SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - City leaders met downtown Thursday to discuss changes that can make child care more affordable for San Diegans.
A study from last year showed parents across the country are paying nearly $10,000 on child care a year. A newer report,released Jan. 13, centers around obstacles parents face including availability, affordability and quality of care.
The study, produced by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and The San Diego Foundation, states San Diego is the 13th most expensive city in the country and about 70 percent of families require both parents to work.
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"Then when you pile onto that the expense of childcare, which for an infant or toddler can be north or $17,000 a year, for a preschooler $11,000 a year, it just blows the top off of their budgets," Laura Kohn, director of Early Workforce Development, said.
The local YMCA Childcare Resource Service recently stated some parents are quitting their jobs while others are switching their schedules to be with their kids.
San Diego leaders met at Symphony Towers to discuss what should happen now that the report is published.
Kohn suggested help is needed on both sides, rent for child care providers and benefits for employees, like paid parental leave. Kohn says this issue is crucial as it affects the current workforce and future generations.
The report and meeting was funded by a personal donation.
The full San Diego Workforce Partnership and San Diego Foundation report is available at https://childcare.workforce.org/what-can-we-do. More on the chamber's report can be found at https://sdchamber.org/foundation/regional-jobs-strategy.
