Local Leaders Working to Make Child Care More Affordable for San Diegans

A downtown meeting held Thursday had city leaders debating changes that could potentially make child care more affordable for San Diegans. With studies showing that the average parents are paying nearly $10,000 on child care every year, many are also faced with the obstacle of finding quality, affordable care for their children while they work. 

One such study was produced by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the San Diego Foundation, which found that San Diego is the 13th most expensive city in the country, with nearly 70 percent of families requiring some form of child care as both parents work. With mounting child care expenses, many parents are quitting their jobs or switching schedules in order to be with their kids, according to the local YMCA Childcare Resource Center. 

Knowing this, city leaders met a Symphony Towers to discuss how the issues uncovered within the study will be addressed in San Diego. Laura Kohn, director of Early Workforce Development, told ABC 10 News, “When you pile onto that the expense of childcare, which for an infant or toddler can be north of $17,000 a year, for a preschooler $11,000 a year, it just blows the top off of their budgets.” 

Kohn is suggesting that assistance should be approached from both sides of the problem. This includes helping pay rent for child care providers and benefits for their employees. As this issue has the potential to affect not only the well-being of San Diego families but the current and future workforce, Kohn is committed to identifying and implementing solutions. 

As for the state of California, a recent study by WalletHub found it to be among the least affordable states in the country to raise a family. It ranked last for housing affordability, 47th for median family salary, and 42nd for child care cost. The state also ranked in the 29th percentages of families in poverty.