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The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors this week approved $10 million to support two pilot programs aimed at expanding access to childcare.
“This is a very exciting day for all of us,” said Supervisor Jackie Speier at the June 9 board meeting. “Lack of affordable, accessible childcare is hurting San Mateo County in ways we can no longer ignore.”
The San Mateo County Childcare Central Initiative includes two programs — a navigation portal to serve as a one-stop shop for families seeking childcare and a multi-source payment model to share childcare costs.
The SMC Childcare Hub will be a public-facing platform designed to be a single point of access for families looking for childcare options. It will begin with a three-year term and will be operated by Tootris, LLC a San Diego-based company that runs similar platforms in other jurisdictions.
The second program, known as the SMC TriShare Pilot Program, is a model that splits the cost of childcare between the county, an employer, and the employee. Its aim is to make childcare options more affordable for working families with incomes that exceed eligibility thresholds for state subsidies, yet do not make enough to afford available childcare options.
“We recognize that families need support in both finding childcare and paying for it,” said Deputy County Executive Rocio Kiryczun in a presentation at the meeting. “We know that childcare costs continue to rise, and it’s impacting not only low-income families but all families.”
The TriShare program could serve an estimated 1,200 children, Speier said.Â
Of the $10 million, the Board of Supervisors approved to allocate about $8.9 million for the TriShare pilot program. The rest was allocated for the Childcare Hub.Â
The board approved the allocations unanimously.
“I’m pleased to support this initiative and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on families throughout San Mateo County,” said Supervisor Lisa Gauthier.Â
This story was written by Alise Maripuu for Bay City News
