{"id":108399,"date":"2026-02-05T08:08:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/?p=108399"},"modified":"2026-02-12T19:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:26:18","slug":"working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At least 400 working parents with young children are expected to gather in Olympia tomorrow to demand that lawmakers not approve cuts to the state-funded Working Connections Child Care program outlined in Gov. Bob Ferguson&#8217;s proposed supplemental budget for the 2025-27 biennium. The program, according to Joel Ryan, executive director of Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, &#8220;is an essential support that allows families to work and children to thrive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A rally on the Capitol steps against the cuts is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 12.<\/p>\n<p><span data-wiz-uids=\"Q7c1Qb_a\" data-processed=\"true\"><a class=\"GI370e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Working+Connections+Child+Care&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjJhbX3ldKSAxULJEQIHe-INBAQgK4QegQIARAB\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjJhbX3ldKSAxULJEQIHe-INBAQgK4QegQIARAB\" data-hveid=\"CAEQAQ\" data-processed=\"true\">Working Connections Child Care<\/a><\/span> helps eligible low-income families pay for child care while they work, attend job training, or participate in educational programs. The subsidy is paid directly to providers, with families covering a portion of the cost with a copayment based on their household income. Families must meet income requirements, typically at or below 60% of the state median income, and meet specific work or activity requirements. Approximately 17% of eligible children in Washington state participate in the program, with nearly 64,000 currently enrolled.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Tax, don&#8217;t cut<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Ferguson\u2019s proposed budget includes <a href=\"https:\/\/ofm.wa.gov\/budget\/state-budget-2025-27\/26-proposed-supplemental\/agency-recommendation-summaries\/307\/?v=401342\">funding <\/a>reductions that Ryan says could leave up to 6,800 Washington children from low-income families without child care. The proposed cuts are an attempt to balance an approximately $2.3 billion budget shortfall in the state\u2019s roughly $79 billion supplemental budget during the current legislative session. The session ends on March 12.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This drastic cut will make it more difficult for working parents with young children to juggle caring for their children and putting food on the table,&#8221; Ryan said in an email. &#8220;It will lead to less economic activity, job losses, and increases in public benefit usage, just as Washington State faces a huge budget deficit. Our Association believes that the Governor and lawmakers should instead address the budget deficit by asking those with more resources to pay their fair share of taxes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>State Democrats are working hard to make that happen. Controversial income tax legislation, <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary\/?BillNumber=6346&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\">Senate Bill 6346,<\/a> also known as the \u201cmillionaires\u2019 tax,\u201d was voted out of the Washington state Senate committee earlier this week. The vote came after lawmakers agreed that part of the bill&#8217;s income would support local public defenders and increase a tax break for small businesses. The fight is far from over\u2014Republicans&#8217; opposition is strong on one of the most divisive bills of the 2026 legislative session. The proposed tax system would impose a 9.9% levy on personal income over $1 million.<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">TAKE ACTION:<\/span> <\/b>Would your family be impacted by cuts, or do you have a position on this proposed cut? No matter where you stand, your voice matters. Let your lawmakers know where you stand. Reach out to your representatives\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/leg.wa.gov\/legislators\/\">in the state House and Senate<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>400 parents registered to attend, more expected to fight for Washington Connections Child Care<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1143,"featured_media":108404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,58,112,353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-early-learning","category-finding-childcare","category-news","category-take-action"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Working Connections Child Care Cuts Rally in Olympia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Seattle&#039;s Child\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeattlesChild\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"836\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Seattle Child Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SeaChildMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SeaChildMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Seattle Child Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Seattle Child Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a4a18ed41a4efb20e21238e9a022acb\"},\"headline\":\"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\"},\"wordCount\":456,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Early Learning\",\"Finding Childcare\",\"News\",\"Take Action\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\",\"name\":\"Working Connections Child Care Cuts Rally in Olympia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg\",\"width\":1254,\"height\":836,\"caption\":\"(Image: Carlos Alberto Ramirez Gaviria \/ iStock)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/\",\"name\":\"Seattle&#039;s Child\",\"description\":\"Activities and Resources for Parents and Kids in greater Seattle\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Seattle's Child\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/seattles-logo-1.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/seattles-logo-1.svg\",\"width\":455,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Seattle's Child\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeattlesChild\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SeaChildMag\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/seattleschildmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/seattleschild\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a4a18ed41a4efb20e21238e9a022acb\",\"name\":\"Seattle Child Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Sc-logo-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Sc-logo-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Seattle Child Staff\"},\"description\":\"Send story ideas to editor@seattleschild.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/author\/seattlechildstaff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Working Connections Child Care Cuts Rally in Olympia","description":"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia","og_description":"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/","og_site_name":"Seattle&#039;s Child","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeattlesChild\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1254,"height":836,"url":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Seattle Child Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SeaChildMag","twitter_site":"@SeaChildMag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Seattle Child Staff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/"},"author":{"name":"Seattle Child Staff","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a4a18ed41a4efb20e21238e9a022acb"},"headline":"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia","datePublished":"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/"},"wordCount":456,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg","articleSection":["Early Learning","Finding Childcare","News","Take Action"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/","url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/","name":"Working Connections Child Care Cuts Rally in Olympia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-05T16:08:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T03:26:18+00:00","description":"Hundreds of parents rally in Olympia against proposed Working Connections Child Care cuts that could impact up to 6,800 Washington kids.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2194428083.jpg","width":1254,"height":836,"caption":"(Image: Carlos Alberto Ramirez Gaviria \/ iStock)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/working-connections-child-care-cuts-olympia-rally\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Big turnout expected Feb. 12 at rally against child care cuts in Olympia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/","name":"Seattle&#039;s Child","description":"Activities and Resources for Parents and Kids in greater Seattle","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#organization","name":"Seattle's Child","url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/seattles-logo-1.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/seattles-logo-1.svg","width":455,"height":64,"caption":"Seattle's Child"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeattlesChild\/","https:\/\/x.com\/SeaChildMag","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/seattleschildmag\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/seattleschild\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a4a18ed41a4efb20e21238e9a022acb","name":"Seattle Child Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Sc-logo-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/images.seattleschild.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Sc-logo-96x96.png","caption":"Seattle Child Staff"},"description":"Send story ideas to editor@seattleschild.com","url":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/author\/seattlechildstaff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108399"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108468,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108399\/revisions\/108468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}