Celebrating a big Child Care Champion win at the Politifest Solutions Showdown!

• Over the weekend, we had the chance to participate in Politifest, an annual event hosted by Voice of San Diego. The event brings together local advocacy organizations to discuss not only hot topic issues in San Diego, but also to propose solutions.

Our issue: How do we solve the child care crisis?

• The prompt: “The child care industry has long been in crisis. Affordable, quality care is challenging to find and staff are not paid enough to stay in the field. This panel will offer solutions to tackle the crisis in different ways, from schools to funding to employers to making it easier for providers to expand.”
  

So what’s the solution? Panelists discussed a wide range of possible solutions to bring some relief to San Diegans struggling with child care.

• Shana Hazan of the San Diego Unified School Board and Vice Chair of the California Children & Families Commission explored the disconnect between a child’s school schedule and a working parent’s schedule, highlighting the gaps in care before and after school is in session. “She goes on to say that, “After-school care is a quiet killer for parents.” she said.
• Chris Cate, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, shed light on the impact child care has on the workforce and led a conversation on how employers should be more involved in the individual success of their employees to retain their workforce, adding that employers should take on some of the cost of care.
• Family child care provider Sarah Song brought firsthand experience to the table about the licensing struggles providers face just to keep the doors open. From providing dedicated parking spots to costly sprinkler systems, providers are struggling to stay afloat while abiding by licensing regulations. Song also referenced the San Diego County Child Care Blueprint, which proposes to raise the annual income qualifications for subsidies, citing many firsthand accounts of middle-class families making tough financial decisions for the sake of care.
• Children First Collective’s Courtney Balytiskyy stressed that, “child care is a public good that is not publicly funded.” Her solution: getting direct and dedicated funding for child care in San Diego. “We are ready to take this issue to the ballot box and let ya’ll decide on how to get local, dedicated funding for child care.”

So who won this solution showdown?

• Child care in San Diego remains a multifaceted issue that will require diverse solutions. While each panelist provided a unique perspective on the current state of child care in San Diego, in the end, it came down to funding and giving San Diegans the power to vote on how we secure local, dedicated funding.
• Children First Collective for the win!