After threat of cuts, California expands subsidized child care by more than 20,000 spaces

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Set us as preferred California will expand the number of state-subsidized child-care spaces by 22,770 following months of uncertainty and threatened cuts to a vital program for working parents.Leaders and advocates in the child-care industry had been anxious for months and lobbying legislators in the hopes that Gov.Gavin Newsom, who has supported early childhood education, would make good on earlier pledges to support an expansion in his budget.The increase, included in the final budget Newsom signed Monday, means that roughly half of the 44,000 slots promised for the upcoming fiscal year will be funded, bringing the overall expansion to nearly three-quarters of the total 206,800 slots he promised in 2021.

Even with the expansion, the state funds enough slots to subsidize only about 18% of eligible children.“Considering that we didn’t have any of those spaces and we had cuts proposed in the May Revise, I’m really happy to see that, and grateful to the EC advocates and our legislative champions that made that possible,” said Laura Pryor, research director at the California Budget & Policy Center.Engage with our community-funded journalism as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.The additional funding for child care came largely from Senate negotiators, who pieced together a plan that in part relied on moving nonprofit state preschools to Proposition 98, which sets a minimum funding guarantee for schools and community colleges.The move has gotten pushback from groups including the California School Boards Assn.

that express concern that preschool funding will take away money from school districts and community colleges.The budget also removes some barriers to accessing care for families.

All families, regardless of income, that live...