This article originally appeared in the January-February 2008 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

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Community Resources

“What about the babies?”

New report documents the need for more quality, affordable child care for infants and toddlers

By Amanda Montague

At Crystal Stairs, an LA child care resource and referral agency, “most of the parents looking for infant and toddler care are frustrated,” says Sydney Kamlager, public affairs division manager. “There just aren’t many centers that offer subsidized care for infants and toddlers. (Many) parents who are looking for center-based care for their infants and toddlers . . . aren’t able to find or afford (it).”

Few spaces, high costs

Child care for infants and toddlers is the focus of the new Portfolio, the latest comprehensive survey of child care by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. It shows that

• About two in five requests for child care referrals are for infant care

• But only 5% of places in child care centers are for children under two

• In family child care—more than a third of licensed care in California—only about one-fifth of the places are for infants and toddlers

• A single parent working full-time at minimum wage would have to spend more than two-thirds of their income ($10,745 a year) for center-based infant care, or 45% of their income ($7,069 a year) for family child care for an infant.

Recently, for example, says Kamlager, “we received a call from a 19-year-old mother looking for a center that takes infants and toddlers. Our counselors could not find one center in their immediate area—or even outside the area—that had an opening and was affordable. She and her husband both work. They do not make enough money to cover the cost of child care (but they) are ineligible for child care subsidies. The sad part of this story is that it is not unique.”

High need, little incentive

Patty Siegel, the director of the Resource & Referral Network, says there should be more emphasis on quality infant-toddler care. “All the research shows that 80% of brain development happens in the first two years, but have we done anything to move our policies forward on these issues, especially when we have more and more parents working?

“There are not a lot of incentives for people to provide infant and toddler care, because they can get more money and it’s less work to take care of preschoolers.” Siegel says more center-based openings for infants and toddlers are especially needed to meet the increasing demand from parents.

Education for policy makers

The Resource & Referral Network will brief state legislators on the Portfolio in January and later distribute it to the California Congressional delegation in D.C. Siegel hopes that “having this new information will help to convince policy makers that we need to create policies for children 0-5—a comprehensive strategy. If the governor’s (next) budget shows any type of child care cuts or is silent on the issue of infant-toddler care, we hope to bring this information out again and ask ‘What about the babies?’”

The new Child Care Portfolio includes detailed information about the supply and the demand for child care in each county in California. You can download the Portfolio at www.rrnetwork.org or call 415-882-0234

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Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin

• Starting Off Right, from CLASP, describes how some states are working to improve early care and education for infants and toddlers and supports to their families.

• State Policies to Improve the Odds for the Healthy Development and School Readiness of Infants and Toddlers, from Zero to Three, summarizes infant-toddler policies in states across the US.

• Zero to Three offers advocacy tools and primers on public policy affecting infants and toddlers, including tips for framing the issues, building coalitions, planning site visits for policymakers, writitng letters to the editor, and using data in advocacy work.

To stay informed about new and upcoming Children’s Advocate articles, related resources, and advocacy opportunities, sign up for our Children’s Advocate bulletin

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