In recent years, California’s child care system has undergone major changes due to the pandemic and several state initiatives. Last week, PPIC researchers Caroline Danielson, Joseph Hayes, and Patricia Malagon discussed findings from a new report examining whether the cost of care is affordable for families and sustainable for providers.

While child care is a critical need for many families, it is also expensive, noted Danielson. Typical market rates for child care cost 6% to 28% of median family incomes in the state, depending on the region, the age of the child, and the type of care.

As part of its Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, the state has undertaken key efforts to increase the number of slots for subsidized programs, reform the payment structure for reimbursing subsidized providers, and expand transitional kindergarten (TK) for all four-year-olds.

These initiatives have shown some signs of success. The report found that overall capacity has grown, with the number of slots for early care and education now exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 6%. TK enrollment is the primary driver behind this increase. However, Danielson highlighted that there has also been recent growth in capacity among licensed home-based providers.

To learn more about stakeholder perceptions, the researchers conducted a survey of the professionals (known as “navigators”) who connect families with providers offering subsidized care and held ten focus groups with parents and providers involved in the subsidy system across the state.

Parent and navigator responses indicate that affordability has improved. Yet there are considerable differences across regions. Hayes noted that in lower-cost regions of the state, about 60% of navigators said affordability has increased, while only a third said this in the highest-cost region.

Finding affordable care for infants is particularly difficult. Only 31% of navigators said families were able to find affordable care for infants, compared with close to 80% for preschoolers, said Malagon. As more four-year-olds attend TK, child care centers and family homes find themselves serving a larger share of younger children, who require higher staff-to-child ratios and have other unique needs, which can present administrative and staffing challenges.

Improving access to subsidized care so that more eligible families participate is another state goal. Danielson noted that, in future research, PPIC plans to study the reach of subsidized care programs across regions and age groups as well as explore issues such as the continuity of care and support for parents’ employment.