\u201cThis blueprint is about building a county where the people who teach our kids, care for our families, run our small businesses and keep this valley moving can afford to raise their own families here too,\u201d she said. \u201cInvesting in childcare means investing in our children, investing in our workforce and investing in the ability of working families to stay and thrive in the communities they call home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The county is working to advance compensation and strengthen the childcare workforce, and wants to increase the number of childcare facilities through capital investment and strategic site development to meet the community\u2019s needs, especially for families with infants, toddlers and children with disabilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said she didn\u2019t feel comfortable supporting the Childcare Blueprint due to the low number of parents surveyed for its roadmap, she still voted to move it forward. She pointed out that her district which encompasses South County is a childcare desert with an enormous need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are the folks who are at the lowest income levels,\u201d she said at Tuesday\u2019s board meeting. \u201cThey have the (childcare) voucher in hand, yet they\u2019re not able to receive care. What are we doing for those families?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynne Mobilio, assistant director with Clarity Social Research Group, said the people who participated in helping create the blueprint were representative and the researchers went deep with them. Clarity Social Research Group was contracted by the county and held 12 focus groups consisting of 95 people to help shape the plan\u2019s strategies.<\/p>\n
The group was a mix of parents and caregivers \u2014 including former foster youth<\/a>, families facing housing insecurity and domestic violence, young mothers impacted by juvenile justice and child welfare systems and CalWORKs families, among others.<\/p>\n An action implementation committee will be created with a goal to maximize and prioritize current federal and state funding streams for childcare. Santa Clara County may also partner with San Mateo County, which recently released its own blueprint, on an advocacy plan to increase state investment in childcare.<\/p>\n District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg wants to ensure the county utilizes its funding streams to the fullest.<\/p>\n \u201cAre we leaving money on the table? Unfortunately, the answer is yes,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cSan Mateo County just did a study of their different streams of funding for childcare. They are returning millions of dollars to the state every year. Awareness is the first step toward fixing it. Our county will do that same analysis and make sure that we are not returning unused dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, Heidi Emberling, director of the children and families policy office, said the county went to childcare providers, healthcare partners and academic institutions that train childcare providers to explain their challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe told (our various partners) about current financial constraints because of the budget impacts of H.R. 1<\/a>, and we asked them to develop goals, strategies and related actions that we could implement locally,\u201d Emberling said. \u201cTogether, our community will align efforts to improve access to safe and nurturing childcare environments in which all children can thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellenberg said childcare is the infrastructure that supports a healthy economy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen parents cannot work, they\u2019re more likely to experience housing or food insecurity, poor physical and emotional health,\u201d she said. \u201cFamilies who can\u2019t work can\u2019t afford to live here, and if we can\u2019t keep young families in our cities and our county, then those cities will die.\u201d<\/p>\n The median annual costs for childcare<\/a> centers for infants and preschoolers in Santa Clara County are $30,399 and $23,652, respectively. Home-based care is $20,810 for infants and $19,990 for preschool-aged children. Subsidized care helped 10,801 county families with the costs of childcare in 2023. But even with the subsidies, only 13% of children ages 0 to 2 and 36% of children in qualified families received childcare.<\/p>\n![\"Santa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BOS-4-1024x638.jpg\")
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to expand childcare by addressing cost, access, workforce and facilities, especially in vulnerable communities. File photo.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789705694_652_interactive-321838904008.png\")
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