2025– 2026 End-of-Session Recap
A recap of key child care legislation signed into law during the 2025–2026 session and what these policy changes mean for families, providers, and California’s child care system.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 06, 2026
Sacramento, California
Child Action Helps Advance Child Care Policy Reforms Across California
New laws modernize child care systems, reduce barriers for families and providers, and support a more accessible and sustainable future.
Child Action is celebrating meaningful progress for California families and child care providers as the 2025–26 legislative session comes to a close.
Working alongside lawmakers, child care advocates, providers and community partners, Child Action led and supported policies this year that make it easier for families to access child care, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on providers and move California closer to a system that reflects the true cost of providing quality care.
The progress also reflects Child Action’s role in helping shape policy and systems solutions informed by the real experiences of families, providers and communities.
“Thank you to Governor Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, and the Legislative Women’s Caucus for their leadership in passing these important bills for families and providers,” said Adonai Mack, CEO of Child Action. These laws are important steps toward a child care system that works better for families, values early educators and strengthens California communities.”
Making Child Care Easier to Access
Child Action cosponsored SB 902 (Grayson), which modernizes how families complete child care paperwork by allowing required signatures to be completed electronically.
The legislation directly supports Child Action’s broader push to modernize California’s subsidized child care system, including the expansion of digital attendance. Moving away from paper-based processes can make participation simpler for families, reduce administrative burden for providers and agencies, and create a more efficient and responsive child care system.
For Child Action, SB 902 represents an important step toward a more modern child care infrastructure that uses technology to improve the experience of families and providers while strengthening how the system operates.
Expanding Where Child Care Can Grow
Child Action supported SB 299 (Cabaldon), which streamlines the approval process for qualifying child care centers in residential areas by providing an exemption from certain California Environmental Quality Act requirements. By reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers, the law can make it easier to establish licensed child care in communities where families live.
AB 2006 (Rodriguez) creates additional opportunities to establish licensed child care centers in state-owned office buildings, recognizing that state properties can play a role in expanding access to care near where Californians work and live.
Together, SB 299 and AB 2006 address one of California’s fundamental child care challenges: where care can be offered. By reducing barriers to neighborhood-based care and creating opportunities within state properties, these laws can help expand the places where licensed child care is available.
Connecting Foster Families to Care Faster
SB 1051 (Menjivar) improves access to the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for children in foster care by allowing child care navigators from resource and referral agencies, including organizations like Child Action, to refer children directly to participating county welfare departments for eligibility and approval.
The change creates another pathway for eligible foster families to connect with child care assistance and can help reduce delays in accessing care.
Moving Toward the True Cost of Care
Child Action also supported AB 1981 (Aguiar-Curry) which strengthens transparency and accountability as California transitions to a new child care reimbursement system.
The law continues state reporting on implementation of reimbursement rates based on California’s alternative methodology, helping ensure policymakers, providers and the public can track progress toward a system that better reflects the true cost of providing quality child care.
Reducing Red Tape for Providers
Child Action also celebrates the signing of AB 190, the early care and education budget trailer bill.
Among its provisions, AB 190 reduces administrative burdens by eliminating a state reporting requirement when a family child care home licensee is temporarily absent, while retaining parent-notification and substitute-adult safeguards.
The legislation also delays expanded health and safety training requirements until October 1, 2027, giving providers additional time to prepare. It continues state reporting on implementation of California’s new child care reimbursement system, including work related to integrating Cost of Care Plus payments into the broader rate structure.
Building the next chapter of California child care
Taken together, these measures represent progress across the child care system — from the paperwork families complete, to where child care can operate, to how foster families connect with care and how providers are supported and paid.
They also demonstrate the kind of systems change Child Action is working to advance: identifying barriers experienced by families and providers, translating those experiences into policy solutions and partnering with decision-makers to improve how California’s child care system works.
That work reflects a principle that guides Child Action: quality child care is essential infrastructure for families, communities and California’s economy.
As California moves into the next legislative session, Child Action will continue bringing together policy expertise, data and the voices of families and providers to help shape solutions that expand access to affordable, high-quality child care; strengthen and grow the early care and education workforce; improve systems for families; invest in the professional development of early educators; and advance a reimbursement system that reflects the true cost of providing care.
“Progress happens through partnership,” Mack said. “Our role is not only to advocate for change, but to help build the solutions that make the child care system work better for families and providers. We look forward to continuing that work alongside policymakers and partners across California.”
Quality Child Care Impacts Everything.
Here’s what the new laws mean for you:
For Parents
- Sign forms online. Families can use electronic signatures for required subsidized child care documents, reducing paperwork and making it easier to complete forms without unnecessary trips or delays (SB 902, cosponsored by Child Action).
- Faster connections to care for foster children. Child Action and other resource and referral agencies can now refer foster children directly to participating county welfare departments for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program, creating a more direct path to eligibility and child care assistance (SB 1051).
- More opportunities for child care near home and work. SB 299 makes it easier for qualifying child care centers to open in residential communities by reducing certain regulatory barriers. Beginning January 1, 2027, AB 2006 also gives licensed child care providers priority to contract for qualifying space in new, acquired or renovated state office buildings.
For Providers
- Less paperwork — and a more digital child care system. SB 902 allows electronic signatures for required child care documents. Combined with Child Action’s push to expand digital attendance, this is another step toward replacing paper-based processes with tools that are easier for families and providers to use.
- More flexibility when a family child care home licensee is temporarily away. A licensee may be temporarily absent for up to 20% of the hours the home provides care in a calendar month, unless otherwise determined by the state. A qualified substitute adult must provide care and supervision, and parents must be notified (AB 190).
- More time before expanded training requirements take effect. Current 15-hour health and safety training requirements remain in place for now. Beginning October 1, 2027, the requirements expand to additional child care staff and substitute adults, giving providers more time to prepare (AB 190).
- Progress toward rates that reflect the true cost of care. AB 1981 strengthens accountability as California implements its new child care reimbursement system. A state report due in July 2027 must identify what is needed to incorporate Cost of Care Plus payments into existing reimbursement rates, including necessary system, regulatory and implementation changes. AB 190 also continues state reporting on implementation of the new rate structure.
These changes are part of a larger effort to build a child care system that works better for the people who rely on it every day.
Child Action will continue bringing the experiences of families and providers to policymakers and advocating for solutions that make child care more accessible, sustainable and easier to navigate.
Quality Child Care Impacts Everything.