I’ve been reflecting on the different responses from child care advocates and leaders around recent federal actions affecting child care funding.

Let me be clear about my stance: Fraud is real and unacceptable, and it should be addressed. At the same time, broad freezes or administrative choke points risk harming far more educators and families than they protect.

I deeply appreciate advocates who are calling out how misinformation spreads faster than truth, how unacceptable behavior toward child care programs was normalized, and how the language of “fraud” has historically been used to destabilize public systems. Silence does have consequences, and false narratives should be interrupted early.

I also hear — and take seriously — the fear being expressed by providers in Minnesota, especially within Somali communities, and the concern that increased scrutiny and uncertainty could push family child care educators out of the field. That harm is real.

At the same time, I’m trying to be careful not to amplify fear beyond what we know right now. In child care, timing matters as much as totals. Even small administrative delays can create outsized stress in a system with very little slack.

For family child care, direct short-term impacts may differ by state, but second-order effects — family uncertainty, capacity strain, and provider confidence — can ripple quickly if we’re not careful.

The posture I’m aiming for is this:

• Interrupt falsehoods
• Listen first to impacted communities
• Stay grounded in what we know (and honest about what we don’t)
• Respond proportionally, not reflexively

Accountability and care are not opposites. Good governance requires both.

Sources: PBS NewsHour; Elliot Haspel (The Family Frontier); National Association for Family Child Care