Assembly Select Committee on Child Care Costs

Okay. Good morning, everyone. First of all, I'd just like to thank you all for being here and the importance of our childcare conversation today. Feel free that there's a come on in, enjoy the day, and we're hoping for some lively input. Welcome to the second hearing of the California State Assembly Select Committee on Child Care Costs.

We're excited to welcome you all here to talk about the ongoing child care crisis and how it's made worse by three important and often connected factors. One, the growing impact of natural disasters, the chilling effects of immigration enforcement and the long standing pattern of systemic underfunding.

Each of these challenges puts an incredible amount of strain on our child care providers. It destabilizes families and pushes an already fragile system closer to collapse. So we have three goals today. First, to understand what went wrong, what structural failures and policy gaps have allowed this crisis to worsen.

Second, to alleviate issues that are too often overlooked in broader policy conversations, from the fear of many immigrant families faced in seeking care to the devastation providers experience after a wildfire or a flood.

And third, to explore real solutions ways California can protect our child care providers, support our working families and value the professionals who care for our children. We're grateful to the panelists and the community Members who have joined us to share their insights and lived experiences. Your voices are very important to us.

It shaping a stronger and more just child care system. Before we get started, I'll provide an overview of the rules of conduct for the Select Committee hearings. As we begin testimony and public comment. I want to remind everyone that the Assembly has rules to keep our hearings orderly, efficient and fair.

These rules apply equally to everyone, regardless of viewpoint. They're meant to protect everyone's rights and ensure effective deliberation. During the hearing, we won't permit talking or loud noises from the audience. Public comment will be allowed only at the time designated by me as co chair of the Select Committee. Comments must relate to the subject of today's hearing.

Disruptive or threatening behavior will not be tolerated. After your testimony, you may exit the room or return to your seat. Violations of these rules may result in removal or other enforcement actions and we're sure none of that will happen. But we do have to make sure you know the rules.

I want to thank you in advance for cooperating and participating today. And with that, let's move into our first panel. The panel is Disaster Response and Resilience, Wildfires and Childcare Infrastructure. So we're going to start today. We have numerous people that will be testifying. We're going to start by two people that will be doing remote testimony.

We have Shandice Orem from the California Department of Social Services and after her will be Steven Profiter, California Department of Education, who will also speak. So Shandice, welcome and thank you for being here with us today. Feel free to go forward.

Thank you. Good morning. I'm Shanice Orem, Assistant Deputy Director for the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. I am joined here today with my colleague Dr. Lupe Hyman Mighty, Deputy Director of the Child Care Development Division.

Thank you for hosting this hearing which provides CDSF the opportunity to share the work we do to support children, families and childcare providers during disasters, as well as to learn from the other panelists in public comment in this forum. As noted in the agenda, our work includes preparedness as much as recovery and response.

We will first discuss our immediate work during a crisis and then we will highlight preparedness activities when a disaster occurs. The work that the Department of Social Services does is far reaching. As the state lead for the mass care and shelter, we mobilize to support local sheltering operations, coordinate with Medical Health Operational Area Coordinators.

Our licensing teams work directly with impacted licensees to make sure they know about evacuation orders and can adapt to abundant circumstances. We also administer direct assistance from crisis counseling services to financial assistance, food benefits and disaster case management, and provide other supplies and support.

For example, during the LA fires, the Department of Social Services connected local jurisdictions with needed supplies and assistance to support impacted communities. This included partnering with LA Alliance, Baby to Baby and Alternative Payment Programs for distribution of air purifiers.

We partnered also with the Child Care Resource center and other local agencies for diaper distribution, connecting providers with homegrown, a national nonprofit that supports home based child care, who offered a $500 grant to friends, family and neighbors and Family Child Care Home Impacted Provider.

Federal law requires Department of Social Services as the lead agency for the Child Care Development Fund to establish a statewide child care disaster plan to address the needs of children, including the need for safe child care before, during and after a State of emergency.

Another example from the LA fires, the Department of Social Services encouraged and worked to support locally organized efforts with which included participating in regularly scheduled early childhood education disaster response webinars hosted by the Los Angeles County Early Childhood Education Response Team, which include numerous agencies and organizations across LA County.

Some of these consisted of the County Office of Education, Department of Public Health for the Advancement of Early Care and Education, First 5la, the Child Care Alliance, Los Angeles, SEIU 99, the City of Santa Monica, the City of Los Angeles Community Investment for Families, Department and County resource referral and Alternative Payment Programs.

In terms of preparedness activities, licensed childcare facilities are required to document disaster plans, conduct disaster drills at least once every six months and notify their local community care licensing regional office in the event of a disaster or emergency.

To effectively respond to disasters and emergencies, the Department uses a multi layered communication system which includes text, email and phone calls to notify licensed facilities in advance of and or during such events.

To support licensees through a disaster CCLD, Community care licensing will, as needed, set up an outreach calls and webinars if granted waiver authority through an Executive order.

We also provide flexibilities to support licensees, either individual flexibilities such as modifications to staffing ratios and age component for a specific provider, or broader waivers for impacted licensees such as a child and personnel record keeper.

Lastly, the Department of Social Services is committed to supporting child care licensees and providers impacted by disasters through targeted emergency response efforts such as the Governor's Executive Orders, Department of Social Services written guidance and collaboration with local and state agencies such as the Resource Referral Programs, local planning Councils, Public Health, the California Employment Development Department and fire officials.

This concludes our opening statement. Dr. Lupehiman, Milam and I are available to answer questions at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Appreciate those words wisdom. Next we will have Stephen Profiter, California Department of Education also will be coming on remote. Thank you for attending today. Appreciate it.

Thank you and good morning.

Chair and Members Stephen Propheter, Director of the Early Education Division at the California Department of Education, on behalf of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurman, we appreciate the opportunity to speak today on such important urgent crises that continue to disrupt the lives and learning of thousands of students, families and educators across our state.

California's wildfires have displaced tens of thousands of families. We know that we're here. It's destroyed homes, schools, stretched the limits of our emergency response systems. Some schools, districts and partners are still rebuilding from past fires while also preparing for the next.

Our team has found that students and families are contending with learning loss, mental health strain, housing instability and environmental trauma, all of which we feel require sustained and targeted to support targeted support to ensure that California can rebuild and recover.

Speaking specifically of our California State preschool programs in Los Angeles, about 13 of our the organization organizations that we work with had sites that were within five miles of the wildfires, which equates to about an impact of about at least 1200 families enrolled in state preschool alone that were impacted.

Some 3,000 families served by the state preschool program live in areas or zip codes, if you will, located within five miles or just the zones. This is a significant amount of families and contractors impacted and highlights severity and the breadth of impact of situations at Kellen, California faces on a yearly basis.

We know that the impact of fires goes beyond what's captured on our data as there are so many nuances that cannot be captured such as families and educators affected by unhealthy air quality due to smoke.

And we know it shouldn't take natural disasters such as these to realize that many programs lack the resources to rebuild quickly after disaster strikes and or implement trauma informed practices. Without stable preschool access, families are left without care, further destabilizing families economically.

Some of it just to speak to what it is that we do before, share some thoughts on what we what we can do further. Part of what we do at the Department of Education is in supporting local partners in times of disaster.

We do issue guidance and provide supports to ensure our preschools are alleviated from administrative burdens to the greatest extent possible within, you know, within what's in our authority.

We've also worked to map all of our state preschool sites so that our Department has a better sense of impact and where we can target outreach and support in times of disaster.

But we know there's more that we can do to support the recovery and the resilience of children and families and to bolster our programs to provide education and care to these families.

We have a few recommendations, so one of those is amending statute to include language that supports the Superintendent to approve and reimburse contracted preschools in rebuilding programs after state or federally declared disasters.

Specifically, this would include allowing programs to spend more than 15% on administrative costs if such is needed after a fire, and allowing them to use a term to use a term that we use startup for an existing agency that has been affected by a fire needs to rebuild.

We think another thing that we could do is mandating that early childhood education programs are required to be part of local rebuild plans and efforts. We think investing and supporting the pipeline of individuals becoming early childhood mental health consultants is important so that programs are able to find one during disaster times if needed.

And then we think also looking comprehensively at the statewide disaster plan for early learning and care, including preschool and the entirety of policies that affect rebuild and recovery, and consider gaps in supports for programs when looking at the complex web of tax policy, insurance and federal relief and whether in light of that tax policy, such as refundable credits for rebuilding could expedite recovery.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this morning. I'm joined by Virginia Early Policy Office Administrator to respond to questions at the appropriate time.

Thank you very much. We're going to continue to have our panelists speak and then we can ask questions at the end. I have a few myself and we'll see where we go from there. Okay. Next we have Christina Alvarado, Childcare Alliance of Los Angeles. And if you'd like to go ahead and start, please do so.

Thank you and good morning. Can you hear me okay? I think there's a button there maybe. Okay, thank you. Christina Alvarado, Executive Director of the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles. We're a partnership of 10 agencies across LA County who serve their respective communities with child care services, including vouchers and supports to the workforce.

When the wildfires hit, two of those agencies worked closely with us to address immediate needs, Options for Learning for Eaton Canyon and Connections for Children in the Palisades. But every one of our agencies across LA County jumped into action to help families find child care wherever they had evacuated to if they still had their jobs.

It took us some time to locate the families in our programs and the childcare providers because everybody was evacuated and they were nervously waiting to see if their homes were still standing and what had happened to their neighborhoods. So we decided to target four rapid response, distribution, financial aid, mental health and partnership and advocacy in distribution.

Within two weeks of the wildfires, we were established in two primary hubs, Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena and Santa Monica College in Santa Monica. We gave away thousands of air purifiers, protective gears, cleaning supplies, diapers, clothing, backpacks for the kids with toys and so forth.

At the same time, we looked at financial relief and reached out to philanthropy for help. We raised $1.8 million that we distributed directly to 63 families and 128 childcare providers whose homes and or businesses were destroyed or damaged. Donors included the Wildfire Recovery Fund, Fire Aid, Save the Children and a number of charitable foundations.

In considering financial relief, there were no state or federal funds provided to support families or providers connected to child care. In terms of mental health, the trauma experienced by community, families, children, it's huge. We quickly worked with Save the Children to provide trainings on trauma informed care designed for disaster recovery.

We looked at safe space creation and post disaster restoration. 72 childcare providers, including family, friends and neighbors participated and received nearly $10,000 each for taking those trainings from Save the Children. We continue to explore ways to provide mental health services not only to the children families, but also the childcare providers impacted by trauma.

And Goal Four was partnership and advocacy. So today I come before you to urge you not only to support the devastation caused by the wildfires, but also to ask that you look ahead. Sadly, we will experience another disaster, another fire, another loss. The child care field has been present in the community through devastating times.

Yet we are often overlooked when creating policy, allocating funds or recognizing the important role we play in our society in a disaster. Who worries about the youngest children? How does relief come to them? What efforts can the Select Committee on Child Care Costs demonstrate to support and value children as a vital part of our future and community?

Let's not leave children behind and let's not leave childcare behind. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Appreciate those words. We'll move on to Cindy Esquivel Welcome.

Good morning Madam Chair, Committee Members and staff.

I'm Cindy Esquivel, Program Manager for the Western Region for Chapter Care and Development Infrastructure Grant Program and LA Rise at Low Income Investment Fund. In partnership with CDSS, we have successfully administered the Infrastructure Grant program which has served over 4,000 providers nationwide. Sorry.

Statewide, the program received over 1 billion requests and only had 350 million in state funds to serve the immense need throughout the state state for child care facilities improvements. LIFT is a national CDFI with the vision that everyone live in a community of equity, opportunity and well being.

We seek to achieve that vision by investing in affordable housing and childcare facilities. And for that reason we knew that when the fires in LA happened we needed to create an emergency response to support the childcare providers.

When the fires tore through la, they didn't just destroy buildings, they dismantled a network of family child care homes and childcare centers that working families rely on. Many of our grantees in Altadena and Pasadena areas were displaced. Some lost their homes, their businesses and others were forced out because of increased rents and limited availability of commercial buildings.

These programs are not just small businesses, they are lifelines to families providing stable care so parents can work and children can thrive in a safe, nurturing environment. So immediately after the fires, we surveyed the providers in our network to understand the extent of the damages and what we found was devastating.

40% of our respondents did not have fire insurance, while those that did did not have adequate business insurance. Many of them were renters whose businesses insurance did not cover the loss of the materials or equipments.

Some of the providers lost everything from toys, books to cribs and outdoor play equipment and had no financial support to rebuild specifically for Those who were renting, those who own their properties, have dealt with gaps in insurance coverage.

Although their buildings may be rebuilt, the program materials are not being covered and as a result, many have left the community entirely, though several express the hope that one day they'll be able to return and reopen their doors in those cities.

So what this experience made painfully clear is that early care and education programs are missing from our disaster recovery planning. When fires, earthquakes or storms strike, we see funding flow to rebuild homes, businesses and infrastructures. Yet there is no dedicated Fund to help early programs recover and reopen.

And without that support, every disaster threatens to erase years of progress and expanding access to quality child care, especially for low income working families who depend on it the most. During the LA fires, we witnessed firsthand the consequences of the gap.

There was no coordinated community systems, no clear protocols, and no funding mechanisms to help providers reestablish their programs. What remained was rubble, uncertainty and countless unanswered questions when what our communities needed the most was stability and care.

So I'm here today to encourage this Committee and Legislature to explore investing more funding in the Infrastructure Grant Program to be available for disaster discovery when it happens. The Infrastructure Grant Program already has systems and staffing in place to respond to emergencies quickly.

Program staff have developed strong relationships with the ECE community across the state, and over 4,000 providers have already taken advantage of the Infrastructure Grant Program and place their trust within this program by investing more funding.

This could provide emergency relief grants for providers who lose facilities or materials support the temporary relocation so that programs can stay open for families during the rebuilding process. We want to incentivize providers to obtain the adequate insurance coverage and disaster preparedness training.

Investing in this kind of infrastructure now will protect California's children, families and workforce in the years ahead. Thank you again for your leadership and for holding a space for this critical discussion.

We know that there will be more fires, more earthquakes and storms, but with thoughtful planning and dedicated resources, we can make sure our early care and education providers are not left behind when disaster strikes. I appreciate your time and would be happy to share any of our survey data or recommendations for future planning. Thank you.

Great. Thank you very much. Appreciate that those comments as well. We'd like to go on to Francesca Guinavadina I tried Good morning.

Welcome. Good morning everyone. Good morning. My name is Francisca Guinavadina and I've been a child care family childcare provider for 23 years in Pasadena and Altadena, helping working families of all backgrounds, including immigrants such as myself. So I came here in 1999 as immigrant. So I work hard to get to this point.

And then I raised four boys myself, my own four boys. And then I send them to good, reputed colleges and universities. So there are well to do now. But with my work hard, like, I work really hard to give them the best education. And so. And so I actually, I had like a dream buying a house in.

Somewhere in Pasadena or Altadena. Because I started my life with working in different, different, like, odd jobs and so many other things I did when we first came. And then I just realized this is not the one that I should be doing. So.

And first we moved to Los Angeles and then my first job was in like, restaurants. So I get like. So, like, I felt like it's not my job. Like, it was really hard because I got the night shift when I first came. So it was really, really hard for me to do that kind of work.

And then I got my third son born. And then I couldn't find a proper daycare, a proper place to leave my son, and especially I couldn't even afford because we've been working and working hard to get this, our citizenship and all that stuff. So we spent a lot of money on those things. And then.

So that's how we started our lives. So right now I'm actually US citizen. But to get to that point, it took me like 25 years. So. And then I had like. So after my third son born, and then I got like working in a school, like a preschool as an assistant teacher.

So I didn't have that much units here. So I went to school and I got the required qualifications to become a teacher. So. And then I got it. I got all my 12 units and I started working in a school. So that's how I started. And then I used to work like about 10 hours every single day.

And I felt like, you know, no, I need to do something my own. And then my third, I got pregnant with my third one. And so. And I thought. And he was born, so I gave birth to him. And then I realized, like, I couldn't find a proper place.

So I still like, left him with different, different people, like, you know, like friends. And so I realized, no, it's not safe, it's not good because sometimes they take my baby to different places and they're still like, you know, not doing good care. So I felt, no, I need to start something my own. So.

And then I just realized, okay, I need to open my own daycare, my family daycare. So that's. That's 23 years. My son is 23 years now, 24 years. So that's where I started my own business. So right now I'm actually, I started my business 23, like 23 years ago. And so I always had a dream.

So I was like renting different locations. I'm moving from places to places. And then sometimes I got citations. Like, you know, there's like, you cannot do the daycare here. So first when I started I started in an apartment. So they're like, no, you can't do it here. So I got like got kicked out.

So I'm like, no, I just need to move to a different place. So I've moved to a different rental properties and so many other places and then I started doing my daycare. But then still I realized no, no, no, I need to have my own place. So.

And then finally I save all my money, everything after like so many, like I know like I got a loan the Covid time we got SBA loan. So I saved that money. I didn't even touch that money. I put it to aside. I thought, no, I need to use this for proper, like for use for something good.

So then I just collect all the money. And then so the lady that I was in Atadena house for lease for like couple of years, like about six years. And then she's like willing to sell the property.

So and then I said, so she gave me 60 days notice to move out and I'm like, no, I can't move 60 days. I have a lot of families, I don't want them to go get lost. Like, you know, I've been serving so many families, what are they going to do if I move to a different location?

So and then I somehow I thought no, I should be buying this house. Then I spoke to a real estate agent and then he's like, okay, so if you have money, if you have enough. So you know, I said I have this much money, so we'll start from there.

And then I said, okay, let's, let's start the process. So I spoke to the owner. So I bought the house 2024, somewhere in June.

So and then in early 2025 I couldn't even enjoy but all the savings, everything, I just like put the money to like have a proper place for the children and you know, like I spent all the money for the structural work and everything.

In early 2025, the Eaton Fire destroyed, fully, completely destroyed my home and my child care, my business. So that day we had to urgently evacuate, leaving everything behind. Where we headed to a friend's house for that night, not realizing that our lives will be changing forever.

Since then, me and my family had to move from hotels to Airbnbs to temporary renters. I was finally able to move back to Altadena last week to a rental property. The stress and the instability has affected my physical and my emotional health. I lost my only source of income. Without a place to operate, I cannot work.

I still have to pay my rent and my mortgage payment, as well as our living expenses such as food. The cost of living in Los Angeles County, including rent, utilities and food, is unbelievable. Without, like steady income, I have not received any structural support or any help from the City of Pasadena to transition into a center setting.

I actually started my own center, but it's still in the process, so the permit process. So since for like last six months, like last so many months, I've been trying to get the permits, but still it's not like it's not yet processed. So.

And so right now what I'm like, my challenge is I'm trying to get the license at least for the child care license in a rental property. So I'm going back to the same thing again. Like, you know, I wanted to have my own place and start my own.

So I'm actually trying to get the, get the permission from the owner to start the business, to start the daycare. So it's really kind of challenging to me because I'm not sure whether she might say yes or she might say no.

So I'm like, kind of like right now I'm in the process of application process, so hopefully I might get it, I might not. So if that doesn't work out for me, then I have to start my center process. So it's going to take another, I guess another six months.

I'm not sure because they said though, three months, they said like two months they might take, might take six months. I'm not sure how long it's going to take. And then we are actually in the process of rebuilding our house too. So it's the architect process and the permit process right now.

So hopefully we can rebuild and then I can start my serving the families again. And then I know there's a lot of providers going through the same thing what I'm going through right now. So I'm actually trying to rebuild as soon as possible.

So hopefully I can get all this permit process soon and start my business and serve the community again and you know, have a like. So I miss all those children and the families I'm in Altadena right now. So I see my house like every day now. I be going passing the place so it's. Remember me.

zero, I still like do a lot of like activities with the children and lot of things together and the families and the Halloween when Halloween comes right now I'm like, I don't even care anymore because I used to do a lot with the children. So there is no families, there's no children in my house anymore.

So I felt like it's empty. My house is empty and everything is empty right now to me. So since January 7th I haven't received any financial support. I just got some few grants but some of the grants I didn't get qualified because of the. Because my business is not in, it's not in the processing right now.

It's not active anymore. So it's really hard for me. So I'm just trying to explain to the organizations this is what my situation because I couldn't find a place right away because I didn't have an income to move to a rental property.

What they're saying is like when we apply for rental property they've been asking your income, my income. So I didn't have any income. So I had to put my son into that and then my daughter in law and you know, get somehow get the house. So we are finally. We are.

I'm in the rental property right now finally in Altadena. So I want to just thank you for your story right now and thank.

You for having me and thank you. It pulls in my heart right now. Thank you. I really appreciate it. You being brave to tell the story is really important.

I didn't write anything, just wrote it down but it just came out of my heart. So this is what I feel right now. Even now I'm challenging how can I get all those families back to my place again. But I know some of the families are not in the same locations. They moved to different places.

So as soon as I moved to Altadena I text all my family. Some of them responded to me, some of them, they already moved to a different location. So it's another challenging thing looking for finding the starting all over. So I've been a very prosperous business woman.

To say honestly like you know I had like, I didn't ask money from anybody. I just had my own like you know to pay my bills and pay the mortgage now it's a challenging thing. I had to still pay the mortgage and my rental and the other bills and everything without any income. So it's really hard.

I know it's not only for me. It's for all the providers. It's for all the people that. All the people. Yes, all the people working hard. The childcare providers means it's working hard. We work like 13 hours a day sometimes all seven days a week. So it's really tough right now.

So I really appreciate everybody's time and having me to give the speech. Thank you so much.

You're very welcome. And thank you. And we'll get to some questions and comments soon. Thank you very much. Okay, we're going to Mirren Allegory. Am I correct on that one? Hi.

Hard to speak after listening to my sister speak. Deep breath. Good morning Madam Chair, Members and staff. My name is Mira Nalgorri and I'm a Proud Member of AFSCME, UDW Local 3930 and Childcare Providers United CCPU and I have been a family child care provider in San Diego County for over 27 years.

On January 222024 a devastating rainstorm struck my city where I care for 14 families. The flooding hit especially hard in lower income neighborhoods, damaging hundreds of homes and businesses.

Many providers and the families we serve lost not just Property, but as Ms. Cindy mentioned earlier, they lost pieces of their life's work, memories, investments and spaces that are still not fully restored today. I remember watching the news and seeing videos of childcare providers. Edit Rodriguez Francis Rodriguez Homes flooded.

Their children were able to escape, but they lost all of their childcare materials and equipment. Everything was gone. Everything was washed away. I noticed the children I care for started having more health problems like asthma attacks, eczema flare ups and trouble breathing.

And these happened because of the mold and mildew that grew in the apartments after the flood. I also saw how much it affected their mental health. Watching their homes and belongings get washed away was very traumatic for them and their families. The flood caused a lot of stress about housing and money.

Many could not afford renters insurance or pay for cost repairs, which led to a financial crisis and made life even more difficult for families who were already struggling. And due to the severity and widespread nature of the flooding, the full cleanup of all debris took weeks and continued long after the emergency responses was over.

The financial impact on me was serious. When my home's electrical panel failed, I lost power in several rooms which affected my new appliances and electronics. I estimate my total losses were at least $15,000, covering spoiled groceries, laundromat expenses, repairs, technician fees, a new electrical panel and lost income from days.

My business was closed, although I received a small grant months later and I would like to add that was local funding. I had to pay the cost right away with credit cards, which put a strain on both me and my child care business.

But this is the reality child care providers and the essential worker families we serve face when disaster hits. We need better support and resources to help families and providers recover from disasters like this. We also need more funding to help providers get back on their feet because the financial burden always falls on providers who are already struggling.

The state's current level of support during disasters is simply not enough. The stories of providers losing everything and the impossible cost of recovery tells us one we cannot wait any longer. We must fix this now. That's why CCPU has put forth bargaining proposals to create a more responsive and equitable system.

Our demands will ensure that every license and family, friend and neighbor FFN provider gets the support needed to fully recover.

When providers are not prioritized and are unable to recover and reopen our own families as well as up to 14 more families are impacted, CCPU providers have prioritized the following improvements for child care providers and families in disaster situations.

Number one Immediate and sufficient financial support, including covering the time needed to reopen and one time facility repair cost. 2. Clear, consistent and comprehensive communication to all providers in impacted areas, not just licensed programs. 3.

Standardized protocols and policies developed in advance so providers and family know what to expect and learning from each disaster to educate us in new protocols based on previous disasters. 4.

Investing in disaster preparedness and resiliency in family child care to mitigate impacts of disasters and last, immediate and continued mental health support for providers and families to address the trauma. We have learned from past disasters like the LA wildfires and the San Diego floods that receiving the true cost of care would significantly ease the burden of recovery.

It would allow providers to build an operating Reserve and cover the unexpected cost of a disaster, including deep cleaning, fire and water damage, repairs and replacing materials. This list goes on. We are an essential service and we're vital to working families. Let's not wait any longer. The time is now. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I appreciate your testimony as well. You know, I look around the room and we have these discussions. I too experienced these fires, but I was in Northern California and I just started as being an Assembly person.

And today I can tell you with a lump in my throat what I saw with the fires with families losing everything. I never thought I'd say I would smell burnt flesh, that people were gone. The families had to come back together. And trying to get them on their feet.

And to this day, as much as everyone thinks things are going to be fixed tomorrow, we are still dealing with recovery in Northern California. It takes a long time. I wish it didn't.

But I think as you brought up as the disaster recovery plans we may not have and we haven't thought about how it affects families and childcare. And so this is a really eye opener for many of us. Being from Northern California, I don't have as many votes as you do down in Southern California.

So I'm always fighting the fight. But it's everywhere, right? We never know when our next disaster is going to happen. And my heart goes out to all of you that have been in this and what you've done and we will continue to do that and work with you.

So as we've said, is that too much, too many times, child care is overlooked in crisis response. Everything's delayed. As you know, your permits are delayed, trying to get your insurance, trying to get your funding, whatever. And it disrupts our families and our children and our providers. So I have a couple questions.

I don't know if the state is still on. Do I still have my two speakers that were on before? Okay. Thank you for coming back and I appreciate you both being here because as you know, you're getting a lot of phone calls as well, I'm sure.

But what steps are being taken at the state level to ensure childcare systems and the needs of young children are fully integrated into emergency and long term planning efforts? Stephen, did you hear that question or did Shanice?

I did hear that question and I was going to defer to the Administration potentially on this one. I had kind of flagged in my, in my testimony around looking at the statewide disaster plan for early learning and care as a possible next step.

Have we, have we had any discussions to actually do that? I mean, let's face it, we've had, and this may be for Shanice rather than you, but I want to put it out there. The fact of the matter is, is that we've had fires since 2016 that were horrible and rural communities as well as here.

We've seen the.

I don't know if it's just me, but I've lost audience.

Can you hear me? Yeah, we did lost this audio and also lost the video for the main room.

Are we there now?

I can hear again.

Oh, and I see Shanice is on as well. So if either one of you could help me with that question is that I personally have seen what has happened during These fires and how it's affected families and childcare. And I don't think we identify the childcare in rural communities as much as we have in the LA area.

What are we doing or is there a plan of any sort to help these help out as we get to our disaster recovery plans, particularly for families and children?

Yeah, I can start and then also have Both Shanice and Jr join as needed. And again, Dr. Lupe Hyman Milam. I'm the Deputy Director of the Child Care and Development Division and happy to be here and very heartbroken with the testimony of the panelists. My heart is with you all.

So as far as the childcare and development fund, we are mandated to include a statewide child care and disaster plan that addresses both the children and the families and the needs. Right. Of having a safe child care environment before, during and after a state emergency.

Of that that is actually part of our state plan and is located in Section 8.5. Obviously, we've learned a lot through this disaster that we have just experienced. In the past, the disasters have not been to the scope where it had the devastation of the mass destruction that it had.

And so therefore, we continue to look at that plan and even using this particular session to be able to think about what else we can do to update in the future that plan based on what we're hearing today.

I'm going to pause there to see if Shanice and Jr have anything else to add based on what I had provided.

Yes, thank you, Lupe. I agree. From the Northern California wildfires to the Southern California recent wildfires, we continue to learn from each disaster or event. And that plan has been updated in the course of those learning.

I was around for it all and seen tremendous growth within the Department at the state and local level with just our communication line and learning not to step on each other's toes and really benefited from debriefing. And so these listening sessions can help us to improve on the next disaster.

For licensing, we identified how to streamline some of our processes when it comes down to some of the waivers where they're not a burden to request by including some language that would allow for flexibilities for all that are in those impacted areas versus individual requests.

And so those are some of the things that we just have made some adjustments over the years to be able to be just responsive to the community who needs.

You know, one thing that I see is that we have people doing this local government thing and we have the state. How do we match everybody up so that we have whether it's a database or whether it's a report.

And I would like to have a report come back to the Legislature to tell us what the disaster plan has been for our childcare providers and our families. That would be really helpful as we move forward, just in case. Well, we are going to have another disaster sooner or later, but we need to have something in place.

But how do you match up our families, whether it's local or state? What are we doing now? And is there any plan.

Oh, go ahead.

I was actually going to answer with more of a clarification of wondering in regards to when you mean match, are you thinking about the individual family data of their different touch points during a disaster or let me pause there and see if that is the question you're rising.

Well, it's nice if they had a touch point they knew where to go to. As we all know, when emergencies happen, people are frantic. Right. And it's hard to hone in on specifically who you're going to work with and how you're going to work with them and what resources that they may have for you.

I know that in other fires and disasters we've gotten better on some of this, but we haven't gotten better at all with the childcare in my years of doing this.

So that's why I just want to make sure that if there's a report that's been out there and that you guys have improved on, I'd love to see a report come back to us so that we could share that so that we understand what our next steps will be as well.

So those are the things that I think are important to those of us here in the audience is so that they understand what is their next steps and is there someone that's going to have their back when we come up to this?

You know, we talked about a couple of people, gave us some examples of some ideas that they had. I mean, they obviously need immediate support. Cleaner, consistent messaging should be to people, standardized the education, disaster preparedness, continued working on mental health.

These are big pieces that I don't know that it's in this report or if you have already been working on some of this. It would be great to see that. I just have one other question here, I think. Okay, let's take a little break.

We have a video that we'd like to have shown and if you could cue that up, that would be greatly appreciated. I want to thank the everyone that spoke today has been very enlightening. So let's see the video.

Pero notobe ninguna hencia De emergencia Del condado Dandom indicacione directamentes queueuda the Los servicios Que Seran perdiero exposiero mucco deo perdier local Parate Maria.

Thank you. I think we got the gist of that conversation. So I want to thank you for having her testify today. Shanice, if you're still there, I have two more questions and we'll see. We'll do public comment later, but I do Want to see if she's still there? Yes. Hi there. So, thank you very much.

So this kind of sparked a couple other questions for me. So what are we doing or what more should we be doing to support displaced childcare workers and families in both the short and the long term?

Well, what we're doing to support them as a Department of is to continue to work together collaboratively in spaces.

What can we do in the future is to continue to have these type of sessions to hear, to make sure that we are lifting up ideas collectively and that we are not just creating a system in which may not hit the target of where the help is needed at.

And so I think with just the state being here, to be able to listen in and get feedback on what we can do to improve as the opening session led to, is going to be a start for us to be able to address whatever is the next disaster or pandemic that may come in front of us.

And so we just appreciate being included as part of this process and we're open to hear just how we can improve in the future.

I appreciate that. And I think one thing that we should consider as we look at this is what the role local government should play in rebuilding childcare infrastructure after a disaster, especially in our low income and our rural communities.

So I think we need, you know, it's easy to sit here right now just with LA as a reference, but we have a whole state that we need to keep an eye on. So I'm hoping that in conversations in the future and information that you gather from here today, I hope you'll take that back.

I'm going to hold everybody's feet to the fire to make sure that we take care of the concerns that we have today and that we get those. I'd love to have from the Select Committee something come back to us just verifying what we've heard and what some of the solutions may be and maybe a timeline.

So I want to thank you very much for participating today. I don't mean to put anybody's feet to the fire, but the fact of the matter is, is that we all need to make sure that we take care of everybody. So I want to. Thank you very much. I want to, if I may.

Go ahead.

If I may just, Madam Chair. I think it's a great point to bring up what local governments have the capacity to do or not have the capacity to do. And I'd go back to, I think maybe there's things that either the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst Office may be able to look at Regarding, you know, what types of resources are available, including insurance. Right.

It could be a complex web of things to navigate for. I mean, homeowners alone, but, you know, in communities, but providers in particular around what's available for. Around insurance, what's available or not available in terms of federal relief.

But then also looking further, possibly into whether changes in tax policy around refundable credits could address the costs of rebuilding of which, you know, are dynamic, especially in times where, you know, you've got large communities affected by fire. So I would just re. Elevate that and again, appreciate for letting me just say that last little bit.

Well, that was great. Appreciate that. All right, so do we have anybody like to come up to the podium and just at least give us some ideas or an opinion right now or if not, we will. If you'd like to come up to the podium, we are open. We're an open book right now.

Because I'd like to see we have maybe 10 minutes to take anybody's input for today. I'm on this section. Hi.

Hi. My name is Lisa Wilkin and I'm from Child Development in Los Angeles.

And in 20081 of our shelter centers burned down. We had the perfect. Oh, sorry. We had such luck because our childcare center was on the campus of a community county hospital. And so they were able to move us into their conference room and community care licensing showed up.

And in 16 days we had a license and our families. I had good insurance and so my furniture, my income was replaced right away. And I just. So I know it's possible, but I know that not everybody is in the same situation that I was in.

And even then it took eight years to get back to the place where we were before the fire in a permanent building. So 2016, we were finally able to move back in.

So just wanted to share that story with you to let you know that there are things that can happen, but we need to get things in place for people so that they're not left out to dry.

Thank you very much for the comment. I totally agree. It takes some time to put these pieces back together, but there should be a manner in which we can do it quicker. Like I said, Since 2016, I saw the fires in Northern California.

There's places that are not even near being fixed and some of it's still rubble sitting there. So we owe it to our communities to get them back on their feet. Who had a question? Go ahead. Your favorite question. Anyone else with a question?

All right, then why don't we go ahead and move on to panel, the next panel. But I want to thank everybody for feeling comfortable having this difficult conversation. You're more than welcome to see send us information or questions that you might have and we'll make sure we get that to you before the end of the session today.

All right, we're going to move on to panel number two. And this is the Immigration Enforcement and Its Impact on Childcare System. And I'd like to have Liza Davis, Children's Partnership, Nina Boothie, Every Child California and Jeanette Zan Patin from Chirla. Thank you all for being here today.

And this is kind of a topic that's front and center right now and it would be nice to address it. So Lisa, would you like to go first.

Make sure this is on? All right. Thank you so much. Good afternoon, Chairs, Members of the committees and esteemed panelists. My name is Lisa Davis. I serve as the Advocacy Director on Children and Immigrant Families families at the Children's Partnership. We are a California based nonprofit advancing child health equity through research, policy and community engagement.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to submit testimony on a subject that deeply affects families and communities across our state, the Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Child Care Systems.

Why this Matters Child health is shaped not only by access to medical care but but also by social, emotional and family well being, nurturing caregiving relationships, protection from toxic stress and supportive learning environments. Early care and education. ECE are amongst the most important environments for building this well being.

They are often the first community spaces outside the home where children learn social emotional skills and connect with critical supports. Also critical to the well being of young children is what we call continuity of care, which is a practice that promotes stable long term relationships between infants and toddlers and their caregivers.

This ability is considered vital for health, social emotional development in young children. As immigration enforcement reaches into or near ECE spaces, it is also undermining every protective factor that children rely on to grow up healthy and thrive and it is critically affecting ECE providers. So let me explain what we're seeing.

Across California, immigrant enforcement is disrupting children's ability to safely attend and benefit from ECE programs. In July, the Center for the Study of Social Policy released a brief titled It 's Horrible Live Like Immigration Policies.

Real Time Impact on Young Children the stories shared by ECE providers paint a clear and troubling picture of what's happening right now in our communities. First, families are living in fear regardless of their immigration status.

Providers report that parents with work permits, green cards and other lawful statuses are afraid to leave home, drive their children to school or engage with public programs. The constant threat of enforcement has blurred the lines between who is safe and who is not. Second, providers are seeing a rise in isolation.

Families are withdrawing their children from child care, missing days without explanation and avoiding activities outside their home. This isolation erodes the community networks that young children need to thrive. Finally, mass enforcement policies are leaving lasting emotional scars.

Even very young children sense the fear around them, becoming more anxious, more clingy and less able to sleep or regulate their emotions. Educators describe classrooms filled with tests and and children struggling to trust that the adults who care for them will still be there tomorrow. These patterns are not isolated incidents.

They're being echoed in listening sessions and community spaces across the state. Immigration enforcement Its chilling participation in early education, undermining childhood development and destabilizing the very programs that that families depend on for safety and stability. So what about the workforce? The threat of immigration enforcement is not only affecting families, but it's also seriously impacting the ECE workforce.

Already, the ECE sector struggles with low wages and chronic understaffing, issues only exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Further, nearly 39% of of California's ECE workers are immigrants, far exceeding the national average. Which means that for providers, attacks on immigrant families hit very close to home.

Combined, this government induced crisis is harming providers well being, their mental health and their sense of safety. This crisis is also threatening the viability of their programs and actively costing EC promotion providers money that they do not have in Central California. Child care provider Elida describes how fear has reshaped her work.

She now delivers groceries to families and developed code words so parents feel safe opening the doors. She worries that if families withdraw, her program will collapse. Quote Financially it would be devastating of my business. It would leave me without any clients, no children at all.

End quote in their aforementioned brief, CSSP sums it up best providers are doing everything they can to support families. However, these efforts, while critical, are no substitute for the protections only policy can provide. Child care providers cannot entirely shield children from the long term impact of stress, isolation and disrupted routines.

As a result of changes in immigration policy, California cannot afford to lose ECE workers or disrupt children's early learning. Doing so jeopardizes the stability of a system already at its breaking point. Based on research and direct consultation with families and partners, the Children's Partnership and our allies urge legislative actions in four key areas. 1.

Strengthen policies that advance safety in ECE basis the Legislature should take action to protect privacy and data security for children and families in all ECE setting and ensure clear, ongoing guidance on the rights and legal protections that apply to each type of ECE program. 2.

Build the capacity of the ECE workforce ECE providers are on the front lines of family trust and child well being that the state should expand training tools on civil protections, immigrants rights and training trauma informed care.

It should grow the CCPU Training Fund to increase Know youw Rights education as a model for provider support and it should strengthen coordination among state agencies like cde, cdss, Attorney General's Office and the Governor's Office to ensure consistent, unified guidance to the ECE field. 3. Pay the ECE workforce the true cost of Care.

It's time to pay early educators what their work is truly worth.

We urge the legislatures to fully transition to the new alternative methodology for setting rates that reflect the real cost of providing quality care and Fund the face in of cost of care rates in next year's budget to ensure that educators and families they serve can achieve financial stability and thrive. And 4.

Issue state emergency supports to ECE providers. Just as the state acted swiftly during COVID 19 to stabilize the child care system, we need emergency relief this year for providers serving children and immigrant families.

We urge the Legislature to maintain subsidy certification for families who must shelter in place, provide transportation funding so children can continue attending care if parents are unable to transport them and establish an emergency Fund to stabilize child care programs serving immigrant families. California is home to more than 4 million children in immigrant families.

Nearly half of all children in our state and 1 in 10 has an undocumented parent. Our policies must reflect who we are as a state. When immigrant enforcement keeps these children out of early care and education, we're not only harming a few, we are failing all Californians. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I like that you gave me some options. Okay. Nina, good morning. How are you?

Good morning. I'm very good, thank you. You have some more options in front of you as well. We have a handout prepared which I know your staff has. We'll also email it so you have it as well. So good morning Chair Members of the Select Committee. Thank you for the opportunity.

You need to be able to speak this morning. My name is Nina Boothy. I'm the Executive Director of Every Child California, where we are a statewide community of over 2,500 early learning leaders, providers and advocates committed to ensuring that every child has access to safe, high quality and equitable care.

Today I'm going to speak with you about the growing harm that immigration enforcement is having on California's early learning system on families, children and the educators who care for them. Across the state, our early care and education providers report that families are afraid to leave their homes.

Parents are keeping children home from child care out of fear of detention or deportation. Recently, the Los Angeles Times reported that after recent enforcement activity, average school attendance in some neighborhoods dropped below 80%. One site fell to 57% in a single week.

A Stanford study documented a 22% spike in absences following immigration raids, with the greatest impact among preschool age children. Though these two stats are from the Bay Area and Los Angeles, we hear this echoed throughout the state in rural, suburban and urban communities, and this fear has lasting effects.

Research from UC Davis links immigration related stress to higher child anxiety, sleep deprivation and attachment issues for children in early learning programs. These emotional wounds affect learning and development long after enforcement events fade. Continuity of care, as my colleague said, is a foundation for quality early learning.

Yet Ayes activity fractures that stability overnight when a parent is detained or doesn't arrive for pickup, providers are left in crisis, unsure of what steps to take and with no consistent state issued guidance to rely on.

To date there has been very limited guidance from the Department of Education, the Department of Social Services and the state state on how programs should prepare for or respond to these situations. We've had one webinar on this thus far and providers need clarity, not confusion, to protect children and families safely and lawfully.

We've recently had two bills pass the Family Preparedness Plan Act AB495 as well as the California State Safe Home, School and Child Care Act AB49, which are two vital steps forward.

They prohibit the collection of immigration status, require programs to follow parent designated emergency plans, and mandate safe haven model policies for all licensed child care and state preschool programs. AB 49 being an urgency Bill, is still being fully implemented, however, AB495 does not take effect until July 12026.

I would also like to note that both AB49 and 495 passed without any appropriate appropriation, so there is no funding for support or training for the activities that they outline. Without proactive training and statewide technical assistance, many programs, state funded programs, community based ones, family child care homes will struggle to interpret and implement the requirements correctly.

So we are the we urge the Legislature and state agencies to begin comprehensive paid statewide training immediately.

This includes trauma informed care and emergency response procedures, legal alignment for programs blending federal and state funds, and guidance on maintaining compliance with both state don't ask provisions and federal documentations on DEI limitations when enforcement activity causes families to shelter in place or keep children home out of fear. Programs should also not be penalized.

Programs cannot maintain staff or operation if funding drops during these crisis crises. Payment policies must reflect that children's absences during these moments are not programmatic failures that they are predictable results of community trauma. So we have some policy recommendations to safeguard children and stabilize families. First, we recommend aligning K12 and early learning protections.

Designate all subsidized early care and education sites, both LEAs, non LEAs centers and family child care homes as safe haven spaces where Ayes enforcement is prohibited. 2. Issue clear trauma informed guidance Develop statewide protocols for when families are detained or fail to arrive, prioritizing emotional safety and family continuity. 3.

Invest in training before 2026 Fund comprehensive AB495 and AB49 implementation training, including legal, legal operation and trauma response components for administrators and staff prior to these bills going into effect. Remove outdated eligibility language In California, child care eligibility is determined without regard to immigration status except when a parent is under a final order for deportation.

Eliminate this reference that renders families under a final deportation order ineligible for care. 5. Expand family preparedness resources. Invest in multilingual workshops and legal clinics like public councils, family preparedness and guardianship programs to help families plan safely before Crisis hits and 6.

Protect the workforce Extend state support to immigrant early educators, including confidentiality assurances, legal resource referrals and direct the Workforce Development Board and CDE and CDSS to create a rapid response Fund for programs that lose staff due to enforcement activity, similar to disaster recovery models.

Chair and Members Ayes enforcement is not only an immigration issue, it's an it's part of the early learning crisis.

When families are too afraid to bring their children to care, children lose the stability they need to grow when educators live in fear, our workforce weakens when policy lacks clarity and funding programs struggle to serve those that that need it the most.

And to implement this important guidance, both AB495 and AB49 give us a framework with but without any funding we cannot deliver on it. We need clear guidance, widespread training and secure funding that protects continuity of care.

Every child California stands ready to partner with this Committee, with the Legislature, and with all early learning providers across the state to protect belonging, safety and an opportunity for all children and families. Thank you so much for your leadership and commitment to California's youngest learners. Happy to answer any questions when appropriate.

Thank you very much for your comments. Red flag funding. So, we need to go back. That Bill that Assemblymember Rodriguez did, AB 495, I think it is, excellent bill, but it's not going to do us a bit of good until we get some funding. So, we are going to be asking people to help us move that along.

We will be talking about that soon. But number one is it's one thing to have a really good bill, but if we can implement it, so as my office all knows, what's the problem? How do you fix it, but how do you implement it? If we can't implement it, it's worth nothing.

And I'm not going to let these people down. So, we need to figure that out. Okay? So, I appreciate if you give me some ideas later on or come by my office, but we got to figure it out.

Absolutely, Assemblymember.

Thank you very much. Okay, our next one up is Jeanette from CHIRLA.

Hi, Jeanette Zanapatine. I'm the Director of Policy and Advocacy at CHIRLA. I oversee all of CHIRLA's local, state, and federal policy work, as well as our federal impact mitigation work. So, thank you for inviting me here, dear committee chair and members. It's an honor to be here with my colleagues to discuss these issues.

I do want to give you sort of a little bit of an overview of what we've seen with regards to the Los Angeles raids, given that CHIRLA is overseeing and managing the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network here in Los Angeles County.

And thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And so, with that said, I'll just give you a little bit of some data here. So, just really quickly, what we've witnessed here in Los Angeles has been a multi-federal agency approach to immigration enforcement, especially here in Los Angeles County, but also in places like the Inland Empire, Orange County, and Ventura County.

We have seen agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF, CBP, HSI, ICE, and BTF.

And overwhelmingly, we've also seen just a mass violation of both due process and our constitutional rights and really just enforcement officers acting without impunity and working illegally, in many folks' opinion, in terms of how they're conducting these raids and the brute force that they're utilizing against our communities and our children.

And so, what we—so, what we're seeing and what we're experiencing is obviously just major distrust with institutions, with law enforcement, because from the ground's perspective, from children as young as three to our seniors, just a massive distract of law enforcement because they are just seeing them all as one in the same category.

And so far, CHIRLA has reported over 2,100 sightings through our rapid response hotline. We have had over 2,200 reports, over 800 arrests that we have been able to record. We have a growing list of 1,400 individuals that we know of that are in detention.

We're working with other legal service providers in Los Angeles County to ensure that attorneys are able to do consults or have touch points with the individuals that have been detained, and we have seen over 1,165 families be impacted by these raids. Currently, CHIRLA is working with over 839 families directly.

We have been meeting with a lot of these families weekly, providing services, connecting them to services, connecting them also with their policymakers to address the respective needs that individuals have as a result of these raids.

And I will say that, you know, we are only scratching the surface at CHIRLA, given that the LA Times has reported over 4,700 individuals have been arrested during these enforcement actions, we are probably able to capture about 25% of the enforcement activities that are happening on the ground and that get reported to our hotline.

And I will just mention really briefly that there are instances when we have eight to 10 different teams going to different sites, looking, trying to confirm some of these ICE sightings while simultaneously, there are other enforcement activities that are going on, anywhere between 12 to 16 at any given moment. And so, we have definitely been through it.

This county in Southern California has definitely been ravaged by the level of ICE enforcement, the hard-hitting level of ICE enforcement that we've seen.

But I will also just note really briefly that as a result of the LA County—sorry, of the LA raids case that we filed against the Federal Government, CHIRLA is one of the co-counsel and co-plaintiffs on this case. As soon as we were able to file the case and we were able to get the TRO in place, we did see a reduction in the level of enforcement happening in Southern California.

However, as soon as the 9th Circuit reaffirmed the TRO that was in place with regards to the enforcement activities, we saw a heightened level of immigration enforcement take on a more negative turn, more excessive use of force.

And we continue to see that excessive use of force on the ground by immigration agents and the individuals that they are deputizing to carry out these functions. So, just really briefly, sometimes folks are ask also like what did the LA raids case do? What did the TRO case do?

It did, to a certain extent, sort of reduce the number of raids that we have seen, but again, we are seeing more excessive use of violence and excessive use of force.

And so, we are just bracing ourselves for what's to come with the BBB and the $110 billion that immigration enforcement and DHS is going to have within the next couple of months to conduct these enforcement activities. So, now I want to turn my attention to sort of what impact we're seeing with regards to the child care industry.

As you know, as soon as the Trump Administration entered into office, they rescinded the Safe Locations Memo that did provide safety, safe havens, for places such as places of worship, schools, childcare facilities, and even community clinics. That memo has since been rescinded, even though it had been in place since 2012.

We also have seen an Executive Order that will—that seeks to deny public benefits to immigrant households. This includes even access to programs such as Head Start and other federally funded programs that are critically important for this age group that we are talking about today. And then, really briefly, just some statistics.

One in five early childhood education workers are immigrants. Between 2005 and 2017, over 97,000 licensed family child care homes closed in the US and we saw a 59% decrease in child care providers during the same time.

Many of these families and childcare homes also saw a 48% decline in those smaller childcare homes from the same period as well. And so, we are operating in a very fragile system of care when we talk about the childcare industry. You know, we're talking about owners, childcare workers, and families that utilize these centers.

And given the level of enforcement that we've seen in Southern California, you know, all of these are, all of these parties, right, are impacted and afraid of the enforcement that they have seen, and they are really concerned about safeguarding the children and the families that are in their care. As noted by my colleagues, families are not working.

Many are too afraid to take the risk. They are sheltering in place much like we did in Covid—during Covid—and many childcare centers are seeing a deep decline in enrollment.

Participation also tends to decrease in childcare settings, you know, perfectly aligned with targeted enforcement with both center based programs and home programs, especially for those under resourced care families.

These are families who, you know, are utilizing these centers to be able to go to work, but in times of stress or high needs or raids, will withdraw their children from child care and will rely on relative or other family members to care for their children to try to lessen the risk of exposure for arrest and detentions.

And as we know, immigration enforcement has targeted low wage work sites, including places like garment factories, nursing homes, car washes, metro stations, and also street vending. And so, we are seeing a reduction of folks being able to go out into the workforce.

We are also just really concerned about how this destabilizes not only the workforce, obviously, but also does impact both recruitment and retention and reducing the number of early childhood programs. Low attendance and low enrollment based on fears of separation really harm these programs of the center and home-based programs by leading to program disruptions and closures.

The situation also, as mentioned previously, impacts ECE professionals regardless of their immigration status, possibly resulting in layoffs and lower wages for those programs that rely on children's attendance and enrollment for continued funding.

So, I want to just underscore and emphasize, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, we are seeing many individuals being impacted, even folks that have applications either through the court system or through UC—USCIS. We're also seeing folks that have applications pending for U Visas, VAWA applications, and also T visas.

These are folks that as soon as you apply and you are able to establish a prima facie case of that you statutorily are eligible for these programs. Our government traditionally has given individuals deferred action status, meaning you are not, you are safe from being deported, but we are seeing this, this Administration go after these individuals as well.

And so, no one is safe under the current immigration scheme.

Whether, whether you have, like I said, an application in the court, an application through immigration, or whether you are a green card holder or a U.S. citizen, if you look like me, talk like me, and dress like you're going to work, you are likely to get picked up by an Administration that is arresting first and asking questions later.

And I will say for those U.S. citizens that have been picked up, CHIRLA has worked with these families, and it takes us often several days to locate individuals. So, this is real and it's pervasive and you could feel the level of fear. It's very tangible within our community.

Again, turning back to the industry, as my colleagues mentioned, childcare providers really do need training on these new laws. Both AB 49 and AB 495 are both bills that CHIRLA sponsored and work—worked—with the authors to get passed through the Legislature and we'll be working to implement.

So, I will also be making an appointment with you, Assemblymember Curry, to ensure that that we have means and funding as these bills become implemented and as, you know, and as the need is heightened for those on the ground to be really trained and really understand how to implement these laws into effect so that we can have the most number of families and children protected as possible.

I don't want to go without saying that our childcare providers also need training to identify intervention sooner for the population that they serve. You know, there are going to be a lot of children with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD, to name a few.

What families are experiencing on the ground is similar to being in the middle of a war zone. I will say that the day that the military descended at Macarthur Park, I was there within minutes of those sightings and the Mayor was pretty clear.

She had told a story about a six year old child who immediately asked her whether her parents were going to be deported. This is a child as young as six already knowing the implications of what it means to have the military descend into a park, a neighborhood park like Macarthur Park.

And this is not just an isolated incident. We know that many children are experiencing a lot of trauma, separation anxiety, and just are unable to learn.

And so, the sooner that we're able to identify this within our young population, the better, because we need to ensure that in the long term, these children are going to have all the ability to continue to perform well and do well in school.

And so, all the training that my colleagues have identified, I'm just going to, I'm not going to repeat them, but I'm going to say that it's critically important that we provide training on new laws, that we provide training for child care providers and workers to help identify some of these interventions that are needed and to really understand the level of services that our families are going to need at this moment in time, given that we are going to see an increase of immigration enforcement and more people just feeling a lot more isolated.

I will also note that there is also a need to think about safe passages for children, especially for childcare providers, thinking how we can create safe passages so that parents are not exposed to immigration enforcement on the ground and that we can have a steady stream of children accessing these services because they're critically important for our communities to not only maintain, but also for early childhood development and for their long term success and sustainability within their own educational journey as well.

So, I'll stop there because I know that was a lot. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Fabulous insight. Not that we don't see this day to day, but we're not on the ground like you are and dealing with, so thank you all for being here today. I have a couple of questions and then we'll open up if anybody has other questions. These are for Lisa Davis.

How has the threat or presence of immigration enforcement impacted trust between the providers and immigrant families in your communities?

You know, what we've seen is that they, you know, childcare providers have such a deep connection to the families that they serve and so, the reliance on them and really sort of it goes both ways. The way that they're supporting each other is almost as if they're one unit.

And so, we've seen and heard from colleagues at CCPU that there's even childcare providers that are having conversations about becoming guardians of children should they be separated from parents.

And so, the relationships, majority of the time, is that childcare providers, again, like they always do, are stepping up to protect the families at a higher level than really anybody else in the community does. And so, it strengthens the relationship if that relationship is able to stay together, which is why it's so important to ensure that families continue to have access to childcare providers and ECE providers.

But when they're not able to, when they can no longer afford to pay, when they don't have the support to pay, when the programs go away, then they're left without that critical support.

And oftentimes, they're, especially for the littles, they're really the only community support that they're receiving. So, you know, it's if they're together, very, very, very tight relationship. If they're separated from each other, then just deeper into isolation.

It's a trusted environment.

Absolutely.

It's all about trust. Once the young person doesn't have trust, it's hard to get it back or even the families. And what are the hidden ways that ICE enforcement or policy shifts disrupt childcare system, just beyond enrollment numbers?

And I think you just basically just answered that, so we'll scratch that one for you today.

Got it. Thank you.

Jeanette, how can state level policies better protect undocumented or mixed status families who rely on childcare but fear engaging with systems?

Can you repeat the middle part of the question?

How can state level policies be better protect undocumented or mixed status families who rely on child care but fear engaging with systems?

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, obviously this is such an intersectional policy issue. I think there's a lot of things that the state could be doing. I definitely think, just off the top of my head, we really do need to support legal, legal representation for families, right.

I think not only at the state level but support local jurisdictions to do this as well, because I think that's critically important.

The moment that we can have someone have representation, if we could bond people out of detention, I think that's important just to stabilize our families and to really reduce the fear and the trauma that children are experiencing. It's really difficult to have a parent in detention.

I just met with a family last week who—the mom was undocumented. She sent her two sons to go visit her partner in detention and her friend who was able to take the boys, was not able to see the stepdad. And that was so traumatic for both the five-year-old and the two-year-old.

After driving an hour and a half to Adelanto and waiting all day, they were unable to see their loved ones. So, the more that we could bond people out, get people legal representation, the better.

I also do believe that, you know, ensuring that families understand what protections childcare facilities and providers are now going to be able to extend through AB 49 and AB 495 are really critically important. But also thinking through creatively, are there safe passages? Is there a way to provide transportation?

My understanding right now is that our TK programs in the state are very under enrolled.

There are things that we can do to ensure that immigrant families feel confident and safe in enrolling their children in these programs, as well as ensuring that they're able to get the much needed child care to be able to have their children participate in those programs.

It does take a while to get the children to come back. We just opened up a brand new childcare center in Woodland, California and they had a drop initially and now, slowly, some of the families are coming back, but with a lot of hesitation before that they did that.

So, you know, just said something that just triggered me—getting legal representation. There are plenty of people that help out, that are reliable, trustworthy people to help get people out, because we have had, in the past, not the most reliable legal help for our immigrants.

Well, California does have the one California program that works with several different nonprofits throughout the state. So, there is a really good resource list for free or low-cost legal service providers.

But given that we're in this moment right now, here in Los Angeles, what we're doing with our other partners in Los Angeles is we are collectively working on that detainee list that I mentioned earlier, where we take turns and try to—and we go to the different detention centers as attorneys—but we're also creating a list of immigration lawyers that are private lawyers that, that are trusted.

And so, those are things that we're also creating. We're also looking to create pro bono networks to help with bond hearings. We need to train as many lawyers as possible to try to get folks out on bond and continue to develop these pro bono networks. So training, developing these pro bono networks, funding.

We're also looking at ways to create pathways for students who are, you know, in high school to start thinking about careers in the legal field. I am a first-generation student. My parents immigrated to this country. I didn't go directly to a four year.

I figured out how to get myself to community college, to UC Berkeley, and to law school. And so, making sure that our young people have the ability to figure out or have those pathways for them are critically important.

And I will say that in my experience working with a lot of youth, you know, parents are afraid to have their children work in this industry. I mean, right now, we definitely have our targets on our back. My LinkedIn profile is being looked at by DHS, DOJ, you name it.

And so, you know, but we want to create those pathways. We want to make sure that there's a workforce because we need to have dedicated attorneys that are going to be from the community, serving the communities where those communities need those services the most.

Thank you for my off the grid question, but I do get concerned about that. Nina, what do you think of the questions we've had so far? And you have any input for us? Because I know you've really given some thought by giving us the policy recommendations as well.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for the question. I would say 100%, without question, childcare providers, whether they're in a center-based setting, school-based setting, family, childcare, home setting, family, friend, and neighbor, are trusted individuals; they are trusted spaces.

So, the more that we can give those providers the support that they need to have all of the protections that they have to absolutely understand when they can open the door, when they don't have to, what are their rights and responsibilities, what do they do if a parent or guardian doesn't show up?

How long are they able to keep their child? All of those different parameters I think are absolutely crucial because no childcare provider, again, in whatever setting, wants that child to either get picked up by CPS, have to experience any of this trauma at all, or have their family go through it.

So, again, being able to provide funding for providers, they're desperate for it. They are absolutely desperate for it right now. And they want it and they want to protect their families; they want to protect the children that they're serving. And so, whatever we can do to be able to give them enough guidance.

A lot of the lawyers, the pro bono lawyers that we were just talking about early on, you know, did a number of webinars and free legal guidance in January, February. They're not doing that anymore because now they are working with individuals that have been detained.

And so, any guidance that can be given to childcare providers, again, will be incredibly beneficial because they want to do everything up to the extent to the law, and they're getting a lot of pushback as well. ICE is going to childcare programs across the state. They are stopping providers when they're going into their programs.

Even the workers, they're stopping. You know, they are targeting school sites. We know all of that. So, again, whatever clarity we can give to folks, they want it because they want to stand up to ICE. They want to protect these children and families.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Is there anyone from the audience who would like to come up and make any type of comment? We're more than willing to take some of those now. If not, we can also—yeah, come on up. Welcome. Thank you for being here.

Thank you. Good morning. My name is Paloma Corona. I'm a family childcare provider from the LA area and I'm here to—give me one quick second. I'm sorry. When immigration control measures intensify, families disappear overnight.

When parents take their children out to daycare out of fear and the children we love and teach suddenly lose their safe space—for the wellbeing of children, childcare should always be a safe place. The state must protect data on childcare, continue with subsidy payments.

When families take refuge in their homes and invest in providers who receive provider and family center training on how to support families and overcome—overcome fear and trauma. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

Good morning.

Good morning. Welcome.

My name is Sulma Tenorio. I'm a provider in Compton. This is...

Take your time and it's okay.

[Speaking Spanish]

I've totally forgotten.

That's okay.

[Speaking Spanish]

My name is Sulma Tenorio.

[Speaking Spanish]

I am a provider at the Atkins County—Compton?

Compton.

Compton County.

[Speaking Spanish]

Child care is the first place.

[Speaking Spanish]

Where the immigrants' families feel that they're part of the community.

[Speaking Spanish]

You know, I just gonna hit it on my own words.

When, when fear, when fear overcomes them, that strays away not only the families but the children.

[Speaking Spanish]

I live in Compton in front of a school.

[Speaking Spanish]

I was a witness of how many families were not able to attend the graduations.

[Speaking Spanish]

I was part of the graduation of the children that I took care of.

[Speaking Spanish]

Because the parents could not be there.

[Speaking Spanish]

Many of the parents...

[Speaking Spanish]

Many of the parents whom I take care of their children have chosen me as their legal guardian and I have the legal documentation.

[Speaking Spanish]

And that breaks my heart.

[Speaking Spanish]

To see how all of this is happening.

[Speaking Spanish]

And to see how my children are afraid to open the door.

[Speaking Spanish]

I have to take classes to see how I can help my community.

[Speaking Spanish]

Thank you to CCPU. They have helped us and have taught us how to do marches.

[Speaking Spanish]

And that's how I've obtained experience and also have received classes...

[Speaking Spanish]

So I can support my community.

[Speaking Spanish]

And I hope that this stops soon.

[Speaking Spanish]

Because my children, Afro American children, are also afraid.

Thank you.

Thank you.

No, thank you. I appreciate your comments so far, and others can come up, but I will say I had a young family had a basketball game and their two children wanted to go to the basketball game and the parents couldn't go.

And it broke my heart because they were really good athletes and they were crushed that their mom and dad couldn't be there. So, thank you for sharing that story. Okay, welcome.

[Speaking Spanish]

Good morning to everybody.

[Speaking Spanish]

My name is Ana Valentino and I'm a child care provider for [Speaking Spanish] 25 years.

[Speaking Spanish]

In the City of Arlita.

[Speaking Spanish]

I am a Member of CCPU Local 99.

[Speaking Spanish]

So, child care is the world and the first place where the families...

[Speaking Spanish]

Where the immigrant families feel like they're part of the community.

[Speaking Spanish]

When fear isolates them.

[Speaking Spanish]

Everyone loses the parents, the children.

[Speaking Spanish]

We need solid protection throughout the entire state.

[Speaking Spanish]

That guarantees that child care continues to be a safe space.

[Speaking Spanish]

Stable and safe for all the children.

[Speaking Spanish]

Independent from where they were born.

[Speaking Spanish]

Them or their parents.

[Speaking Spanish]

Are essential...

[Speaking Spanish]

Through the pandemic, now and always, and it hurts us...

[Speaking Spanish]

To know that the parents at their homes...

[Speaking Spanish]

They have to hide. And I have a child...

[Speaking Spanish]

That two weeks ago was carrying two backpacks.

[Speaking Spanish]

And I said, why are you carrying two backpacks?

[Speaking Spanish]

And he said, one of them is for my clothes and the other one is for my school items.

[Speaking Spanish]

Because when I'm out of school, I don't know if my mom's going to be able to pick me up.

[Speaking Spanish]

And my mom said I have to stay here with you because we don't have anyone else here.

[Speaking Spanish]

We, as providers, are supporting the parents, keeping the children with us.

[Speaking Spanish]

...Go back to Mexico, or their parents' place of birth because they were born here.

[Speaking Spanish]

Thank you for listening to us and for your time.

Thank you very much for your testimony. So, I want to remind everybody that's here is the most powerful thing that you have done is share your voice, but also, is that many of you have come all the way up to Sacramento before and advocated, and those voices are really important.

So, I appreciate so far those that have spoke because I can't imagine losing a child.

Please.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Zoila Carolina Thoma. I'm also a family childcare educator. I've been in the industry 15 years, and I'm from Lakewood, and I can speak about all the subjects that we're going to speak here today because I have experienced it all.

But one of the ones I want to bring up right now, it's immigration. At 44 right now, I have traumas that I suffered as a child. I was also separated from my families, not by ICE, but for poverty. My parents also immigrated to this country for a better future, right?

And those years that I spent without my parents had affected me. Now, as an adult, I have access to health care, so I'm able to go to therapists, psychiatrists. Right now, I can get that support.

But at 44, with all these immigration issues that we're seeing right now, it has awakened all my fears and trauma as a child. So, I am working really, really hard to protect and be the voice for those immigrants that don't have access or cannot come to the streets and speak for themselves because of the fear of ICE.

I heard one of my colleagues saying that it took her 25 something years to become a citizen. It took me over 30 something years to become a citizen. But at least when I was living, when I did it before getting my citizenship, I did it with, you know, some sort of support. I had my work permit.

And at least that gave me that peace of mind, right, that I was working legally, paying taxes and doing everything right, until something came out there that I was going to be able to do my legal process, right? But this is not the case right now. People are trying to do that and they're being detained.

The status that they have right now, it's being taken away, right? So, there's no guides. There's no rules. There's nothing. And I thank you guys. I thank you all for being part, because your job is not easy right now either. You guys are being targeted. And we live in a state that is very liberal, right?

Most of you representing us right now understand our community, support our community, but not everybody out there does that. We have so many Republicans sitting right now that are targeting our democracy, are targeting our immigrants, are targeting our legal system, and it's so unfair.

We go voicing that children matter, that we care about our children, but we don't. We don't because it's those that got targeted the most. Education is targeted all the time. When something goes down, where's the funding gonna be cut? In education. We don't care about children. We don't.

We just like to say. We preach and preach, but we don't. And it's very sad. It's very sad. So, and I know and I, the thing that I, that bothers me a lot, a lot of the times we have to come and act like if you're begging, like if you, like if I want you guys to see my soul, my vulnerability so you can understand me and feel some sort of pity-ness.

But we're not like, we are not looking for pity-ness. We're looking for humanity. Understanding, support. That's all we want. I don't want you, anyone, to give me something and hand it out like, oh, poor you.

Here it is. I'm earning it. I'm working really hard to earn it. I'm not asking for handouts. These children, we are their system. We are doing so many things that you have here for families right now, immigrant families. We become their support system. They trust us.

But even that right now is broken because a lot of them, they don't know who to trust. A lot of them don't want to even say it. I don't have documentation because they don't know who they're talking to. They don't know if I am going to be the one that is going to report them.

That's how bad things are right now in our country. We don't know who our neighbor is. We don't know who our friend is. We don't know who our family is because some of these, we have discovered that so poor what is happening right now. So, it's very sad. But thank you for your time.

Thank you for your work.

Thank you for your testimony. And we do this work because we love it and we want to make change. So, that's why we're all here together sharing what we have. Hello. Hi there.

Oh, I thought I was quiet. I cannot fathom some of the things that Anna and others have been describing of the conversations and the situations they're facing every time Providers, first and foremost, their job is to keep children healthy and safe. And what an awesome responsibility and hard thing to do.

As Zoey Lee was saying, there are no rules anymore. And how do you do this when there are no rules? CCPU has stepped into the gap Anita mentioned there has been just one state webinar so far. I think that was in like September or something like that.

So beginning in late January, CCPU has been providing Know youw Rights information. We have embedded it in more than 21 trainings that we have done with over 10,000 participants. This information has continued to change though because facts on the ground have changed and will continue to change.

10,000 is, is only a fraction though the 70,000 home based providers. And so more is needed to ensure that every provider knows what is happening no matter what they look like, who they care for.

As Willie was saying, they may not know the status, but it is important that everyone knows how to keep children in their care healthy and safe, including from many of the forces that have been described earlier.

We also have mailed magnets with know your rights information to more than 60,000 childcare providers who we represent and have been doing trauma informed training since our training Fund inception three or four years ago. But again more is needed.

So we would just emphasize that that is critical to expand on and also want to touch on a couple points that were mentioned earlier. As families are sheltering in place and making choices that are right for them.

If families are doing the things that you mentioned ALITA was doing, delivering groceries, transporting kids to school, providers need additional support. That costs money. Nothing is free. And so that's something that needs to be considered and funded.

And then the subsidy certifications for these families have to be maintained for the day, hopefully soon that as you talked about Assembly Member, the families began to have the ability to come out again and to trust again.

And so that certification has to remain in place and then finally the security of data that the state and its agencies it works with has to be safeguarded. There's a lot of information that already exists in our systems. Some of the legislation that passed is about what limiting information to collect moving forward.

But there's already a lot that exists and it's really critical to families and providers in the system that all of that information is safeguarded and best practices are followed with that. Thank you.

Great, thank you. I want to thank Everybody, the panelists on this section, great information. I really appreciate it. They're heartfelt. I feel like there's days at our job that we just don't know what to do. So these were good insights to help us out, to help our communities out. So we will make sure we write this up.

I will say I believe this workshop. You can view it. You'll be able to view it on the Women's Caucus. Yeah. You'll be able to look it up on my website. Cecilia Ag. We are. We'll make sure you get that. You'll be able to see all of our concerns and our follow up.

So we have a lot of follow up to do and we intend to do that. Why don't we move on to our third panel? Thank you, all of you that testified so far. And our third panel is what goes into providing care. Kelly Reynolds from Unite La. Sylvia Hernandez from Blossom to Success Childcare.

And Esther Nguyen Seiu on behalf of Jaime Olivares, parent advocate. And you might wonder why childcare is so important to me because I too, was a single mother and, and I couldn't find childcare. And so the expense that has to do with that, all the intricacies that you talk about, I felt it. The pain was there.

But I was also lucky that my mother, before she passed, was not too far away. And I had somebody as a backup. But not a lot of people have backup. And so I'm always grateful that I had family. I had a couple of neighbors, but they, just like anything else, are not always dependable.

So anyway, I could go on and on about childcare while it's important, but we can't change, for instance, homelessness. And I say that the number one thing is taking care of our children and to make sure they have good lives and they understand the value of education. They get a roof over their head.

They get food on the table. It starts at the basics. And this is where we are today. And we intend, as the Legislature, to continue to work hard for children. So don't ever give up on the California Legislative Women's Caucus. This is our number one priority.

So with that, Kelly, would you like to speak up to us to speak with. Hi, Kelly.

There's a button. Perfect.

I had a presentation, but if that's not up, I also can just go off the talking points. Oh, perfect. Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, well, I can get started while they get that queued up. So. Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Thank you so much for inviting me to provide testimony today on this really important topic.

My name is Kelly Reynolds and I'm the Director of Education and Workforce Strategy and policy@Unite LA. Unitela is a nonprofit organization that has worked to bridge and build relationships between the business and education communities on cradle through career policy and systemic issues facing low income communities.

For more than 20 years we were affiliated with the LA Chamber of Commerce and served as the Chamber's Education Workforce Development Division and we continue to engage the business community on education issues and have developed a network of over 50 business partners with which we collaborate on large scale complex education workforce development challenges facing our state and region.

And personally I'm very passionate because I'm a mother of a three year old and also have another one on the way and I also live in Pasadena just a mile outside of the burn scar. So I saw firsthand how our community rallied to support child care and families impacted by and displaced by the fires.

And so I'm grateful for everyone's testimony here today. So just to set a little background, I know this probably builds upon the Cal Chambers presentation from our last hearing, but childcare is a business issue. From our years of experience informing and activating the business community, we know firsthand that this is definitively true.

Access to child care impacts all levels of business, from small employers to Fortune 500 companies and and impacts our economy as a whole.

We know that 58% of entrepreneurs report that childcare challenges have made it hard to start their business, while 59% say challenges have slowed its growth and that 62% of small employers have dealt with unplanned absences due to childcare challenges, while nearly a third have had an employee quit over it.

And a lack of childcare access and childcare disruptions impact workforce participation, especially for women. I don't think this is a new data point by any means.

I think we know this, but just underscoring that women comprise 77% of full time workers who miss work due to childcare challenges in 2024 and of those working part time due to child care challenges, 90% are women. So really, child care access is critical to women's labor force participation.

We also know that child care access directly impacts the economy. Workforce disruptions due to childcare resulted in up to 1.44 billion lost potential work hours in 2024 and workers lost between $15 billion and $44 billion in wages due to childcare problems, which can result in financial instability and low child care challenges also disproportionately impact low income families.

So while we know that everyone is impacted by child care challenges it really impacts our lowest income the most while Issues Accessing Child Care well, sorry, Child care subsidies are what make access to care available to many families who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

It helps ensure that these families can stay in the workforce as well as pursue training and educational opportunities that support their long term career growth.

The Child Care Resource center, an LA and San Bernardino county based resource and referral agency took a look at their own subsidized family data within their service area and found that access to subsidies increased employment opportunities and work hours. They found that nine oops, sorry, let me go back.

They found that 94% of parents were able to accept a job, 85% of parents were able to attend additional education and training and we find that these opportunities, supported in part by subsidies, are essential to breaking cycles of poverty. And. Business benefits from childcare subsidies.

CCRC also looked at its employment data self reported from the the people they provide service to and they found the top industries that benefit from subsidies, which include sales services and marketing, health science, human services, education and training, and transportation, distribution and logistics.

Many of these industries whose employees rely on subsidies require non traditional hours either late, early or overnight. These needs add additional complexities for parents with young children who often have a hard time finding options that can cover unique hours that fit their needs.

Because of this, many look to family, friend and neighbor care to fill these gaps in trusted family coupled with non traditional hours. Many families struggle with transportation of their children to different programs, but because we know that schools don't provide full work hours, many childcare providers don't.

Also, families are hodgepodging this together and it's often childcare providers that are assisting with those transportation needs. Long commute times to childcare and then to work may also constrain parents employment choices and potentially limit their labor force participation. This challenge can be exasperated when we're looking at childcare deserts.

Increasing provider compensation is critical to meeting child care demand, as is. You know, as has been stated many times and I don't think is new news for anyone, we know that the ECE workforce is made up predominantly of immigrants and women of color and is historically underpaid, often surviving off of poverty wages.

That the ECE workforce is struggling points to a larger story of increasing income inequality amid higher cost of living year over year. Providers incomes have not risen at the same rate as the General population's and they have few opportunities within the ECE workforce sector to catch up.

Increasing investments for ECE workers to attain and grow higher wages over time, not only improves their own quality of life, but also the quality of care for children in California. In 2021, Unitelay worked in partnership with Beacon Economics to release a report on the economic impact and return on investment to increasing provider wages in Los Angeles County.

The study found that professionalizing the LA County ECE workforce, adding additional ece. Sorry, adding additional qualified ECE workers to meet current demand and compensating both existing and new educators in line with similarly trained kids, kindergarten teachers would support 2.1 billion to 3.6 billion in additional earnings.

These new wages would recirculate through our local economy through direct spending, generating additional economic output beyond the initial investment, public investment and yielding a 1.9 multiplier effect for every $1 spent on an ECE worker wage.

In effect in Los Angeles County, the wage increase would support 5.2 to 8.1 billion in economic output annually, about 50,000 to 56,000 new jobs and 3.5 billion to 5.5 billion in labor income annually, and generate 1 to 1.5 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue. So that was a lot of information, but I think a lot.

We've heard a lot today about funding and the need for increased funding. Considerations to address the costs that go into child care that we really wanted to take away is that investing in increasing provider wages that reflect the true cost of care are critical to ensuring quality care for children.

We also would want to ensure that the true cost includes critical funding elements to providing care such as transportation and non traditional hours. We know that those are severe gaps in our system.

And when we talk about revenue, especially as we've been talking about state budget deficits and nothing is improving, obviously at the federal level right now, we think it's time to look for opportunities for revenue generation to support increasing reimbursement rates and thinking about dedicated funding streams to support childcare.

We often talk about childcare providers as heroes and they are. The passion they bring to this profession literally sets the foundations for children's lives. But passion alone can't feed and sustain this critical sector. We must invest more in early care and education to ensure that quality care for children, but also a quality of life for our providers.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Appreciate them. Next we have Sylvia. Good afternoon. Is it afternoon or still morning? Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

Well, good afternoon. My name is Sylvia Hernandez and I've been a child care licensed provider in Van Nuys for more than 18 years. I'm also proud member of SEIU Local 99 child care providers United. I am part of The CCPU bargaining team and part of the EBOR delegate for child care providers.

In today's economy, parents don't work those traditional hours Monday through Friday from nine to five jobs. In fact, they often take a second job to support their family in order to accommodate the family schedule. I am open 24 hours 5 days a week to keep my childcare open. In this schedule I have six assistants.

I care for 14 children during the day and another 14 in the evening and overnight. Providing high quality care. 24 hours means I am a lifeline for the working parents I serve. I have parents who drop off their children at different times in the morning and evening.

Some children come from 8 to 5, others from 8pm to 4am and some from 10pm to 6am These schedules can vary weekly, even monthly depending on the changes in the parents work schedules or the children's schools schedules which early or after school programs nor centers can accommodate because of the non traditional schedules.

I also provide transportation for the children in my care. I drive them to school and back and when they have after school activities, I drive them to their tutoring, sport practice, music classes and then back to my childcare.

When I'm driving out for the children who need transportation, my assistants are the other with the other children, one of them providing tutoring, the second one sanitizing, my third one planning the activities for the next day. Having assistance is essential for family childcare providers, but you know we can hire assistants for just one or two hours.

I need to offer them a minimum of four hours of work per day or more. Providing transportation also requires additional cost that current state funding does not cover. I cannot afford a commercial van or minibus, so we use two family cars to transport the children.

I also require to purchase insurance that is not your regular insurance but commercial transportation that is very expensive. My pay should reflect the increasing operation cost in the long hours I spend each day caring for the children. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

My pay is nowhere near enough to cover essential expenses like my mortgage, utility supplies, insurance, gas, food, maintenance, licensing, staff salary. Many, like other providers, I pay my assistant fair wedges even though I can afford to pay myself.

Every week I visit the grocery store, spending thousands of dollars each month to insure kids to have a warm meal. For many of them, my childcare is where they only eat a nutritious home cooked meal or even the only meal that they have.

However, providing three meals a day for 24 children has become very difficult in recent years. The prices of the groceries have skyrocket while my paycheck remains the same. Agencies often approve families for for childcare for up to 50 to 80 hours or more.

But I still get paid the same because how state rules currently are set, I don't get paid time and a half. I can't charge families for the difference because they cannot afford it. Many struggling to pay their own rent, utilities and other basic needs.

Sometimes I get asked why don't you just leave this industry or why don't you just close your childcare home. To be honest, the truth is that I love what I do. I believe in making a difference. I love caring for the children. It's rewarding to see parents do well and improve their lives.

I know it makes a difference for their children. I know because I started this work with my mother. She has been a provider for over 26 years. She still operates her home based daycare. And after all these years we have seen many successful stories. We have seen parents go through difficult times and personal struggles.

We have seen them complete their education and advancing their jobs. I know having access to quality reliable childcare has made a difference. I feel many of them is creating a better future. Here in California these parents have been remained out of the welfare system. They haven't come back.

But now with childcare being difficult to find or to be the funding for having childcare, many parents are being forced to push to be in the welfare system which they don't want to e, but just there's no funding and the only thing they need is that help which is the childcare. It is hard.

I usually am around the clock. Just to give you an example how dedicated child care providers are. And I do speak for myself and every child care provider because I know how dedicated they are. I work 24 hours. I only sleep probably what, two to four hours to give you an example.

But I'm getting ready up because I know that the children need me, the parents need me and I need to be there ready for them. The State of California does not recognize our work or our contributions. Providers face many challenges. We're operating extremely tight budgets. We cannot sustain the situation.

We need rates that will truly reflect the true cost of providing care. If we continue to receive low wages, I fear I will have no choice but to reduce my staff hours which will lead to a Shorter operating hours and a limit that 24 care that I have for working families that they rely on me.

I worry that I won't be able to provide transportation that gets children to school safely every day. I know I'm not alone in this struggle. Thousands of providers face the same difficult decisions that I have. We care deeply for the families we serve, but alone we cannot keep our doors open.

We need pay rates that will recruit and retain providers to continue to provide the childcare that working families and our children need. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Great testimony. Okay. And our last presenter is Esther Nguyen. Thank you for being here.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. My name is Esther Nguyen and I'm the government and community relations manager at SEIU Local 99. We represent over or nearly 50,000 public and private sector education workers across the Southern California region.

But today I have the honor of reading a testament from our parent advocate who couldn't be here today due to being sick. So with that, I'll read her statement. Hello, My name is Jamie Olivarez. I live in the City of Pacoima. Like many working parents, I depend on childcare.

But childcare is even more critical for me because I do not work a traditional 9 to 5 job. I work cleaning offices in the evenings as office workers get ready to go home every night. My workday begins. I work from 2pm to 12am Monday through Friday. And sometimes I'm called in to work over the weekend.

And in this difficult economy, I also have a part time job cleaning offices during the day. I sometimes get called into work two or three times a week. I work from 8am to 12 noon. I have an eight year old daughter named Delaza. She's in the third grade.

As you can imagine, with my work schedule, finding childcare is very difficult. That is why it was a blessing for me to find a child care provider in Sylvia Hernandez. Sylvia lives in my community in the San Fernando Valley and she understands the needs of parents who work non traditional hours.

Some nights when I work past midnight, Sylvia drives Deleza home. And some mornings when I work my part time job, Sylvia picks her up and takes her to school. With my schedule, having safe and reliable transportation for my daughter is essential. Deleza also has ADHD and is autistic. She needs stability and consistency.

We have found that nurturing stability in Sylvia's home based daycare. That is why I ask you to consider the many needs of working parents. Many of us work non traditional hours. Many of us require the flexibility of home based care. Many of us depend on providers for transportation. It's not a luxury, it's not auxiliary.

I could not get to work and provide for my family without the round the clock care that Sylvia provides. She is a safety net for me and Alyssa.

But I know that keeping up with the schedule is hard on Sylvia, so I urge you to ensure that providers like Sylvia are paid for the true cost of all the care that they provide our children. Thank you.

Thank you very much for sharing her comments and make sure she knows we appreciate those. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I do have a few questions for Kelly. You know, you keep talking about non traditional work hours, which is so important, right. Because people don't understand that. I think they're eight to five and so many people.

We had construction workers, women construction workers that were just going through the union trades and they had to go to work at 6 in the morning and didn't know where to go and for childcare and moving them around. And I kept thinking to myself, you know, you don't always think about that.

So how can we better support providers to fill those gaps for those that have non traditional work hours?

Yeah, I think, you know, I think part of it is that providers are already filling that gap. Got your microphone on. Zero, let me pull it closer. Does that work better? Yeah, that's good.

Thank you.

We know that providers are already filling that gap because the reality is, especially with, when we think about LA and some of our big metropolitan regions, a lot of families live outside and are commuting construction, right? You're, you're commuting to wherever that site is and that might be an hour and a half from where you live.

So the early drop off times, we already know that providers are fulfilling that gap.

And so I think it's critical for us to think about funding that as we are having conversations in the state about what the true cost of care is and what factors go into that, that transportation is a part of that, because otherwise it's an additional burden that providers or families have to pay, neither of which maybe have factored into their budgets.

So I think it's critical that it's just a component of what we consider cost of care.

It's hard to figure out how to address inequities. Any ideas? Anybody have ideas? Go ahead. You have some? No. Oh, yeah. You know, if you raised your hand at an auction, you would have bought something.

I mean, I think it's a broad, it's a big question. I think there's probably a million ways to address them.

But some of the things that immediately come to mind when we're talking about developing a system that compensates based on true cost of care and how do we prioritize is thinking about those that have the biggest gaps already, starting with the ones that are either the lowest income or have the greatest gaps in care.

We know infant and toddler care is an area of which that we really need to prioritize as a state. As more children enter our public school system earlier, we need to ensure that we have care for our youngest. And so how are we incentivizing compensating providers to provide care for infants and toddlers?

And it's the most expensive form of care. So that's one thing that comes to mind. I also think thinking about the all of the additions that were talked about, training, support, professional development, we know that in a lot of private pay programs that those costs are factored in. It's not.

It's not necessarily the same to have the additional capacity of staff to be able to support those activities. So how are we not building that in as additives, but those are factors into the cost.

I think that those are some of the pieces to start with of like as we're developing the system, we're really zeroing in on the areas that need to be included to ensure that all of our providers and families have equitable access to high quality care and the ability to provide that care because of the infrastructure that's been created.

It wasn't that long ago we did a presentation with the carpenters union trying to get more women involved in the trades such as that. And they did come back with a response that they are trying to figure out more daycare opportunities for the women to be able to get trained and whatever.

And I think it would be nice if more businesses attempted to help us out. You know that take some responsibility because we're all in this together. Right. But I thank you for those notes. Anybody else would like to come up and any ideas? Come on up. There you are good. You have good answers.

I said I can speak on all topics. Thank you, everyone. Yeah, what Kelly just mentioned, that through cost of care is a must, right? It's not questionable when it comes to that.

But also, infrastructure, when it comes to like when we face struggles, like the fire and things like that, we need to have some sort of support in that area, because when that happens, you can, as a business owner, you can go on the streets too, right?

So, we need some sort of net that support us in situations of disasters. Right? Right now, for example, with all the climate, I lost 50% of my enrollment. You know, six months going with 50% of your enrollment. How much? So, I have to start using savings.

And that savings is not for my job because I don't get paid enough. I have to start pulling from my husband's income to support my business. So, it's like now start affecting other areas that we have to also take care of.

I have to make sure that I also save money for, to put my kids to through school, through college. My daughter right now, it's in debt already. My oldest one is like, because at the time the pandemic, I move, so we decide, it's like, and we talk to her, I'm like, what we do? We buy a house?

Or we pay your $100,000 tuition because she had a 50% scholarship. So, it's like, okay, it's $200,000. That's only for her four years of college. Now, she's doing her master's. So, now that's two more years into it, so that, it keeps adding, so that's why we're like, it is.

And when we come here and we say we need the true cost of care, it's because we also have a family to support. We do this job because we love working with children; we love to help the community. But at the same time, it's like we working.

What Sylvia is doing right now, the job of going to pick up the children from the parent's home is crucial and it's important. You know what? That's safety. I done graveyard jobs. I don't know if any of you have worked graveyards, but you are in that wheel like this, pulling your eyes because you need to stay alert.

Because when that light turns red, sometimes you close your eyes to rest, you fall asleep in a second. That is safety. Especially the mom's job, it's like one day she work at night, one day she works in the evening. Her biological clock is messed up. It's safety.

She can put her children's life at risk just for dropping at school to do her duties as a mother. So, it's, it's, it's so much. And also, we can ask the jobs, like what you mentioned right now, we can ask the jobs to help us with childcare to give maybe the parents a percentage on childcare. Right?

But then it's like—but that's enough because the wages are still low. It's minimum wages. Some of these parents don't want to be a burden into the society because that's how we're labeled. It's if we ask for some sort of services in our community to help us, food or anything else, we are a burden to our community.

But a burden to community when it's our own taxes, when it's the same money that is getting deducted from her paycheck, from the parents' paycheck, and from all of us here that is putting into the community, you know, as a network, as a net to support us when we are struggling financially, but then we're a burden?

It doesn't work that way. So, we need something that if increase the wages from the minimum, what it does? Everything else goes up. Rent goes up, utilities go up, food goes up, and it's a catch-up game. We will never catch up this way.

So, we need an education is very, very important because we don't want, you know, we want our children to have a better life. I have worked so hard for my children not to go through what I went through. You know, so far, it's good.

And then my daughter is doing her job now for her own children not to struggle the piece that they have struggled. We're trying to put here.

But it's also the reality is that the system want to have some of us down because who's going to do the low wages jobs, who's going to do the hard jobs, who's going to do the most difficult work? Somebody have to do it.

If we put all our kids to school, nobody's going to go and wash toilets. Reality. Who want to do that for hundreds of people that walking through these commercial buildings and things like that? It is, but it's respectable jobs after all, right? It keeps food on their tables and all that. So, we have to do that.

But it is. We have to create networks that fundings that in situations will support our industry and will support the families out there. How we do that? That's a good question. Because our money is going out to the rich, our taxes going to the rich, and our things are being cut.