This grant will provide funding to recruit, train and assist 30 women to obtain family child care licenses that will create 240 new child care spaces in family-run daycare centers.
Santa Barbara County has a deficit of 28,000 child care spaces with three children in line for every licensed child care space. This gap has widened significantly due to COVID-19; child care has become even more necessary as parents attempt to return to work.
Children’s Resource and Referral (CRR) has operated for 50 years as the only agency in the county that assists women to become licensed child care providers. Child care providers in CRR’s Network are typically bilingual women who were previously unemployed or under-employed. As licensed providers, they are able to earn more than a living wage, and the majority continue to run their businesses for many years.
Few investments address the achievement gap of low-income families as effectively as high-quality child care which supports the emotional, social, and academic development of children. Reliable child care also empowers mothers to pursue employment and educational opportunities and helps disadvantaged families break the cycle of poverty. This grant will expand the earning potential for both child care providers and enrolled families and create a more equitable future for the children served.
