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Published on 04/21/1999 All articles from this issue

How we can fill our child care void

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Editorial

The robust national economy has affected our communities quite well. Tech stocks have been riding high. People are bidding, and overbidding on million-dollar homes. Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs fill our highways. Gourmet coffees fill the lunch rooms of our companies. Life is good.

However, and you knew this was coming, new problems present themselves with the growth and prosperity. It's obvious that traffic and available housing, especially affordable housing, are big problems. But finding child care is another major problem specific to our family-oriented communities.

Our March 31 cover story detailed local anxieties over the lack of available quality child care. We are actually better off than most areas of the county: Los Altos has 1,093 slots and 2.6 children for each slot, according to a child care task force report commissioned by the Community Services Agency serving Los Altos, the Hills and Mountain View. Mountain View, by contrast, has 1,662 slots, but 4.6 children for each slot.

With three and four children in line for every available child care opening, long waiting lists and two-year waits are not uncommon. This leaves some parents with the prospect of plotting child care strategies before the kids are even born.

Experts say it's going to get a lot worse. More than 217,000 new county jobs are expected by 2020. A 1998 economic impact report on child care in Santa Clara County noted county costs are already among the highest in the state. However, the report, funded by the Los Altos-headquartered Packard Foundation, noted "investment in high-quality, licensed child care reduces local public sector expenditures. For every dollar spent (on child care), more than $7 can be saved in future spending on criminal justice, welfare and social services." What's implied here is that an investment in more quality child care can bring down a host of other costs.

In response, a group of local legislators and concerned county agencies, led by the Local Investments in Child Care collaborative, called a press conference last Friday drawing attention to the report and calling for Silicon Valley companies to explore more child care provisions. We support the effort. Some companies have on-site child care and other provisions, but, with already more than 11,000 spaces needed, we clearly need to do more.

Government can help, but we all need to contribute to solve child care shortages now to prevent future problems.