State and Federal Update: January 13, 2026

Federal Update 

Judge stays Trump admin effort to freeze social services funds to five states, including NY

On January 9, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to release funds for three social services programs to New York, California, Minnesota, Illinois, and Colorado, which the administration had declared to be paused earlier last week. Totaling approximately $10 billion in all, the large bulk of the funds support services under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Child Care and Development Fund, with several smaller grants accounting for the balance. The order, from Judge Arun Subramanian, compels the administration to issue funds for the next two weeks while the five states pursue a legal challenge to the policy. 

Earlier last week, the administration announced the freeze as a response to potential fraud in those programs, following a criminal investigation into Minnesota’s safety net programs, though it has made no specific allegations in the other four states. All have Democratic governors, and the administration has singled out “Democrat-led states and governors” as complicit in enabling fraud. The five states quickly sued, citing the risk of impacts such as the loss of childcare forcing low-income working parents to lose their jobs, which would render them ineligible for other programs such as food assistance that require recipients to be employed.  

No news on federal workforce funding as next shutdown deadline looms

With less than three weeks remaining until the January 30 deadline to pass budget bills to fund the federal government, Congress has yet to release new funding proposals for programs overseen by the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. That is one of six spending bills remaining for Congress to avoid another government shutdown, following last fall’s record-long closure. In a potentially encouraging sign, the House of Representatives last week passed a spending package to fund several agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Commerce, by a large bipartisan majority. The legislation largely held spending flat from the previous fiscal year, rejecting large cuts that the Trump administration had proposed. 

Notwithstanding the lack of official news, sources indicate that both parties are determined to avoid another shutdown. Additionally, the reported willingness of the White House to sign the bill just passed suggests that the administration is placing a higher priority on keeping the government open than engaging in another bitter fight over spending. At the same time, that funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and other workforce programs is bundled with higher-profile measures around public health and education raises the risk that workforce funding will be cut as the price for preserving dollars in those other areas. As always, NYATEP will stay on top of developments and stand ready to advocate on behalf of the workforce field. 

State Update

Gov. Hochul pledges universal childcare for NY children under age 5

On Jan. 8, Governor Kathy Hochul joined newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to announce an investment of $4.5 billion in the upcoming fiscal year to expand childcare across the state. Those funds will extend affordable childcare for nearly 100,000 additional children. The proposal, which the governor will feature in her State of the State address, represents a significant step toward making pre-K available to all four-year-olds in the state by the beginning of the 2028-29 school year. 

In New York City, where Mayor Mamdani won election last year with a campaign that focused on affordability issues, the investment will help ensure that care is free for two-year-olds. The state will cover all costs for the first two years of this program, and work with the City to “strengthen and fix” its existing programs designed to provide universal care for children age three.  

State of the State address to feature childcare, online safety, gun violence prevention

Governor Hochul will deliver her fifth State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 1pm, available to watch on the state’s website. A week later, the governor will release an executive budget with proposed spending for Fiscal Year 2027, which begins on July 1. As noted above, the governor already has announced a significant expansion of childcare as one of her major priorities for the new year. Other proposals shared in advance of the speech include a call for legislators to enact measures to keep children safe online and train 10th grade students in Teen Mental Health First Aid, and a new gun safety measure to crack down on 3D-printed firearms and pistols that can easily be modified into machine guns. NYATEP will include analysis of both the address and the executive budget in the next issue of the Buzz. 

NYATEP will continue to monitor events as they unfold and share details to our members as soon as possible. If you have an immediate questions or concerns, please contact David Fischer, Interim Executive Director, at [email protected].

Past policy updates are available on our LASTEST NEWS blog! View them HERE!