As regional executive directors at LIFT, we see our members fighting every day to improve their lives, including monthly battles to access high-quality childcare and other services. We call for federal and state leaders to prioritize children and families over ideology, and to end attacks on programs that keep families well.
The current federal administration’s targeted attacks on hundreds of thousands of families in five states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York) have only made these fights more difficult. The Trump administration has attempted to restrict more than $10 billion in potential Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), social services and childcare funding. Despite their protests to the contrary, these cuts make no economic sense.
Attacking programs like TANF prevents families from addressing basic needs like housing and food. But these attacks are even worse because they paralyze our local economies and stop families from accessing work, finding new jobs, or continuing education or training.
Across all LIFT cities, our teams see families navigating deep uncertainty, and they know these social and economic pains are deliberately forced upon them in an unneeded and unwarranted way. There is no ethical way to take food out of children’s mouths. There is no fair way to decimate childcare for families. These moves create fear, confusion, and instability. These programs are not abstract policy debates or budget lines. When they are disrupted, parents lose the scaffolding that keeps their families standing.
For now, a federal judge in New York has issued a temporary restraining order halting the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze TANF and childcare funding. But this only occurred because officials in the five targeted states are suing the administration, arguing that the freeze is unlawful and jeopardizes services for more than 500,000 children.
In Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York, we see firsthand how quickly instability can deepen when families are used as leverage in political vendettas. Children lose access to care. Parents lose their income. Stress rises. Inequities grow even sharper. Instability today becomes generational harm tomorrow.
LIFT calls for an end to attacks on the programs families rely on. We urge federal and state leaders to prioritize children and families over ideology and to recognize TANF, childcare, and SNAP as essential economic infrastructure. These supports are not optional; they are foundational to a thriving and equitable economy.
Anthony Barrows, Executive Director
LIFT-NY
Chloe Oliveras, Executive Director
LIFT-LA
Neils Ribeiro-Yemofio, Executive Director
LIFT-DC
Sarah Spunt, Executive Director
LIFT-Chicago