The Child Care Needs Assessment was launched by the San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council, San Mateo County Office of Education, San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools, and First 5 San Mateo County and Silicon Valley Community Foundation to find out how well San Mateo County is meeting families’ child care needs. What we found? The need is critical.
A child care shortage of this proportion has serious implications for our community and economic vitality; we need to join our voices and call for action now. We need to mobilize policymakers and community leaders to ensure that our communities have equitable access to high quality childcare. One of the most striking results is that 73% of survey respondents stated that they have turned down work due to a lack of child care. Affordability of childcare was the highest consideration for families; 65% of respondents indicated that affordable child care was somewhat or very hard to find.