Ms. Bustamante — Addressed as the witness being questioned about the child care impacts.
Ms. Bustamante — Addressed directly and noted as pursuing an MSW.
Corey Jackson — The chair introduces Assembly Member Jackson, who then takes the floor and opens with a light joke, saying that unlike the chair he did not work in child care, though he has acted like a child his entire life.
families and program operators — Asked what the future holds for families served and people running the programs.
child care provider — Says her facility could survive only about a month without funding and then would have to shut down.
grandmother child care provider — Explains she is helping her adult children with daycare because they cannot afford it.
parents — Speaker says parents are devastated and may not have family support.
family child care provider — Continues describing herself as a grandmother, auntie, and best friend to the children she serves.
student witness — Says losing child care would destabilize her life and could force a return to shelter living.
single-parent student witness — Says she lives on a single-parent income, works part-time, and depends on her sister for child care.
sister child care provider — Identified as the witness's child care provider and someone who would lose income if child care were lost.
Unidentified child care provider speaker — Described how losing child care funding would force families to choose between career advancement and staying home, and said her sister would lose the chance to pursue education.
Anamarie Ãvila FarÃas — Mentioned as having served as chair at one point; name/title not in expected member list, so treated as uncertain reference.
LaShae Sharp-Collins — The chair indicates she will speak next.
LaShae Sharp-Collins — Indicates her question was answered and begins a comment on the importance of child care services.
LaShae Sharp-Collins — Says she introduced Assembly Bill 1324 to expand and modernize CalWORKs and had tried to create a plan in the prior cycle.
Joey — Identified himself as the fiscal forecasting bureau chief for the Department of Social Services and explained the fraud and funding figures.
Gail Pellerin — Likely referenced as Secretary of State Weber, though the transcript is unclear; context suggests a prior committee hearing and staff experience.
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry — Introduced as Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry and then begins speaking.
Sharon Quirk-Silva — Thanked as Assemblymember Sharp-Collins; likely a transcription error for the member being addressed.
Lisa Calderon — The transcript appears to refer to the Majority Leader, likely Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, thanking the speaker and moving to the next speaker; the name is garbled as 'Aguirre-Cariate.'
Liz Ortega — Assembly Member Liz Ortega thanks the chair and supports the hearing, then shares her personal experience as a single mother who had her first child at 18. She explains that access to a child care center helped her succeed and become an Assembly Member, using her story to underscore the importance of child care and to affirm California’s commitment to these issues.
Jacqueline Reyes — Jacqueline Reyes testified as a mother of three, explaining that her baby Enzo is on the child care waiting list and urging lawmakers not to cut funding for child care services.
Enzo — Jacqueline Reyes identified her baby as Enzo.
Unidentified child care provider from Pacific Primary — The witness, a child care provider at Pacific Primary in San Francisco and parent of a four-year-old in child care, testified about the importance of child care and the personal meaning of the work. She said she could earn more in another field but is committed to child care because she believes in its value for children’s development, confidence, and ability to find their voice, citing activities like an MLK Peace March as examples. She concluded by urging support for child care providers and help maintaining momentum for child care services.
Lorde Salarcon — Lorde Salarcon, with Parent Voices San Francisco, said she has advocated for child care for many years since becoming a parent. She shared that she benefited from subsidized child care and, as an educator, believes it is the backbone of a healthy community. She urged the community to work together to support the well-being of children.
Elia Fernandez — Elia Fernandez testified as a parent of three and grandmother of six, explaining that her daughter is in community college studying to become a doctor but had to stop attending because she needs childcare for her four children. Fernandez said funding cuts and the family’s situation have made it difficult for her daughter to balance school and caregiving, especially because two of the children are autistic, including a 16-year-old with severe autism who needs significant attention and support.
Maria Lustore — Identified herself as organizer of Parent Voices in San Francisco and described a survey of parents using safety net programs.
Gia — Gia, described as a Parent Voices parent leader and mother of two, is presented as a CalWORKs success story who argues that freezing or cutting childcare funding harms working families and children rather than fraudsters. She says families like hers depend on this support to survive, work, and pursue education, and urges legislators to protect children and families by fully funding these programs.
Marilinda — Named as one of the families counting on fully funded programs.
Amanda Kirchon — Amanda Kirchon, speaking on behalf of the County Welfare Directors Association, thanked the committee for addressing the issue and warned that unwinding federal support or cutting services would destabilize county systems. She urged a holistic legislative approach, noting that such cuts would force counties to make difficult choices that could affect seniors, families, and children.
Low Income Investment Fund (LIF) representative — The Low Income Investment Fund representative warned that the proposed federal child care funding freeze and related delays or reductions would seriously harm providers and families across California, slow recovery efforts, limit access for working families, and urged the legislature to protect child care investments.
Naomi Gemmell — Naomi Gemmell, an attorney at the Child Care Law Center, testified that even a one-day interruption or slowdown in child care funding would have disastrous consequences for parents, children, the economy, and the labor force. She urged the Legislature to continue funding child care expansion, including support for 77,000 new publicly funded child care spaces.
Sarah Baches — Sarah Baches of Children Now delivers a continuous testimony arguing that children and families need a functioning safety net and stable, responsible federal governance. She emphasizes the harm caused by fear, discrimination, and instability, and calls for consistent guidance, reliable funding commitments, and respect for early learning and care providers and educators. She closes by underscoring the resilience of families and providers and the importance of a resilient care system, especially during emergencies such as wildfires.
Dr. Luanda Wesley — Dr. Luanda Wesley of the Child Care Resource Center testifies about the urgent consequences of a potential $5 billion cut to child care funding. She explains that such cuts would affect roughly 170,000 children and undermine families’ ability to work and meet basic needs, while also threatening providers’ ability to keep programs open. She continues that many families would be unable to go to work, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining services for the 60,000 children currently served, noting that 25,000 children are on the waiting list and that there have been no new enrollments since March 2025. She urges expansion of child care slots and preservation of existing services.
Jeanette Carpenter — Jeanette Carpenter, speaking on behalf of Child Action, describes the organization’s service to children, families, and providers in Sacramento County and aligns its remarks with the ECE Coalition, including reference to substantial subsidy assistance in fiscal year 2024-25.
McKenzie Richardson — McKenzie Richardson, representing Thriving Families California Foundation, testifies about how community-based organizations connect families across all 58 California counties and emphasizes the importance of continuity of care and braided funding to support those services.
Danielle Bradley — Danielle Bradley, speaking on behalf of the California State Association of Counties, testifies that counties administer key safety net programs such as CalWORKs and that child care is essential to economic mobility and child development. She warns that counties do not have the fiscal capacity to backfill federal cuts and that H.R. 1 could shift billions in costs to local governments. She concludes by stressing how delicate it is to braid and blend funding sources to sustain these services.
Monique Ramos — Monique Ramos, speaking on behalf of First 5 LA, thanks state leaders for their communication and action, then describes severe service strain in Los Angeles, including waiting lists and conditions resembling the pre-pandemic period, and notes that some families are avoiding services because of ICE raids. She closes by urging the Legislature to ensure continued access to care and thanking them for their attention.
Andrew Avila — Introduced as speaking on behalf of Early Edge California and begins testimony on the harms of federal withholding of funds.
Yasea Raboncho — Identified as chair of End Child Poverty in California and expressed gratitude to the state and Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
Laurie Davies — Holly Mitchell is thanked for acting quickly and helping the county develop a contingency plan, with the follow-up remark continuing the same appreciative exchange about clearly describing the county’s challenge.
Conrad Crump — Identified as speaking on behalf of Disability Rights California and discussing the downstream effects of cuts.
Lee Wrights, California — Speaker appears to be identified as 'Lee Wrights, California'; likely a transcription error or partial name. Discusses the domino effect of cuts and the needs of children with disabilities.
Jonathan Munoz — Speaks on behalf of First Five California and thanks the committee for the hearing.
Alicia Hatfield — Speaks on behalf of Every Child California and introduces a context point about fraud allegations and evidentiary standards.
Child Care Providers United — The witness is identified as being from Child Care Providers United and as a proud member of SEIU Local 99 and Child Care Providers United, forming a single introduction of the witness's organizational affiliation.
Amisha Griffin — Amisha Griffin introduces herself as a long-time child care provider and union member, then describes the families she serves and the extensive daily responsibilities of child care work, including teaching, meals, support for children with developmental needs, cleaning, and paperwork. She emphasizes that 15-hour days and unpaid labor are common in the profession, and warns that if funding is lost she would have to pull her daughter out of college and shut down her child care business within a month, underscoring that child care is her life’s work.
Ms. Griffin — Thanked for her remarks and personal experience.
Mary Linda Bustamante / Mara Linda Bustamante — Introduced as a witness from Parent Voices, Los Angeles; the transcript contains a name inconsistency.