FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Kayla Blado 240-489-1803, kayla.blado@hailstonecommunications.com
January 12, 2026
Sacramento, Cal. — Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom released his FY 2026-27 state budget proposal. United Domestic Workers (UDW/AFSCME Local 3930), who represents more than 220,000 IHSS and family child care providers, released the following statement from Executive Director Doug Moore:
“We are concerned with the proposed changes to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) eligibility, the elimination of the IHSS backup provider system, and most importantly the removal of the state’s share of cost for growth in IHSS hours. This would shift costs to counties and create greater obstacles for IHSS providers when negotiating with counties for improved wages and benefits. The cost shift could also lead to indirect loss of vital care hours, as counties would be incentivized to reduce the numbers of hours assessed to clients.
“California is in a care crisis. The current pay, with an average wage of just above $18/hr, and lack of benefits for care workers makes it impossible to recruit and retain a strong workforce to meet the needs of our seniors and people with disabilities. Treading water on care funding is not nearly enough. We need more resources dedicated to the future of care.”
Johanna Hester, UDW Deputy Executive Director and Co-Chair of Child Care Providers United (CCPU) said:
“In recent days, we’ve seen unprecedented attacks on California’s child care funding by the Trump administration and so it is vital for the state to fully support and fund child care providers. While we appreciate that no direct cuts were proposed to this program, we are going to continue to push for the full cost of care, training, and benefits for the 70,000 childcare workers across the state as well as increased funding for the future. These workers are the backbone of our community and the budget should reflect their important contributions to our economy.”
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UDW represents more than 220,000 dedicated home care and family child care providers across California. Our members are the backbone of care for seniors, children, people with disabilities, and working families—fighting for fair wages, better working conditions, and policies that strengthen our communities.