With program in limbo, Merced parents face child care shortage

An extended-day program for students in the Merced City School District faces possible elimination for a second time as officials say they need to raise rates to cover expenses.

Elimination of the fee-based Youth Enrichment Program would mean middle-class Merced parents would be left with even fewer options in an already tight child care market.

It serves 28 students in before- and after-school programs at Peterson Elementary. That’s down by about half from the last academic year when the program was saved from elimination, but at a higher cost, after parents urged the district to keep it.

The program gives working parents a place to take their children to participate in educational activities and get help with schoolwork. It also serves about 100 students whose families earn low incomes and qualify for state-subsidized care.

But for parents whose incomes are too high, the cost for each child is $300 per month. The nonsubsidized program needs to charge enough to make it completely self-sustainable without state money, according to district officials.

In a meeting with parents last week, officials explained that the fees pay for staff and to ensure the program meets the state’s licensing regulations. The fee-based YEP can’t simply be combined with the subsidized one because it would be too difficult to report financial information to the state, they said.

“It affects how each staff person is paid,” said Melanie Cole, the district’s director for preschool and child development programs. “It gets very tricky in keeping the fiscal part clean.”

Despite the higher fees, this year the program still is short $23,000, said Linda Jordan, the district’s chief fiscal officer. To make up the difference, the price will increase from $300 per child per month to somewhere between $330 to 350.

The Merced County Office of Education runs an after-school program known as ASSETS at 16 of the 18 Merced City School District campuses. But ASSETS can only accommodate 100 students per campus and each year is filled to capacity.

Shane Smith, a parent who uses the fee-based YEP, said he and his wife have sought out private options but the quality couldn’t match that of YEP.

“The district provides such a high-quality experience for the kids,” he said. “We didn’t see it replicated in the community.”

“We were taken aback at how much more expensive it was out in the community,” he added.

The 2016 Merced County Health Assessment noted that a family with one infant and one preschooler would have to pay the equivalent of 40 percent of the average income of a Merced County family for child care alone.

Assuming a family can afford such costs, finding a child care opening is the next challenge. There is only availability at licensed care providers for 18 percent of children with working parents, the assessment found.

To further complicate matters, nearly 70 percent of Merced County child care centers contract with local, federal or state governments, meaning middle-class families likely wouldn’t meet income requirements to enroll their children, according to the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network.

The number of licensed child care facilities was slashed in half during the recession, according to MCOE data. There were 400 facilities in 2007-08, and today there are 230 listed on MCOE’s child care resource and referral database.

Christie Hendricks, assistant superintendent for early education for MCOE, said the problem isn’t unique to Merced. “But, it is a significant issue for working families,” she said. “We’re seeing more and more families who have both parents working and need child care.”

Hendricks said the city of Merced and Merced County have language in their general plans for licensed child care centers to accompany subdivisions and other development.

“If we don’t plan for child care, it’s hard to infill those because of licensing requirements,” she said. “child care services should be considered an essential service. It certainly warrants the same consideration as parks and roads.”

“I would love for assistance and for our community to work together and find solutions for our kids,” said Paula Heupel, the MCSD assistant superintendent for educational services. “If we could encourage small businesses and other agencies like the Boys & Girls Club to provide opportunities for our kiddos beyond the school days and in the summer months – our community needs that.”

Though city officials said city government isn’t in the child care business, leaders are eager to be part of a solution.

“This isn’t something the city does for a living,” City Manager Steve Carrigan said, adding that he’d be interested in learning more about the issue.

“We want to be part of a team to solve the problem,” he said.

Mayor Mike Murphy said income growth is the key to many of the city’s problems. “As incomes continue to increase in Merced, it’s going to be easier for families to afford child care,” he said. “That’s where our focus is – pursuing opportunities that will result in not just more jobs for Mercedians, but higher paying positions.”

Including child care in the general plan updates about 10 years ago is a step in the right direction, Hendricks said.

She added: “There’s still lots of work to be done.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 5:58 PM with the headline "With program in limbo, Merced parents face child care shortage."