Report: “Parents can’t afford to pay and child care providers can’t afford to stay”

The Children First Collective stood alongside a broad coalition of leaders on Friday to highlight new reports that show just how challenging it is for people to make ends meet and provide for themselves and their families in San Diego.

The CFC debuted its summary of the County’s commissioned “San Diego Child Care Cost Estimation Model,” which found:

• In San Diego County, 190,000 children lack access to licensed child care
• A family of four needs to earn more than $107,000 annually to afford child care
• 2/3 of San Diego families live in a child care “desert,” meaning not enough resources are available in their area

“Parents can’t afford to pay and childcare providers can’t afford to stay,” said Courtney Baltiyskyy, co-facilitator of the CFC and Vice President of Public Policy at YMCA of San Diego County.”

The price of quality care is a challenge for parents and child care providers, who operate under slim margins. This issue results in extremely low wages for child care workers, who provide critical work. According to the “San Diego County Housing Needs Report” released simultaneously, San Diego’s child care workers earn about $19 per hour.

“Let me repeat: workers who fuel our economy and depend on this critical sector of caregivers and early educators can come to work, all due to the labor and personal sacrifice of low wages,” Baltiyskyy said.