Some programs aimed at helping D.C.’s youngest residents stayed in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed 2026 budget, but two others, which have yet to begin, saw no funding from the mayor.
One of those unfunded programs was the Baby Bonds plan, an anti-poverty program championed by At-Large Council member Kenyan McDuffie. Also not included in the budget is the District Child Tax Credit, which was introduced by Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker.
“I think it is really unfortunate,” McDuffie said shortly after learning that his Baby Bonds program was not inside the mayor’s budget proposal.
The program includes creating a trust fund for newborns in D.C. that are born to parents who make less than 300% of the federal poverty level. Each year, $1,000 would be placed into the account for the child if the parent’s income doesn’t rise above the cap. The money would become available to the child once they turn 18 years old.
“It’s disappointing that people don’t see the value in a program that research and data suggests is transformational for people who, in many instances, have been trapped in cycles of poverty, whose families have been trapped in cycles of poverty for generations,” McDuffie told WTOP.
The District Child Tax Credit Act, introduced in 2023 by Parker, sought to provide a $500 tax credit per child to low and middle-income families in D.C.
“I think the Child Tax Credit is an investment that would, in fact, attract families and is a way of us investing and giving back to our families,” Parker told Bowser during her presentation of her budget on Tuesday.
Now that the mayor’s budget is in the hands of the D.C. Council, they have 70 days to debate what’s inside before making a vote on the final budget.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to reverse the proposed cut included in this budget,” Parker said.
McDuffie said he understands the “challenging position” the mayor is in, requiring her to make cuts as the city deals with a forecast $1 billion drop in revenue due in part to federal workforce cuts. That said, McDuffie added that he hopes to find a way to restore funding for the Baby Bonds.
“If there’s a way to identify funds to put it back in, then I’m going to do that, but I’m not going to make any promises, given the challenging financial environment that exists,” he said.
Programs that were funded in the budget as promised by the mayor in April include millions of dollars went toward a pre-K program, a Pay Equity Fund for early childhood education and the D.C. Child Care Subsidy program.
As for the Pay Equity Fund, which helps preschools in the city competitively pay child care workers, District officials said at this moment, the program will not be funded past the 2026 budget year.
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