Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry to Lead New Select Committee on Child Care Affordability

(SACRAMENTO, CA) — Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) will co-chair the newly formed Select Committee on Increasing Child Care Affordability, with Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove). Convened by Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), this select committee will focus on expanding access to affordable care for children ages 0-3—California’s most underserved age group—as part of the California State Assembly’s broader effort to address the high cost of living.

“Thank you to Speaker Rivas for seeing the value of lived experience. As a single mother who raised two kids, I know how hard it is to find affordable, reliable child care.” said Aguiar-Curry. “My appointment as co-chair to the Select Committee on Increasing Child Care Affordability will allow me to use my life's experience to reduce the barriers working families face when they can’t access or afford child care.”

With child care costs rivaling housing across much of the state, affordability is a growing crisis for the over 3 million California households raising children under 12 years of age. Although universal Transitional Kindergarten starts in 2025–2026, the biggest gap remains for infants and toddlers. “Californians are struggling to afford child care, and this impacts both individual families and our state’s economic health,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said. “We committed to make Transitional Kindergarten universal, and we are delivering on that. Now, we need to take the next step and bring forward solutions that match the scale of the affordability crisis we’re facing.”

There are four select committees focused on reducing costs and strengthening economic stability for Californians’ biggest household expenses. In addition to child care, these new select committees will focus on making food, housing, and transportation and the low carbon fuel standard more affordable.

"Child care is essential but underfunded,” Aguiar-Curry added. “When families can't afford care, parents can't work—and when they can’t work, they can’t buy groceries, gas, or pay their rent or mortgage. It makes California’s affordability crisis worse for all of us."

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