Helping working parents take care of their children

Simitian's measure enabled San Mateo County to improve child care and early education in our community without any new state funding and, even more challenging, doing so while serving even more children than the year before.

Specifically, the measure allows the county to establish a new eligibility and family fee scale for low-income families that takes into consideration regional economic differences. For example, families who would have lost their child care benefit upon earning their first pay raise can now stay on the program longer by paying a gradually higher portion of the costs. The law allows the county to also provide a higher daily reimbursement rate for fragile state-funded child development centers serving very low-income families. It further allows programs that otherwise would face cuts or elimination because of the growing gap between funding and program costs to stay in business. Under the new law, the county is also able to move funds between programs to better meet the child care and early education needs of our community.

In just the first year, success stories abound. When a single mother of two receiving subsidized child care while working a part-time job was offered a full-time job, she was able to accept it. Under the old system, full-time work would have put her over the state income cutoff. But because of Simitian's measure, she was able to keep her children in child care. Working for years at a low-paying job, another single mom received a much deserved pay raise that put her just $50 over the state income limit. Under the new plan, she was able to take the raise and still keep her child care. With a higher reimbursement rate allowed under AB 1326, one nonprofit child care provider serving very low-income families was able - for the first time in three years - to offer its teachers a modest raise.

Simply put, the pilot project enabled San Mateo County to develop a child care plan that more accurately reflects the needs and goals of our community. A recent letter from a parent says it best: "Child care is an important, pivotal step in helping families to rise from the stronghold of poverty. Acknowledging that safe and affordable child care is a dilemma for almost all families in poverty is the first step. Not only will families and particularly their children benefit, but so will the greater community."

San Mateo County families and children are well served when the Legislature is willing to work with counties to design legislation that says "yes" to meeting a community's needs and "no" to cookie-cutter solutions.

Mark Church is a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and co-chair of the San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council.