Child Care & Preschool

Children grow and learn best when parents have access to safe, affordable, and quality child care and preschool. And the providers responsible for caring for and teaching babies and kids must be paid at least a living wage. But for many families, child care is unaffordable and providers — primarily women and workers of color — can’t earn a living.

Where to get started

Report

California’s Child Care Providers Need a Substantial Pay Raise

March 14, 2023
Fact Sheet

Creating Greater Access to California’s Early Learning and Care Programs

September 28, 2023

Related Resources

Our work highlights why investment in child care, preschool, and other early childhood programs matters no matter one’s age and for the growth and well-being of California.

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Get the Facts

More than 6 in 10 California children under the age of 12 live in families where all parents are working.

In California, two working parents earning low wages would each have to work 147 hours per week to avoid paying more than 7% of their income on the cost of child care for their infant in a licensed center.

Even prior to the pandemic, 60% of Californians lived in a child care desert with limited access to child care providers.