Summary

In March 2026, NWLC joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), and other civil rights groups in filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking transparency from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its sub-agencies regarding the Trump administration’s unfounded and racially motivated attacks to freeze or delay billions of dollars in federal child care and family assistance funding. The FOIA request sought records concerning the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of the nationwide “Defend the Spend” policy and the sweeping five-state funding freeze targeting Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) dollars. In late December 2025 and early January 2026, HHS froze access to more than $10 billion in these funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, while imposing new documentation and approval requirements on states nationwide. These actions jeopardized essential child care, family assistance, and social services that enable families with low incomes to work, attend school, and meet basic needs. 

The administration refused to disclose information to the public about its actions following our FOIA request. Instead, in related litigation, the administration suddenly reversed the funding freeze in an apparent attempt to avoid being required to produce officials’ communications about these attacks. This only heightened the need for transparency into how the Defend the Spend policy and funding freeze were adopted and who was involved. 

The restrictions on child care funding have already caused widespread concern and some payment delays to child care providers, threatening access to essential child care, family assistance, and social services that enable families with low incomes to work, attend school, and meet basic needs. These disruptions place enormous strain on families who depend on stable, reliable child care to remain in the workforce.  

To date, HHS has not released any records in response to the FOIA request. 

Our Lawsuit

On July 20, 2026, the National Women’s Law Center, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, the ACLU of Colorado, and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, filed a lawsuit seeking a court order requiring HHS to promptly process our FOIA request and release all non-exempt records. The FOIA requested communications referencing both “fraud” and “Somali,” as well as records related to statements and actions by President Trump and other officials that appear to scapegoat Somali and immigrant communities in justifying the funding restrictions.