Update (January 9)
On January 9, 2026, a federal judge temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from freezing the childcare and family assistance funds. The temporary restraining order at the request of the states of California, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and Colorado will halt the freeze for 14 days while the court considers whether to issue a longer-term order. The states argue the funding halt is unconstitutional, while HHS has said the action was intended to address concerns over fraud.
According to reporting by CBS News, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement indicating that he was "pleased with the court's decision."
"There is no justification for this attempted funding freeze," Raoul said. "It is a cruel and illegal attempt by the Trump administration to play politics with the lives of children and low-income families.
Original Story
On January 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it has frozen access to certain federal childcare and family assistance funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York following concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs. The action affects funding under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), totaling more than $10 billion nationwide.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, this amounts to the withholding of approximately $1 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funding for Illinois.
According to JB Pritzker’s office, roughly 100,000 low-income, working Illinois families receive subsidized childcare through the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, which is partially funded by CCDF. TANF funds help support thousands of childcare providers statewide, while SSBG funding flows to hundreds of organizations that deliver human services throughout Illinois.
Governor Pritzker criticized the decision, arguing that the action disproportionately targets Illinois and other states led by Democratic governors and places families’ livelihoods at risk. His administration stated that Illinois agencies maintain robust oversight, auditing, and fraud-prevention procedures, and noted that the federal government has not provided detailed evidence of alleged fraud in Illinois programs.
According to HHS, the restrictions were imposed after the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) identified potential noncompliance with federal requirements, including concerns that benefits may have been provided to ineligible recipients. Access to funds will now require additional justification and receipt documentation before federal payments are released.
The funding freeze will remain in place until ACF completes its review and determines that affected states are in compliance with federal law. HHS officials emphasized that the action is intended to protect program integrity and ensure federal assistance reaches eligible families as intended.
The HHS press release is available via this link.