press release 03-26-19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2019
SAN MATEO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVE FUNDING TO HELP INCREASE CHILD CARE SPACES
Build Up for San Mateo County’s Children receives Measure K funding to preserve and expand child care facilities.
Redwood City, CA – To
address the critical shortage of child care and preschool spaces, San Mateo
County Board of Supervisors approved $50,000 in Measure
K funds to support the Build Up for San Mateo County’s Children Initiative to
expand local childcare options. Build Up’s operations are housed at 4Cs of San
Mateo County, the County’s nonprofit child care resource and referral agency.
“Like housing, affordable, high-quality child care and
preschool facilities are in short supply in San Mateo County,” said Supervisor
Dave Pine who is also the Co-Chair for the Build Up Advisory Body. “Investing
in the organizational and support capacity of Build Up will accelerate the creation
of new childcare spaces which are so desperately needed for children and
families to thrive.”
According to the
2017 San Mateo County Child Care and Preschool Needs Assessment, the county
needs 19,724 new child care spaces for children ages 0-12. Of
these, approximately 11,000 need to be subsidized for low-income working
families.
Available child
care is a quality of life and workforce issue for residents and employers. The
child care shortage causes working parents to choose between placing their
children in less-than-ideal child care arrangements or declining employment
opportunities. In recent years, programs in San Mateo County have turned down
$1 million annually in State support for subsidized early learning due to lack
of facilities to house child care programs.
“We are grateful to the community for its
overwhelming support of Measure K which will provide needed funding for this
public-private partnership. The
County’s prioritization of early care and education is vital to working
families as it allows parents to go work while fostering early childhood learning
and development,” said David Fleishman, Executive
Director at 4Cs of San Mateo County.
Measure K is a 20-year
extension of the countywide half-cent sales tax passed by local voters in
November 2016 to support essential County services and to maintain or replace
critical facilities.
About Build Up
Build Up for San Mateo County’s
Children formed in 2018 to address a critical shortage of affordable,
high-quality child care and preschool options. Build Up engages local companies
to encourage them to create child care facilities for their employees, tracks
local real estate projects for child care opportunities, identifies resources
to build new child care and preschool facilities, and generates funding to
renovate existing facilities. Build Up also works with cities and the county to
improve policies for child care development and provide technical assistance to
child care operators. Leadership is provided by 4Cs of San Mateo County, First
5 San Mateo County, the County of San Mateo, San Mateo County Office of
Education and the Center for Early Learning at Silicon Valley Community
Foundation. The initiative is a response to the 2016 Child Care and Preschool Task Force, commissioned by First 5
San Mateo County and convened by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, that
recommended multi-sector solutions to the child care shortage and identified a
need for a coordinated, cross-agency approach, supported by paid staff, to work
on closing the gap. For more information visit https://buildupsmc.com.
About 4Cs
4Cs of San Mateo County is a trusted resource for child care and
preschool needs for parents living and working in San Mateo County. For more
than 45 years, 4Cs has provided referral services for parents seeking quality
child care, financial assistance for families that can’t afford the full cost
of child care, parenting support through workshops and educational programs,
and training for child care and early education providers. 4Cs employs Build Up staff and will be the fiscal agent for the Measure
K funds for Build Up.
Contact: Christine Padilla, Build Up Director
650-517-1436, cpadilla@sanmateo4cs.org