News Update

More than 80% of Los Angeles voters view child care as vital to recovery, poll finds

Eighty-two percent of likely voters in Los Angeles County consider access to child care “essential” to economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus, according to a poll released Tuesday. 

The online poll of 843 likely voters, which was conducted during the last week of August in both English and Spanish, found that most of the county’s population sees a clear connection between families having access to child care and the reopening of the economy.

“This is no longer a parent issue. It’s a societal issue,” said Sonia Campos-Rivera, vice president for policy and public affairs at the nonprofit UNITE-LA, which teamed up with the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment to sponsor the poll. “Even prior to Covid, this was a real issue. Now families are being affected even more. It’s a struggle.” 

The poll also found that 68% of respondents view access to early learning and child care for young children as a social justice issue.  

“The dual crises of COVID and the economic disaster that has ensued have shined a bright light on the inequity and vulnerability that many of us already knew existed,” said Parker Blackman, executive director of the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment. “There’s a desperate need for social infrastructure. The safety net is not there.”

Heading into a heated general election, other key issues identified by respondents included homelessness, lack of affordable housing, the impact of Covid-19 on low-income residents and the spread of the virus itself. 


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