San Mateo County parents and providers search for solution to childcare, workforce crises
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KGO) -- Parents and childcare providers in San Mateo County gathered for a town hall Thursday night to address what supervisors call a childcare crisis that's leading to a workforce crisis.
The event in South San Francisco was the first in a series of three townhalls, hosted by San Mateo County Supervisors Jackie Speier and Lisa Gauthier.
"I'm a grandmother myself, I know firsthand," Supervisor Gauthier said. "My daughter and my grandson both live with me."
According to these county leaders, parents are spending $30,000 a year on childcare for one infant. In a survey displayed in the room, some parents shared that they spent over $4,000 a month on childcare, but most parents said it costs them closer to $1,000-$2,000.
MORE: $15M grant will help hundreds of kids access child care in Santa Clara Co.
"We have a workforce crisis that starts in the crib," Supervisor Speier said. "Eighty percent of our parents say they have childcare issues that impact their work and half of them are leaving the workforce because of it."
Both supervisors say the goal of the town hall is to hear stories and learn from parents, guardians, and childcare providers.
ABC7 News spoke with several parents and even childcare providers who attending the gathering.
Julia Rigling is the mother of 20-month-old twins, so she experiences twice the joy but also twice the challenges.
"Childcare is not easy to come by," Rigling said. "Add a second kid and a lot of places are full, or it's just not cost-efficient."
MORE: Americans are spending about 15% of total income on child care, study finds
On the other side of the equation are the childcare providers. While parents say it's hard to find affordable spots, these providers say they're struggling to fill spots.
"They have spaces to fill, spaces for infants, for toddlers," said Liz Scully, Executive Director of the San Mateo County Family Child Care Organization. "They're having trouble connecting with parents who are looking for care and the subsidy rate is just so low."
Hayley Village owns and operates 'It Takes a Village,' a childcare program in San Mateo.
"I'm here to advocate on equity and inclusion, especially for childcare providers," Village said. "Our field is one that isn't funded equally. We need support for sustainability. When you balance it all off, regardless of what people think the rate is, it is still not the cost of what it takes to live here. There has got to be funding that comes to family childcare providers."
For one mom, Reyhan Uygur, the only way to make childcare work was to leave her nurse practitioner job and build a childcare center herself. She now runs La Creche Child Development Center.
"There was no one who could take care of my child at seven in the morning, you know what I mean? Or at six at night," Uygur said. "Infant program was limited. It was either leave the hospital or leave my child in preschool."
