New bills would raise pay for child care providers and lower family fees

The child care industry has long been beleaguered. Many families can’t afford the care they need while many providers subsist on poverty wages. Amid the crisis, two new bills in the California Legislature would raise pay for child care providers and lower family fees for subsidized care.

Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, and Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, have introduced legislation, Senate Bill 380 and Assembly Bill 596, that would raise provider pay by about 25% as well as lower family costs,  the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.  

“We are at a crisis point in our child care system. Childcare employment rates have long struggled to meet the need for California families,” said Limón in a news release. “Providers have been underpaid, undervalued, and overutilized. It is past time that we pay child care workers what they are worth.” 

Family fees are currently being waived by the state as part of pandemic relief, but they are set to return on July 1. Details on how the proposed legislation would be implemented have yet to be hammered out. 

“With prices skyrocketing, families cannot afford another bill,” Reyes said in the news release.  “It is critical that we fight to ensure better access to affordable child care for working families. We must also ensure that child care providers receive a dignified wage that allows them to keep their doors open to serve more families.”