Childcare Expansion
Childcare is a top priority for Stanislaus 2030. A good childcare system both creates and enables jobs by supporting good jobs for those working in childcare, and enables parents to participate in work, education, job training, or other related activities. Yet, in Stanislaus County, access to childcare is a serious barrier, and in order to meet local workforce demand, we need 36,000 more childcare slots than we currently have. Complicating the matter, we know that the childcare sector is a market failure. According to a recent report from the U.S. Treasury, more than 60% of families can't afford the full cost of high quality day care, while the median wage for caregivers in California is only $10.06/hour.
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Our latest strides delve into the complexities of Stanislaus County’s childcare landscape, exploring the needs of our families through an in-home childcare program that offers a path to reliable, accessible, and quality childcare opportunities for parents and providers alike, regardless of financial or legal status. The insights gained through community outreach and data analysis have reshaped Stanislaus 2030’s approach to this critical issue, and we shared some of the perspectives and challenges through in a recent newsletter. Read the full article here. Or continue scrolling for our 2024 report.
Our Plan to Expand Child Care in Stanislaus County
We’re proud of how Stanislaus 2030, Nurture, and our community partners have begun the work to revolutionize child care in Stanislaus County.
Released in April 2024, our comprehensive report outlines a 10-year plan to close the child care supply gap, improve job quality for caregivers, and enable greater labor force participation among parents. Through extensive research and collaboration we've identified key strategies to expand child care resources in the coming years, with anticipated results including incubating 1,000 new home child care businesses, expanding 500 existing child care facilities, and creating 12,000 permanent, licensed child care spaces.
Dive into the details of our innovative approach in the full report or download our four-page executive summary.
Collaborative Partner
To address the childcare shortage, and specifically the need for licensed infant and toddler care, Stanislaus 2030 partnered with Nurture starting in 2023 to launch an In-Home Child Care Expansion Project focused on building the supply of home-based child care businesses.
Jennifer Brooks is Nurture’s Founder and CEO. She brings 25 years of experience in microenterprise, workforce development, financial security, asset-building, and child care, in a range of nonprofit and government settings and geographies. Jennifer is passionate about women’s economic self-determination and committed to equitably building and scaling practical solutions to make jobs in the care economy paths to financial security.
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Nurture’s mission is to equitably design, build and scale practical solutions that turn work in the child care economy into a path to economic security. To address the shortage of licensed infant and toddler care and create better jobs for caregivers, Nurture is building the supply of home-based child care businesses.
Nurture’s business training, tools, services, and capital support entrepreneurs though the licensing, start-up, and expansion phases. Our tech-forward scalable approach combines self-paced digital content, group support, and one-on-one technical assistance to meet the needs of diverse child care entrepreneurs.
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Nurture is a nonprofit with fiscal sponsorship by Mission Asset Fund, a Community Development Financial Institution with deep expertise in equitably delivering innovative tech-forward services.
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In-Home Childcare Pilot
The Stanislaus 2030 In-Home Childcare Expansion Project, launched in August 2023 to lay the groundwork for a larger-scale investment by a range of stakeholders. The pilot is designed to:
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Test Nurture’s Business Start-Up course with 25-35 child care entrepreneurs, which includes $2,500 start-up grants for entrepreneurs that successfully complete the training process
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Define and develop enhanced service-delivery linkages among local stakeholders to accelerate creation of new home-based child care businesses
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Identify implementation funding sources to institutionalize business supports at scale
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Develop a shared implementation plan, that includes a landscape analysis, employer engagement strategy, and sustainability plan
Local Champions
Stanislaus 2030 has engaged a team of local partners to help recruit entrepreneurs, inform strategy and align resources to support the collaborative project, including:
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Stanislaus County’s Children & Families Division
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Stanislaus Workforce Development
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First Five Stanislaus
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West Modesto Collaborative
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Central Valley Opportunity Center
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Valley Sierra SBDC
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North Valley Labor Federation
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Stanislaus Cradle to Career Partnership
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California Child Care Providers United
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Parent Resource Center
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Sierra Vista Child & Families Services
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Center for Human Services
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Choices for Children
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If you are interested in learning more or joining our team of collaborative partners, please email Amanda at ahughes@stanislaus2030.com.