Nick Rudolph doesn’t know how he would tell his daughter that she can’t attend day care anymore.But that challenging discussion could soon become reality after the Trump administration announced Tuesday that it has frozen $10 billion in federal funding for child care assistance and social servic e funds in Illinois and four other Democratic-led states.Rudolph’s 5-year-old daughter, Nora, attends the Day Nursery in Oak Park, where for the past three years her personality has flourished — from being shy and “hiding behind our legs,” to now being “a social butterfly” who receives goodbye hugs and high fives from friends when she leaves for the day.But around 90% of the 42 families whose children attend the Day Nursery rely on federal funding to afford their child care, according to Dr. Catherine L. Eason, executive director of the Day Nursery.“If we don’t continue receiving the funding from the state, this definitely will be a nightmare for us, and we may have to shut our doors,” Eason said.Illinois, Minnesota, New York, California, and Colorado will be cut off from nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund, which helps support working parents with child care. They’ll also be cut off from $7 billion in cash assistance for households with children and around $870 million for grants that help children at risk, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.About $1 billion in funding across those programs is being frozen in Illinois, impacting around 152,000 children, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said.Dion Warr and her husband, of Washington Park, rely on the Child Care and Development Fund program so their 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter can attend Educare Chicago in Grand Boulevard. The funding lapse could force them to pull their kids out of care, but that's a last resort option because Warr’s husband works full time and she is actively seeking out employment so they can “have a roof over our head.”She prefers her children stay at Educare Chicago, where her son has greatly improved his speech — from speaking at below his age level to now speaking “a little bit beyond his age.”“The program doesn’t just house children,” said Warr, 28. “They help them learn skills that they need to be in school and be prepared to be able to write, and even the social skills that they need so that when they are more on their own in school, they’re able to self regulate and communicate very well.”Child care providers across the Chicago area vehemently agree that the freeze would cause “devastating” ripple effects for businesses, their employees and the families they serve. The child care system has already been operating on thin margins, including underfunding, workforce shortages, low wages and rising operating costs, they said.“Rolling back policies that provided stability and predictability risks accelerating closures, reducing access for working families, and destabilizing care for young children — particularly infants and toddlers, who are the most expensive to serve,” said Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, executive director of Illinois Head Start Association, which provides services to low-income families.The Trump administration over the past year also has targeted the Head Start program for restrictions and potential elimination.Trump administration cites alleged fraudThe funding freeze comes about a week after HHS said it was freezing child care funds in Minnesota and asking for an audit of day care centers amid allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents.In a letter to Pritzker, HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams said the federal government is concerned by potential “systemic fraud in Illinois Child Care and Development Fund services.” And he claimed the Trump administration “has reason to believe” the state is "illicitly providing” CCDF benefits to people without legal status in the U.S.“Rather than making life easier and more affordable for our families, Donald Trump is stripping away child care from Illinois families who are just trying to go to work,” Pritzker said in a statement. “...This is wrong, it is cruel, and we will take every step possible to defend the kids and families depending on all of us right now.”Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement that his office is “evaluating all possible options” to undo the funding freeze.Illinois Action for Children helps administer the state program that uses the federal Child Care and Development Fund. In a statement, the group said it opposes the funding freeze, adding that Illinois has “robust procedures and protocols in place to ensure program integrity and identify potential fraud alongside audits and compliance requirements.”“The fact that this funding is being frozen without any stated evidence of wrongdoing is causing this fear and confusion across the sector and for children and families, and that’s really unacceptable,” Angela Farwig, vice president of public policy, advocacy and research for Illinois Action for Children, told the Sun-Times. “Fraud at any level is also unacceptable, but this sort of broad, sweeping actions that have not been backed up with any specific data or evidence behind them, that’s really unacceptable to us.”‘What do we gain by taking it away?’Rudolph finds the possible conversation with his daughter difficult because she wouldn’t understand why she wouldn’t be able to attend day care.She was recently crushed to hear that a friend moved away, knowing she might never see them again. Without any cousins or immediate family in the area, Rudolph’s daughter has found a community of friends at the Day Nursery.“Something that’s beyond her understanding — it’s not just a friend going away, it’s the place you love is closing because of things you don’t understand, I don't even know where to begin navigating that,” Rudolph said. Nick Rudolph and his daughter, Nora, pose for a portrait at their home in Oak Park on Jan. 7, 2026. Nora attends a Day Nursery in Oak Park that receives government subsidies, that they are currently under threat of losing, from the Trump administration.Manuel Martinez/WBEZ The Day Nursery isn’t in danger of closing immediately, but if the funding freeze continues, they may be forced to close, Eason said. She added that their state funding should last through the state’s fiscal year, which ends June 30. But she and other day care leaders acknowledge the situation is fluid, with many things still unknown.Child care service leaders said the uncertainty and lack of clear communication from the federal government about the funding lapse has caused unnecessary anxiety and confusion for thousands of families across the U.S.The Trump administration at first hinted at cutting off funding to all 50 states until they provide verification for their child care programs. It was then reported that funding was frozen to states, but it actually wasn’t.Warr, the mother of two children in Washington Park, said the funding freeze feels politically motivated. She just wants to know why child care is the service that’s being cut.“It’s very disappointing that we seem to continue to target children that are really needing these programs,” Warr said. "..What do we gain from taking it away?” ...read more read less