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Connie Rodriguez, who runs a child care center in her Redwood City home, cares for eight children, six of which use state subsidized payment methods.
The problem is, home day cares receive state subsidized payments weeks after a month of care is provided. This lag in payment causes many providers to prioritize people who are able to pay out of pocket.
Still, Rodriguez tries her best to stay afloat as payments fall behind, providing two “quality” daily meals and even free extended care for families who need it.
“I have to pay all my bills,” Rodriguez said at a local child care town hall. “I don’t have a job outside my house. This is my job and it’s very, very, challenging. We really need help because our parents are struggling.”
San Mateo County Supervisors Lisa Gauthier and Jackie Speier hosted a regional child care town hall in East Palo Alto Wednesday evening in an effort to gauge local youth and provider needs.
The supervisors announced lofty goals for San Mateo County’s child care realm like creating a sales tax dedicated to early childhood education and a centralized eligibility list for child care, which would allow residents to apply for openings and financial assistance in one place.
About 100 local residents attended Gauthier and Speier’s second county town hall, expressing concerns over a lack of affordable child care and government assistance that could allow more kids to attend licensed care locations.
Only 31% of San Mateo County children aged zero to 12 with working parents have access to licensed child care spaces, said Gauthier, who added that the disparity
“That juggling act is not unique to us,” she said. “It is a daily reality for countless families who are left piecing together informal arrangements, relying on relatives or stretching themselves thin because affordable license options simply don’t exist.”
On average, it costs local families $36,000 per year for child care, Speier said.
“To think that somehow we don’t recognize our responsibility to help build the next generation is really quite troublesome,” she said. “So in part, what we want to do is find out where the greatest need is.”
Local providers and parents spoke publicly about their experiences in child care and in a live poll most described county services as “challenging” and “expensive.”
One single mother, who recently moved to East Palo Alto, said she wakes up at 4 a.m. to take the bus to her sister’s house in Santa Clara, drop off her two-year-old child, then head to college.
“I feel that East Palo Alto can probably help by creating a child care fund, giving grants to centers like New Creation Homes or even the child care centers around the area, possibly providing shuttles for parents,” she said during a public comment period.
When asked by Speier if the mother researched local subsidization programs, she said she did not qualify.
Subsidization programs, like San Mateo County’s 4C’s, help parents locate and pay for child care, but don’t typically cover all needs.
“I wish I could have 12 kids from 4C’s, but if I do so, I go broke in a month,” said child care provider Victoria Maneja.
On the other hand, private attendees pay her at the beginning month and allow her to take paid vacations.
“Rates that 4C’s pay are not anything that 4C’s decide,” said David Fleishman, Executive Director of San Mateo County 4C’s. “They are dictated to us by the state. They are very inequitable. Centers do get paid a higher rate than from home child care.”
The state-funded agency also must provide assistance to the lowest income residents first, no matter how long other parents have waited, a system Fleishman called “horrible.” An ideal remedy would be to implement a centralized eligibility list, he said.
Centralized eligibility lists, which consolidate child care-related waitlists into one, were funded by the state until 2011, when counties decided to drop or adopt the program that San Mateo County is highly interested in today.
On top of that, Speier expressed interest in implementing a 0.5% sales tax, similar to Alameda County’s Measure C early education initiative, that could generate $130 million toward child care.
“The good news is that you know you have a commitment from the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo County that we’re going to make this a huge priority moving forward,” Speier said.
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