Trump proposal would pay some parents to stay home with children: Report

( NewsNation ) — The Trump administration has drafted a proposal that would pay some stay-at-home parents using funds from a federal program originally designed to help working families afford child care.

The Stay-at-Home Parent Child Care Subsidy Proposal originated within the White House, according to a White House official who spoke with NewsNation. Earlier reports had said the proposal came from Vice President JD Vance's office.

The New York Times reported the plan would create what could become the first federal grant program to directly compensate parents for staying home to raise their children.

The proposed benefit would apply only to married couples.

Funding would come from the Child Care and Development Fund, a program created during the Clinton administration to help low-income and working-class families pay for child care.

The program currently provides about $9,000 per child annually, with funds typically paid directly to child care providers.

Under the proposal, eligible stay-at-home parents could receive payments directly from the government.

To qualify, families would need to meet several requirements:

Have one spouse working at least 35 hours per week

Have the other spouse stay home to care for the children

Meet income requirements, which vary by state

Unmarried couples with a stay-at-home parent would not qualify, nor would single parents who are not employed.

Critics warn of increased competition for limited child care funding

Amy Matsui, vice president for child care and income security at the National Women's Law Center, warned that expanding eligibility without increasing funding could create more competition for already limited resources.

"Even if we doubled the amount of child care funding for CCDF, that would not be enough to serve all of the families who need child care," Matsui said. "Right now, or at least at the end of 2025, over 400,000 children were waiting for child care assistance."

Supporters say stay-at-home parents deserve equal support

Supporters of the proposal, including Heritage Foundation Vice President Roger Severino, argue that stay-at-home parents should receive support comparable to families that use subsidized child care services.

"Parents who hand their kids to commercial day care get subsidy payments, while parents who bear the toil, expense and opportunity cost of raising their kids at home currently get zero," Severino wrote on X.

"It's illogical and unjust, and this proposal would level the playing field. Critically, the stay-at-home benefit for two-parent households would be specifically tied to marriage because, of course, it should. Our government provides better treatment to marriage all over law and policy because marriage, on average, provides better outcomes for kids."

The White House could ask Congress for additional funding for the program, though officials have not commented on whether that will happen.

According to Department of Health and Human Services data, nearly 80% of families receiving child care subsidies are headed by a single working parent, most often a mother serving as the primary caregiver.