates as a “homeless campus” is a violation of their civil liberties. To make matters worse, this approach is generally ineffective and prone to bias. Research has shown that involuntary commitment disproportionately affects people of color and disabled people. And in many cases, the care provided to those the involuntary committed is not sufficient to meet their mental health needs.
Read the full op-ed in The Progressive.
NOTE: This op-ed, which was originally published in The Progressive, was syndicated and republished by media outlets nationwide, including in Miami, FL; Bradenton, FL; Columbia, SC; Hilton Head, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Rock Hill, SC; Durham, NC; Charlotte, NC; Raleigh, NC; Columbus, GA; Chattanooga, TN; Lexington, KY; Schenectady, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; State College, PA; Kansas City, KS; Fort Worth, TX; Bellingham, WA; Tacoma, WA; Olympia, WA; Boise, ID; Merced. CA; Modesto, CA; Fresno, CA; San Luis Obispo, CA; and Sacramento, CA. It was also picked up by national outlets including MSN, NewsBreak, and ArcaMax.
By Suzanne Wikle
The effect of H.R. 1 on the 10 non-expansion states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) did not receive the same attention as the bill’s primary Medicaid provisions. But Medicaid programs in these states will also be harmed by the bill. Eligibility and financing changes will force non-expansion states to make difficult decisions and likely lead to reduced services, lower provider reimbursement rates, and hospital closures.
By Selena Rivera
[EXCERPT]
Wendy Cervantes, directora de Immigration and Immigrant Families, en Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), señaló que la propuesta es un nuevo ataque del gobierno federal contra niños, amenazando su bienestar y su desarrollo a largo plazo.
“Si las redadas traumáticas que separan familias no fueron suficientes, esta norma podría obligar a millones de familias inmigrantes a elegir entre cubrir las necesidades de sus hijos, como llevarlos al médico o poner comida en la mesa, y tratar de obtener un estatus migratorio más estable.
“Como defensores de la infancia, haremos todo lo que esté en nuestro poder para detener esta propuesta y garantizar que los proveedores y las familias tengan acceso a información precisa”, dijo Cervantes.
[TRANSLATION]
Wendy Cervantes, director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), said the proposal is a new attack by the federal government on children, threatening their well-being and long-term development.
“If the traumatic raids that separate families weren’t enough, this rule could force millions of immigrant families to choose between meeting their children’s needs, such as taking them to the doctor or putting food on the table, and trying to obtain a more stable immigration status.
“As advocates for children, we will do everything in our power to stop this proposal and ensure that providers and families have access to accurate information,” Cervantes said.
Read the full article in the Los Angeles Times Spanish edition here.
[EXCERPT]
The Center for Law and Social Policy: Tracking The Harm Of DOGE Cuts The Center for Law and Social Policy’s DOGE Tracker shows how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bore the brunt of cuts. (11/24)
Read the full KFF Health New Morning Briefing here.
Read the full AARP article here.