Los Angeles, CA (July 1, 2025) – First 5 LA President and CEO, Karla Pleitéz Howell released the following statement in response to the enacted Fiscal Year 2025-2026 California state budget signed by Governor Newsom:
“First 5 LA recognizes the complex and constrained circumstances under which the Governor and Legislature finalized the state budget. We appreciate the budget preserves critical investments in early care and education, including universal transitional kindergarten and support for our youngest multilingual learners. At the same time, we are deeply concerned about cuts impacting immigrant communities at a moment when support is most needed.
“To help offset rising costs, the budget provides a cost-of-living adjustment for all child care and preschool workers. The state budget will also fund a 1:10 adult-to-student ratio in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classrooms, starting in the 2025-26 school year, which will help enhance play-based learning opportunities for our four-year-old students and will allow early educators to better address diverse learning needs, and provide more focused support for each child.
“However, limiting the access to critical health care services with the freezing of Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented adults is a temporary, insufficient solution to help address the state’s budget deficit challenges. We urge the Governor to combat the narrative spun by the federal administration that diminishes and demeans the critical role of immigrant communities, including many working families with young children, who are an integral part of our workforce and growth of California’s economy. Even with reduced premiums, undocumented adults, who are parents of young children, will continue to experience health care uncertainty.”
“First 5 LA remains committed to working with state leaders to advance equitable, sustainable solutions for all families, so that together we can create a brighter future for our youngest children.”
