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California’s subsidized child care providers offer vital early learning and care for families struggling to make ends meet. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many providers and their staff have risked their health and safety to offer care for children of working parents. These early educators — primarily women and disproportionately women of color — … Continued

In this presentation learn what funding early care and education programs received in the 2020-21 state budget and from federal relief in 2020, and the additional support providers, workers, and families – particularly Californians of color and families in low-income households – still need from state and federal policymakers in the ongoing pandemic.

During this unprecedented health and economic crisis, many subsidized child care providers in California have stepped up to the challenge of providing early learning and care for families with low and moderate incomes – particularly for children with parents who are essential workers. While the state and federal government have both provided emergency funding to support subsidized child care providers, total support falls far short of the estimated level necessary to sustain child care providers. In addition, the Governor’s May Revision would cut provider payment rates by 10%. These rate cuts could be detrimental for child care providers who were already underpaid and operating on thin margins prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, during this crisis, providers are faced with dramatically higher costs due to smaller class sizes, increased staffing per child, and the added expense of keeping facilities clean as they care for and educate children.

As California grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been essential workers in hospitals, grocery stores, agricultural fields, and many other core services that have helped ensure the health and safety of our communities. But essential workers can’t go to work – no matter how vital their jobs – without a safe space for their children to learn and grow. This presentation by Senior Policy Analyst Kristin Schumacher covers research on the state’s essential workers, industries, and occupations – conducted in partnership with the UC Berkeley Labor Center. You’ll also learn how many children in California had parents who were considered essential workers and the number of children who were income-eligible for subsidized care with parents working in essential jobs.

For EveryChild California’s Early Learning and Care Advocacy: A Day at the Capitol, Budget Center Senior Policy Analyst Kristin Schumacher presented on early learning programs in the May Revision of the 2019-20 state budget.