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Mayor Bowser’s Budget Proposal Falls Short for DC’s Youngest Children and Families

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Blog Post

Despite public promises to protect early learning investments, Mayor Bowser’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal fails to fully fund core early childhood programs that young children, families, and the early childhood workforce depend on. Without substantial fixes from the DC Council, the budget will have devastating consequences for the early childhood system, doing the most significant harm to low-income working families with young children and the educators who nurture them.

Here is Under 3 DC’s initial analysis of what’s in – and what’s missing – from the Mayor’s budget proposal. We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available. 

Early Educator Pay Equity Fund

The Mayor’s proposed $70 million for the Pay Equity Fund in fiscal year 2026—the same amount the Council restored as a recurring investment in fiscal year 2025—is critical (and appreciated!), but it’s not enough. With a growing early education workforce, more educators earning higher credentials, and no cost of living increases in the past two years, the Pay Equity Fund requires at least an additional $10 million, recurring, to maintain its impressive return on DC’s investment. OSSE data shows that the Fund is on track to pay out $74 million this year in early educator wages and HealthCare4ChildCare health insurance coverage. This makes FY26’s proposed $70 million an effective cut if we want all educators and children to continue to benefit from public investments in fair pay for early education. Of the $70 million proposed for the Pay Equity Fund, the Mayor allocated $12 million for HealthCare4ChildCare, which is estimated to be $1.4 million less than is required for FY26. 

Even more alarming, the Mayor is proposing zero dollars for the Pay Equity Fund in fiscal years 2027, 2028, and 2029. Eliminating future funding—and the statutory requirement to fund the PEF—will destabilize the early learning system. Without stable funding, early childhood program operators will not be able to guarantee current salaries and benefits for their staff. This uncertainty will pull us back into the situation we were in before the Pay Equity Fund existed, where early educators will be forced to choose between earning very low wages, with no certainty about their compensation from month to month, or leaving the classroom entirely. Teachers leaving the classroom will harm the District’s economy overall, as working parents find it increasingly difficult to find and afford child care. This situation would undo years of progress toward equitable compensation and quality early learning for DC children.   

Child Care Subsidy Program

The Mayor proposes $86 million for the child care subsidy program, a $10 million reduction from the fiscal year 2025 level. This is despite caseloads rising to 6,796 children in March 2025, up from 5,767 in October 2024. Keep in mind that DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education spent $105.5 million to serve the 5,767 participating children and families in fiscal year 2024. The math here does not add up: $86 million in funding will not cover the families already enrolled (which DC is federally required to do) – let alone meet growing demand.  

The child care subsidy program is a work support program for working parents, and federal rules require parents to be working or in school to access the subsidy program. The District has recently taken steps to make child care subsidies more accessible for families, enabling them to work and earn an income with greater ease. Any reduction to the child care subsidy program could be a devastating blow to both working parents and District employers who benefit from their employees having access to stable child care.

HealthySteps 

We are relieved to see $1.39 million in continued funding in fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2029 for the HealthySteps program in the Mayor’s Budget proposal. We urge the Council to safeguard this investment, enabling the program to continue supporting infants and new parents throughout the District through the successful pediatric and whole-family care model, which integrates behavioral health and child development professionals into pediatric clinics. 

Healthy Futures

Though the Mayor’s budget proposal reflects a $200,000 cut (from $3.4 million to $3.2 million) to the Healthy Futures program, Under 3 DC confirmed with the Mayor’s Budget Office that the reduction reflects cost savings without any cuts to the program’s staff. Therefore, there is no anticipated impact on the programs’ ability to continue providing early childhood mental health consultation services at early care and education programs across the District. That said, we will work with the Department of Behavioral Health, which administers the program, and the Council to protect this investment and identify future opportunities for growth so more DC children may benefit.

Home Visiting

Home visiting programs are operated by three DC government agencies – the Child and Family Services Administration (CFSA), the Department of Health (DC Health), and the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). Mayor Bowser proposed level DHCF home visiting funding. However, there are reductions proposed for both CFSA and DC Health-funded home visiting programs. The proposed reduction to CFSA home visiting represents a loss of $400,000 in one-time funding.* For DC Health, there is a proposed cut of $118,000 to local funds; however, DC Health also receives significant federal home visiting funds, which we understand are stable for the upcoming fiscal year. Historically, we have seen CFSA and DC Health shift the use of local home visiting dollars year to year, which makes it difficult for program operators to remain consistent for families. Consistent funding helps ensure home visitors can continue to support expectant parents and families with young children through the program’s evidence-based child development and parent coaching strategies. 

 *Note: The Council meant this funding to be recurring in fiscal year 2024, but it was recategorized as one-time funding in fiscal year 2025.

Fiscal Year 2026

Here’s a summary of what’s in the proposed budget for FY26 compared to the budget asks our coalition agreed to late last year. 

Program Name

Under 3 DC Fiscal Year 2026, Ask

Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Proposal

Difference

Child Care Subsidy Program 

$106.3 million 

$86 million

-$20 million*

Early Educator Pay Equity Fund (including HealthCare4ChildCare)

$80 million 

$70 million

-$10 million

HealthySteps

$1.39 million

$1.39 million

$0 – level funded

Healthy Futures

$3.4 million 

$3.2 million

$0 – level funded*

Home Visiting 

Child and Family Services Administration (CFSA)

$770,000*

$770,000*

$0 – level funded*

*This does not include the $300,000 and the *400,000 one-time funding budgeted for  FY24 and FY25, respectively

Department of Health (DC Health)

$1.2 million

$1.1 million 

-$118,000

Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF)

$225k

$225k

$0 – level funded

*The gap in funding for the child care subsidy program is likely greater than $20 million, given growing caseloads 

* See the Healthy Futures section above

Under 3 DC is working with the Mayor and DC Council budget teams to obtain clarity on proposed funding levels for other critical early childhood investments, including Strong Start Early Intervention, Early Stages, the Quality Improvement Network (QIN), and the Healthy Tots program. We will update this chart with budget numbers as soon as we can. 

What’s Next

There is still a lot to unpack in the Mayor’s budget proposals (proposed fiscal year 2025 supplemental budget, FY26 budget, and 4-year financial plan through 2029). But one thing is already clear: without significant changes from the Council, this budget will create significant harm and uncertainty for DC’s families with young children.

Now is the time to make sure the Council understands the vital importance of early childhood programs to you – as a parent, educator, child care provider, pediatrician, or other early childhood leader. 

Together, we can push for a budget that delivers on the Mayor’s unkept promise of high-quality, accessible early learning and healthcare for all DC families.