The city of Los Angeles is poised to cut funding for most childcare centers established during the COVID-19 pandemic due to dwindling financial resources.
In 2021, the city utilized federal relief funds to reopen and renovate 10 licensed childcare centers located in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Currently, eight of those centers are operational, located in areas such as Pacoima, Echo Park, Boyle Heights, and Crenshaw, while two centers remain unopened.
This initiative was a vital, albeit small, response to a significant issue facing the city—affordable childcare options are in dire shortage.
Prior to this funding push, the number of childcare centers managed by the Department of Recreation and Parks had reduced dramatically from 26 to just two.
Unfortunately, the funding, much like other pandemic relief initiatives, was temporary.
According to city officials, the $20 million allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act is set to run out soon, leading Los Angeles to reconsider its commitment to these childcare centers.
Chinyere Stoneham, who heads the oversight of these centers for the Recreation and Parks Department, disclosed that the city would start searching for non-city entities to manage eight of the childcare sites.
“At this time, the department is not able to continue to operate and maintain all of its childcare centers,” Stoneham stated.
She emphasized the department’s efforts to ensure a smooth transition for both families and staff as these changes roll out.
With the city’s attention turning toward non-city providers, parents are left grappling with uncertainty regarding the future of existing childcare options.
The Mayor’s proposed budget for 2024-2025 assigned the Recreation and Parks Department with the responsibility of devising a transition plan that would outline details such as a timeline and cost comparisons for the transfer of operations.
However, after a year, the expected report has yet to be delivered.
Stoneham indicated that while the department plans to keep four childcare centers under its management—two long-standing establishments and two yet to be determined—it still faces a critical funding scenario.
The two facilities mentioned are the Jim Gilliam Child Care Center, located in Baldwin Village, and the Ralph M. Parsons Preschool in Exposition Park.
As outlined in the proposed budget for 2025-2026, the plan to keep these four centers operational hinges on the remaining federal funding.
The Parks Department has approximately $750,000 left in federal funding to sustain childcare programs, with expectations that this funding will be exhausted by late fall 2025.
In the meantime, the mayor’s office anticipates that the Recreation and Parks Department will continue managing all childcare centers until the non-city provider selection process is complete, which is expected to conclude by the year’s end.
Parents utilizing childcare services express confusion and apprehension about the city’s lack of communication regarding these impending changes.
At the Downey Child Care Center, one of the facilities revived through COVID-19 funds, parents were largely unaware of the planned discontinuation of city-operated centers until word spread informally.
Lucia Fabio, a parent with a daughter enrolled at Downey since 2023, stated that she has been seeking clarity on the future of the center for months.
“The things that we can’t figure out and no one’s been able to tell us is how much does it actually cost for these centers to stay open?” she expressed.
A Parks Department spokesperson revealed that the operational cost for each center ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 monthly.
Amidst concerns from parents, some have come together to address the matter, attending the city’s budget hearing in Van Nuys and reaching out to city officials, including the Recreation and Parks Department and City Council members.
However, despite their efforts, parents report finding it challenging to obtain definitive answers regarding the implications of these changes on childcare availability and costs.
Currently, the Parks Department reports that roughly 62 children are served by both the Jim Gilliam and Ralph M. Parsons centers, while the remaining eight centers cater to approximately 77 children, each situated in low-income neighborhoods.
“Parents are concerned about the centers closing. As of right now, we’re not closing them,” reassured Stoneham.
She added, “Parents will get ample notice when we start to transition over to the other providers.”
Challenges to maintaining these childcare facilities do not exist in a vacuum; they relate to the greater national trend of funding shortages impacting the childcare sector.
The American Rescue Plan Act funneled billions into childcare during the post-pandemic recovery period, but many local governments are now facing the repercussions of funds running low.
Hailey Gibbs, an early childhood policy expert at the Center for American Progress, noted that the emergency funding was intended as a temporary measure designed to stabilize existing childcare programs and avert closures of daycare and preschool facilities.
As emergency rescue funds dwindle, many states are struggling to sustain childcare operations that were once reliant on these temporary financial instabilities.
In 2021, California received $4.7 billion in federal funding for childcare relief, marking a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
However, the resources used by the city of L.A. for renovating city childcare sites originated from a different segment of the American Rescue Plan Act, specifically $1.28 billion designated as State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
This funding also aided emergency meal distribution for seniors, supported small businesses, and facilitated improvements to city parks.
Arabella Bloom from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment remarked that the city’s choice to allocate funds towards childcare is akin to other local jurisdictions that now grapple with difficult decisions about sustaining childcare programs amid severe budget constraints.
With the city facing nearly a $1 billion shortfall, Bloom noted, “We’re kind of in this cycle of boom and bust, where we get maybe this influx of funds, but then when times are tough, a lot of times early childhood ends up on the chopping block again.”
While the transition of childcare operations to external providers may not automatically spell doom, it raises open questions that leave parents seeking clarity.
Ana Griffin, another parent at the Downey Child Care Center, echoed similar sentiments regarding the need for transparency from the city.
She expressed hope that the center continues operating long-term to benefit not just her own child but also other community members who desperately need accessible preschool options.
Reflecting on her vision for the future, she stated, “I’m not only thinking about my child who’s 1. I’d like for her to have access to this in two years, number one. But number two, I also know my neighbors who were not lucky enough to find a preschool, and they’re struggling.”
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