The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on child care in Marin, according to a survey by the Marin Child Care Council.
The council distributed the survey in March to 287 child care sites in Marin, both child care centers and smaller family child care providers. The 55% who responded reported a more than 40% reduction in child care slots during the pandemic.
Before the virus arrived in Marin last year, these providers were caring for 5,588 children. By March, they were caring for 3,327.
“That is a significant loss of slots in our county that we really need to rebuild,” Aideen Gaidmore, executive director of the Marin Child Care Council, told the Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Child care in Marin is going to need support to rebuild. Even with state and federal relief, it is not enough.”
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package includes $25 billion to upgrade child care centers and construct new ones in underserved areas. It would also create an expanded tax credit to incentivize businesses to create child care sites in their workplaces.
Gov. Gavin Newson’s proposed state budget would provide $1 billion for an additional 100,000 child care slots; $250 million in infrastructure grants for child care centers; and per-child stipends for licensed child care and preschool providers.
Gaidmore, however, said the proposed allocations in Newsom’s budget fail to address the low rate at which the state subsidies child care worker salaries.
Heidi Tomsky, director of the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center, who commented after Gaidmore’s presentation, said, “Average pay is $18 to $22 an hour. We’ve had a help wanted ad on Craigslist for two months, and we’ve had one call on it.”
Sixty-two percent of the survey respondents reported they have had to close their doors at least once during the pandemic because of a child or staff member becoming infected with COVID, or being exposed to someone who tested positive.
“A lot of our providers are women of color who live in-low income neighborhoods,” Gaidmore said. “When the pandemic hit, child care providers were told they needed to open their doors and take in children and they did. They were terrified but they did.
“When we were all sitting at home, they were there serving essential workers, the people who were working in our community providing us with the services we needed at a time of huge uncertainty,” Gaidmore said.
“When we’re addressing equity as a county,” Gaidmore said, “then it’s time to invest in this workforce because this workforce is really the base of our community.”
Until COVID-19 regulations were relaxed in March, child care providers were required to keep groups of 10 or more children in separate rooms or spaces. That meant that child care providers had to hire more staff members to care for the same number of children. They also had to shoulder increased costs for increased cleaning and personal protective equipment.
Only 56% of survey respondents said they applied for a Small Business Administration loan, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, to help cover their increased costs. Gaidmore said many providers have incurred major debt trying to keep their operations afloat.
“They just need some money to survive,” she said.
Supervisors Katie Rice recommended that Gaidmore meet with County Administrator Matthew Hymel to discuss whether any of the federal COVID-19 relief funds the county has received could be channeled to Marin child care providers.
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May 31, 2021 at 04:42AM
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Marin child care services reel from COVID-19 losses - Marin Independent Journal
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