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Recruiting and retaining qualified staff continues to be a struggle for early child care providers across San Mateo County, according to a report on San Mateo County’s early care and education workforce. The industry’s difficulties include providing sufficient wages and benefits and rising stress levels among the workforce.
The report, released in partnership between the San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council and UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, includes the county’s ECE worker demographic, working conditions, compensation and well-being to provide more insight into the field and highlight key challenges.
According to the report, there are approximately 465 family child care providers operating in their own homes and about 280 child care centers serving children from birth through 5 years old.
Notably, 67% of family child care providers said they had high stress levels, 72% of center teachers said they did and 55% of center assistants said they did. Researchers conducted the study between March and August 2024. They reached 462 educators: 98 family child care providers, 117 center directors, and 247 center teachers and assistants. The educators in the center-based sample work in over 130 different sites throughout the county.
Salaries
Due to the county’s high cost of living, data from the study shows that wages in San Mateo County are slightly higher than the statewide average and child care centers in the county are more likely to offer benefits.
“Despite the report’s analysis that San Mateo County reflects slightly higher wages for the ECE workforce, the significant challenges to sustaining high-quality child care options in such a high-cost county as San Mateo are real,” said County Superintendent Nancy Magee in a Monday, Jan. 27, press release. “As county leaders we must continue to advocate for legislative and policy solutions to address the stark reality that our ECE workforce is compromised because they cannot afford to live here. Solutions that include regional funding formulas will be critical to our long-term success.”
The study discusses the impact of the expansion of transitional kindergarten on early childhood education workers, especially on topics of pay disparities between TK teachers and their colleagues. The findings aim to provide statewide and regional data on systemic inequities and opportunities for policy reform.
The report recommends increasing wages for ECE workers to reduce turnover and improve wellbeing. According to the County Office of Education, more funding for increased salaries may be helped by state subsidy rate reforms but local action is necessary for child care systems. Some 72% of local child care center directors interviewed cite higher pay for their workers as the number one way they could help address staff turnover.
Lingering impacts of pandemic
The most common impact of the COVID-19 pandemic site leaders reported was an increase in challenging behaviors among children. Some 66% of directors selected this option, along with 39% of family child care providers. A lag in children’s development was also commonly noted among directors (45%), but not FCC providers (16%).
The report recommends strategies to help educators respond to difficult classroom behaviors with professional learning opportunities, resources and programs for work-related stress.
“A well-supported, well-compensated workforce is foundational to a high-quality early education system,” said Jennifer Mayman, Coordinator for the San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council, in a prepared statement.
View the full report at tinyurl.com/smcchildcare2025.
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