County of Santa Barbara-Early Care and Education

Data

I: There is insufficient supply of child care to meet the demand of families in Santa Barbara County. Here are some statistics:

During 1998-99 there were 2,519 referrals made for child care services from the Children's Resource & Referral Program seeking placements for 3,511 children.
In 1998, there were 177 licensed child care centers with a capacity of 204 spaces for infants/toddlers (ages 0 to 2) and 5,358 spaces for preschoolers (ages 2 to 5).
In 1999, there were 245 infant spaces with a planned increase of 32 infant spaces in early 2000.
There were 407 licensed family child care homes with a capacity of 3,922 spaces for all ages in 1998.
Of the estimated 12,457 total child care slots in 1999, 1,800 were occupied by children in families receiving child care subsidies.
In 1999, there were an estimated 6,574 children on child care waiting lists, with at least 2,000 of these awaiting subsidized slots.
The ratio of child care slots (in child care centers and family child care homes) to children in TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) families ranged from an average of nearly 6:1 in South County communities to less than 2:1 in North County communities.
There are 4.2 times more children ages 0-13 with working parents than licensed child care slots, ranking Santa Barbara 26th among California's 58 counties in its supply of licensed child care slots.
There are 19,291 children under the age of 5 with working parents.
There are 46,020 children under the age of 13 with working parents.
Infants and preschoolers ages 0 to 5 represent 42% of children needing child care.

There is a shortage of licensed child care for families of all income levels; the Child Care Planning Council estimates that 10,000 more slots are needed county-wide. More than half of all mothers return to work within a year of their babies' birth, and 80% of those children experience some form of out-of-home care in their early years. Attrition is a big problem among child care providers with about half of family child care homes going out of business their first year.

II:The cost of quality early care and education services in Santa Barbara County for many families is prohibitive.

As a country, we are just beginning to realize how expensive quality early care services are. National estimates of the value of the services and goods devoted to the care and education of young children range from $120 billion to $240 billion annually.

North County

The average costs for child care per week at licensed family care homes are:

for infants/toddlers, $102
for preschool children, $94
for school-age children, $87

The average costs for child care per week at licensed care centers are:

for infants/toddlers, $132
for preschool children, $78
for school-age children, $72

South County
The average costs for child care per week at licensed family care homes are:

for infants/toddlers, $137
for preschool children, $128
for school-age children, $114

The average costs for child care per week at licensed care centers are:

for infants/toddlers, $186
for preschool children, $132
for school-age children, $90

Child care is clearly not affordable for many families in Santa Barbara County. For families with low or moderate incomes ($11,960 - $30,000), paying for full time child care can be an enormous financial burden consuming from 27% to 66% of their limited incomes. In 1999, Santa Barbara's median household income was $39,108. The less families earn, the higher the proportion of their income is spent on child care. Housing costs in Santa Barbara County exceed 35% of monthly incomes, and more in some cases, thereby further reducing the available income for child care.

III: The quality of existing early care and education services is variable.

To protect the safety and health of children, the State of California has established licensing requirements for child care providers. Licensing, however, does not always ensure high quality programs. The California Department of Education has provided the following guidelines to parents for identify quality child care environments.

Settings that are safe and provide small group sizes and adult-to-child ratios encouraging the…

Best opportunities for development;
Caregivers or teachers who have experience and are trained in early childhood development;
Settings that offer opportunities for meaningful parent involvement;
Learning materials and teaching styles that are age-appropriate and respectful of children's cultural and ethnic heritage; and
Learning opportunities that promote children's success in school.

Given these standards, quality child care is difficult to assess and locate for many families. Many young children spend their days in child care settings that are unable to provide adequate stimulus for children's long-term development. For infants and toddlers who have specialized needs for child care, it can be particularly challenging for parents to find appropriate settings to ensure their child's health and safety.

Each participant in the system (parents, children, caregivers, and policymakers) are disadvantaged by a system of delivery that is part of a disjointed infrastructure characterized by complex eligibility requirements, inadequate compensation, and shortage of resources. Though often knowledgeable, program providers frequently lack the wherewithal to make needed changes, and policy makers are often confused about how to implement needed improvements.

Research indicates that the quality of existing child care is compromised by:

Lack of affordability: the best quality care is out of reach of most parents;
Low pay for child care providers, leading to a high rate of turnover;
Severe shortage of qualified teachers; lack of trained care givers for special needs children;
Few incentives to providers to continue child care as a profession;
A fragmented system of funding and eligibility, making it frustrating for parents to choose child care providers wisely;
Inadequate health and safety measures provided by care givers, particularly for infants and toddlers.

For those who enter the child care field, there is a dearth of opportunities for training and career development. Funding for training is limited and sporadic, and inadequately linked to career advancement. Incentives for caregivers to receive further training are lacking and, in general, college credits cannot be earned by enrolling in a training program. Most training offered does not include specialized preparation for working with a wide range of children and families with particular life experiences or at specific developmental stages.

Low pay for child care providers impacts teacher quality and retention. A recent survey of students in the Early Care and Education Department at SBCC found that 67% identified low pay as the most frequent barrier to ECE related positions, while lack of benefits was cited by 30% of the respondents.

IV: Parents need to be at the core of solutions for ECE

To raise quality and improve results, families must not simply be effective consumers of services or actively engaged as partners in their children's programs, but must function at the very core of ECE programs. Research shows that parent and family engagement in early care and education programs improves results for children, increasing the likelihood of children's chances of success and achievement, and decreasing the likelihood of negative outcomes, both in school and later in life. Intensive parental engagement is particularly important for the development of children whose mothers have relatively low levels of education.

V: The community must be part of addressing needs, designing and supporting changes
in ECE programs.

As a community, Santa Barbara has generously funded children's after-school care and enrichment, educational support, advocacy for physical and emotional protection, and basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. This support comes from public partnerships as well as private foundations, corporations, and the general public. It is our belief that an informed community will respond to the opportunity to improve the availability and quality of early care and education for the safety, health, emotional, and intellectual development of our children, particularly those between the ages of 0 to 5. These members of the community, at public and private levels, have the power through their collaborative efforts, to bring about the vision of a model child care system for Santa Barbara County; their participation and input are welcomed and encouraged.

SBCCCPC Strategic Plan

KIDS Network Scorecard

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