Goleta Approves $250,000 to Invest in Childcare Improvements

Money to Go Toward Improving Existing Operations, Starting and Expanding Employer Facilities, and Recruiting New Providers

Since running for his seat, Goleta City Councilmember James Kyriaco has put childcare front and center. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom File Shot

James Kyriaco was dubbed “the Paul Revere of childcare” as Goleta approved a quarter of a million dollars to invest in childcare improvements on December 3. For his part, Kyriaco, a councilmember since 2018, thanked voters for passing the sales tax increase that is providing the funding. But since running for his seat, Kyriaco has put childcare front and center, hoping to fix for other kids the sometimes-neglectful caregivers he’d had growing up.

Childcare is both widely needed and expensive. About 181 of the 1,375 children in Goleta who are 2 years old and younger have found space in a licensed childcare facility, or 14 percent. Their parents pay an average of $1,385 per month for childcare, which takes as much as 30 percent of a middle-income family’s wages per month. All the while, childcare costs should be no more than 7 percent of a family’s income, say experts with the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University.

Into this dismal void comes three programs in which Goleta is investing $250,000, the first city to do so in Santa Barbara County:

$50,000 toward four (three full and one partial) applications by nonprofit childcare operators to add places for infants and toddlers, educate their workforce, bring more family engagement to their program, and develop leadership skills as the care center expands. These programs are administered through the Santa Barbara Foundation.
$50,000 for an employer to start or expand their childcare facility. Also, for a family or caregiver, one to two scholarships of $10,000 per year, depending on income, to decrease the amount paid for childcare. Both programs are administered through the United Way.
$150,000 to recruit new childcare providers by assisting them through the licensing process, assure quality childcare through professional education, and receive coaching on successful business planning, accounting, budgeting, debt management, and goal setting for 12 participants. This will lead to 96 new childcare spaces. The programs are through the Children’s Resource and Referral and the Women’s Economic Ventures.

Although the number of infants is expected to drop over the coming years in Santa Barbara County, childcare needs for babies to toddlers is expected to remain high. Part of the need arises out of the adult-to-child ratios for childcare centers — one adult for no more than four children ages zero to 2. For children between the ages of 2 and 6, one adult may care for as many as a dozen children.

During the city’s discussion of the grants, Shannon Kirn, who has been coordinating the program for Goleta, said a similar presentation to the county Board of Supervisors in October gave a snapshot of what was missing in the county and its cities, including Goleta. Unmet needs for babies and toddlers in Goleta was about 87 percent for those under age 2. For children up to age 5, unmet needs dropped to 4 percent. (For the county as a whole, it was a painful 91 percent, though the figure looks at licensed facilities. Childcare at home with family or babysitter need not be licensed.)

Also, the county was using the same providers as Goleta, who reported a remarkable success. They spent $2 million in federal funds and added more than their goal of 250 new placements — they’ve reached 1,070 new spots for infants and toddlers at 10 new childcare centers, while seven care centers expanded.

Aiding local childcare efforts is Senate Bill 234 (SB234), which changed a number of standards for childcare in any type of home, not just single-family homes as had previously been the case. SB234 made childcare a permitted use in any residential zone. And, with the exception of the state facility license and the city business license, other taxes, permits, licenses, and fees were considered exempt for family childcare homes as of January 2020.

Goleta was having some success already, said Kirn. Women’s Economic Ventures had held a meeting to garner participation at the Goleta Community Center, which attracted seven potential providers. Their six- to eight-week program is set to start in mid-January. Overall, the programs will be completed in about a year with final reporting to come within six months.