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Jackie Jackson buckles Oceane Taylor, 5, center, into her car seat while Loyal King, 2, right, sleeps before bringing them to her child-care family home service in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jackson and the three other child-care workers who operate on 115th Street lean on one another to keep their child-care homes open. Their secret? <\/p>\n
They identified the pain points of parents and focus on addressing those needs \u2014 offering door-to-door transportation, tailoring support services to specific family concerns and keeping costs down by sharing resources. They often help families with food and have taken on a civic activist role when needed.<\/p>\n
The day-care providers of 115th Street call themselves \u201cthe learning village\u201d and swap furniture and toys, send photos of activities they\u2019ve developed and advise each other on anything from selecting kid-friendly cups to dealing with difficult behavior. Together, they serve 60 children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have things to share,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cBehavior, transportation \u2014 everything you want to name. We all have it to share because we all try to make a difference.<\/p>\n
Engage with our community-funded journalism <\/a>as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.<\/p>\n Support networks are vital for child-care providers, who can often feel isolated running their small businesses, said Donna Sneeringer, president of the Child Care Resource Center,<\/a> a nonprofit that helps connect families in Southern California with child care and subsidies. Collaborative, peer-based support can help them stay in business longer and provide stable care to the community, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey become a fixture of that neighborhood and that community,\u201d Sneeringer said. \u201cIt can be a wonderful support, both to them but also to all the families, because it makes the service richer and it helps build community more broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n Though formal state-funded networks of child-care providers do exist in California, the self-styled providers of 115th Street illustrate how vital such connections can be, Sneeringer said.<\/p>\n How providers are leaning on each other Bryson Brown, 3, left, Jackie Jackson, center, and Jabari Lyons Jr., 3, right, play with letters at her child care family home service, \u201cTouched By an Angel Child Care.\u201d <\/p>\n Since Jackson first opened Touched by an Angel Child Care nearly 25 years ago, she\u2019s seen 12 providers come and go \u2014 many of whom she recruited herself.<\/p>\n Four providers currently operate on the 700 block of 115th Street. <\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s pinkish-colored home stands at the center, a painting of a young boy and girl flying kites decorating the front window. To her right is an orange house that\u2019s been home to Andrade Family Child Care since 2002. Next is a yellow home with brown trim, Perez Family Child Care that opened in 2022. Marquez Family Child Care, in operation since 2023, is across the street.<\/p>\n The four licensed family child-care facilities are located in homes either owned by the operator or a family member. The families of most children enrolled receive state and local subsidies and were referred through programs such as Crystal Stairs<\/a> and Girls Club of Los Angeles<\/a> \u2014 or they found out about 115th Street via word of mouth. Jackson and Andrade also connect with families through Early Head Start, a partnership which Perez also hopes to establish. <\/p>\n On days when Eunise Perez has fewer kids in her care, her crew of little ones occasionally take a field trip to Andrade\u2019s day care for joint activities. At Halloween, the four providers gather for daytime trick-or-treating. Santa visits with toys at a Christmas party hosted by Jackson.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a huge blessing for me,\u201d said Perez, who moved back to her childhood block from Downey to open her home care. Perez was drawn to 115th Street because she knew Jackson, Andrade and others would offer support. The women gave her cubbies, shelves, a rug, paint and more.<\/p>\n From left, day-care worker Debby Samayoa, Bryson Brown, 3, Jabari Lyons Jr., 4, Oceane Taylor, 5, and Kamari Milton, 4, play outside at the child-care family home service in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n That same camaraderie also helped Lorena Marquez launch after a spinal injury prompted her to leave her previous job. A nearby day care that was closing passed along their furniture and toys. Two of the initial families under her care were also referred to her by Andrade, who had hit capacity at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really need to come out of pocket, financially speaking,\u201d Marquez said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to really go out and look for any families to get started. All of that really supported me.\u201d<\/p>\n Marquez is still struggling to make a profit once all the costs of maintaining her child-care home are met, she said. Jackson typically earns about $1,500 a month, she said. Typically Marquez charges families what state subsidies will pay based on recommendations from her union Child Care Providers United.<\/a> All of her families receive subsidies to cover costs, she said. <\/p>\n Fulfilling a big need for transportation<\/p>\n At 7:20 a.m., Jackson jumps into her gray Nissan Quest minivan that families call the \u201cbus,\u201d shifting into her hourlong driver role. Most mornings, she picks up nine children, taking several older ones to elementary schools and toddlers and preschoolers to her home. Another driver she hired transports five more children. An assistant rides with her to help keep an eye on things.<\/p>\n The big need for day-care transportation has grown since the pandemic, Jackson said. Many parents work jobs with odd or unpredictable hours, do not have cars or juggle school rides for multiple kids. She does not charge extra for the rides because families can\u2019t afford it. But she says the service keeps children enrolled at the 115th Street child-care homes. <\/p>\n California doesn\u2019t offer additional transportation assistance for low-income families who qualify for state subsidies \u2014 an issue that Child Care Providers United is pushing the state to address.<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cNow it\u2019s drastic,\u201d Jackson said of the need to provide the service to support families and keep slots filled. \u201cBut that\u2019s when the child-care providers come in handy because we\u2019re able to accommodate that. Which schools can accommodate it?\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the families live or work in or near the Vermont Vista neighborhood, where more than a quarter of residents live below the poverty line, according to 2023 census data.<\/a><\/p>\n Kristopher Calmes works jobs with constantly changing hours. For him, Jackson\u2019s flexibility in providing transportation and care has made it easier to balance his role as a single dad with his truck driver job. Calmes relies on Jackson\u2019s service for his daughter Kalee almost everyday. <\/p>\n \u201cShe helps out tremendously,\u201d Calmes said. \u201cSo I\u2019m just thankful I\u2019m able to move around just a little more. It makes it definitely more convenient for me to parent and work.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackie Jackson leaves her child-care family home service to pick up children.<\/p>\n Helping families with basic needs<\/p>\n The 115th Street providers have looked beyond child care.<\/p>\n Perez saw that many of the children under her care have single moms struggling to make ends meet. When possible, she helps connect them with resources and occasionally drives them to the food bank. Marquez focuses on supporting the children\u2019s social emotional skills by incorporating meditation music, social emotional oriented activities and constant communication with parents.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/58\/63\/50ef761d4adfa8b451b6a006b800\/lat-early-childhood-initiative-logo-1.svg\"){kind=logo}
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