Downstream but Not Powerless: A Call for Child Care Queens to Rise

✨ To my Linked Arms Queens, early learning educators, center directors, family child care providers, and every community anchor holding families together:

We are not just caregivers.

We are stabilizers.

We are first responders for families.

We are economic infrastructure.

We are the quiet backbone of our neighborhoods.

When federal policy shifts, it does not stay in Washington, D.C.

It reaches into our classrooms, our reimbursement rates, our food programs, our compliance requirements, and our families’ stability.

One of the national policy roadmaps currently shaping political discussion is called Project 2025. It outlines major structural changes to how the federal government would operate under a future administration.

Whether one agrees with it or not, the reality is this:

If a large federal restructuring occurs, child care and early learning will be affected.

So let’s talk about what that could mean for us.

Why This Matters to Child Care Educators

Project 2025 includes proposals that could:

• Expand presidential control over federal agencies

• Replace career civil service staff with political appointees

• Reduce federal oversight in education and health systems

• Shift more responsibility from the federal government to states

• Reevaluate or restructure funding streams

For early learning providers, that raises important questions.

What happens to:

• Head Start oversight?

• Federal preschool funding?

• Medicaid-supported services?

• USDA food programs?

• Civil rights enforcement in education?

• Workforce stabilization funds?

If federal authority decreases or funding formulas change, states like Washington may have to absorb more responsibility.

That could mean:

• Increased state-level decision-making

• Budget pressures

• Grant uncertainty

• Changes in compliance systems

• Delays in funding processing

• More political influence over agency staffing

As educators and anchors, we rely on consistency.

Children rely on stability.

Families rely on predictability.

Disruption in federal systems eventually flows downstream — and we are downstream.

This Is Not About Party — It Is About Impact

Supporters argue that restructuring federal agencies improves efficiency and reduces bureaucracy.

Critics argue that it could weaken protections and destabilize safety nets.

For us, the question is practical:

How will this affect our classrooms, our families, and our funding?

We are already navigating:

• Staffing shortages

• Rising operational costs

• Compliance complexity

• Equity gaps

• Family economic strain

Any large federal shift must be understood through the lens of impact on children and providers.

Child care is not optional.

It is economic infrastructure.

When we are destabilized, communities feel it.

Conclusion

We have weathered policy shifts before.

We have survived underfunding.

We have adapted to changing regulations.

We have stood firm when systems around us felt uncertain.

Resilience is in our DNA.

But resilience does not mean silence.

Prepared providers protect children better.

Informed educators advocate stronger.

United community anchors influence outcomes.

This is our moment to stay alert, stay educated, and stay engaged.

Let us Queens arise to the occasion —

understanding our truth,

standing firmly in our knowledge,

and taking the power of the Queens that we are.

We are not bystanders in policy conversations.

We are architects of community stability.

We are protectors of children.

We are anchors for families.

When we move in knowledge, we move in strength.

When we stand in solidarity, we shift outcomes.

When we rise together, systems must listen.

For our children.

For our providers.

For our future.

In solidarity.

In knowledge.

Mary Curry

Co-President, Linked ARMS Association 🖤✨