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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Poll: Quality Child Care Expensive, Hard to Find in CA

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Monday, September 14, 2020   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The child-care crunch in California is real, and advocates for families are pressing the state to make quality a priority, in addition to quantity.

This fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to release a long-awaited master plan for quality early care and education.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, said a poll commissioned by the nonprofit advocacy group confirms parents are having hard time finding and paying for adequate care.

"There was this understanding that kids really needed to have access to not just any child care and preschool, but high quality," Lempert said. "And that it's very expensive; that most parents are having to cobble together different sources."

There are huge waiting lists for state-subsidized child care. Statistics show fewer than 15% of income-eligible families actually find a slot. And fewer than half of all three-year-olds in the state have access to a quality preschool.

Lempert said the master plan needs to provide a road map to achieve equity, because families of color are particularly hard hit by the lack of affordable child care.

"Some kids are getting that kind of high-quality care and early education," Lempert said. "Most kids aren't. That plan really needs to address not just the availability, but also the quality of child care and preschool."

The poll found parents are most concerned with finding a child-care option that has a low child-to-adult ratio and skilled caregivers who are trained to foster children's emotional well-being.

Disclosure: Children Now/KIDS COUNT contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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