Fragile Licensed Child Care Supply Threatened by Continued Economic Downturn
Parents continue to struggle accessing quality child care

CHILD CARE DATA - MADERA COUNTY (2009 Child Care Portfolio)

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CHILD CARE INDUSTRY IN MADERA COUNTY (Brochure Outside)

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CHILD CARE INDUSTRY IN MADERA COUNTY (Brochure Inside)

MADERA, CA – The need for affordable, quality child care continues to surpass the supply, according to the 2009 California Child Care Portfolio released yesterday online by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. 

Bobby Kahn, Executive Director of the Madera County Economic Development Commission (EDC) agrees. “Wise business leaders know that their biggest asset is morale.  In a tight economy, it’s all the more important to make sure your employees are confident in the safety and care of their children” he said in the newly released “Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in Madera County.”  This collaborative project with Madera County Office of Education, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, and First 5 Madera County was launched just last month at the EDC’s Economic Summit.  The local concern for child care by child development professionals and business leaders alike is validated by new data in the 2009 California Child Care Portfolio.

The Portfolio is the 7th in a biennial series of statewide and county-by-county reports documenting licensed child care supply and demand in California. The data was collected in 2008 from local child care resource and referral programs and prepared by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, a statewide organization. The 61 locally-based, state-funded child care resource and referral agencies (R&Rs) work to improve the quality, availability, and affordability of child care in their communities. The R&Rs talk with parents daily as they counsel them in their search for quality child care. 

Reviewing the data, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, 14th District, Chair of Assembly Education Committee commented, “As California struggles to rebound from the economic downturn, and make education a top priority, the data in this report makes it clear that addressing access to quality, licensed child care is essential as a foundation for children’s early learning experience, and for supporting working families.”

The 2009 Portfolio report indicates that:

Conscious of the continuing downward spiral of California’s economy, the Network took the initiative in 2009 to survey the local R&R programs to assess if and how child care supply and demand had been impacted in their county since 2008. Over half of R&Rs reported significant changes triggered primarily by foreclosure and unemployment. Patty Siegel, Executive Director of the Network, expressed concern about these reports, noting, “At a time when working families are struggling harder than ever to find and keep their jobs, everyone concerned about economic recovery should be paying close attention to what is happening to our licensed child care supply in California.”

In response to the Network’s survey, Donna Sneeringer, Public Affairs Manager at Child Action Inc. reported, “In Sacramento County, we have seen over a 20% drop in the supply of licensed child care since 2006. This drop is most apparent in communities which have been hard hit by home foreclosures. For now this is a hidden problem, as demand for child care has declined due to job losses. However as people return to employment, families will have fewer child care options which will complicate their return to the workforce. It is clear in our community that restoring the supply of child care must be included in steps to our economic recovery.”

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

Community Action Partnership of Madera County is a nonprofit organization agency whose mission is helping people, changing lives, and making our community a better place to live.  The Resource & Referral Program is dedicated to assisting parents in their search for child care and to supporting providers in their efforts to deliver quality care for children.  Funded by the California Department of Education, Child Development Division, Resource & Referral is one of over 61 community-based resource and referral programs (R&Rs) throughout the state that help parents find child care by providing counseling and referrals; support providers by conducting workshops in child development, safety, and management; and help policymakers by gathering standardized data, identifying key areas of need, and participating in policy discussions that bring the issues of families to the forefront.

The 29-year-old California Child Care Resource & Referral Network is a nonprofit association of 57 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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    December 16, 2009
CONTACT: Kim Lopez (559) 675-5752