PRESS ADVISORY

WHO: The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network

WHAT: Press conference to release 2007 California Child Care Portfolio, the sixth statewide and county-by-county report on child care supply, demand, and costs, in relation to statewide and local demographic information. This Portfolio highlights data and issues related to families with infants and toddlers.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Central Valley Children’s Services Network
1911 N. Helm Ave, Fresno CA, 93727

WHY: This 2007 edition marks the 10th anniversary of the California Child Care Portfolio.

While the 2007 Portfolio looks at the overall child care picture in California, it focuses particular attention on the care of the most vulnerable and underserved of California’s children: infants and toddlers. This edition promises to be one of the most complete compilations of hard-to-find child care data along with stories of local families that reflect the data. The 2007 Portfolio data indicates that:

• Finding licensed child care is a challenge for California families,
especially for those with infants.
• The demand for licensed child care far exceeds the supply, with
the shortage more extreme for infant and toddler care.
• The cost of licensed child care continues to increase and is out of
reach for many working families. Parents with infants face an
even greater financial hardship, as the cost of infant care is higher
than that of preschoolers.
• Single parents are on the rise. Since 2000 the percent of California
families with children under 18 headed by a single parent has
increased from 26% to 31%. The number of children birth to five
in single parent households increased 18% between the same
years.

For more information:

Richard Moore, Public Relations Director, Central Valley Children’s Services Network (559) 456-1100
OR Patty Siegel, Executive Director, or Carlise King, Research Director, California Child Care Resource & Referral Network: (415) 882-0234

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Richard Moore
(559) 456-1100

Finding Affordable, Quality Child Care Remains a Challenge for California Families
The struggle is far greater for families with infants and toddlers

December 12, 2007 - The demand for affordable, quality child care continues to surpass the supply, according to the 2007 Child Care Portfolio released today by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. The situation is especially dire for California’s babies, for whom a disproportionately small number of child care slots are available in licensed child care facilities. Compounding the problem is the high cost of child care, which is out of reach for many working families.

The 2007 Portfolio, the 6th in a biennial series of statewide and county-by-county statistical reports, reflects child care costs, supply, and demand. Data for the 2007 Portfolio was prepared by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, a statewide organization, and the 61 locally-based, state-funded resource and referral agencies that work to improve the quality, availability, and affordability of child care. The R&Rs talk with parents daily as they counsel them in their search for quality child care. This year marks the 10-year anniversary since the publication of the first Child Care Portfolio, issued in 1997.

“Ten years ago both TIME and Newsweek magazines had cover stories about breakthroughs in early brain development and the importance of quality care for infants. Those of us in the field hoped that would spur real change in policy, funding, and attention to the needs of very young children and their families. But real change did not happen, and sadly a decade later we see that the needs are as great and that parents struggle to find quality, affordable, accessible care, while providers struggle to do their job well and to support their own families. Infant care is expensive and difficult to find.”

With average child care costs in California running at $10,745 for an infant in a licensed center, care is unaffordable for many, if not most, California families. But the challenge of finding quality, licensed infant care is not limited to cost. Supply is also a serious issue, especially for infants. Statewide, licensed child care is available for only 27% of children with parents in the labor force. Only 5% of child care slots in licensed care centers are for infants and toddlers.

The report indicates that:

The demand for infant care is high. Forty-one percent of child care referral requests at California’s resource and referral agencies (R&Rs) are from families looking for infant care.

Parents need full-time care. Seventy-eight percent of employed residents work full time and thus, a majority of child care requests (74%) to R&Rs are for full time care.

The supply of child care falls far short of demand. Licensed care in California is available for only 27% of children with parents in the labor force. For infants and toddlers, the situation is even more grim, with only 5% of total slots in licensed centers available to infants and toddlers.

Child care availability varies by county, with licensed care available for 43% of children in San Francisco County with parents in the labor force but is available for only 18% of children in Riverside County.

Child care costs are out of reach for California families. The average annual cost for full time care for an infant in a licensed center is $10,745, consuming 69% of earnings for a single parent making minimum wage. In 34 counties, the combined cost of infant care and housing exceeds the income of a minimum wage earner. In 11 counties, the combined cost of housing and center-based infant care exceeds 80% of an entry level teacher’s before-tax income.

Early childhood education and school readiness have dominated the child care policy discussion in recent years, but there has been minimal focus on care for infants and toddlers. “In the push for school readiness, babies have been left behind. But, the irony is that infancy is the most critical time for brain development, and for setting the groundwork for success in the later years. Yet we devote the least amount of resources to those who need the most, our babies. We need to create a better overall child care infrastructure that recognizes the entire spectrum of ages and needs from birth to five,” explains J. Ron Lally, Ph.D, co-director of WestEd Center for child and Family Studies.

“It’s hard and frustrating, like looking for a needle in a haystack,” explains Linda Orosco. “We began our search for infant care that we could afford and that was close to my work months before Trinity was born. We struggled with the same thing that all my friends struggle with: You have to work because it’s not possible to live on one salary, so you have to have child care. And when it’s a baby, it’s just so much harder to find care, and you want it to be the best it can be. There is also the cost of it, which is out of reach.”

To access the full report and county by county data: www.rrnetwork.org.

The 27-year-old California Child Care Resource & Referral Network is a nonprofit association of state-funded member agencies in counties across California. Resource and referral programs (R&Rs) are a unique hub in the world of child care, connecting parents, providers, and policymakers in each community. R&Rs help parents find child care by providing referrals to licensed programs and by offering important information on how to recognize and choose quality care. R&Rs help child care providers by offering training in child development, safety, and business skills, and they help policymakers by gathering standardized data, identifying key areas of local need, and participating in policy discussions.

-Richard Moore
Public Relations Director

Central Valley Children's Services Network
1911 N. Helm Ave.
(559) 456-1100

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