Pence Group Opposes Vance Plan to Pay Stay-at-Home Parents Up to $9,000 per Child
Advancing American Freedom, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, is urging conservatives to reject a proposal backed by Vice President JD Vance that would expand the Child Care and Development Fund to pay stay-at-home parents up to $9,000 per child annually, warning it would invite government intrusion, punish work, and create new avenues for fraud.
A proposal backed by Vice President JD Vance to subsidize stay-at-home parents with up to $9,000 per child annually is drawing sharp opposition from a conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, which warns the plan would invite government intrusion into families and undermine the initiative's original purpose of encouraging work and independence.
In a one-page document, Advancing American Freedom urged conservatives to oppose the plan, saying it would «expose the sanctity of the family to government intrusion, punish work, and create new avenues for fraud.» The group's president, Tim Chapman, told Fox News Digital that while Vance is right to focus on the family, «this particular proposal would do more harm than good, opening up the family to government audits, benefit cliffs, dependency and new disincentives to work.»
Vance is pushing to expand the Child Care and Development Fund, a program created during the Clinton administration to help low-income and working-class families pay for childcare. The program currently provides about $9,000 per child annually, with funds typically paid directly to childcare providers. Under Vance's draft plan, families with a stay-at-home parent earning below state income limits could receive up to $9,000 per child annually. To qualify, a married couple must include one spouse who stays at home while the other works at least 35 hours a week. Unmarried couples and non-working single parents would not be eligible.
Advancing American Freedom argues that roughly 870,000 families — 80% of whom are single parents, predominantly mothers — already receive up to $9,000 a year per child, and that expanding eligibility to stay-at-home parents could create more competition for limited resources. The group notes the CCDF is already stretched thin, with nearly one-third of states having waitlists. It also warns that Vance's plan would require an auditable «childcare service» and could open the door to fraud if not properly monitored.
John Shelton, vice president of policy at Advancing American Freedom, said the group generally welcomes creative proposals and agrees that raising children is difficult work. «There's no job that's more difficult than raising kids,» he told Fox News Digital. «And, so, that's a laudable thing, but the devil's in the details.» He warned that what should be an opportunity for celebration could become a setback if families lose access to more than $10,000 in benefits depending on how many children they have. «That's a disincentive to work to kind of grow and get promoted,» he said. «That is not the kind of conservative ideal for how these programs should work.»
The group further contends that stay-at-home spouses would be penalized for taking on remote, part-time or gig work, and that families could take a financial hit for receiving a raise or promotion. «Welfare's goal is to get people into work and off of welfare,» the group said. «This proposal would do the opposite.»
Supporters of the plan argue that stay-at-home parents should receive financial support on par with families that use subsidized childcare services. Roger Severino, vice president of the Heritage Foundation, wrote on X that 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 nothing. «It's illogical and unjust and this proposal would level the playing field,» he wrote.
Shelton praised the Trump administration's intent but argued the policy's execution falls short. «I give the administration an A for effort, but a C or a D for implementation of what we've seen so far,» he said. Advancing American Freedom said it looks forward to continued debate about family policy and the future of the conservative movement. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Vance's office for comment.
