The Trump administration is drafting a rule that would, for the first time, let the federal government pay married couples to keep one parent at home rather than in the workforce, according to reporting from FOX 32 Chicago and GV Wire. The plan, said to be championed by Vice President JD Vance, would draw on the Child Care and Development Fund, the roughly $12 billion program Congress created under the 1990 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act specifically to help low-income parents afford care so they could work or attend school.

Under the draft, officials would establish what the proposal calls a new category of "parent-based child care." One married parent could receive Child Care and Development Fund assistance to care for the couple's own child at home, so long as their spouse works at least 35 hours a week. Eligible families could receive roughly $9,000 per child annually, according to details reported by multiple outlets.

Who Would Qualify — and Who Wouldn't

The eligibility rules as drafted are narrow. Unmarried couples in which one partner stays home would not qualify, and single parents who don't work would also be excluded, according to reporting citing the draft language. The structure effectively limits the new benefit to married, single-earner households — a design that aligns with a broader conservative push to promote what officials describe as traditional family structures.

A NEW CATEGORY OF PARENT-BASED CHILD CARE

Critics argue the plan would worsen, not fix, an already strained child care system. Because the money would be redirected from the same finite pool that currently funds subsidies for working parents and licensed providers, advocates for low-income families warn that diverting dollars toward stay-at-home arrangements could shrink available care slots and drive up costs for families who need child care in order to hold a job in the first place.

Supporters counter that the plan simply gives parents more choice in how to raise young children, and that a family caring for its own child at home shouldn't be penalized under a program ostensibly meant to support child-rearing broadly. The administration has not set a timeline for finalizing the rule, and any changes to Child Care and Development Fund eligibility would likely require a formal rulemaking process, including a public comment period, before taking effect.

The proposal comes as the administration has pursued a series of family-policy initiatives this year aimed at incentivizing marriage and childbearing, and it is expected to draw scrutiny from both child care advocates and fiscal watchdogs once formal rulemaking begins.