New Court Ruling Secures Childcare Dollars for Minnesota Families

ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- The state of Minnesota has won a second ruling to protect childcare funding. The Minnesota Attorney General's Office says it has won a second court order that prevents the federal government from freezing over $10 billion in funding for childcare and support for vulnerable families.

On January 8th, Attorney General Keith Ellison and four other states sued the Trump Administration to protect the funds from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) from being frozen.

On January 9th, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a temporary restraining order. The second ruling on Friday grants a preliminary injunction to continue to block the freeze and allows the states to draw down funds for the three programs.

Ellison has also secured an agreement with the Trump Administration to prevent it from withholding federal funding from state and local education agencies that refuse to abandon legal policies and programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

The Attorney General came to the agreement as part of a coalition with 18 other attorneys general, and it protects about $530 million in education funding for Minnesota. Friday's agreement resolves the lawsuit and secures the commitment from the federal government to apply the relief obtained in the American Federation of Teachers lawsuit to schools in Minnesota.

READ MORE FROM AUTHOR PAUL HABSTRITT