Child Care Budget Response

Today, Californians can rejoice in the fact that with the final pieces of the budget falling into place, we've made the greatest investment in child care in anyone's memory. For all of the pain and destruction a pandemic has caused, it turned much needed attention towards the need and value of accessible and affordable child care that has always existed. Now, made possible by significant investments by Congress and the Biden administration, the legislature and Governor Newsom have made meaningful changes in California that will positively impact children, families and child care providers. We were recently celebrating the addition of 6,500 subsidized child care spaces, and now we are talking about 200,000 child care spaces! Other highlights in the 2022 budget include:

• All child care providers being paid at the 75% of the 2018 market rate and the elimination of the part time rate for license exempt providers;
• The elimination of family fees through June of 2022, allowing families financial breathing room, while still paying child care providers their full wages;
• The foundation of true rate reforming, with a promise to move towards a single regionalized rate in two years;
• Additional stipends for child care providers;
• An increase to child care resource and referral contracts - the first meaningful increase in decades;
• A one time $25 million investment in the Child Care Initiative Project to support increasing the number of home based providers and recovering those we lost in the pandemic;
• The first ever tentative agreement between the State, and Child Care Providers United, with all provisions approved in the budget.

We are proud to celebrate this win with our fellow advocates, and am thankful Governor Newsom and the Legislature were able to agree upon these significant changes that will be so beneficial to everyone involved in our child care system. We are especially thankful for the child care providers who sacrificed so much of themselves - taking on health, financial and emotional risks they could have never imagined. We offer sincerest gratitude to Senator Connie Leyva, who championed rate reform and worked tirelessly to ensure its inclusion in the budget, as well as Budget Chair, Senator Nancy Skinner who made these investments in child care a top priority.

This is just the beginning of a new era for child care. We look forward to the continued journey with all of you.
In the meantime, show your gratitude by tweeting your thanks to all of the major players for such a historic #CABudget:

• @CAGovernor
• @CALegislature
• @SenatorLeyva
• @NancySkinnerCA
• @CCPUCalifornia

In partnership,
Keisha Nzewi,
Director of Public Policy