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Report: In San Diego and the nation child care can cost as much as college

San Diego Union-Tribune - 12/31/2019

Child care continues to cost more than tuition at some public colleges, especially for families in San Diego and across the state, the latest data show.

A new report released by Child Care Aware of America, an advocacy group in Virginia, says the annual price of center-based infant care in California is $16,452 a year. That is more than half the state's median income for single-parent families and about 17% of the median income for two-parent families, the report says.

Data collected by the YMCA of San Diego County shows full-time infant care in San Diego costs an average of $15,513 annually for licensed child care centers. The average cost decreases to about $9,800 annually at licensed family child care homes.

By comparison, the average cost of public college in California is $9,870 annually for tuition and fees, the report said.

The situation is similar in other states. Nationally average child care expenses hover between about $18,000 and $26,000 annually, depending on the region, the report says.

Although costs remain high nationally — and they've been at this level for a while — advocates say lowering prices isn't the solution.

"In a perfect world, child care should cost a lot," said Dionne Dobbins, senior director of research at Child Care Aware. "We think it should be expensive. But we also think that parents and providers shouldn't be bearing the brunt of that cost."

She said the industry demands a strong public investment, instead of lowering costs, because many child care providers already are struggling. Even with high costs, the price parents pay isn't normally enough to cover all of a provider's expenses, Dobbins said.

The kind of investment many advocates seek mirrors the way the government supports degree seekers.

"About 60 percent of funding for child care comes directly from parents," Dobbins said. "In comparison, when you're thinking about paying for college … about 23 percent of the cost for a public education comes from parents and the rest is typically subsidized by state and federal funds."

In California, as with the rest of the nation, most parents seeking assistance paying for child care can't access it.

Kim McDougal, executive director of San Diego'sYMCA Child Care Resource Service, said one in nine eligible families can't access county subsidies and are instead placed on wait lists. She said those eligibility requirements aren't easy to meet.

"We know that if you don't meet the need and eligibility requirements because you make just a little bit more than 85 percent of the state median income, child care is still incredibly unaffordable," McDougal said. "There's a pretty big chasm between those that qualify and those that can actually afford it."

To work around expensive child care costs, McDougal said, many parents are forced to piece together complicated work schedules or leave children in the hands of family or friends. Dobbins said some parents resort to sending their children to unlicensed facilities, which are not monitored by the state.

Laura Kohn, director of early workforce development for the San Diego Workforce Partnership, said this reality disproportionately affects women and people of color.

She said women in San Diego enter the workforce at lower than expected rates, which is "symptomatic of the poor state of child care." When it comes to scheduling child care, she said, people of color tend to work less traditional hours, which can make it difficult for them to find a center that fits their needs.

"People in those communities are those who are more likely to be in service jobs, be that retail, health care or public safety," Kohn said.

As advocates await the kinds of big financial reforms needed to make child care accessible to most families, McDougal said, the upcoming federal budget includes a $550 million increase for child care funds. This amount will be distributed throughout the country.

"It is a small drop in the bucket," McDougal said. "It won't really drastically move the needle, unfortunately, but it will help."

In the meantime, she said, the industry is looking for nontraditional funding streams to ease the financial burden of child care on working families. This includes lobbying local elected officials, because the industry generally depends on assistance from state and federal sources.

Dobbins said reform in this area is also dependent on cooperation from employers when it comes to accommodating employees' work schedules and offering the right kinds of benefits.

For parents seeking affordable child care options, McDougal recommends researching family child care homes, which are less expensive than child care centers. She said other options are slim if a family is not eligible for subsidies.

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