DC Action is hard at work conducting a comprehensive analysis of Mayor Bowser’s 2026 fiscal year (FY26) budget proposal and four-year financial plan. Using our lens of pursuing equity, we want to highlight some immediate areas of concern. As members of our team will describe in the DC Council hearings that begin today and in our synopsis below, we urge councilmembers to strengthen this budget to ensure that District children, youth and families thrive.
Out-of-School Time. OST programs are held harmless this fiscal year — there are no reductions to overall funding levels. However, $3 million of that funding is covered by one-time dollars, continuing a reliance on temporary funds. While $3.8 million from last year’s one-time allocation was converted to recurring, the remaining $3 million is not secured beyond FY26, creating uncertainty for future funding stability.
Youth Homelessness. This budget proposal cuts $1.6 million in funding for youth homelessness services, including $931K to Permanent Supportive Housing/Extended Transitional Housing, $445K to Transitional Housing, and $236K to Youth Homelessness Continuum at a time when many young people need access to shelter and services.
Read the recent DC Action Blog: What the Numbers Show
Mental Health. The FY26 proposal includes $1.2 million in cuts to crisis services and $2.3 million in cuts to school-based behavioral health, undermining timely mental health support for students. The Community Response Team also faces a $798,000 cut, limiting the District’s ability to respond to behavioral health crises in the community. These cuts come at a time when demand for youth mental health services remains high, and access continues to be a barrier.
Career Readiness. Career Readiness funding across key agencies— DOES, OSSE, and DME— is largely held harmless in the FY26 proposed budget. Notably, the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program did not see an increase to support raising wages for participants. Funding for the Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Experiencing Homelessness Workforce Program (TGNC) under the Department of Human Services is paused for the remainder of FY25. It’s unclear if the $600,000 program is included in the Mayor’s proposed budget. The elimination of this program would cut off TGNC youth experiencing homelessness from a singular, high-support pathway to economic stability.
Read the DC Action Snapshot: Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program
Healthcare for children and families. Combined and over time, this proposal would eliminate funding for the Alliance and the Immigrant Children’s Program, which provide health care to more than 32,000 of our neighbors. Mayor Bowser’s budget would also make cuts to Medicaid, resulting in another 25,000 residents losing access to health care. However, the Mayor’s proposed budget includes some new supports that could mitigate some of this harm, but the details are not publicly known.
Read the DC Action Snapshot: Immigrant Children’s Program and DC Health Care Alliance
Child care and early childhood education. The Child Care Subsidy Program would see a $5.6 million cut in FY26, according to Mayor Bowser’s budget proposal, which is counter to her announcement that child care programs would be flat-funded. This cut will not allow OSSE to meet the needs of working parents. The proposal funds the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund as promised in FY26, but it is eliminated in FY27 and beyond, which subsequently also ends HealthCare4ChildCare. This elimination will prevent 3,000 child care teachers, staff, and their families from accessing affordable, quality health care. Funding for other early childhood programs may also be in question.
Financial stability and asset building for families. Multimillion-dollar cuts to local TANF funding and the elimination of the District’s recently passed Child Tax Credit and Baby Bonds are also proposed in Mayor Bowser’s budget, which also proposes changes to Paid Family Medical Leave.
Next up: DC Action-powered coalitions will release more detailed analyses of Mayor Bowser’s four-year financial plan.