California’s incoming governor, Xavier Becerra, assumes office at a time when the state’s childcare system remains out of reach for many families and financially unstable for providers. His campaign and prior role as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary have framed him as a potential architect of systemic change, though the obstacles ahead are significant. Becerra’s personal history with the issue runs deep. As a child, he spent long afternoons alone after school because his parents could not afford childcare. That experience, he has said repeatedly, fuels his belief that early education must be treated as a foundational public priority. His mother’s words—“It’s better to prevent than to try to remediate”—have shaped his policy approach for decades.
Advocacy groups are already urging Becerra to treat childcare as one of his top three governance priorities. Stacy Lee, chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at Children Now, states that the system cannot function as an afterthought. Childcare “can’t just be one amongst a hundred priorities; it needs to be one of the top three,” she said. The consequences of inaction are severe: without reliable, affordable care, parents, particularly women, face barriers to employment, while providers operate on razor-thin financial margins that often fail to cover basic costs.
Becerra’s federal tenure offers a mixed but relevant precedent. As HHS secretary, he managed the distribution of $39 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to stabilize childcare programs during the pandemic. By mid-2023, over $2 billion of that aid had reached 50,115 childcare programs across California. He also supported an additional $16 billion in 2024 to extend support, citing unstable childcare as a key reason workers leave their jobs. Yet even with federal intervention, California’s system remains fragile.
Reimbursement rates for providers have failed to keep pace with inflation, with a 2.01% cost-of-living adjustment falling below the 2.87% statutory rate, and well under the 4.31% raise granted to K-12 teachers this year. This disparity highlights a core problem: providers, most of whom run small businesses, cannot sustain operations without fair compensation. “We can’t talk about universal pre-K, we can’t talk about having affordable childcare unless we’re willing to face the fact that we don’t pay childcare providers, we don’t pay Head Start teachers enough for them to make a living,” Becerra said during a pre-election forum.
Pandemic laid bare childcare’s broken system
The pandemic exposed the system’s vulnerabilities when lockdowns forced childcare centers to close. Many parents, especially mothers, left the workforce due to lack of alternatives. While Becerra’s federal response provided temporary relief, deeper structural issues persist. Now, as governor, he inherits a state where childcare remains unaffordable for many and where providers face constant pressure to shut their doors.
California has demonstrated its capacity for bold early education reforms. Under Governor Gavin Newsom, transitional kindergarten expanded to serve all 4-year-olds, and thousands of subsidized childcare slots were created, though the total fell short of initial projections. Still, the state’s resources could support a more complete solution. “California’s perfectly capable of finding a universal childcare solution. We have the resources,” said Lee of Children Now.
Federal threats loom over California’s childcare future
That resolve will be tested quickly. Federal programs like Head Start, overseen by Becerra during his HHS tenure, now face potential restructuring, while the Trump administration has sought to freeze or reduce support for Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and TANF, all of which assist families in accessing childcare. Protecting California from these cuts will be a defining challenge for Becerra. His first major test may involve securing stable funding for providers, ensuring wages align with rising costs, and delivering on the promise of universal access.
Becerra’s Federal Role in Childcare Policy and Legislative Setbacks
During his tenure as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, Xavier Becerra supported a major federal push for early education funding. He helped administer $39 billion in pandemic relief to stabilize childcare programs, with over $2 billion directed to California providers. Additional federal aid in 2024 extended support, acknowledging childcare instability as a factor in workforce shortages.
Build Back Better’s lost $400B dream
Becerra also championed the Build Back Better plan, which proposed about $400 billion for universal prekindergarten and a major expansion of subsidized childcare. In 2022, he highlighted parent struggles with affordable care during a White House livestream, where families described difficulties meeting their children’s needs. However, the childcare provisions were removed from the final legislation after opposition from then-Sen. Joe Manchin and Republicans over cost concerns, leaving providers and families disappointed.
