For Immediate Release
Contact: Maya Polon, maya@paschalroth.com
SACRAMENTO, CA – The more than 70,000 family child care providers in California represented by Child Care Providers United (CCPU) today celebrated as the Senate passed AB 1981 by Assembly Majority Leader and Legislative Women’s Caucus Chair, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), the True Cost of Care Act. The legislation marks the next step in the state’s path to finally modernizing the decades-old payment model that leaves child care providers making poverty wages and the state’s working families scrambling to find care.
“At the end of most months, I face the choice to shred my paycheck so I can keep paying my assistants and keep my lights on, or be forced to dip into my husband’s paycheck to stay open. Breaking even on what the state pays us is a near impossibility for most providers,” said Zoila Toma, a child care provider in Lakewood. “I’m only able to keep my doors open to the families who need me in Los Angeles because of my spouse’s income. I’m effectively subsidizing my business because the state undervalues my work. With current poverty level rates, many providers are forced to rely on the same welfare programs as the families we serve.”
Currently, according to state data, 73% of California child care providers do not pay themselves a salary due to inconsistent, low pay from the state that does not cover the full cost of providing care. In addition to paying themselves little or no salary, providers dip into their own pay each month to pay for costs the state does not cover, including time spent preparing their homes each day and transporting school aged children to and from school while their parents are at work.
“Providers are proud to have advocates like Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and her colleagues in the Legislative Women’s Caucus fighting for us in the legislature. After hearing the testimony of providers in her Select Committee on Child Care Costs field hearings, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry stepped forward to respond to providers’ needs by introducing AB 1981. If the bill is signed into law, we’ll be one step closer to finally being valued for the critical early learning opportunities we provide to families who need access to child care in their communities to be able to work as nurses, janitors, and delivery drivers. This legislation is a stepping stone on our path to moving our child care system out of a decades-long crisis that forces providers to close our doors every day and leaves working families scrambling for care,” said Miren Algorri, a child care provider in San Diego.
Existing law requires the state of California to adopt a new payment structure for child care providers that fully accounts for the costs of caring for children of working families, but new payment rates have been delayed for years. AB 1981 makes key decisions to move California closer to these rates and gives the Legislature more oversight on this process to reduce further delays and finally address systemic inequities – dating back to emancipation – that continue to result in work done by women of color being undervalued.
“Providers are calling on Governor Newsom to sign AB 1981 into law and keep the promise he made to be a child care champion. Under his tenure, we won the right to form our union, fought for and won three contracts, and achieved emergency supports that kept our doors open through the COVID-19 Pandemic,” said Eduviguez “Vicky” Ramirez, a child care provider in Santa Clara County. “This work isn’t finished; providers are crushed between soaring costs and stagnant pay and too many families are still left without care. By signing AB 1981, Governor Newsom has the opportunity to close out his time leading our state the same way he came in: as a child care champion.”
The legislation comes at a pivotal moment, as more than two-thirds of California child care providers reported being unable to meet a basic need including utilities, healthcare, and housing, and almost half of family child care providers in California report relying on public assistance programs. According to a February 2025 report from the California Budget Center, only 14% of children in California who are eligible for subsidized child care were currently enrolled.
“Child care providers are the backbone of our early education system and our state economy, but too many of these mostly women-owned small businesses are barely scraping by. AB 1981 is about paying them what they’re due – based on what it actually costs to do the job. This bill is a step forward in paying the backbone of our care economy their due. When we pay providers fairly, our communities are stronger, and we can support our working parents,” said Legislative Women’s Caucus Chair and Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). “After almost two decades of unkept promises, we need real accountability from our state government so our providers can stay open, and our families can find essential care. Governor Newsom must sign this bill into law.”
AB 1981 will go to the Assembly for a concurrence vote before heading to the Governor’s desk.
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Child Care Providers United brings together more than 70,000 family child care providers across California and is a partnership of SEIU Local 99, SEIU Local 521, and UDW/AFSCME Local 3930.
