I have covered early childhood education and child care for KQED since 2022. I focus on policies aimed at increasing access to early care and education and how they shape individual lives. I've been a journalist for more than two decades, with most of that time devoted to covering breaking news throughout California for The Associated Press. I grew up in San Francisco and studied at UC Davis and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. I live in Oakland with my husband and two kids.
California Parents on Waitlist for Subsidized Childcare Anxious Over Proposed Budget Cuts
Community Child Care Centers on Shaky Ground After Transitional Kindergarten Expansion
California Advocates Want Newsom to Fulfill Promise to Fund Childcare Spaces
As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close
Struggling Bay Area Schools Get New Life as Badly Needed Child Care Centers
Bay Area Nature Camp Wins Key Approval for New Home After Fighting ‘Bureaucracy and NIMBYism’
Rising Child Care Costs Force Parents to Choose: Career or Kids?
When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career
San Francisco Kids With Special Needs Get Delayed and Unequal Access to Services
Player sponsored by
window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"news_12086169": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12086169",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12086169",
"found": true
},
"title": "260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED",
"publishDate": 1780521737,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1780521762,
"caption": "Carmen Perez, a mother of four who has been waiting for more than year for an open subsidized child care slot for her 18-month-old son, poses for a portrait with her son at Pioneer Park in Novato on May 31, 2026.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00510_TV-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12083046": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12083046",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12083046",
"found": true
},
"title": "260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED",
"publishDate": 1778333954,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1778334046,
"caption": "Heather Posner (center), executive director of Carquinez Garden School, does arts and crafts with children in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12083484": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12083484",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12083484",
"found": true
},
"title": "260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed",
"publishDate": 1778700409,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12083461,
"modified": 1778700520,
"caption": "Children play in an outdoor area at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas and child care space specifically designed for young children.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12083049": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12083049",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12083049",
"found": true
},
"title": "260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED",
"publishDate": 1778333970,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1778334035,
"caption": "Children’s toys scatter across the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12081820": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12081820",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12081820",
"found": true
},
"title": "260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL",
"publishDate": 1777493596,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12083461,
"modified": 1778701509,
"caption": "Teacher Brianda Casillas works with children in a classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12080108": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12080108",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12080108",
"found": true
},
"title": "260415-Mosaic Project-01-KQED",
"publishDate": 1776292362,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1776295895,
"caption": "This rendering shows plans for the Mosaic Project's proposed permanent home in Alameda County, which it hopes will serve up to 100 students per week, for about 130 days out of the year, at a proposed new permanent facility in Castro Valley.",
"credit": "Courtesy of the Mosaic Project",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-01-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12078465": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12078465",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12078465",
"found": true
},
"title": "260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED",
"publishDate": 1775151777,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12075761,
"modified": 1775519754,
"caption": "Annie Malekzadeh, a mom who quit her teaching job to save on childcare and is now pursuing her master’s degree in mathematics, walks her kids through the rain after school in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00326_TV-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12078463": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12078463",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12078463",
"found": true
},
"title": "260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED",
"publishDate": 1775151774,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1775151813,
"caption": "Annie Malekzadeh, a mom who quit her teaching job to save on childcare and is now pursuing her master’s degree in mathematics, walks her kids through the rain at school pick up time at Valhalla Elementary School in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-square": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED-600x600.jpg",
"width": 600,
"height": 600,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12076653": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12076653",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12076653",
"found": true
},
"title": "260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed",
"publishDate": 1773702595,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12076592,
"modified": 1773704702,
"caption": "Lyuba Shkolnik teaches children how to bake muffins at her in-home child care business called Daycare Bumblebee in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2026. San Francisco is expanding access to child care by offering 50% discounts to middle- and upper-middle-income earners in an effort to tackle affordability issues in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Daycare Bumblebee is trying to get approval to enter the city's Early Learning For All system.",
"credit": "Tâm Vũ/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00137_TV_qed.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"daisynguyen": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11829",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11829",
"found": true
},
"name": "Daisy Nguyen",
"firstName": "Daisy",
"lastName": "Nguyen",
"slug": "daisynguyen",
"email": "daisynguyen@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "I have covered early childhood education and child care for KQED since 2022. I focus on policies aimed at increasing access to early care and education and how they shape individual lives. I've been a journalist for more than two decades, with most of that time devoted to covering breaking news throughout California for The Associated Press. I grew up in San Francisco and studied at UC Davis and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. I live in Oakland with my husband and two kids.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisynguyen/",
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Daisy Nguyen | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/daisynguyen"
},
"ecruzguevarra": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "8654",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "8654",
"found": true
},
"name": "Ericka Cruz Guevarra",
"firstName": "Ericka",
"lastName": "Cruz Guevarra",
"slug": "ecruzguevarra",
"email": "ecruzguevarra@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Producer, The Bay Podcast",
"bio": "Ericka Cruz Guevarra is host of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/thebay\">\u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> podcast at KQED. Before host, she was the show’s producer. Her work in that capacity includes a three-part reported series on policing in Vallejo, which won a 2020 excellence in journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Ericka has worked as a breaking news reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting, helped produce the Code Switch podcast, and was KQED’s inaugural Raul Ramirez Diversity Fund intern. She’s also an alumna of NPR’s Next Generation Radio program. Send her an email if you have strong feelings about whether Fairfield and Suisun City are the Bay. Ericka is represented by SAG-AFTRA.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/25e5ab8d3d53fad2dcc7bb2b5c506b1a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "NotoriousECG",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor",
"manage_categories"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Ericka Cruz Guevarra | KQED",
"description": "Producer, The Bay Podcast",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/25e5ab8d3d53fad2dcc7bb2b5c506b1a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/25e5ab8d3d53fad2dcc7bb2b5c506b1a?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/ecruzguevarra"
},
"amontecillo": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11649",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11649",
"found": true
},
"name": "Alan Montecillo",
"firstName": "Alan",
"lastName": "Montecillo",
"slug": "amontecillo",
"email": "amontecillo@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Alan Montecillo is the senior editor of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/thebay\">The Bay\u003c/a>, \u003c/em> KQED's local news podcast. Before moving to the Bay Area, he worked as a senior talk show producer for WILL in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and at Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, Oregon. He has won journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California, the Public Media Journalists Association, The Signal Awards, and has also received a regional Edward R. Murrow award. Alan is a Filipino American from Hong Kong and a graduate of Reed College.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5e4e7a76481969ccba76f4e2b5ccabc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "alanmontecillo",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor",
"manage_categories"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Alan Montecillo | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5e4e7a76481969ccba76f4e2b5ccabc?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5e4e7a76481969ccba76f4e2b5ccabc?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/amontecillo"
},
"jessicakariisa": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11831",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11831",
"found": true
},
"name": "Jessica Kariisa",
"firstName": "Jessica",
"lastName": "Kariisa",
"slug": "jessicakariisa",
"email": "jkariisa@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Producer, The Bay",
"bio": "Jessica Kariisa is the producer of The Bay. She first joined KQED as an intern for The California Report Magazine, after which she became an on-call producer. She reported a Bay Curious episode on the use of rap lyrics in criminal trials which won a Society of Professional Journalists award in 2023 for Excellence in Features Journalism and the 2023 Signal Award for Best Conversation Starter. She’s worked on podcasts for Snap Judgment and American Public Media. Before embarking on her audio career, she was a music journalist.\r\n\r\nJessica Kariisa is represented by SAG-AFTRA.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4afd355fd24f5515aeab77fd6c72b671?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor",
"manage_categories"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Jessica Kariisa | KQED",
"description": "Producer, The Bay",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4afd355fd24f5515aeab77fd6c72b671?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4afd355fd24f5515aeab77fd6c72b671?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/jessicakariisa"
},
"pbartolone": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11879",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11879",
"found": true
},
"name": "Pauline Bartolone",
"firstName": "Pauline",
"lastName": "Bartolone",
"slug": "pbartolone",
"email": "pbartolone@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Pauline Bartolone has been a journalist for two decades, specializing in longform audio storytelling. Before editing and producing for podcasts like Bay Curious, she was a health care journalist for public radio and print outlets such as CalMatters and Kaiser Health News. Her reporting has won several regional Edward R. Murrow awards, national recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists and a first-place prize from the Association of Health Care Journalists.\r\n\r\nPauline’s work has aired frequently on National Public Radio, and bylines have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, Washingtonpost.com, USA Today and Scientific American.\r\n\r\nPauline has lived in Northern California for 20 years. Her other passions are crafts (now done in collaboration with her daughter) and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/95001c30374b0d3878007af9cf1e120a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "pbartolone",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "podcasts",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Pauline Bartolone | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/95001c30374b0d3878007af9cf1e120a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/95001c30374b0d3878007af9cf1e120a?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/pbartolone"
},
"ffenzi": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11926",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11926",
"found": true
},
"name": "Francesca Fenzi",
"firstName": "Francesca",
"lastName": "Fenzi",
"slug": "ffenzi",
"email": "ffenzi@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Producer, Forum",
"bio": "Francesca Fenzi is a journalist and audio producer focused on making news media as transparent, participatory, and community-driven as possible. Since joining KQED's \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em> team in 2022, she's produced both local and statewide hours of the live public affairs show, and has reported other radio, podcast, and digital content for KQED News. She previously managed \u003ca href=\"https://discord.gg/kqed\">KQED's digital community on Discord\u003c/a> – connecting listeners with journalists, subject matter experts, and each other online.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fcda5bbce7779d32c08ad4ff83a25f7a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "about",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Francesca Fenzi | KQED",
"description": "Producer, Forum",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fcda5bbce7779d32c08ad4ff83a25f7a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fcda5bbce7779d32c08ad4ff83a25f7a?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/ffenzi"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"author_daisynguyen": {
"type": "pages",
"id": "11829",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11829",
"score": 6.4134583,
"site": "authors"
},
"name": "Daisy Nguyen",
"firstName": "Daisy",
"lastName": "Nguyen",
"slug": "daisynguyen",
"email": "daisynguyen@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "I have covered early childhood education and child care for KQED since 2022. I focus on policies aimed at increasing access to early care and education and how they shape individual lives. I've been a journalist for more than two decades, with most of that time devoted to covering breaking news throughout California for The Associated Press. I grew up in San Francisco and studied at UC Davis and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. I live in Oakland with my husband and two kids.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisynguyen/",
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {},
"isLoading": false,
"hasAllInfo": true,
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/staff-member",
"attrs": {
"author": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11829",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11829",
"score": 6.4134583
},
"name": "Daisy Nguyen",
"firstName": "Daisy",
"lastName": "Nguyen",
"slug": "daisynguyen",
"email": "daisynguyen@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": "[Circular]",
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "I have covered early childhood education and child care for KQED since 2022. I focus on policies aimed at increasing access to early care and education and how they shape individual lives. I've been a journalist for more than two decades, with most of that time devoted to covering breaking news throughout California for The Associated Press. I grew up in San Francisco and studied at UC Davis and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. I live in Oakland with my husband and two kids.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisynguyen/",
"sites": "[Circular]",
"headData": {
"title": "Daisy Nguyen | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2da2127c27f7143b53ebd419800fd55f?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/daisynguyen",
"hasAllInfo": true
}
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"query": "posts?author=11829&authorName=Daisy Nguyen",
"title": "By Daisy Nguyen",
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"className": "wp-block--nomargintop",
"seeMore": true
}
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"news_12086244": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12086244",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12086244",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1780606810000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-parents-on-waitlist-for-subsidized-childcare-anxious-over-proposed-budget-cuts",
"title": "California Parents on Waitlist for Subsidized Childcare Anxious Over Proposed Budget Cuts",
"publishDate": 1780606810,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "California Parents on Waitlist for Subsidized Childcare Anxious Over Proposed Budget Cuts | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>Ever since her 1 ½-year-old son was born, Carmen Perez has been waiting for a subsidy to help with childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Novato mom said she didn’t have to wait this long a couple of years ago when she needed to enroll her daughters in preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/07/23/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-supporting-working-families-and-child-care-providers/\">increased funding for subsidized childcare\u003c/a> with the goal of paying for more than 200,000 new slots to support low-income families. Perez got subsidies for her girls, now 7 and 5 years old, which enabled her to work and take classes at College of Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was awesome,” she said. “I didn’t apply for [public assistance] because I was working and providing along with my husband.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after adding almost 130,000 slots, the state paused the expansion for three years with \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=10212.6&lawCode=WIC\">a commitment to resume the roll-out \u003c/a>in the 2026-27 fiscal year. But instead of sticking to the plan, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to cut funding for slots as part of a push to eliminate the state deficit even after his term ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Assembly opposes the cuts, and the Senate wants to add 44,000 new slots. As state leaders negotiate a budget deal by June 30, parents like Perez are pushing for more childcare support, especially as President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, H.R. 1, threatens their access to basic needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the federal government forces work requirements on CalFresh and Medi-Cal, this is when we are supposed to be doubling down on childcare, so that families can not only work, but have their food security, have their health security,” said Mary Ignatius, executive director of the advocacy group Parent Voices California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086168\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez (center left) and her husband Dyson Sanchez (center right) pose for a portrait with their children at Pioneer Park in Novato on May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Julia Forte Frudden, a policy analyst at Child Care Law Center in Berkeley, called Newsom’s proposals, which also include reducing a cost-of-living adjustment for childcare providers, a major setback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we see is the governor not recognizing that childcare has a high return on investment,” she said. “So this could actually help the state’s financial strains that it’s dealing with right now, not add to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Newsom administration initially proposed in January to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083461/california-advocates-want-newsom-to-fulfill-promise-to-fund-child-care-spaces\">cut funding for 4,200 “general childcare” slots\u003c/a> in licensed centers and homes when it projected a $2.9 billion shortfall. But in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083617/newsom-touts-dominance-of-california-in-final-budget-proposal\">revised budget released last month\u003c/a>, it proposed cutting 6,800 slots —mostly vouchers for home-based childcare arrangements and some childcare center slots. Newsom said, despite a recent surge in tax revenue from the booming A.I. industry, he proposed further cuts to balance the budget for two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administration officials say the cuts are necessary to offset more than $86 million in reductions from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Proposition 64, which sets aside a portion of the state’s cannabis tax revenues for early childhood programs. They say the cuts wouldn’t affect families currently receiving subsidies for childcare. Instead, they’re taking back funds that were not spent by community-based agencies responsible for enrolling eligible families and reimbursing providers.[aside postID=news_12083461 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed.jpg']The justification doesn’t make sense to Cristina Alvarado, executive director of Child Care Alliance Los Angeles, which represents 10 agencies that altogether have more than 22,000 kids on waitlists for childcare vouchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said sometimes agencies that don’t fully spend their funds by the end of the fiscal year can transfer the money to others to enroll as many families as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No L.A. agency has offered any additional funding,” she said, because of the high demand for slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of state spending over the last five years shows California dedicates \u003ca href=\"https://www.datawrapper.de/_/rGm2r/?v=5\">only about 2% of its total budget to childcare\u003c/a>. While the additional slots initiated by Newsom have helped tens of thousands of families afford childcare, the California Budget & Policy Center estimates that only 16% of eligible children are enrolled in subsidized childcare programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Marin County, Perez’s son, Dyson, is among nearly 680 children eligible for subsidies who are on a waitlist because there’s no more funding for new slots, according to Aideen Gaidmore, CEO of Marin Child Care Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The promise of additional funding gave Perez hope that she could go back to work and catch up financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are in the water and somebody is trying to take you out, but then they push you into the water again, that’s a game. That’s not fun. It’s playing with their feelings, playing with their mental health,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Desperate for relief, she joined Parent Voices to advocate for more funding in Sacramento. At a state Assembly budget hearing in April, she held her babbling boy in her arms while testifying about her mounting credit card debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086166\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086166\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez holds her son, Dyson, while testifying about the impact of waiting for a childcare subsidy at a California Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on human services on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the California State Assembly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My husband makes $800 a week, and we live in Marin. Everything is expensive. We barely make … afford the rent,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez’s voice began to crack as she wondered how she could “work more to take some pressure off of my husband” and afford extracurricular activities, maybe a trip to Disneyland, for her kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we met at a park near her home recently, Perez said she tried to hire a nanny so she could provide in-home care to an elderly person. But she couldn’t keep up with the nanny’s $35 per hour rate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she resorted to taking Dyson to her gig job and strapping him to her back, but when he cried out of frustration, her employer told her not to come back until she finds childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She dreams of obtaining a Certified Nursing Assistant license so she could find a good job providing eldercare. Marin County has the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/california-population-age-projections/\">largest elderly population in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, and there’s a future in that career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086167\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086167\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez, a mother of four who has been waiting for more than a year for an open subsidized childcare slot for her 18-month-old son, poses for a portrait with her son at Pioneer Park in Novato on May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Perez said waiting for an open childcare slot brings back bad memories of when her eldest son, who is 14, waited for a slot for 10 years until he was too old to qualify for a subsidy. She said she paid neighbors to care for him and enrolled him in preschool part-time. But that arrangement became too expensive, and she eventually pulled him out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He went straight to kindergarten, and it was so hard,” she said. “He struggled with reading and math, and I can still see the hard work he has to do by himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her daughters, on the other hand, are doing well in school, Perez said, because preschool helped them prepare for kindergarten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She fears Dyson may have the same struggle as his older brother if he doesn’t get off the waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s very important to invest in the children and provide childcare for all, because a lot of families are on the waiting list,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The Newsom administration proposes cutting childcare slots to help balance the budget. But parents and advocates are pushing for more childcare support to bring down their costs of living.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1781027382,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 30,
"wordCount": 1325
},
"headData": {
"title": "California Parents on Waitlist for Subsidized Childcare Anxious Over Proposed Budget Cuts | KQED",
"description": "The Newsom administration proposes cutting childcare slots to help balance the budget. But parents and advocates are pushing for more childcare support to bring down their costs of living.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "California Parents on Waitlist for Subsidized Childcare Anxious Over Proposed Budget Cuts",
"datePublished": "2026-06-04T14:00:10-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-06-09T10:49:42-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/79ba45ed-0c26-4960-bec6-b464010facf2/audio.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12086244",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12086244/california-parents-on-waitlist-for-subsidized-childcare-anxious-over-proposed-budget-cuts",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ever since her 1 ½-year-old son was born, Carmen Perez has been waiting for a subsidy to help with childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Novato mom said she didn’t have to wait this long a couple of years ago when she needed to enroll her daughters in preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/07/23/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-supporting-working-families-and-child-care-providers/\">increased funding for subsidized childcare\u003c/a> with the goal of paying for more than 200,000 new slots to support low-income families. Perez got subsidies for her girls, now 7 and 5 years old, which enabled her to work and take classes at College of Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was awesome,” she said. “I didn’t apply for [public assistance] because I was working and providing along with my husband.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after adding almost 130,000 slots, the state paused the expansion for three years with \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=10212.6&lawCode=WIC\">a commitment to resume the roll-out \u003c/a>in the 2026-27 fiscal year. But instead of sticking to the plan, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to cut funding for slots as part of a push to eliminate the state deficit even after his term ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Assembly opposes the cuts, and the Senate wants to add 44,000 new slots. As state leaders negotiate a budget deal by June 30, parents like Perez are pushing for more childcare support, especially as President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, H.R. 1, threatens their access to basic needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the federal government forces work requirements on CalFresh and Medi-Cal, this is when we are supposed to be doubling down on childcare, so that families can not only work, but have their food security, have their health security,” said Mary Ignatius, executive director of the advocacy group Parent Voices California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086168\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00251_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez (center left) and her husband Dyson Sanchez (center right) pose for a portrait with their children at Pioneer Park in Novato on May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Julia Forte Frudden, a policy analyst at Child Care Law Center in Berkeley, called Newsom’s proposals, which also include reducing a cost-of-living adjustment for childcare providers, a major setback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we see is the governor not recognizing that childcare has a high return on investment,” she said. “So this could actually help the state’s financial strains that it’s dealing with right now, not add to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Newsom administration initially proposed in January to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083461/california-advocates-want-newsom-to-fulfill-promise-to-fund-child-care-spaces\">cut funding for 4,200 “general childcare” slots\u003c/a> in licensed centers and homes when it projected a $2.9 billion shortfall. But in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083617/newsom-touts-dominance-of-california-in-final-budget-proposal\">revised budget released last month\u003c/a>, it proposed cutting 6,800 slots —mostly vouchers for home-based childcare arrangements and some childcare center slots. Newsom said, despite a recent surge in tax revenue from the booming A.I. industry, he proposed further cuts to balance the budget for two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administration officials say the cuts are necessary to offset more than $86 million in reductions from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Proposition 64, which sets aside a portion of the state’s cannabis tax revenues for early childhood programs. They say the cuts wouldn’t affect families currently receiving subsidies for childcare. Instead, they’re taking back funds that were not spent by community-based agencies responsible for enrolling eligible families and reimbursing providers.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12083461",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL_qed.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The justification doesn’t make sense to Cristina Alvarado, executive director of Child Care Alliance Los Angeles, which represents 10 agencies that altogether have more than 22,000 kids on waitlists for childcare vouchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said sometimes agencies that don’t fully spend their funds by the end of the fiscal year can transfer the money to others to enroll as many families as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No L.A. agency has offered any additional funding,” she said, because of the high demand for slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of state spending over the last five years shows California dedicates \u003ca href=\"https://www.datawrapper.de/_/rGm2r/?v=5\">only about 2% of its total budget to childcare\u003c/a>. While the additional slots initiated by Newsom have helped tens of thousands of families afford childcare, the California Budget & Policy Center estimates that only 16% of eligible children are enrolled in subsidized childcare programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Marin County, Perez’s son, Dyson, is among nearly 680 children eligible for subsidies who are on a waitlist because there’s no more funding for new slots, according to Aideen Gaidmore, CEO of Marin Child Care Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The promise of additional funding gave Perez hope that she could go back to work and catch up financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are in the water and somebody is trying to take you out, but then they push you into the water again, that’s a game. That’s not fun. It’s playing with their feelings, playing with their mental health,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Desperate for relief, she joined Parent Voices to advocate for more funding in Sacramento. At a state Assembly budget hearing in April, she held her babbling boy in her arms while testifying about her mounting credit card debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086166\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086166\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-California-Budget-Child-Care-01-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez holds her son, Dyson, while testifying about the impact of waiting for a childcare subsidy at a California Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on human services on April 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the California State Assembly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My husband makes $800 a week, and we live in Marin. Everything is expensive. We barely make … afford the rent,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez’s voice began to crack as she wondered how she could “work more to take some pressure off of my husband” and afford extracurricular activities, maybe a trip to Disneyland, for her kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we met at a park near her home recently, Perez said she tried to hire a nanny so she could provide in-home care to an elderly person. But she couldn’t keep up with the nanny’s $35 per hour rate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she resorted to taking Dyson to her gig job and strapping him to her back, but when he cried out of frustration, her employer told her not to come back until she finds childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She dreams of obtaining a Certified Nursing Assistant license so she could find a good job providing eldercare. Marin County has the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/california-population-age-projections/\">largest elderly population in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, and there’s a future in that career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086167\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086167\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260531-CALIFORNIABUDGETCHILDCARE00101_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Perez, a mother of four who has been waiting for more than a year for an open subsidized childcare slot for her 18-month-old son, poses for a portrait with her son at Pioneer Park in Novato on May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Perez said waiting for an open childcare slot brings back bad memories of when her eldest son, who is 14, waited for a slot for 10 years until he was too old to qualify for a subsidy. She said she paid neighbors to care for him and enrolled him in preschool part-time. But that arrangement became too expensive, and she eventually pulled him out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He went straight to kindergarten, and it was so hard,” she said. “He struggled with reading and math, and I can still see the hard work he has to do by himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her daughters, on the other hand, are doing well in school, Perez said, because preschool helped them prepare for kindergarten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She fears Dyson may have the same struggle as his older brother if he doesn’t get off the waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s very important to invest in the children and provide childcare for all, because a lot of families are on the waiting list,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12086244/california-parents-on-waitlist-for-subsidized-childcare-anxious-over-proposed-budget-cuts",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_18540",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_25647",
"news_1386",
"news_18538",
"news_32768",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_29460",
"news_20013",
"news_27626",
"news_19904"
],
"featImg": "news_12086169",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12083754": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12083754",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12083754",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1778839212000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "community-childcare-centers-on-shaky-ground-after-transitional-kindergarten-expansion",
"title": "Community Child Care Centers on Shaky Ground After Transitional Kindergarten Expansion",
"publishDate": 1778839212,
"format": "audio",
"headTitle": "Community Child Care Centers on Shaky Ground After Transitional Kindergarten Expansion | KQED",
"labelTerm": {},
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with California’s free, universal transitional-kindergarten program, where enrollment grew from nearly 117,000 students in the 2022-23 school year to 213,000 students this year. Now, hundreds of preschools have shuttered — worsening the shortage of licensed child care spaces for children younger than 4 years old. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC2483915281&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Ericka Cruz-Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. This school year, the state of California finished expanding transitional kindergarten to public schools around the state. And it’s been a godsend for families who now have the option of free childcare for their four-year-olds in a state where childcare can cost thousands. And this week, Governor Gavin Newsom described the rollout as a win for families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] TK for all didn’t exist a few years ago, fully funded it, saving upwards of $17,000, $18,000 a year for families. You talk about an affordability agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:47] But one unintended consequence of this expansion is that hundreds of preschools around the state have closed since TK came on the scene. And that means fewer childcare options for California’s younger kids. Today, KQED reporter Daisy Nguyen explains why preschools are struggling and the ripple effects it could have on the entire child care ecosystem. Tell me about this preschool that you visited in Crockett. Where’d you go exactly and what does it look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:01:32] I visited Carquinez Garden School in Crockett. It’s a tiny little community in Contra Costa County just across the bridge, the Carquinez Bridge from Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:45] Where the C&H Sugar Factory is, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:01:48] That’s right. That’s what propelled that town. This school is right next to a regional park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:00] I’m Cally and Julia and I’m Micah. That’s all you need to know about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:07] I visited the classroom where there were kids, a range of ages, I would say somewhere between two and four, who were playing with kinetic sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:20] Did anybody take a nap today? Not me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:28] They were very chatty children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:33] I’m doing dinosaur cookies. Yum, that looks delicious. Are you gonna put it in the oven? Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:02:46] And what exactly is this place, the Carquinez Garden School, Daisy, who does it serve and why did you want to visit this school in particular?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:57] This is a preschool that serves children of a variety of age and they come from not only Crockett but just surrounding communities such as Benicia and Vallejo. It’s located in what’s called a child care desert where there are just too few options for child care to meet demand. It’s the only preschool in Crockett, first of all. And I heard that it was closing in June, so I wanted to go visit and see what it was all about and speak with the director of this school. Her name is Heather Posner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:03:38] I go home tired every day, but I’m never bored. And there’s at least one time during the day where I will laugh hysterically at something that has happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:47] Her philosophy is very much play-based. She has an extensive background in early childhood education. She founded the first preschool in a museum, the Bay Children’s Discovery Museum in Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:04:02] You know, we would take the kids for these huge epic hikes and like see coyotes and like seeing the children just be able to kind of unfold when they’re in nature and having that real deep play just was so special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:20] Is child-led learning, so whatever they’re curious about, that’s what the instructor will help guide them in their curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:30] So this school is what’s known as a community-based preschool. And as you mentioned, it’s one of the only ones sort of in its surrounding area. But what is exactly a community based preschool?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:44] Community-based preschools are run by private tuition-charging businesses or nonprofit organizations that get some public funding to provide subsidized child care. They could be based out of a church or a child care center or, yeah, you know, a physical school. They offer early learning and child care for kids who are under the age of five who aren’t old enough yet for school. They could serving both families who are able to pay tuition and families who receive subsidies and choose this type of setting for their children. Families in California have so many choices when it comes to childcare. I think for working families who want their children to be in a licensed setting, these types of preschools play an important role in the larger childcare ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:47] It sounds like this one school is serving quite a few different cities in this area of the Bay. But as you mentioned, it’s closing this summer and actually more and more preschools like the Carquinez Garden School are closing, right? Why is that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:09] There’s a new UC Berkeley study that’s found that in the years that California was expanding access to transitional kindergarten, a little less than 10% of these community-based preschools have closed. So TK is offered in public schools and it’s a free preschool program, essentially for four-year-olds. It’s something that for the first time this year, California offers it statewide for any child who turns four by September 1st, they’re eligible for a free year of pre-kindergarten. This past year, enrollment in TK increased by 20% statewide. It’s really been transformative, not only for school districts, but for families because it means they don’t have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars in preschool. As transitional kindergarten expanded across California, it’s offering a lot of opportunities for four-year-olds to go to enroll in public schools. But that means many of them are leaving these community-based centers. And as many of the leave, these community based centers are struggling financially to stay afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:07:35] I mean, we went from 30 kids two years ago to 20 kids last year to 10 this year. And that’s not viable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:46] For Heather, she said that each year, she just saw fewer and fewer students enrolling in her program because they depend on older children to help them offset the cost of the more expensive care of younger children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:08:06] It just is a relentless churn of trying to keep your ratios where they’re supposed to be and the learning and the experience of the children and families where you want it to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:51] Well, Daisy, I wanna talk about why this matters because I have to imagine for a lot of parents, it’s actually a huge relief to know that they now have this option to send their four-year-old to childcare, essentially for free. So why do these closures of these preschools matter, especially now that there’s this free, much less expensive option?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:16] So in California, what the UC Berkeley researchers found was that about 1,100 community-based preschools have closed their doors. And the closures of those 1,100 preschools, they were licensed to serve around 32,000 young kids. And, you know, the experts say that these closures will likely increase prices in California where California has some of the highest child care prices in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:46] Because TK is only for four-year-olds. So that means all these other kids potentially still need childcare somewhere else outside of TK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:59] That’s right. Community-based preschools that are losing four-year-olds to, whether it’s transitional kindergarten or any public programs for four- year-olds, like if they’re in a wealthier neighborhood, they’re able to raise their price and there will be families willing to pay that. But that may not be the case in lower income neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:10:19] So in New York City, they instituted Universal Pre-K. They did it very quickly, and I found that the whole decline in infant and toddler care at centers was in poorer areas of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:36] Jessica Brown is an economist at the University of South Carolina, and she has studied the child care market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:10:44] In poorer areas of the city, they are not able to raise prices and stay open because the parents can’t afford those higher rates and so therefore they close or they choose not to open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:54] In other states or municipalities that have experimented with offering universal preschool for four-year-olds, it causes a ripple effect in the child care industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:11:13] There’s costs and benefits to all programs and we have to weigh those when deciding when to do them. The introduction of public pre-K for four-year-olds and TK in California, we do think that this is having an impact on the private child care market. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do those programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:11:36] So what other options then do families have, especially families of younger kids?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:11:43] Lower-income families now are increasingly choosing unlicensed care. So they’re taking their vouchers, and they’re giving it to a family, friend, or neighbor to care for their children. Parents who, you know, they have the right to choose the form of care they want their children to be in. And with unlicensed care, what families gain is just a lot of flexibility. For licensed care, the reason why it’s considered high quality is because the provider has to follow a lot of rules. There is highly regulated industry, for example, in a community-based preschool or a child care center, you have to have at least one adult to supervise up to four babies. For example, there are high safety standards. They have to learn CPR, you know, all these things that the provider and educator are required to have to care for children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] It sounds like it’s not necessarily that parents no longer have any options at all as a result of more and more of these preschools closing, but it sounds like the idea is that, one, the options that remain are getting more expensive, and that because we just have this childcare system that is so patchwork, and where universal childcare is still not a thing. That families really just need all the options that they can get. Yeah, absolutely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:13:27] I think the concern is that once these centers close, they probably will never reopen because it’s, as I mentioned, it’s such a regulated industry and that means for families, fewer options for licensed center bays or community preschool in their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:48] That’s a perfect segue back to the Carquinez Garden School in Crockett, which, as you mentioned, is closing in June. It’s gotta be hitting her hard. What does she say about what it means for a community like Crockett to lose a school like the Carquinez Garden school?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:14:08] Some of the families with the younger children obviously have had to find another place for their children. That is disruptive for the kids who were really attached to this place and their teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:14:20] Like, I feel more disappointed about closing the school than sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:14:25] For Heather, she’s just sad for what the community is losing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:14:30] I think that the thing that we lose beyond just the spots and the dollars and the jobs, right, there’s a lot of economic impact there. I just think the thing we lose is really the place where children can have that essential childhood. I’m sad for the children, but I’m disappointed in the systems that we have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:15:04] Is there any help at all coming for these preschools, Daisy, especially at the state level?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:15:12] Lawmakers are aware that this is happening. Policymakers were hoping that as more four-year-olds shift to TK, that would open up space in preschools for three-year olds, and that some of these child care centers would pivot to serving infants and toddlers. And that hasn’t really borne out. A lot of these providers say it’s very difficult to shift to providing care for younger children because of the cost. And so now there’s talk in Sacramento about shifting some funding from Prop 98, which is a guarantees funding for public schools, shifting some of that to community-based organizations that provide subsidized preschool for younger kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:06] My last question for you here, Daisy, it seems like the closure of these preschools is sort of an unintended consequence. But overall, I have to imagine that free childcare of any kind is needed, including the expansion of TK in California, and that a lot of parents really appreciate having that option. So what do you say to parents who are hearing this who love their TK?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:16:38] I think it’s a great opportunity. I’ve done a story a couple months ago in Mendocino County where I just saw what a difference it was making for the students in the classroom and how it transformed the culture even of the elementary school. So for families who chose TK, it’s relief. I think it’s just that we have to think about the larger child care ecosystem and for families with children who are younger than four, who are not yet eligible for TK, they got to be able to have options too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:17:18] Daisy, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with California’s free, universal transitional-kindergarten program",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1779146533,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": true,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 54,
"wordCount": 2639
},
"headData": {
"title": "Community Child Care Centers on Shaky Ground After Transitional Kindergarten Expansion | KQED",
"description": "Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with California’s free, universal transitional-kindergarten program",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Community Child Care Centers on Shaky Ground After Transitional Kindergarten Expansion",
"datePublished": "2026-05-15T03:00:12-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-18T16:22:13-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 8,
"slug": "news",
"name": "News"
},
"source": "The Bay",
"sourceUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/thebay",
"audioUrl": "https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC2483915281.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12083754",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12083754/community-childcare-centers-on-shaky-ground-after-transitional-kindergarten-expansion",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with California’s free, universal transitional-kindergarten program, where enrollment grew from nearly 117,000 students in the 2022-23 school year to 213,000 students this year. Now, hundreds of preschools have shuttered — worsening the shortage of licensed child care spaces for children younger than 4 years old. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC2483915281&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Ericka Cruz-Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. This school year, the state of California finished expanding transitional kindergarten to public schools around the state. And it’s been a godsend for families who now have the option of free childcare for their four-year-olds in a state where childcare can cost thousands. And this week, Governor Gavin Newsom described the rollout as a win for families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gavin Newsom \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] TK for all didn’t exist a few years ago, fully funded it, saving upwards of $17,000, $18,000 a year for families. You talk about an affordability agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:47] But one unintended consequence of this expansion is that hundreds of preschools around the state have closed since TK came on the scene. And that means fewer childcare options for California’s younger kids. Today, KQED reporter Daisy Nguyen explains why preschools are struggling and the ripple effects it could have on the entire child care ecosystem. Tell me about this preschool that you visited in Crockett. Where’d you go exactly and what does it look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:01:32] I visited Carquinez Garden School in Crockett. It’s a tiny little community in Contra Costa County just across the bridge, the Carquinez Bridge from Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:45] Where the C&H Sugar Factory is, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:01:48] That’s right. That’s what propelled that town. This school is right next to a regional park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:00] I’m Cally and Julia and I’m Micah. That’s all you need to know about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:07] I visited the classroom where there were kids, a range of ages, I would say somewhere between two and four, who were playing with kinetic sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:20] Did anybody take a nap today? Not me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:28] They were very chatty children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Children \u003c/strong>[00:02:33] I’m doing dinosaur cookies. Yum, that looks delicious. Are you gonna put it in the oven? Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:02:46] And what exactly is this place, the Carquinez Garden School, Daisy, who does it serve and why did you want to visit this school in particular?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:57] This is a preschool that serves children of a variety of age and they come from not only Crockett but just surrounding communities such as Benicia and Vallejo. It’s located in what’s called a child care desert where there are just too few options for child care to meet demand. It’s the only preschool in Crockett, first of all. And I heard that it was closing in June, so I wanted to go visit and see what it was all about and speak with the director of this school. Her name is Heather Posner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:03:38] I go home tired every day, but I’m never bored. And there’s at least one time during the day where I will laugh hysterically at something that has happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:47] Her philosophy is very much play-based. She has an extensive background in early childhood education. She founded the first preschool in a museum, the Bay Children’s Discovery Museum in Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:04:02] You know, we would take the kids for these huge epic hikes and like see coyotes and like seeing the children just be able to kind of unfold when they’re in nature and having that real deep play just was so special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:20] Is child-led learning, so whatever they’re curious about, that’s what the instructor will help guide them in their curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:30] So this school is what’s known as a community-based preschool. And as you mentioned, it’s one of the only ones sort of in its surrounding area. But what is exactly a community based preschool?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:44] Community-based preschools are run by private tuition-charging businesses or nonprofit organizations that get some public funding to provide subsidized child care. They could be based out of a church or a child care center or, yeah, you know, a physical school. They offer early learning and child care for kids who are under the age of five who aren’t old enough yet for school. They could serving both families who are able to pay tuition and families who receive subsidies and choose this type of setting for their children. Families in California have so many choices when it comes to childcare. I think for working families who want their children to be in a licensed setting, these types of preschools play an important role in the larger childcare ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:47] It sounds like this one school is serving quite a few different cities in this area of the Bay. But as you mentioned, it’s closing this summer and actually more and more preschools like the Carquinez Garden School are closing, right? Why is that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:09] There’s a new UC Berkeley study that’s found that in the years that California was expanding access to transitional kindergarten, a little less than 10% of these community-based preschools have closed. So TK is offered in public schools and it’s a free preschool program, essentially for four-year-olds. It’s something that for the first time this year, California offers it statewide for any child who turns four by September 1st, they’re eligible for a free year of pre-kindergarten. This past year, enrollment in TK increased by 20% statewide. It’s really been transformative, not only for school districts, but for families because it means they don’t have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars in preschool. As transitional kindergarten expanded across California, it’s offering a lot of opportunities for four-year-olds to go to enroll in public schools. But that means many of them are leaving these community-based centers. And as many of the leave, these community based centers are struggling financially to stay afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:07:35] I mean, we went from 30 kids two years ago to 20 kids last year to 10 this year. And that’s not viable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:46] For Heather, she said that each year, she just saw fewer and fewer students enrolling in her program because they depend on older children to help them offset the cost of the more expensive care of younger children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:08:06] It just is a relentless churn of trying to keep your ratios where they’re supposed to be and the learning and the experience of the children and families where you want it to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:51] Well, Daisy, I wanna talk about why this matters because I have to imagine for a lot of parents, it’s actually a huge relief to know that they now have this option to send their four-year-old to childcare, essentially for free. So why do these closures of these preschools matter, especially now that there’s this free, much less expensive option?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:16] So in California, what the UC Berkeley researchers found was that about 1,100 community-based preschools have closed their doors. And the closures of those 1,100 preschools, they were licensed to serve around 32,000 young kids. And, you know, the experts say that these closures will likely increase prices in California where California has some of the highest child care prices in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:46] Because TK is only for four-year-olds. So that means all these other kids potentially still need childcare somewhere else outside of TK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:59] That’s right. Community-based preschools that are losing four-year-olds to, whether it’s transitional kindergarten or any public programs for four- year-olds, like if they’re in a wealthier neighborhood, they’re able to raise their price and there will be families willing to pay that. But that may not be the case in lower income neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:10:19] So in New York City, they instituted Universal Pre-K. They did it very quickly, and I found that the whole decline in infant and toddler care at centers was in poorer areas of the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:36] Jessica Brown is an economist at the University of South Carolina, and she has studied the child care market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:10:44] In poorer areas of the city, they are not able to raise prices and stay open because the parents can’t afford those higher rates and so therefore they close or they choose not to open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:54] In other states or municipalities that have experimented with offering universal preschool for four-year-olds, it causes a ripple effect in the child care industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jessica Brown \u003c/strong>[00:11:13] There’s costs and benefits to all programs and we have to weigh those when deciding when to do them. The introduction of public pre-K for four-year-olds and TK in California, we do think that this is having an impact on the private child care market. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do those programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:11:36] So what other options then do families have, especially families of younger kids?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:11:43] Lower-income families now are increasingly choosing unlicensed care. So they’re taking their vouchers, and they’re giving it to a family, friend, or neighbor to care for their children. Parents who, you know, they have the right to choose the form of care they want their children to be in. And with unlicensed care, what families gain is just a lot of flexibility. For licensed care, the reason why it’s considered high quality is because the provider has to follow a lot of rules. There is highly regulated industry, for example, in a community-based preschool or a child care center, you have to have at least one adult to supervise up to four babies. For example, there are high safety standards. They have to learn CPR, you know, all these things that the provider and educator are required to have to care for children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] It sounds like it’s not necessarily that parents no longer have any options at all as a result of more and more of these preschools closing, but it sounds like the idea is that, one, the options that remain are getting more expensive, and that because we just have this childcare system that is so patchwork, and where universal childcare is still not a thing. That families really just need all the options that they can get. Yeah, absolutely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:13:27] I think the concern is that once these centers close, they probably will never reopen because it’s, as I mentioned, it’s such a regulated industry and that means for families, fewer options for licensed center bays or community preschool in their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:13:48] That’s a perfect segue back to the Carquinez Garden School in Crockett, which, as you mentioned, is closing in June. It’s gotta be hitting her hard. What does she say about what it means for a community like Crockett to lose a school like the Carquinez Garden school?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:14:08] Some of the families with the younger children obviously have had to find another place for their children. That is disruptive for the kids who were really attached to this place and their teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:14:20] Like, I feel more disappointed about closing the school than sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:14:25] For Heather, she’s just sad for what the community is losing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Heather Posner \u003c/strong>[00:14:30] I think that the thing that we lose beyond just the spots and the dollars and the jobs, right, there’s a lot of economic impact there. I just think the thing we lose is really the place where children can have that essential childhood. I’m sad for the children, but I’m disappointed in the systems that we have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:15:04] Is there any help at all coming for these preschools, Daisy, especially at the state level?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:15:12] Lawmakers are aware that this is happening. Policymakers were hoping that as more four-year-olds shift to TK, that would open up space in preschools for three-year olds, and that some of these child care centers would pivot to serving infants and toddlers. And that hasn’t really borne out. A lot of these providers say it’s very difficult to shift to providing care for younger children because of the cost. And so now there’s talk in Sacramento about shifting some funding from Prop 98, which is a guarantees funding for public schools, shifting some of that to community-based organizations that provide subsidized preschool for younger kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:16:06] My last question for you here, Daisy, it seems like the closure of these preschools is sort of an unintended consequence. But overall, I have to imagine that free childcare of any kind is needed, including the expansion of TK in California, and that a lot of parents really appreciate having that option. So what do you say to parents who are hearing this who love their TK?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:16:38] I think it’s a great opportunity. I’ve done a story a couple months ago in Mendocino County where I just saw what a difference it was making for the students in the classroom and how it transformed the culture even of the elementary school. So for families who chose TK, it’s relief. I think it’s just that we have to think about the larger child care ecosystem and for families with children who are younger than four, who are not yet eligible for TK, they got to be able to have options too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:17:18] Daisy, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12083754/community-childcare-centers-on-shaky-ground-after-transitional-kindergarten-expansion",
"authors": [
"8654",
"11829",
"11831",
"11879"
],
"categories": [
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_26598",
"news_35160",
"news_33812",
"news_17762",
"news_22598",
"news_2252"
],
"featImg": "news_12083046",
"label": "source_news_12083754"
},
"news_12083461": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12083461",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12083461",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1778701703000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-advocates-want-newsom-to-fulfill-promise-to-fund-child-care-spaces",
"title": "California Advocates Want Newsom to Fulfill Promise to Fund Childcare Spaces",
"publishDate": 1778701703,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "California Advocates Want Newsom to Fulfill Promise to Fund Childcare Spaces | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>On the ground floor of a new affordable housing complex in Redwood City, workers are in the middle of constructing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/early-childhood-education-and-care\">childcare\u003c/a> center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peninsula Family Service plans to enroll 36 infants and toddlers when the center is scheduled to open next year, using state funds awarded to the nonprofit to provide free or low-cost childcare to income-eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the fate of that plan will depend on state budget negotiations over the next several weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting funding for about 4,200 subsidized childcare spaces — money Peninsula Family Service will need to run the new center. The move would save $98 million, but advocates say it would roll back a pledge he made to expand access to childcare for working families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom really championed and campaigned on being the early learning and care governor, and I think that there are many promises he made as part of that that have not been fulfilled,” said Nina Buthee, executive director of EveryChild California, which advocates for publicly funded childcare programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Newsom presented his spending plan for the next fiscal year in January, the state projected a nearly $3 billion shortfall. The Legislative Analyst’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168\">recommended\u003c/a> cutting funding for “general childcare” spaces because they hadn’t been spent yet and therefore won’t affect families currently receiving subsidized childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Buthee said at least 16 childcare providers across California haven’t spent the money because they’re still in the process of building or renovating facilities, but meeting state licensing standards and getting approval, especially for the care of infants and toddlers, takes time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Depending on where you are in California, licensing could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to up to six months or nine months,” she said. “Really, the state is not helping contractors expedite the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the affected contractors include Children’s Paradise, a childcare provider in San Diego County, which planned to open two locations in childcare “deserts” — areas where options are too few to meet the demand. The locations would have been large enough to serve 470 children, according to EveryChild California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peninsula Family Service was awarded $2.7 million to serve nearly 80 children at two new centers, said its CEO, Heather Cleary. If funding from the state goes away, she said, the agency might have to consider charging private tuition.[aside postID=news_12082904 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED.jpg']“That’s not our intent. We really want to do everything we can to bring a subsidized program to this county, and that involves the state,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Subsidized childcare slots were not mentioned in the proposed 2026-2027 state budget, known as the “May Revision,” Newsom released on Thursday. He said the plan would balance California’s budget for the next two years, long after he leaves office. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We’re not going to walk away from this state and put the next Legislature and the next governor in a difficult spot,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Newsom’s updated plan will set off a busy period of negotiations leading to a final budget that the Legislature must pass by June 15. State Senate leaders have indicated they would not only reject cutting child care slots, but that they’d rather \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://democrats.senate.ca.gov/sites/democrats.senate.ca.gov/files/iu/FINAL-FFTF-Budget.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">increase\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> funding to subsidize 44,000 spaces. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, Newsom pledged to add more than 200,000 subsidized childcare slots, both in contracted centers and in the form of vouchers for low-income families. His administration has funded 130,000 of those slots while making other huge investments in early childhood education and care, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">expanding access to transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> for all 4-year-old children and allowing in-home childcare providers who receive the subsidies to unionize. The move has led to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051737/child-care-union-strikes-deal-to-preserve-benefits-bump-up-pay\">healthcare and retirement funds \u003c/a>for a workforce that has historically been underpaid, and the state is slowly working toward improving their wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had the most significant childcare expansion subsidies in the United States. Should be better known. It’s not,” Newsom told MSN in a January interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2019 and 2024, enrollment in subsidized childcare programs grew by 63%, according to an analysis by the \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/app/uploads/2026/04/2026-Child-Care-Chart-Book-Designed.pdf\">California Budget & Policy Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081820\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12081820 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Brianda Casillas works with children in a classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo, on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laura Pryor, a research director at the center, said while the Newsom administration deserves credit for making unprecedented investments in early childhood education, it has fallen short in some areas — like the slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She estimates that about 1.77 million children qualify for subsidized childcare, but are not enrolled in these programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For every individual that gets access to a space, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars saved that expands their budget,” Pryor said. “If our goal is to fund all children that are eligible, we are moving in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If there’s this additional cut, we’re not only walking back on the progress, but walking back on this positive trend that we’ve been seeing in the past several years,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Newsom’s office proposed cutting funding in the state budget for about 4,200 subsidized childcare spaces, but advocates say it would roll back a pledge he made to expand access. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1778795901,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 20,
"wordCount": 939
},
"headData": {
"title": "California Advocates Want Newsom to Fulfill Promise to Fund Childcare Spaces | KQED",
"description": "Newsom’s office proposed cutting funding in the state budget for about 4,200 subsidized childcare spaces, but advocates say it would roll back a pledge he made to expand access. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "California Advocates Want Newsom to Fulfill Promise to Fund Childcare Spaces",
"datePublished": "2026-05-13T12:48:23-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-14T14:58:21-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12083461",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12083461/california-advocates-want-newsom-to-fulfill-promise-to-fund-child-care-spaces",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On the ground floor of a new affordable housing complex in Redwood City, workers are in the middle of constructing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/early-childhood-education-and-care\">childcare\u003c/a> center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peninsula Family Service plans to enroll 36 infants and toddlers when the center is scheduled to open next year, using state funds awarded to the nonprofit to provide free or low-cost childcare to income-eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the fate of that plan will depend on state budget negotiations over the next several weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting funding for about 4,200 subsidized childcare spaces — money Peninsula Family Service will need to run the new center. The move would save $98 million, but advocates say it would roll back a pledge he made to expand access to childcare for working families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom really championed and campaigned on being the early learning and care governor, and I think that there are many promises he made as part of that that have not been fulfilled,” said Nina Buthee, executive director of EveryChild California, which advocates for publicly funded childcare programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Newsom presented his spending plan for the next fiscal year in January, the state projected a nearly $3 billion shortfall. The Legislative Analyst’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168\">recommended\u003c/a> cutting funding for “general childcare” spaces because they hadn’t been spent yet and therefore won’t affect families currently receiving subsidized childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260116-NewsomLuriePresser-32-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at the Friendship House Association of American Indians in San Francisco on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Buthee said at least 16 childcare providers across California haven’t spent the money because they’re still in the process of building or renovating facilities, but meeting state licensing standards and getting approval, especially for the care of infants and toddlers, takes time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Depending on where you are in California, licensing could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to up to six months or nine months,” she said. “Really, the state is not helping contractors expedite the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the affected contractors include Children’s Paradise, a childcare provider in San Diego County, which planned to open two locations in childcare “deserts” — areas where options are too few to meet the demand. The locations would have been large enough to serve 470 children, according to EveryChild California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peninsula Family Service was awarded $2.7 million to serve nearly 80 children at two new centers, said its CEO, Heather Cleary. If funding from the state goes away, she said, the agency might have to consider charging private tuition.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12082904",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05214-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“That’s not our intent. We really want to do everything we can to bring a subsidized program to this county, and that involves the state,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Subsidized childcare slots were not mentioned in the proposed 2026-2027 state budget, known as the “May Revision,” Newsom released on Thursday. He said the plan would balance California’s budget for the next two years, long after he leaves office. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We’re not going to walk away from this state and put the next Legislature and the next governor in a difficult spot,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Newsom’s updated plan will set off a busy period of negotiations leading to a final budget that the Legislature must pass by June 15. State Senate leaders have indicated they would not only reject cutting child care slots, but that they’d rather \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://democrats.senate.ca.gov/sites/democrats.senate.ca.gov/files/iu/FINAL-FFTF-Budget.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">increase\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> funding to subsidize 44,000 spaces. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, Newsom pledged to add more than 200,000 subsidized childcare slots, both in contracted centers and in the form of vouchers for low-income families. His administration has funded 130,000 of those slots while making other huge investments in early childhood education and care, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">expanding access to transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> for all 4-year-old children and allowing in-home childcare providers who receive the subsidies to unionize. The move has led to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051737/child-care-union-strikes-deal-to-preserve-benefits-bump-up-pay\">healthcare and retirement funds \u003c/a>for a workforce that has historically been underpaid, and the state is slowly working toward improving their wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had the most significant childcare expansion subsidies in the United States. Should be better known. It’s not,” Newsom told MSN in a January interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2019 and 2024, enrollment in subsidized childcare programs grew by 63%, according to an analysis by the \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/app/uploads/2026/04/2026-Child-Care-Chart-Book-Designed.pdf\">California Budget & Policy Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081820\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12081820 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-23-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Brianda Casillas works with children in a classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo, on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Laura Pryor, a research director at the center, said while the Newsom administration deserves credit for making unprecedented investments in early childhood education, it has fallen short in some areas — like the slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She estimates that about 1.77 million children qualify for subsidized childcare, but are not enrolled in these programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For every individual that gets access to a space, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars saved that expands their budget,” Pryor said. “If our goal is to fund all children that are eligible, we are moving in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If there’s this additional cut, we’re not only walking back on the progress, but walking back on this positive trend that we’ve been seeing in the past several years,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12083461/california-advocates-want-newsom-to-fulfill-promise-to-fund-child-care-spaces",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_31795",
"news_18540",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_18538",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_20013",
"news_35760",
"news_16",
"news_17867"
],
"featImg": "news_12083484",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12082904": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12082904",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12082904",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1778540638000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close",
"title": "As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close",
"publishDate": 1778540638,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>As public school enrollment \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2026/declining-school-enrollment-california/756174\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041122/california-public-school-enrollment-continues-post-pandemic-decline\">decline across California\u003c/a>, a remarkable thing is happening in districts: More \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052609/as-transitional-kindergarten-opens-to-all-4-year-olds-sf-parents-compete-for-seats\">students are entering\u003c/a> transitional kindergarten. But that growth has come at a cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with free TK, and many have shuttered — worsening the shortage of licensed child care spaces for children younger than 4 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2019 and 2025, around 1,100 preschools have closed their doors across California, representing just under 10% of the total, according to research published Monday by UC Berkeley’s Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood. They were licensed to serve around 32,000 young children, and experts say their closures will likely increase prices in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career\">state where the average annual cost of infant care surpasses $20,000\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These centers are not coming back. We’re going to lose these places forever,” said Bruce Fuller, an education professor at UC Berkeley and co-author of the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closures were not what policymakers had in mind in 2021, when they decided to implement a four-year, multibillion-dollar plan to roll out the largest universal pre-kindergarten program in the nation. Enrollment grew from nearly 117,000 students in the 2022-23 school year to 213,000 students this year. State leaders had hoped the move would free up space in preschools for 3-year-olds and that centers would pivot to caring for more infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is making progress, \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ca-universal-prek-expansion-enroll-brief\">though at a slower pace than TK\u003c/a>, in enrolling 3-year-olds into the California State Preschool Program, a subsidized program that can either be provided by school districts or community-based organizations for \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">income-eligible families\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Fuller said fewer than one-third of 3-year-olds are enrolled in preschool of any kind, and he’s worried about their shrinking access to early education. Research shows that \u003ca href=\"https://nieer.org/research-library/new-jersey-abbott-preschool-program-longitudinal-effects-study-through-grade-10\">two years of high-quality preschool\u003c/a> is especially beneficial to children from low-income households.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083046\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083046 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Heather Posner (center), executive director of Carquinez Garden School, does arts and crafts with children in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Democrat from Riverside County who chairs a state subcommittee on human services, said legislators are aware that TK pulled children from community-based programs and are trying to address the issue as they negotiate next year’s state budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to recognize and learn from the lessons of the pandemic,” he said. “There may come a time where we might have to close our schools down again, so what happens when we have decimated our community infrastructure, when we still may need places for our children to go safely?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community-based preschools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893791/why-californias-universal-transitional-kindergarten-plan-poses-a-threat-to-some-early-childhood-ed-providers\">had long warned they might not be able to survive financially\u003c/a> if they lose 4-year-olds to TK. Their business models are shaped by laws that mandate a ratio of one teacher for every four infants or toddlers, and one teacher for every dozen 4-year-olds. Tuition from the older children helps offset the more expensive care of children under 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar scenario bore out more than a dozen years ago in New York City, when it provided free preschool for 4-year-olds in a “mixed delivery system” that included public schools, private or community-based preschools. Many providers shifted to serving the older kids for the stable income it provided and \u003ca href=\"https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/indrel/626.html\">cut back on infant and toddler care\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12070762 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/240911-CHILDCARE-REAX-MD-01_qed.jpg']“We have seen such large benefits of public pre-K that I think it should be a good investment, but you want to be aware of the unintended consequences on the ability to find care for those younger kids, and trying to make sure that the market can still sustain that and that it’s affordable for parents,” said Jessica H. Brown, an economist at the University of South Carolina who studied the impact of New York’s “Pre-K For All” initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, community-based preschools or child care centers must reconfigure classrooms and meet higher fire safety standards, for example, to serve children younger than 2 years old. These \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017819/huge-lack-of-communication-how-a-building-code-update-disrupted-child-care-centers-in-california\">regulatory and financial hurdles\u003c/a> often hinder their ability to shift to infant care, or even shift to providing after-school care, because the cost of transportation and insurance is often prohibitively expensive, said Erin Freschi, director of resource and referral at CoCo Kids, an agency that connects families to child care providers in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the response has been, ‘Oh, just serve infants and toddlers or just do after-school care,’ and it’s not that easy,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers at UC Berkeley found that community-based preschools most vulnerable to closure were based in churches, were small programs serving 30 to 50 children, or ones that relied on state and federal funds to provide subsidized care to lower-income families. Only about 15% made the transition lawmakers had initially envisioned and switched to serving infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had expected that a lot of the closures were tuition-charging places in middle or upper middle-class communities, and that is true. Three in five of the places that closed were charging tuition, but two in five were actually publicly financed,” Fuller said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083053\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083053 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A class schedule written on a white board at Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Transitional kindergarten isn’t the only contributor to these programs’ demise. The pandemic, followed by rising costs of living, destabilized their operations. Centers that provide subsidized care are competing with increased state funding for vouchers, which allow low-income families to choose between licensed care or unlicensed care at home by a family, friend or neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis by the California Budget & Policy Center found that between 2021 and 2024, families increasingly chose unlicensed care, which grew by 110%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No single program tells the whole story,” said Patricia Lozano, director of the advocacy group Early Edge California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She suggested giving public funds to help more community-based programs pivot to serving babies and toddlers “to make sure no one is left behind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As budget negotiations get underway in Sacramento, there’s talk of moving some $120 million in funding from Prop 98, which guarantees a minimum funding level for public schools each year, to support community-based organizations in the California State Preschool Program and permanently fund seats for 2-year-olds in that program.[aside postID=news_12069711 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00057_TV-KQED.jpg']“We are serious about child care, and we know it’s expensive, but that also means that more and more families need relief, and it’s a part of making California affordable again,” Jackson said. “We have to provide these services in order to be able to make sure families are able to make it here and thrive here in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A combination of these forces are playing out in preschools like Carquinez Garden School, the only licensed child care center in Crockett, a Bay Area community of 3,600. The school will close on June 12 after enrollment dwindled from more than 30 children two years ago to just 10 this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve lost essentially a class of kids every year to TK,” said Heather Posner, the school’s director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she expected to serve fewer 4-year-olds as TK rolled out, and that more 2-year-olds would take their spots. The preschool was in a so-called \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanprogress.org/feature/child-care-deserts/\">child care desert\u003c/a> with an insufficient supply of licensed care. The monthly cost for full-time care — $1,870 — didn’t seem to deter demand; the school had a waitlist and enrolled families who qualified for subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it seems like the low birth rate is causing a lot of schools to be underenrolled on both ends,” she said. “You’re not getting a lot of 2-year-olds and then you’re not getting any 4-year-olds … so with 10 kids, there’s just no way to really cover the overhead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trying to keep the school open felt like performing CPR on a patient, she said, and she barely broke even.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I basically have not paid myself in two years. Literally, I cannot pay my own salary,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fuller said researchers took California’s declining child population into account when they calculated the effect of TK expansion on thousands of communities. They concluded that for every 200 students who enrolled in public TK, there would be a reduction of 38 seats at community-based programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083048 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Dare (center) supervises children digging in the dirt of a planter in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Berkeley, a surge in public TK enrollment during the last four years caused The Berkeley School’s early childhood program to lose more than two-thirds of its students, dropping from 90 to about 25. It will close in July after serving local children for more than six decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a loss for our community, it’s a loss for our school as a whole,” said Mitch Bostian, head of the private school, which serves kids aged 4 to 14 and practices the Montessori philosophy of mixing children of different ages in the classroom so that younger children learn from observing older peers, and older students develop leadership skills by mentoring younger peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That model unraveled when the local school district added more TK classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really what we saw was the bottom dropped out of our 4- and 5-year-olds,” Bostian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the school began enrolling younger children, including 2-year-olds, added year-round options and extended its hours to attract working families, but couldn’t bring enrollment up to a sustainable level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083052 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of a classroom at Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Posner, the shuttering of Carquinez Garden School represents the loss of a tight-knit community she formed with families. Every Friday, parents hang out in the yard when they come to pick up their children. Once a month, they gather for a potluck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school takes advantage of being right next to a regional park and lets children learn through playing outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re running, they’re digging, they’re riding bikes, they’re hanging from the climbing structure, they’re being active, they’re using their brains and bodies and they’re with their friends,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Posner fears that when the kids enter TK, they’ll have less time to play outside and develop friendships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything’s truncated,” she said. “And I feel the gift that I can give them is just that languishing outside in the sunshine\u003cem>.\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> An earlier version of this story misstated the date Carquinez Garden School will close. It is June 12, not July. The story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Experts say their closures worsened the shortage of licensed child care space in California for kids younger than 4 years old and will likely increase prices.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1778540619,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 40,
"wordCount": 1948
},
"headData": {
"title": "As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close | KQED",
"description": "Experts say their closures worsened the shortage of licensed child care space in California for kids younger than 4 years old and will likely increase prices.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close",
"datePublished": "2026-05-11T16:03:58-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-11T16:03:39-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/f6a2d001-7964-4dac-94cc-b447011b4736/audio.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12082904",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As public school enrollment \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2026/declining-school-enrollment-california/756174\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041122/california-public-school-enrollment-continues-post-pandemic-decline\">decline across California\u003c/a>, a remarkable thing is happening in districts: More \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052609/as-transitional-kindergarten-opens-to-all-4-year-olds-sf-parents-compete-for-seats\">students are entering\u003c/a> transitional kindergarten. But that growth has come at a cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with free TK, and many have shuttered — worsening the shortage of licensed child care spaces for children younger than 4 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 2019 and 2025, around 1,100 preschools have closed their doors across California, representing just under 10% of the total, according to research published Monday by UC Berkeley’s Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood. They were licensed to serve around 32,000 young children, and experts say their closures will likely increase prices in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career\">state where the average annual cost of infant care surpasses $20,000\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These centers are not coming back. We’re going to lose these places forever,” said Bruce Fuller, an education professor at UC Berkeley and co-author of the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closures were not what policymakers had in mind in 2021, when they decided to implement a four-year, multibillion-dollar plan to roll out the largest universal pre-kindergarten program in the nation. Enrollment grew from nearly 117,000 students in the 2022-23 school year to 213,000 students this year. State leaders had hoped the move would free up space in preschools for 3-year-olds and that centers would pivot to caring for more infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is making progress, \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ca-universal-prek-expansion-enroll-brief\">though at a slower pace than TK\u003c/a>, in enrolling 3-year-olds into the California State Preschool Program, a subsidized program that can either be provided by school districts or community-based organizations for \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">income-eligible families\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Fuller said fewer than one-third of 3-year-olds are enrolled in preschool of any kind, and he’s worried about their shrinking access to early education. Research shows that \u003ca href=\"https://nieer.org/research-library/new-jersey-abbott-preschool-program-longitudinal-effects-study-through-grade-10\">two years of high-quality preschool\u003c/a> is especially beneficial to children from low-income households.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083046\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083046 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05194-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Heather Posner (center), executive director of Carquinez Garden School, does arts and crafts with children in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Democrat from Riverside County who chairs a state subcommittee on human services, said legislators are aware that TK pulled children from community-based programs and are trying to address the issue as they negotiate next year’s state budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to recognize and learn from the lessons of the pandemic,” he said. “There may come a time where we might have to close our schools down again, so what happens when we have decimated our community infrastructure, when we still may need places for our children to go safely?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community-based preschools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893791/why-californias-universal-transitional-kindergarten-plan-poses-a-threat-to-some-early-childhood-ed-providers\">had long warned they might not be able to survive financially\u003c/a> if they lose 4-year-olds to TK. Their business models are shaped by laws that mandate a ratio of one teacher for every four infants or toddlers, and one teacher for every dozen 4-year-olds. Tuition from the older children helps offset the more expensive care of children under 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar scenario bore out more than a dozen years ago in New York City, when it provided free preschool for 4-year-olds in a “mixed delivery system” that included public schools, private or community-based preschools. Many providers shifted to serving the older kids for the stable income it provided and \u003ca href=\"https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/indrel/626.html\">cut back on infant and toddler care\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12070762",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/240911-CHILDCARE-REAX-MD-01_qed.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We have seen such large benefits of public pre-K that I think it should be a good investment, but you want to be aware of the unintended consequences on the ability to find care for those younger kids, and trying to make sure that the market can still sustain that and that it’s affordable for parents,” said Jessica H. Brown, an economist at the University of South Carolina who studied the impact of New York’s “Pre-K For All” initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, community-based preschools or child care centers must reconfigure classrooms and meet higher fire safety standards, for example, to serve children younger than 2 years old. These \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017819/huge-lack-of-communication-how-a-building-code-update-disrupted-child-care-centers-in-california\">regulatory and financial hurdles\u003c/a> often hinder their ability to shift to infant care, or even shift to providing after-school care, because the cost of transportation and insurance is often prohibitively expensive, said Erin Freschi, director of resource and referral at CoCo Kids, an agency that connects families to child care providers in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the response has been, ‘Oh, just serve infants and toddlers or just do after-school care,’ and it’s not that easy,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers at UC Berkeley found that community-based preschools most vulnerable to closure were based in churches, were small programs serving 30 to 50 children, or ones that relied on state and federal funds to provide subsidized care to lower-income families. Only about 15% made the transition lawmakers had initially envisioned and switched to serving infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had expected that a lot of the closures were tuition-charging places in middle or upper middle-class communities, and that is true. Three in five of the places that closed were charging tuition, but two in five were actually publicly financed,” Fuller said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083053\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083053 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05237-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A class schedule written on a white board at Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Transitional kindergarten isn’t the only contributor to these programs’ demise. The pandemic, followed by rising costs of living, destabilized their operations. Centers that provide subsidized care are competing with increased state funding for vouchers, which allow low-income families to choose between licensed care or unlicensed care at home by a family, friend or neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis by the California Budget & Policy Center found that between 2021 and 2024, families increasingly chose unlicensed care, which grew by 110%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No single program tells the whole story,” said Patricia Lozano, director of the advocacy group Early Edge California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She suggested giving public funds to help more community-based programs pivot to serving babies and toddlers “to make sure no one is left behind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As budget negotiations get underway in Sacramento, there’s talk of moving some $120 million in funding from Prop 98, which guarantees a minimum funding level for public schools each year, to support community-based organizations in the California State Preschool Program and permanently fund seats for 2-year-olds in that program.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12069711",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00057_TV-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We are serious about child care, and we know it’s expensive, but that also means that more and more families need relief, and it’s a part of making California affordable again,” Jackson said. “We have to provide these services in order to be able to make sure families are able to make it here and thrive here in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A combination of these forces are playing out in preschools like Carquinez Garden School, the only licensed child care center in Crockett, a Bay Area community of 3,600. The school will close on June 12 after enrollment dwindled from more than 30 children two years ago to just 10 this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve lost essentially a class of kids every year to TK,” said Heather Posner, the school’s director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she expected to serve fewer 4-year-olds as TK rolled out, and that more 2-year-olds would take their spots. The preschool was in a so-called \u003ca href=\"https://www.americanprogress.org/feature/child-care-deserts/\">child care desert\u003c/a> with an insufficient supply of licensed care. The monthly cost for full-time care — $1,870 — didn’t seem to deter demand; the school had a waitlist and enrolled families who qualified for subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it seems like the low birth rate is causing a lot of schools to be underenrolled on both ends,” she said. “You’re not getting a lot of 2-year-olds and then you’re not getting any 4-year-olds … so with 10 kids, there’s just no way to really cover the overhead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trying to keep the school open felt like performing CPR on a patient, she said, and she barely broke even.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I basically have not paid myself in two years. Literally, I cannot pay my own salary,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fuller said researchers took California’s declining child population into account when they calculated the effect of TK expansion on thousands of communities. They concluded that for every 200 students who enrolled in public TK, there would be a reduction of 38 seats at community-based programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083048 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05201-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Dare (center) supervises children digging in the dirt of a planter in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Berkeley, a surge in public TK enrollment during the last four years caused The Berkeley School’s early childhood program to lose more than two-thirds of its students, dropping from 90 to about 25. It will close in July after serving local children for more than six decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a loss for our community, it’s a loss for our school as a whole,” said Mitch Bostian, head of the private school, which serves kids aged 4 to 14 and practices the Montessori philosophy of mixing children of different ages in the classroom so that younger children learn from observing older peers, and older students develop leadership skills by mentoring younger peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That model unraveled when the local school district added more TK classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really what we saw was the bottom dropped out of our 4- and 5-year-olds,” Bostian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the school began enrolling younger children, including 2-year-olds, added year-round options and extended its hours to attract working families, but couldn’t bring enrollment up to a sustainable level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12083052 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260508-EXPANSIONCONSEQUENCE-TV-05235-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of a classroom at Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Posner, the shuttering of Carquinez Garden School represents the loss of a tight-knit community she formed with families. Every Friday, parents hang out in the yard when they come to pick up their children. Once a month, they gather for a potluck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school takes advantage of being right next to a regional park and lets children learn through playing outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re running, they’re digging, they’re riding bikes, they’re hanging from the climbing structure, they’re being active, they’re using their brains and bodies and they’re with their friends,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Posner fears that when the kids enter TK, they’ll have less time to play outside and develop friendships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything’s truncated,” she said. “And I feel the gift that I can give them is just that languishing outside in the sunshine\u003cem>.\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> An earlier version of this story misstated the date Carquinez Garden School will close. It is June 12, not July. The story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_18540",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_1386",
"news_18538",
"news_20754",
"news_32768",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_29460",
"news_20013",
"news_27626",
"news_2252"
],
"featImg": "news_12083049",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12081587": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12081587",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12081587",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1777561200000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "struggling-bay-area-schools-get-new-life-as-badly-needed-child-care-centers",
"title": "Struggling Bay Area Schools Get New Life as Badly Needed Child Care Centers",
"publishDate": 1777561200,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Struggling Bay Area Schools Get New Life as Badly Needed Child Care Centers | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>Over the past six years, a shuttered Vallejo elementary school stood vacant, serving as a visual reminder of the Bay Area city’s declining student population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whenever a bell rings, residents around the former Beverly Hills Elementary School know that it isn’t the sound of classes starting, but of an alarm triggered by vandals breaking in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But starting earlier this month, a new sound could be heard in the neighborhood: preschoolers playing in the yard. After undergoing a major overhaul, the campus reopened as an early learning center for up to 200 young kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new \u003ca href=\"https://www.risevallejo.com/\">Rise Vallejo Early Education center\u003c/a> is the latest example of a school repurposed to provide child care, following similar moves in San Jose and Hayward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California school districts continue to grapple with rising expenses and falling enrollment — with \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2026/declining-school-enrollment-california/756174\">the sharpest drop since the pandemic \u003c/a>recorded this year — education leaders and child care providers say this kind of conversion could help revitalize communities and create sorely-needed child care spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely a project that is scalable in all communities that really want to help meet the need of providing child care,” said Juan Cisneros, executive director of Child Start Inc., which operates Head Start classrooms in the center alongside four other early childhood education and care programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just have to have the resources and the community will to do something like that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081808\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children play in an outdoor area at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Across the Bay Area, other school districts facing declining enrollment, such as Alum Rock and Berryessa Union school districts in San Jose and Hayward Unified School District, are leasing underutilized classrooms to child care operators and family resource centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This summer, the child care organization Kidango plans to open an early learning center in partnership with the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just last week, the education board of the\u003ca href=\"https://media.edlio.net/4e6ffa79/cb3c8c98/895cb4aa/fd33c949db26461d800dcfc3beb0d387?_=04-21-26RegBdOBpostRev.pdf\"> Los Angeles Unified School District approved\u003c/a> placing more preschool classrooms on elementary school campuses as part of an ambitious plan to open more space for infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district saw the steepest decline in enrollment in California over the last year — 4.5% compared to 1.3% statewide — and is hoping that families who send their child to a publicly-subsidized preschool program will stay in the same campus when they begin elementary school.[aside postID=news_12075761 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED.jpg']But unlike these arrangements, Solano County transferred ownership of Vallejo Rise to Child Start, allowing the nonprofit to operate five classrooms and lease ten others to privately-owned child care providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $20 million project began in 2020, when Child Start needed to vacate a building it was leasing from the county. The agency had a tough time finding a facility in Vallejo that met the needs of its existing students, not to mention a space big enough to accommodate the long waitlist of families hoping to join.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the severe shortage of licensed child care spaces — which were only available for 23% of Solano County children, \u003ca href=\"https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/asr1451/viz/SolanoCountyCommunityIndicators/Home?publish=yes\">according to a 2023 study\u003c/a> — county leaders asked the Vallejo City Unified School District for a few spare rooms. As it happened, the district had an entire school available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All over the state and nation, a declining birth rate and slowing immigration rates have contributed to enrollment loss. In Vallejo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fcmat.org/PublicationsReports/Vallejo%20City%20FHRA%202025%20final.pdf#:~:text=Between%20the%202014%2D15%20and%202023%2D24%20school%20years%2C%20noncharter%20school%20enrollment%20decreased%20by%2031%25.\">school enrollment fell 30% \u003c/a>between the 2014-15 and 2023-24 school years. The plummeting enrollment fueled a fiscal crisis that has forced the district to downsize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First 5 Solano County, which distributes funds from a statewide tobacco tax to support local early childhood programs, worked with county leaders to buy the school for $2.8 million. Then, they pulled together county, state and federal dollars, along with private donations, to fund the rest of the redesign and renovation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers outfitted the classrooms with tiny toilets, sinks and kitchenettes, resurfaced the yards with artificial turf, and installed smaller-scale playgrounds and shade structures. In the hallways, new murals of animals greet the children at their eye level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It really makes sense to take a public asset, make a one-time investment and turn it into something that you know isn’t just sitting empty but can really feed the community,” said Michele Harris, executive director of First 5 Solano.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The providers don’t pay facility fees. Instead, they share the costs of utilities and staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the center, allowing them to run their businesses at about half the cost, Cisneros said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It helps them expand their business, but it also builds the workforce,” he said. “People who want to teach in this environment now have this space to be able to do it, and it’s going to bring a lot of new jobs into this community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cisneros said Vallejo Rise is the only early learning center he knows of that houses multiple programs with their own early education philosophies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081818\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081818\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Dionna Perkins, the new center is giving her a chance to grow her home-based Montessori preschool, Joyful Journeys, into something much bigger. She’s currently licensed to serve up to 14 children and often has a waitlist of seven to 10 families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy because I get a lot of parents that [sign up] when their child is in the womb,” Perkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she’ll have three classrooms that can serve up to 48 kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can happily say that we do have at least half available right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081809\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Janet Walton, known as Ms. Janet, holds a child at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The providers will share the cost of other resources, like the laundry machines, and save on big purchases, like cribs and classroom furniture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a huge benefit because if you’re expanding, you have to find all of the funds for that by yourself,” Perkins said. “And in this economy, it’s hard, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fundraising is underway to build a family resource center near the parking lot for anyone in the community seeking child care, a food pantry, and social services. The county’s Office of Education will also provide on-site coaching to early childhood educators who might need help supporting a child with special needs or developmental concerns, Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have that professional development on site where [the coaches] can respond right away, it’s just such a tremendous difference than being in isolation by yourself all day, every day,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Ruben Aurelio, the superintendent of Vallejo City Unified School District, the partnerships that were formed to create the center give him hope for the future of Vallejo. In its heyday, long before he led the district, more than 22,000 students were enrolled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re currently sitting around 9,000 students,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closure of Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1996 devastated the local economy, and the 2008 financial crisis led the city to declare bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A high crime rate, police misconduct scandals and neglected infrastructure gave Vallejo a bad reputation. Declining enrollment and overspending also brought the school district to the brink of bankruptcy. After receiving a $60 million bailout from the state, it lost local control for 20 years and is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046637/vallejo-city-unified-takes-back-local-control-of-schools-after-21-years\">emerging from state oversight\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12081814 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students play at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Aurelio said the district will close three more elementary schools by the end of this school year as it seeks to “right-size” itself, and is looking at ways to reopen vacant or surplus facilities to benefit the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We just don’t like seeing them sit empty,” he said. “That’s a blight on the community, and it diminishes that sort of pride that the community has.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After touring Rise Vallejo on its opening day celebration, Aurelio said he was heartened to see the school reimagined into something that brings value to the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, there’s another benefit, he said, “Those preschoolers will hopefully feed my schools one day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "As school districts across California grapple with falling enrollment and rising expenses, experts say this kind of conversion could help revitalize communities and increase access to child care.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1778005566,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 38,
"wordCount": 1580
},
"headData": {
"title": "Struggling Bay Area Schools Get New Life as Badly Needed Child Care Centers | KQED",
"description": "As school districts across California grapple with falling enrollment and rising expenses, experts say this kind of conversion could help revitalize communities and increase access to child care.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Struggling Bay Area Schools Get New Life as Badly Needed Child Care Centers",
"datePublished": "2026-04-30T08:00:00-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-05T11:26:06-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/c67aceab-53e8-4e6f-8057-b44101127adc/audio.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12081587",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12081587/struggling-bay-area-schools-get-new-life-as-badly-needed-child-care-centers",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Over the past six years, a shuttered Vallejo elementary school stood vacant, serving as a visual reminder of the Bay Area city’s declining student population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whenever a bell rings, residents around the former Beverly Hills Elementary School know that it isn’t the sound of classes starting, but of an alarm triggered by vandals breaking in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But starting earlier this month, a new sound could be heard in the neighborhood: preschoolers playing in the yard. After undergoing a major overhaul, the campus reopened as an early learning center for up to 200 young kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new \u003ca href=\"https://www.risevallejo.com/\">Rise Vallejo Early Education center\u003c/a> is the latest example of a school repurposed to provide child care, following similar moves in San Jose and Hayward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California school districts continue to grapple with rising expenses and falling enrollment — with \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2026/declining-school-enrollment-california/756174\">the sharpest drop since the pandemic \u003c/a>recorded this year — education leaders and child care providers say this kind of conversion could help revitalize communities and create sorely-needed child care spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely a project that is scalable in all communities that really want to help meet the need of providing child care,” said Juan Cisneros, executive director of Child Start Inc., which operates Head Start classrooms in the center alongside four other early childhood education and care programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just have to have the resources and the community will to do something like that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081808\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-37-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children play in an outdoor area at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Across the Bay Area, other school districts facing declining enrollment, such as Alum Rock and Berryessa Union school districts in San Jose and Hayward Unified School District, are leasing underutilized classrooms to child care operators and family resource centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This summer, the child care organization Kidango plans to open an early learning center in partnership with the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just last week, the education board of the\u003ca href=\"https://media.edlio.net/4e6ffa79/cb3c8c98/895cb4aa/fd33c949db26461d800dcfc3beb0d387?_=04-21-26RegBdOBpostRev.pdf\"> Los Angeles Unified School District approved\u003c/a> placing more preschool classrooms on elementary school campuses as part of an ambitious plan to open more space for infants and toddlers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district saw the steepest decline in enrollment in California over the last year — 4.5% compared to 1.3% statewide — and is hoping that families who send their child to a publicly-subsidized preschool program will stay in the same campus when they begin elementary school.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12075761",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00263_TV-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But unlike these arrangements, Solano County transferred ownership of Vallejo Rise to Child Start, allowing the nonprofit to operate five classrooms and lease ten others to privately-owned child care providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $20 million project began in 2020, when Child Start needed to vacate a building it was leasing from the county. The agency had a tough time finding a facility in Vallejo that met the needs of its existing students, not to mention a space big enough to accommodate the long waitlist of families hoping to join.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the severe shortage of licensed child care spaces — which were only available for 23% of Solano County children, \u003ca href=\"https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/asr1451/viz/SolanoCountyCommunityIndicators/Home?publish=yes\">according to a 2023 study\u003c/a> — county leaders asked the Vallejo City Unified School District for a few spare rooms. As it happened, the district had an entire school available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All over the state and nation, a declining birth rate and slowing immigration rates have contributed to enrollment loss. In Vallejo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fcmat.org/PublicationsReports/Vallejo%20City%20FHRA%202025%20final.pdf#:~:text=Between%20the%202014%2D15%20and%202023%2D24%20school%20years%2C%20noncharter%20school%20enrollment%20decreased%20by%2031%25.\">school enrollment fell 30% \u003c/a>between the 2014-15 and 2023-24 school years. The plummeting enrollment fueled a fiscal crisis that has forced the district to downsize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First 5 Solano County, which distributes funds from a statewide tobacco tax to support local early childhood programs, worked with county leaders to buy the school for $2.8 million. Then, they pulled together county, state and federal dollars, along with private donations, to fund the rest of the redesign and renovation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers outfitted the classrooms with tiny toilets, sinks and kitchenettes, resurfaced the yards with artificial turf, and installed smaller-scale playgrounds and shade structures. In the hallways, new murals of animals greet the children at their eye level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-17-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It really makes sense to take a public asset, make a one-time investment and turn it into something that you know isn’t just sitting empty but can really feed the community,” said Michele Harris, executive director of First 5 Solano.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The providers don’t pay facility fees. Instead, they share the costs of utilities and staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the center, allowing them to run their businesses at about half the cost, Cisneros said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It helps them expand their business, but it also builds the workforce,” he said. “People who want to teach in this environment now have this space to be able to do it, and it’s going to bring a lot of new jobs into this community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cisneros said Vallejo Rise is the only early learning center he knows of that houses multiple programs with their own early education philosophies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081818\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081818\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-28-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A classroom at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Dionna Perkins, the new center is giving her a chance to grow her home-based Montessori preschool, Joyful Journeys, into something much bigger. She’s currently licensed to serve up to 14 children and often has a waitlist of seven to 10 families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy because I get a lot of parents that [sign up] when their child is in the womb,” Perkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she’ll have three classrooms that can serve up to 48 kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can happily say that we do have at least half available right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081809\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-36-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Janet Walton, known as Ms. Janet, holds a child at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The providers will share the cost of other resources, like the laundry machines, and save on big purchases, like cribs and classroom furniture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a huge benefit because if you’re expanding, you have to find all of the funds for that by yourself,” Perkins said. “And in this economy, it’s hard, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fundraising is underway to build a family resource center near the parking lot for anyone in the community seeking child care, a food pantry, and social services. The county’s Office of Education will also provide on-site coaching to early childhood educators who might need help supporting a child with special needs or developmental concerns, Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have that professional development on site where [the coaches] can respond right away, it’s just such a tremendous difference than being in isolation by yourself all day, every day,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-43-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. The center recently opened, repurposing a former elementary school into a campus with classrooms, outdoor areas, and childcare space specifically designed for young children. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Ruben Aurelio, the superintendent of Vallejo City Unified School District, the partnerships that were formed to create the center give him hope for the future of Vallejo. In its heyday, long before he led the district, more than 22,000 students were enrolled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re currently sitting around 9,000 students,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closure of Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1996 devastated the local economy, and the 2008 financial crisis led the city to declare bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A high crime rate, police misconduct scandals and neglected infrastructure gave Vallejo a bad reputation. Declining enrollment and overspending also brought the school district to the brink of bankruptcy. After receiving a $60 million bailout from the state, it lost local control for 20 years and is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046637/vallejo-city-unified-takes-back-local-control-of-schools-after-21-years\">emerging from state oversight\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12081814 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260428-VallejoChildCare-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students play at Rise Vallejo, an early education center, in Vallejo on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Aurelio said the district will close three more elementary schools by the end of this school year as it seeks to “right-size” itself, and is looking at ways to reopen vacant or surplus facilities to benefit the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>We just don’t like seeing them sit empty,” he said. “That’s a blight on the community, and it diminishes that sort of pride that the community has.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After touring Rise Vallejo on its opening day celebration, Aurelio said he was heartened to see the school reimagined into something that brings value to the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, there’s another benefit, he said, “Those preschoolers will hopefully feed my schools one day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12081587/struggling-bay-area-schools-get-new-life-as-badly-needed-child-care-centers",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_31795",
"news_18540",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_25647",
"news_1386",
"news_18538",
"news_20754",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_29460",
"news_20013",
"news_23333",
"news_273"
],
"featImg": "news_12081820",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12079838": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12079838",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12079838",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1776469780000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "bay-area-nature-camp-fights-bureaucracy-and-nimbyism-ahead-of-key-vote",
"title": "Bay Area Nature Camp Wins Key Approval for New Home After Fighting ‘Bureaucracy and NIMBYism’",
"publishDate": 1776469780,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Bay Area Nature Camp Wins Key Approval for New Home After Fighting ‘Bureaucracy and NIMBYism’ | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisors have approved an outdoor education program’s plan to build a permanent campsite for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> school children in the rolling hills of Castro Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 25 years, the Mosaic Project has been bringing tens of thousands of fourth and fifth graders from different backgrounds together for a week of learning in nature, renting land in Napa and Santa Cruz counties — locations that require long bus rides for the kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization spent $3 million and 10 years developing plans for a permanent home in Alameda County and hopes to serve up to 100 students per week, for about 130 days out of the year. It applied for a conditional land use permit to replace a former car storage building with cabins, a dining hall and staff residence on a piece of land off Cull Canyon Road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School leaders and parents praise its mission of teaching the students to resolve conflicts peacefully, and numerous students inspired by the experience come back as youth leaders or counselors. But the Oakland-based nonprofit faced an uncertain future due to fierce opposition by a small, but influential group of Castro Valley residents over its plans to establish the camp near their rural properties. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We give kids the experience of living in a welcoming, inclusive and joyful community. We’re the only ones that we know of that are doing this, and we’re in danger of not existing because of bureaucracy and NIMBYism,” Lara Mendel, co-founder of the project, said ahead of Thursday’s vote. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board members voted 3-1 to allow the project to move forward. The only ‘no’ vote came from Nate Miley, the longtime supervisor who represents Castro Valley, an unincorporated community of 66,000 wedged between suburban sprawl and picturesque open spaces. Supporters of the outdoor recreation facility had questioned whether he can vote independently given that he appointed members of a municipal advisory council that unanimously rejected county staff recommendations to approve the project last August. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080109\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1014px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080109\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1014\" height=\"657\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED.jpg 1014w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Mosaic Project’s proposed new facility would replace a former car storage building with cabins, a dining hall and staff residence on a piece of land off Cull Canyon Road in Castro Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Mosaic Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The MAC has, I would say, not very diverse appointments, and amplifies a Castro Valley that I don’t think is Castro Valley writ large,” said Michael Kusiak, a school board member who wants to provide local students convenient access to the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the appointees overwhelmingly represent “legacy voices” in the community who want to preserve the status quo in Castro Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those voices tend to get amplified a bit more than others, and that’s frustrating, particularly when you hear people make these comments that makes you go, ‘What are we really talking about here, people? Maybe you want to say what you really mean,’” he said. “I haven’t found the arguments against the project to be very credible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miley also nominated the majority of a five-member zoning board that voted against the proposal in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://alamedacounty.granicus.com/player/clip/9984?view_id=3&redirect=true\">At that meeting\u003c/a>, members of the governing board said they were worried the facility would increase traffic and wildfire danger in the boxed canyon, as well as strain the local water supply, which depends on wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Thursday’s board meeting, Miley said he wasn’t convinced by expert assessments that the project met fire safety requirements. He also worried about putting children close to a winery where alcohol consumption is permitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To me it’s important that I put authenticity on the people who have lived in the canyon, who have experienced these issues and concerns, not academically, not by study, but by everyday existence,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teddy Seibert, vice-chair of the West County Board of Zoning Adjustments, recused herself from voting in the December meeting because she owns a winery that shares boundaries with the Mosaic Project’s property. But in a letter submitted to the board, she called the proposal “a thinly-veiled attempt at urban expansion.” Her husband, Keith Seibert, said in public comments that he feared losing the winery’s license to serve alcohol if a youth facility moved in next door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This rendering shows plans for the Mosaic Project’s proposed permanent home in Alameda County, which it hopes will serve up to 100 students per week, for about 130 days out of the year, at a proposed new permanent facility in Castro Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Mosaic Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chuck Shipman, a resident of the Sequoians nudist club at the end of the road, said: “I would kind of feel concerned if somebody comes in there and says, ‘Well, I don’t want my kids around a nudist resort.’ That would affect our business also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another resident worried about additional noise from “100 fourth and fifth graders at an evening campfire or tromping through the hills collecting forest products.” Several others sought to redefine the program as a school, which would violate Measure D, a 26-year-old initiative Miley championed to restrict urban development in rural parts of Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Mosaic Project’s land use attorney, David Smith, said an environmental review and scientific studies by outside consultants have addressed these concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the facility, which would cover just two acres of the 37-acre property, will be built with fire-resistant materials that would create a break in the canyon in the event of a conflagration. Water tanks at the site would be reserved for fire suppression that everyone in the canyon can use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have put in exhaustive modeling from fire experts of all possible scenarios,” Smith said. “It’s undisputed that the wildfire risk for the canyon as a whole is materially improved with the project than without it.”[aside postID=news_12078183 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/031626_PINNACLESFORTHEDAY-_GH_040-KQED.jpg']Hydrologists also discovered a plentiful and drinkable water source on the site. As for the winery’s concern, Smith pointed out that a state law that refuses alcohol licenses for businesses near youth facilities doesn’t apply to those seeking a renewal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They herald [the Mosaic Project] but say it’s the wrong place for it, because a winery is the right place for parties but not for kids next door? That’s just hard to accept,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Email messages seeking comments from the Seiberts, owners of the TwiningVine Estate Winery, have not been returned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grace Russell, an eighth grade student at Oakland School of the Arts, said the long rides to the Santa Cruz Mountains created “a lot of anticipating” when she went on her first-ever overnight camp with the Mosaic Project four years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think having Mosaic closer to where most of the schools are [located] would make a big impact because not only is it easier to get there, but then on the first day there’s more time for doing ‘get to know you’ activities, and there’s time on the last day for people to say their goodbyes,” Russell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russell plans to return to Mosaic in the fall as a youth leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit hard to understand why people don’t want Mosaic in their community, just because of how much it helps people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendel said the rental locations also create unsustainable commutes for the staff, who mostly live in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We go away for six weeks, and people give up their life for this,” she said. “We’ve lost amazing staff because they fall in love and they want a family and they can’t be leaving for six, seven weeks a session.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A permanent location in Castro Valley would keep the program going in the long term, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to allow the Mosaic Project to move forward with plans to build an outdoors education facility in Castro Valley, amid fierce opposition from a cohort of residents. \r\n",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1776469786,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 30,
"wordCount": 1375
},
"headData": {
"title": "Bay Area Nature Camp Wins Key Approval for New Home After Fighting ‘Bureaucracy and NIMBYism’ | KQED",
"description": "The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to allow the Mosaic Project to move forward with plans to build an outdoors education facility in Castro Valley, amid fierce opposition from a cohort of residents. \r\n",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Bay Area Nature Camp Wins Key Approval for New Home After Fighting ‘Bureaucracy and NIMBYism’",
"datePublished": "2026-04-17T16:49:40-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-17T16:49:46-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12079838",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12079838/bay-area-nature-camp-fights-bureaucracy-and-nimbyism-ahead-of-key-vote",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Alameda County Supervisors have approved an outdoor education program’s plan to build a permanent campsite for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> school children in the rolling hills of Castro Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 25 years, the Mosaic Project has been bringing tens of thousands of fourth and fifth graders from different backgrounds together for a week of learning in nature, renting land in Napa and Santa Cruz counties — locations that require long bus rides for the kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization spent $3 million and 10 years developing plans for a permanent home in Alameda County and hopes to serve up to 100 students per week, for about 130 days out of the year. It applied for a conditional land use permit to replace a former car storage building with cabins, a dining hall and staff residence on a piece of land off Cull Canyon Road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School leaders and parents praise its mission of teaching the students to resolve conflicts peacefully, and numerous students inspired by the experience come back as youth leaders or counselors. But the Oakland-based nonprofit faced an uncertain future due to fierce opposition by a small, but influential group of Castro Valley residents over its plans to establish the camp near their rural properties. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We give kids the experience of living in a welcoming, inclusive and joyful community. We’re the only ones that we know of that are doing this, and we’re in danger of not existing because of bureaucracy and NIMBYism,” Lara Mendel, co-founder of the project, said ahead of Thursday’s vote. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board members voted 3-1 to allow the project to move forward. The only ‘no’ vote came from Nate Miley, the longtime supervisor who represents Castro Valley, an unincorporated community of 66,000 wedged between suburban sprawl and picturesque open spaces. Supporters of the outdoor recreation facility had questioned whether he can vote independently given that he appointed members of a municipal advisory council that unanimously rejected county staff recommendations to approve the project last August. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080109\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1014px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080109\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1014\" height=\"657\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED.jpg 1014w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-02-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Mosaic Project’s proposed new facility would replace a former car storage building with cabins, a dining hall and staff residence on a piece of land off Cull Canyon Road in Castro Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Mosaic Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The MAC has, I would say, not very diverse appointments, and amplifies a Castro Valley that I don’t think is Castro Valley writ large,” said Michael Kusiak, a school board member who wants to provide local students convenient access to the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the appointees overwhelmingly represent “legacy voices” in the community who want to preserve the status quo in Castro Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those voices tend to get amplified a bit more than others, and that’s frustrating, particularly when you hear people make these comments that makes you go, ‘What are we really talking about here, people? Maybe you want to say what you really mean,’” he said. “I haven’t found the arguments against the project to be very credible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miley also nominated the majority of a five-member zoning board that voted against the proposal in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://alamedacounty.granicus.com/player/clip/9984?view_id=3&redirect=true\">At that meeting\u003c/a>, members of the governing board said they were worried the facility would increase traffic and wildfire danger in the boxed canyon, as well as strain the local water supply, which depends on wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Thursday’s board meeting, Miley said he wasn’t convinced by expert assessments that the project met fire safety requirements. He also worried about putting children close to a winery where alcohol consumption is permitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To me it’s important that I put authenticity on the people who have lived in the canyon, who have experienced these issues and concerns, not academically, not by study, but by everyday existence,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teddy Seibert, vice-chair of the West County Board of Zoning Adjustments, recused herself from voting in the December meeting because she owns a winery that shares boundaries with the Mosaic Project’s property. But in a letter submitted to the board, she called the proposal “a thinly-veiled attempt at urban expansion.” Her husband, Keith Seibert, said in public comments that he feared losing the winery’s license to serve alcohol if a youth facility moved in next door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260415-Mosaic-Project-06-KQED-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This rendering shows plans for the Mosaic Project’s proposed permanent home in Alameda County, which it hopes will serve up to 100 students per week, for about 130 days out of the year, at a proposed new permanent facility in Castro Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Mosaic Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chuck Shipman, a resident of the Sequoians nudist club at the end of the road, said: “I would kind of feel concerned if somebody comes in there and says, ‘Well, I don’t want my kids around a nudist resort.’ That would affect our business also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another resident worried about additional noise from “100 fourth and fifth graders at an evening campfire or tromping through the hills collecting forest products.” Several others sought to redefine the program as a school, which would violate Measure D, a 26-year-old initiative Miley championed to restrict urban development in rural parts of Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Mosaic Project’s land use attorney, David Smith, said an environmental review and scientific studies by outside consultants have addressed these concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the facility, which would cover just two acres of the 37-acre property, will be built with fire-resistant materials that would create a break in the canyon in the event of a conflagration. Water tanks at the site would be reserved for fire suppression that everyone in the canyon can use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have put in exhaustive modeling from fire experts of all possible scenarios,” Smith said. “It’s undisputed that the wildfire risk for the canyon as a whole is materially improved with the project than without it.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12078183",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/031626_PINNACLESFORTHEDAY-_GH_040-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Hydrologists also discovered a plentiful and drinkable water source on the site. As for the winery’s concern, Smith pointed out that a state law that refuses alcohol licenses for businesses near youth facilities doesn’t apply to those seeking a renewal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They herald [the Mosaic Project] but say it’s the wrong place for it, because a winery is the right place for parties but not for kids next door? That’s just hard to accept,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Email messages seeking comments from the Seiberts, owners of the TwiningVine Estate Winery, have not been returned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grace Russell, an eighth grade student at Oakland School of the Arts, said the long rides to the Santa Cruz Mountains created “a lot of anticipating” when she went on her first-ever overnight camp with the Mosaic Project four years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think having Mosaic closer to where most of the schools are [located] would make a big impact because not only is it easier to get there, but then on the first day there’s more time for doing ‘get to know you’ activities, and there’s time on the last day for people to say their goodbyes,” Russell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russell plans to return to Mosaic in the fall as a youth leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit hard to understand why people don’t want Mosaic in their community, just because of how much it helps people,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendel said the rental locations also create unsustainable commutes for the staff, who mostly live in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We go away for six weeks, and people give up their life for this,” she said. “We’ve lost amazing staff because they fall in love and they want a family and they can’t be leaving for six, seven weeks a session.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A permanent location in Castro Valley would keep the program going in the long term, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12079838/bay-area-nature-camp-fights-bureaucracy-and-nimbyism-ahead-of-key-vote",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_18540",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_260",
"news_1386",
"news_5012",
"news_20754",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_29460",
"news_20013",
"news_34054",
"news_36379"
],
"featImg": "news_12080108",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12079493": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12079493",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12079493",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1776074443000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "rising-child-care-costs-force-parents-to-choose-career-or-kids",
"title": "Rising Child Care Costs Force Parents to Choose: Career or Kids?",
"publishDate": 1776074443,
"format": "audio",
"headTitle": "Rising Child Care Costs Force Parents to Choose: Career or Kids? | KQED",
"labelTerm": {},
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, or even quit. As part of \u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003ca class=\"e-10223-text-link e-10223-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-10223-text-link--use-focus sc-kzqdkY fnwgHd\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cu>KQED’s new series on affordability,\u003c/u>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\"> early childhood education reporter Daisy Nguyen introduces us to one mother who left her job as a teacher after the birth of her third child.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3027698464&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career | KQED\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How We Get By | KQED\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\" title=\"\">\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. A few years ago, Annie Malekzadeh was shopping at a Joanne Fabrics in Concord.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:16] And I had my, I think I was pregnant with my second kiddo at that time and had my older son in the shopping cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:25] While she was waiting for her fabric to get cut, she struck up a conversation with an older woman who was also waiting. But then the woman said something to Annie that stung her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] She said something along the lines of, I don’t know why you would want more than two. It’s basically impossible in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:44] Annie and her husband now have three children, ages eight, six, and three.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:50] I think back on that a lot because at the time I was like, how dare she? But now I’m like, oh, that was right. It’s really hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:03] Child care in America has gotten even more expensive. Between 2020 and 2024, prices shot up almost 30%. Here in the Bay Area, child care costs are higher than almost anywhere else in the country. For families with multiple young kids, it can cost more than a parent’s entire salary, which means that many mothers, like Annie, have a painful choice to make. Keep pursuing your career or take care of your child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:01:35] I never ever planned to be a stay-at-home mom. I thought coming into motherhood that you could do it all, and that hasn’t been my experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:49] As part of KQED’s new series on affordability, we meet one mom in the East Bay who had to choose between her job and childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:06] Next to housing, child care is one of the biggest expenses for families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:11] Daisy Nguyen covers early childhood education for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:15] Almost everywhere, but in the Bay Area, prices are just really high. And there are a couple of different reasons for that. Child care is labor-intensive. Little babies need constant care, and if you want good, high-quality care, you need to have trained workers. You need a safe space where children receive the care. Insurance, utilities, food, maybe supplies to, you know, to provide proper care. And that’s, and you know those costs have gone up too. So they’ve had to raise their tuition. What it means is that the cost to provide care is more than what parents can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:03:09] So for this story, you talk to a few different parents who are navigating this world of expensive childcare, having to make trade-offs. One of them is a woman named Annie. Tell me a bit about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:27] I went to Diablo Valley College and I met Annie Malekzadeh because I wanted to talk to her about how she, as a parent, is making things work with child care in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:03:39] Making friends with other moms is essential. If you’re going to be five minutes late to pick up, like you have to have someone else that you can text be like, can you grab my kid for me real quick? I’ll be a couple minutes late, but I’ll be there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:53] She lives in Pleasant Hill and she’s a mom of three kids under the age of eight. They’re about two and a half years apart, her kids. She’s a part-time student at Diablo Valley College. She’s pursuing a master’s degree in math and before that she was a middle school math teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:04:11] That was my plan and I didn’t ever expect to deviate from that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:16] She really enjoys being a teacher. She’s from a family of teachers. Her grandparents were teachers. She really saw that was her career. When she had two kids, child care costs were still manageable. She was still working part time. And with her husband’s income as a psychiatrist, child care cost were manageable. But when she had her third child, that’s when everything changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:04:43] I feel very fortunate that I, you know, got through having our second kid and didn’t feel done. And instead of living with the potential of like regretting it for the rest of my life, I was able to say, hey, can we have another one? Can we like, work that into the budget?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:05:01] The total amount shot up to $56,000 a year. She was earning $32,000 dollars a year with her part-time job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:05:11] We wanted to find a child care location that was licensed. If your baby is going to spend the majority of their day with a caregiver, you want to make sure that that caregiver is trained and able to do a really great job and that unfortunately costs more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:05:32] And that was like double her part-time salary because she was only working like 25 hours per week. It was just particularly painful to see how much she was paying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:05:42] When we ran the numbers for the child care for all three of them for before and after care and preschool and my youngest would have still been in infant care it was still $1,182 per week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:05:57] Yeah, and I imagine, I mean, it’s not like it was breaking news to her that child care is expensive, but with her first two children, it seems like she was able to make it work with working part-time and a career she’s passionate about, but it seems with this, even with her husband’s salary, it just didn’t seem sustainable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:14] Yeah, she said it was just causing them a lot of stress. So yeah, that led to her just deciding at the end of the school year to quit her job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:06:24] I loved it. I hate leaving. My grandparents were both educators. My grandfather was an art teacher and my grandma was an elementary school teacher in Ventura. They were beloved by their community and they were really excited when I chose to become a teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:41] There are lots of trade-offs. I mean, besides the biggest one that Annie is making, other trade-off, she said that she’s just really had to take a close look at her budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:06:55] My husband was like really hanging on to the cable and I was like we don’t watch it we can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:01] She shops at Costco because the grocery shopping is quite expensive. Buying in bulk is usually cheaper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:07:09] I started tutoring on the side so that helps just a little bit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:13] And she’s cutting out whatever she can to trim her budget each month to make it work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:07:41] How typical is a story like this? Have you heard similar things from other families?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:47] Yeah, like a couple of months ago, we did this survey, and we got at least 40 responses from many families. Usually these are couples who said that it’s one person in the partnership had to take a step back from the career, give up career opportunities, or just work less or quit so that they could afford child care. Statewide I think it’s also an issue like the Stanford Center on Early Childhood had conducted a survey of California parents with children under the age of six and they found that three and four families with young children reported difficulty meeting one or more basic needs so child care health care housing food utilities like three and four that’s a significant number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:43] So it sounds like Annie’s story is part of a broader trend, but within a partnership, who tends to be the most impacted by this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:08:52] In Annie’s situation, she made it clear that her husband made way more money than her. And so the default went to her, the mom, because she needed to have more flexibility to be there for her children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:09:06] A lot of parenting default goes to mom a lot of the time. Not all the time, but a lot at the time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:15] In a lot of the partnerships, it’s the women who earn less. And so they’re usually the ones who have to make some sort of sacrifice with their career. Most experts say that when women take time away from the workforce, it means they’ll have to work longer into their retirement to make up for their time away. I cited in my story a study by KPMG, the financial firm, which found that after the pandemic. There was a spike in the number of college-educated women with young children who left the workforce. Whereas for dads of young children, their workforce participation continued to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:05] And that accelerated post-COVID because of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:07] A couple of reasons, there’s just an increasing shortage of available child care because the workforce has really suffered since the pandemic. The second reason is the return to office policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:21] Less flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:22] Less flexibility, correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:24] I want to come back to Annie for a little bit, Daisy. So faced with the prospect of being $56,000 a year for childcare, she ultimately decides to leave her job as a teacher. So how did that decision affect her family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:42] Right now it’s saving her $600 a month. As her kids have gotten older, like two of them are now in public elementary school. So that’s already as savings. And then her youngest is still in preschool. He’s now three. But having him in full-time preschool is giving her an opportunity to do something else. She decided to enroll in Diablo Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:11:11] I’m wanting to pursue a second master’s degree at this point. I’m hoping for a career in statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen\u003c/strong>[00:11:19] Hopefully she can find a higher paying job to make up for this time that she’s spending away from the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:11:28] Daisy, this KQED series is about affordability, about the trade-offs that people all across the region make every single day to make it work. But policy-wise, is there any help on the way for people like Annie?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:11:41] A lot of states are, you know, recognizing this is an issue. New Mexico is offering free child care that the governor there said it might save families an average of $12,000 annually. Vermont passed a payroll tax to raise money to provide some financial assistance for child care. And cities like New York and San Francisco are expanding access to free or subsidized child care to income-eligible families. So what’s next in California is really trying to figure out how can the state increase access for infant to three-year-old care, because that’s really what’s–\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:12:24] That’s Annie’s situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:12:25] Yeah, it’s definitely Annie’s situation You know, when parents have to take a step back or walk away from the workforce to take care of children, it has a ripple effect on the broader economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:12:45] Both parents to be in the workforce, you know, something needs to happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] She left the classroom. There were students who were relying on her to learn their math. So I think that we can think about the ripple effects in so many ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:13:05] Daisy, thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "As part of KQED’s new series on affordability, early childhood education reporter Daisy Nguyen introduces us to one mother who left her job as a teacher after the birth of her third child.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1776273146,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": true,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 59,
"wordCount": 2342
},
"headData": {
"title": "Rising Child Care Costs Force Parents to Choose: Career or Kids? | KQED",
"description": "As part of KQED’s new series on affordability, early childhood education reporter Daisy Nguyen introduces us to one mother who left her job as a teacher after the birth of her third child.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Rising Child Care Costs Force Parents to Choose: Career or Kids?",
"datePublished": "2026-04-13T03:00:43-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-15T10:12:26-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 8,
"slug": "news",
"name": "News"
},
"source": "The Bay",
"sourceUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/thebay",
"audioUrl": "https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC3027698464.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12079493",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12079493/rising-child-care-costs-force-parents-to-choose-career-or-kids",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, or even quit. As part of \u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003ca class=\"e-10223-text-link e-10223-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-10223-text-link--use-focus sc-kzqdkY fnwgHd\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cu>KQED’s new series on affordability,\u003c/u>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-hHOBiw iVhMEe\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\"> early childhood education reporter Daisy Nguyen introduces us to one mother who left her job as a teacher after the birth of her third child.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3027698464&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career | KQED\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How We Get By | KQED\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\" title=\"\">\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. A few years ago, Annie Malekzadeh was shopping at a Joanne Fabrics in Concord.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:16] And I had my, I think I was pregnant with my second kiddo at that time and had my older son in the shopping cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:25] While she was waiting for her fabric to get cut, she struck up a conversation with an older woman who was also waiting. But then the woman said something to Annie that stung her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] She said something along the lines of, I don’t know why you would want more than two. It’s basically impossible in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:44] Annie and her husband now have three children, ages eight, six, and three.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:00:50] I think back on that a lot because at the time I was like, how dare she? But now I’m like, oh, that was right. It’s really hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:03] Child care in America has gotten even more expensive. Between 2020 and 2024, prices shot up almost 30%. Here in the Bay Area, child care costs are higher than almost anywhere else in the country. For families with multiple young kids, it can cost more than a parent’s entire salary, which means that many mothers, like Annie, have a painful choice to make. Keep pursuing your career or take care of your child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:01:35] I never ever planned to be a stay-at-home mom. I thought coming into motherhood that you could do it all, and that hasn’t been my experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:49] As part of KQED’s new series on affordability, we meet one mom in the East Bay who had to choose between her job and childcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:06] Next to housing, child care is one of the biggest expenses for families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:11] Daisy Nguyen covers early childhood education for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:02:15] Almost everywhere, but in the Bay Area, prices are just really high. And there are a couple of different reasons for that. Child care is labor-intensive. Little babies need constant care, and if you want good, high-quality care, you need to have trained workers. You need a safe space where children receive the care. Insurance, utilities, food, maybe supplies to, you know, to provide proper care. And that’s, and you know those costs have gone up too. So they’ve had to raise their tuition. What it means is that the cost to provide care is more than what parents can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:03:09] So for this story, you talk to a few different parents who are navigating this world of expensive childcare, having to make trade-offs. One of them is a woman named Annie. Tell me a bit about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:27] I went to Diablo Valley College and I met Annie Malekzadeh because I wanted to talk to her about how she, as a parent, is making things work with child care in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:03:39] Making friends with other moms is essential. If you’re going to be five minutes late to pick up, like you have to have someone else that you can text be like, can you grab my kid for me real quick? I’ll be a couple minutes late, but I’ll be there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:03:53] She lives in Pleasant Hill and she’s a mom of three kids under the age of eight. They’re about two and a half years apart, her kids. She’s a part-time student at Diablo Valley College. She’s pursuing a master’s degree in math and before that she was a middle school math teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:04:11] That was my plan and I didn’t ever expect to deviate from that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:04:16] She really enjoys being a teacher. She’s from a family of teachers. Her grandparents were teachers. She really saw that was her career. When she had two kids, child care costs were still manageable. She was still working part time. And with her husband’s income as a psychiatrist, child care cost were manageable. But when she had her third child, that’s when everything changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:04:43] I feel very fortunate that I, you know, got through having our second kid and didn’t feel done. And instead of living with the potential of like regretting it for the rest of my life, I was able to say, hey, can we have another one? Can we like, work that into the budget?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:05:01] The total amount shot up to $56,000 a year. She was earning $32,000 dollars a year with her part-time job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:05:11] We wanted to find a child care location that was licensed. If your baby is going to spend the majority of their day with a caregiver, you want to make sure that that caregiver is trained and able to do a really great job and that unfortunately costs more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:05:32] And that was like double her part-time salary because she was only working like 25 hours per week. It was just particularly painful to see how much she was paying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:05:42] When we ran the numbers for the child care for all three of them for before and after care and preschool and my youngest would have still been in infant care it was still $1,182 per week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:05:57] Yeah, and I imagine, I mean, it’s not like it was breaking news to her that child care is expensive, but with her first two children, it seems like she was able to make it work with working part-time and a career she’s passionate about, but it seems with this, even with her husband’s salary, it just didn’t seem sustainable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:14] Yeah, she said it was just causing them a lot of stress. So yeah, that led to her just deciding at the end of the school year to quit her job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:06:24] I loved it. I hate leaving. My grandparents were both educators. My grandfather was an art teacher and my grandma was an elementary school teacher in Ventura. They were beloved by their community and they were really excited when I chose to become a teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:06:41] There are lots of trade-offs. I mean, besides the biggest one that Annie is making, other trade-off, she said that she’s just really had to take a close look at her budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:06:55] My husband was like really hanging on to the cable and I was like we don’t watch it we can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:01] She shops at Costco because the grocery shopping is quite expensive. Buying in bulk is usually cheaper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:07:09] I started tutoring on the side so that helps just a little bit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:13] And she’s cutting out whatever she can to trim her budget each month to make it work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:07:41] How typical is a story like this? Have you heard similar things from other families?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:07:47] Yeah, like a couple of months ago, we did this survey, and we got at least 40 responses from many families. Usually these are couples who said that it’s one person in the partnership had to take a step back from the career, give up career opportunities, or just work less or quit so that they could afford child care. Statewide I think it’s also an issue like the Stanford Center on Early Childhood had conducted a survey of California parents with children under the age of six and they found that three and four families with young children reported difficulty meeting one or more basic needs so child care health care housing food utilities like three and four that’s a significant number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:43] So it sounds like Annie’s story is part of a broader trend, but within a partnership, who tends to be the most impacted by this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:08:52] In Annie’s situation, she made it clear that her husband made way more money than her. And so the default went to her, the mom, because she needed to have more flexibility to be there for her children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:09:06] A lot of parenting default goes to mom a lot of the time. Not all the time, but a lot at the time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:09:15] In a lot of the partnerships, it’s the women who earn less. And so they’re usually the ones who have to make some sort of sacrifice with their career. Most experts say that when women take time away from the workforce, it means they’ll have to work longer into their retirement to make up for their time away. I cited in my story a study by KPMG, the financial firm, which found that after the pandemic. There was a spike in the number of college-educated women with young children who left the workforce. Whereas for dads of young children, their workforce participation continued to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:05] And that accelerated post-COVID because of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:07] A couple of reasons, there’s just an increasing shortage of available child care because the workforce has really suffered since the pandemic. The second reason is the return to office policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:21] Less flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:22] Less flexibility, correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:24] I want to come back to Annie for a little bit, Daisy. So faced with the prospect of being $56,000 a year for childcare, she ultimately decides to leave her job as a teacher. So how did that decision affect her family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:10:42] Right now it’s saving her $600 a month. As her kids have gotten older, like two of them are now in public elementary school. So that’s already as savings. And then her youngest is still in preschool. He’s now three. But having him in full-time preschool is giving her an opportunity to do something else. She decided to enroll in Diablo Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:11:11] I’m wanting to pursue a second master’s degree at this point. I’m hoping for a career in statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen\u003c/strong>[00:11:19] Hopefully she can find a higher paying job to make up for this time that she’s spending away from the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:11:28] Daisy, this KQED series is about affordability, about the trade-offs that people all across the region make every single day to make it work. But policy-wise, is there any help on the way for people like Annie?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:11:41] A lot of states are, you know, recognizing this is an issue. New Mexico is offering free child care that the governor there said it might save families an average of $12,000 annually. Vermont passed a payroll tax to raise money to provide some financial assistance for child care. And cities like New York and San Francisco are expanding access to free or subsidized child care to income-eligible families. So what’s next in California is really trying to figure out how can the state increase access for infant to three-year-old care, because that’s really what’s–\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:12:24] That’s Annie’s situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:12:25] Yeah, it’s definitely Annie’s situation You know, when parents have to take a step back or walk away from the workforce to take care of children, it has a ripple effect on the broader economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Annie Malekzadeh \u003c/strong>[00:12:45] Both parents to be in the workforce, you know, something needs to happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daisy Nguyen \u003c/strong>[00:12:51] She left the classroom. There were students who were relying on her to learn their math. So I think that we can think about the ripple effects in so many ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:13:05] Daisy, thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12079493/rising-child-care-costs-force-parents-to-choose-career-or-kids",
"authors": [
"11649",
"11829",
"11831",
"11926"
],
"categories": [
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_25647",
"news_20754",
"news_33812",
"news_689",
"news_22598"
],
"featImg": "news_12078465",
"label": "source_news_12079493"
},
"news_12075761": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12075761",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12075761",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1775656815000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career",
"title": "When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career",
"publishDate": 1775656815,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">How We Get By\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">full series here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annie Malekzadeh was shopping at a Joanne Fabrics store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/concord\">Concord\u003c/a> a couple of years ago when she had an encounter that stung her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An older woman who saw her pregnant while pushing her toddler son in a shopping cart, told her: “I don’t know why you would want more than two [children]. It’s basically impossible in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the time I was like, how dare she?” she said. “But now I’m like, oh, [she] was right. It’s really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh wound up having another baby, and the decision to have three kids pushed her child care expenses to roughly $56,000 a year and ultimately changed the course of her career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061802/how-are-child-care-costs-affecting-the-lives-of-bay-area-families-you-told-us\">Rising child care costs in the Bay Area\u003c/a> are forcing parents to make painful tradeoffs, either by passing up career opportunities, cutting back work hours, or quitting altogether. For families with multiple young children, these expenses can surpass a parent’s entire salary, disproportionately affecting mothers and shaping their long-term economic security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh’s story is just one example of how the gap between what families can afford and the actual cost of care is pushing parents to find creative solutions — and prompting calls for systemic change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care has long been expensive for parents, but recently it’s been even more so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh, a mom who quit her teaching job to save on child care and is now pursuing her master’s degree in mathematics, studies at Pleasant Hill Library in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prices shot up almost 30% between 2020 and 2024, outpacing inflation by 7 percentage points, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.childcareaware.org/price-landscape24/\">a survey of child care resource and referral organizations \u003c/a>around the country. In just the last year, 40% of child care programs in California \u003ca href=\"https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/user-174467/2026_survey_brief.pdf\">reported raising tuition \u003c/a>to offset rising operating costs like insurance and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years ago, Malekzadeh was a math teacher at a private middle school, earning roughly $32,000 annually and working 25 hours per week. At the time, her son was in kindergarten and her daughter in preschool. Her husband is a psychiatrist, she said, and because he earned more money and worked more hours, most of the parenting responsibilities went to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With their joint income, the cost of preschool and before- and afterschool care was manageable for the Pleasant Hill couple. But when their baby boy came along in July 2022, and needed full-time infant care, the amount for all three kids’ care — about $4,700 per month — was almost double her teacher’s salary.[aside postID=news_12070762 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/240911-CHILDCARE-REAX-MD-01_qed.jpg']“It didn’t make sense,” she said. “My job wasn’t really making enough of a contribution to justify that kind of expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the school year ended, Malekzadeh decided to quit, even though she didn’t want to leave a profession she loved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My grandparents were both educators,” she said. “They were beloved by their community, and they were really excited when I chose to become a teacher. So that was my plan, and I didn’t ever expect to deviate from that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move is saving about $600 a week in child care. The older two are in public school, and the youngest is still in preschool. While he’s in care, Malekzadeh takes classes at Diablo Valley College as she pursues a master’s degree in math, which she hopes will ultimately lead to a higher-paying job to make up for time away from the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you quit to stay home with your kids, it creates gaps in your resume that a lot of places don’t necessarily look nicely at,” Melakzadeh said. “You have to have some kind of explanation for that, which might translate into less pay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care prices vary by region and depend on a child’s age and the type of provider. In California, full-time infant care in 2024 cost an average of $22,628, which is 16% of the average married couple’s income and 50% of a single parent’s. Bay Area families pay the highest child care prices \u003ca href=\"https://tootris.com/edu/blog/parents/cost-of-child-care-in-california-by-city-age-and-type-of-care-provider/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">compared to other parts of California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078462 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh plays a card game with her daughter as they wait for her older son to finish school at Valhalla Elementary School in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The spike in prices came as companies began mandating employees return to work and \u003ca href=\"https://rapidsurveyproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/arpa-funding-factsheet-aug2023.pdf\">child care providers lost federal funds\u003c/a> meant to help them recover from the pandemic. Less flexibility and high costs led to a decline in labor force participation for moms of children under the age of 5, and college-educated moms in particular, according to\u003ca href=\"https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2025/october-2025-the-great-exit.html\"> an analysis by the financial firm KPMG.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their labor force participation declined by 2.3 percentage points, while the number of college-educated dads of young children who were working or seeking a job continued to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Families are facing child care prices that are higher than the price of rent or mortgage. So this is a huge problem. It’s one of the biggest expenses in a family’s budgets,” said Julie Kashen, a researcher at The Century Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078476\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nolan Cruz eats oatmeal for breakfast in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The progressive think tank conducted an October survey of 1,400 voters about their affordability concerns. Kashen said that while all families are facing rising costs, it’s women who experience a greater threat to their economic security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women are faring worse in terms of taking on debt to cover their basics, borrowing from friends and families to pay the bills,” she said. “So when you add child care on top of that, I think it’s incredibly challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those challenges led Amy Cruz to walk away from a six-figure nursing job to freelance as a dance teacher and care for her 3-year-old son, Nolan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED-1536x1034.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon and Nolan Cruz cook oatmeal for breakfast on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until he was about two years old, Cruz paid $3,000 per month to share a nanny with another family for just four days a week of child care (on the fifth day, she leaned on family members to look after him). While child care wasn’t the only reason she left her job, it was a significant factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Essentially, half of my monthly income was going to child care,” Cruz said. “Watching that much money leave our account every month was tough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once Nolan was old enough to start preschool, she enrolled him in a three-day program near her Berkeley home, which cut her child care costs in half. When he’s there, she teaches dance — something she did professionally before going to nursing school — to afford his tuition. With a second baby on the way, she also figured that it was “worth it to make a little less money but be able to be with my kids more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amy Cruz picks raspberries for her son Nolan’s breakfast in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Economists call child care a broken market because the actual cost of providing care is a lot more than what families can afford to pay. In California, \u003ca href=\"https://rrnetwork.org/assets/general-files/California.pdf\">the demand for licensed infant care exceeds supply\u003c/a> because it’s the most expensive and labor-intensive. Babies need constant care, and California has strict rules limiting the number of children each adult can care for in a licensed child care home or center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, low pay and benefits have made it tough for child care providers to attract or retain early educators. In January, nearly half of providers said they didn’t have enough staff to enroll children at capacity, according to a survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For providers, energy costs, food, insurance have all gone up,” said Matthew Nestler, senior economist at KPMG. “They can’t necessarily raise their workers’ wages to the degree that they would like to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Brandon, Amy and Nolan Cruz prepare breakfast and pack a lunch for Nolan in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shortage can cause parents to weave in and out of the workforce. Malezadeh first left her job when her eldest child was born eight years ago, and she couldn’t find an open infant care slot when her maternity leave ended. She didn’t know she had to reserve months in advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t actually find any kind of daycare spot for him until he was two, and by then, I was already expecting my second child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh stayed out of teaching for four years and went back to work when her first two kids were a little older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after a year, the costs of infant care for her youngest, combined with her older children’s care, were too great, and she left her job again.[aside postID=news_12078480 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/AffordabilitySeriesIntro_Lede.jpg']Kashen, from The Century Foundation, said public investment can help close the gap between what parents like Malekzadeh and Cruz can afford and what it actually costs to provide child care. As an example, she pointed to New Mexico’s recent move to offer free child care for all residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When governments invest in child care, that is the biggest thing that we can do because right now what we have is essentially a DIY, do-it-yourself, system for families where everyone’s on their own,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Cruz gave birth to a daughter. During her pregnancy, she considered becoming a nanny so she could take care of her baby alongside someone else’s, allowing her to make some money. She also thought about continuing to teach dance part-time, and while she’s at work, trading child care responsibilities with other parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been thinking about it more and more, because I can make more money teaching dance than doing my own nanny share,” Cruz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a community with other parents has helped Malekzadeh get by when she’s in a child care pinch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re gonna be five minutes late to pick up, you have to have someone else that you can text, and be like, ‘Can you grab my kid for me real quick?’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078901\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh walks her kids home after school in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh tutors on the side to make some money and said she’s constantly revising the family budget as grocery and health insurance prices go up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m looking at where can we cut costs and what bundle can I use or coupon can I use to save money? I do most of our shopping at Costco now because buying in bulk is usually cheaper,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family is also taking fewer trips, but Malezadeh said, despite these compromises, she’s grateful she has been able to afford raising three kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel very fortunate that I got through having our second kid and didn’t feel done,” she said. “Instead of living with the potential of regretting it for the rest of my life, I was able to say, ‘Hey, can we have another one? Can we work that into the budget?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice, but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, quit or come up with creative solutions.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1775686479,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 43,
"wordCount": 2073
},
"headData": {
"title": "When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career | KQED",
"description": "Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice, but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, quit or come up with creative solutions.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career",
"datePublished": "2026-04-08T07:00:15-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-08T15:14:39-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 34551,
"slug": "labor",
"name": "Labor"
},
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/eef960ee-ebb7-46c9-8baf-b425015525f5/audio.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12075761",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">How We Get By\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">full series here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annie Malekzadeh was shopping at a Joanne Fabrics store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/concord\">Concord\u003c/a> a couple of years ago when she had an encounter that stung her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An older woman who saw her pregnant while pushing her toddler son in a shopping cart, told her: “I don’t know why you would want more than two [children]. It’s basically impossible in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the time I was like, how dare she?” she said. “But now I’m like, oh, [she] was right. It’s really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh wound up having another baby, and the decision to have three kids pushed her child care expenses to roughly $56,000 a year and ultimately changed the course of her career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061802/how-are-child-care-costs-affecting-the-lives-of-bay-area-families-you-told-us\">Rising child care costs in the Bay Area\u003c/a> are forcing parents to make painful tradeoffs, either by passing up career opportunities, cutting back work hours, or quitting altogether. For families with multiple young children, these expenses can surpass a parent’s entire salary, disproportionately affecting mothers and shaping their long-term economic security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh’s story is just one example of how the gap between what families can afford and the actual cost of care is pushing parents to find creative solutions — and prompting calls for systemic change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care has long been expensive for parents, but recently it’s been even more so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00035_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh, a mom who quit her teaching job to save on child care and is now pursuing her master’s degree in mathematics, studies at Pleasant Hill Library in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prices shot up almost 30% between 2020 and 2024, outpacing inflation by 7 percentage points, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.childcareaware.org/price-landscape24/\">a survey of child care resource and referral organizations \u003c/a>around the country. In just the last year, 40% of child care programs in California \u003ca href=\"https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/user-174467/2026_survey_brief.pdf\">reported raising tuition \u003c/a>to offset rising operating costs like insurance and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years ago, Malekzadeh was a math teacher at a private middle school, earning roughly $32,000 annually and working 25 hours per week. At the time, her son was in kindergarten and her daughter in preschool. Her husband is a psychiatrist, she said, and because he earned more money and worked more hours, most of the parenting responsibilities went to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With their joint income, the cost of preschool and before- and afterschool care was manageable for the Pleasant Hill couple. But when their baby boy came along in July 2022, and needed full-time infant care, the amount for all three kids’ care — about $4,700 per month — was almost double her teacher’s salary.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12070762",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/240911-CHILDCARE-REAX-MD-01_qed.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It didn’t make sense,” she said. “My job wasn’t really making enough of a contribution to justify that kind of expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the school year ended, Malekzadeh decided to quit, even though she didn’t want to leave a profession she loved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My grandparents were both educators,” she said. “They were beloved by their community, and they were really excited when I chose to become a teacher. So that was my plan, and I didn’t ever expect to deviate from that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move is saving about $600 a week in child care. The older two are in public school, and the youngest is still in preschool. While he’s in care, Malekzadeh takes classes at Diablo Valley College as she pursues a master’s degree in math, which she hopes will ultimately lead to a higher-paying job to make up for time away from the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you quit to stay home with your kids, it creates gaps in your resume that a lot of places don’t necessarily look nicely at,” Melakzadeh said. “You have to have some kind of explanation for that, which might translate into less pay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care prices vary by region and depend on a child’s age and the type of provider. In California, full-time infant care in 2024 cost an average of $22,628, which is 16% of the average married couple’s income and 50% of a single parent’s. Bay Area families pay the highest child care prices \u003ca href=\"https://tootris.com/edu/blog/parents/cost-of-child-care-in-california-by-city-age-and-type-of-care-provider/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">compared to other parts of California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078462 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-AFFORDABILITYCHILDCARE00228_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh plays a card game with her daughter as they wait for her older son to finish school at Valhalla Elementary School in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The spike in prices came as companies began mandating employees return to work and \u003ca href=\"https://rapidsurveyproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/arpa-funding-factsheet-aug2023.pdf\">child care providers lost federal funds\u003c/a> meant to help them recover from the pandemic. Less flexibility and high costs led to a decline in labor force participation for moms of children under the age of 5, and college-educated moms in particular, according to\u003ca href=\"https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2025/october-2025-the-great-exit.html\"> an analysis by the financial firm KPMG.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their labor force participation declined by 2.3 percentage points, while the number of college-educated dads of young children who were working or seeking a job continued to increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Families are facing child care prices that are higher than the price of rent or mortgage. So this is a huge problem. It’s one of the biggest expenses in a family’s budgets,” said Julie Kashen, a researcher at The Century Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078476\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nolan Cruz eats oatmeal for breakfast in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The progressive think tank conducted an October survey of 1,400 voters about their affordability concerns. Kashen said that while all families are facing rising costs, it’s women who experience a greater threat to their economic security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women are faring worse in terms of taking on debt to cover their basics, borrowing from friends and families to pay the bills,” she said. “So when you add child care on top of that, I think it’s incredibly challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those challenges led Amy Cruz to walk away from a six-figure nursing job to freelance as a dance teacher and care for her 3-year-old son, Nolan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-02-KQED-1536x1034.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon and Nolan Cruz cook oatmeal for breakfast on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until he was about two years old, Cruz paid $3,000 per month to share a nanny with another family for just four days a week of child care (on the fifth day, she leaned on family members to look after him). While child care wasn’t the only reason she left her job, it was a significant factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Essentially, half of my monthly income was going to child care,” Cruz said. “Watching that much money leave our account every month was tough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once Nolan was old enough to start preschool, she enrolled him in a three-day program near her Berkeley home, which cut her child care costs in half. When he’s there, she teaches dance — something she did professionally before going to nursing school — to afford his tuition. With a second baby on the way, she also figured that it was “worth it to make a little less money but be able to be with my kids more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amy Cruz picks raspberries for her son Nolan’s breakfast in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Economists call child care a broken market because the actual cost of providing care is a lot more than what families can afford to pay. In California, \u003ca href=\"https://rrnetwork.org/assets/general-files/California.pdf\">the demand for licensed infant care exceeds supply\u003c/a> because it’s the most expensive and labor-intensive. Babies need constant care, and California has strict rules limiting the number of children each adult can care for in a licensed child care home or center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, low pay and benefits have made it tough for child care providers to attract or retain early educators. In January, nearly half of providers said they didn’t have enough staff to enroll children at capacity, according to a survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For providers, energy costs, food, insurance have all gone up,” said Matthew Nestler, senior economist at KPMG. “They can’t necessarily raise their workers’ wages to the degree that they would like to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/251027-CHILD-CARE-PRICES-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Brandon, Amy and Nolan Cruz prepare breakfast and pack a lunch for Nolan in the morning on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shortage can cause parents to weave in and out of the workforce. Malezadeh first left her job when her eldest child was born eight years ago, and she couldn’t find an open infant care slot when her maternity leave ended. She didn’t know she had to reserve months in advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t actually find any kind of daycare spot for him until he was two, and by then, I was already expecting my second child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh stayed out of teaching for four years and went back to work when her first two kids were a little older.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after a year, the costs of infant care for her youngest, combined with her older children’s care, were too great, and she left her job again.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12078480",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/AffordabilitySeriesIntro_Lede.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Kashen, from The Century Foundation, said public investment can help close the gap between what parents like Malekzadeh and Cruz can afford and what it actually costs to provide child care. As an example, she pointed to New Mexico’s recent move to offer free child care for all residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When governments invest in child care, that is the biggest thing that we can do because right now what we have is essentially a DIY, do-it-yourself, system for families where everyone’s on their own,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Cruz gave birth to a daughter. During her pregnancy, she considered becoming a nanny so she could take care of her baby alongside someone else’s, allowing her to make some money. She also thought about continuing to teach dance part-time, and while she’s at work, trading child care responsibilities with other parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been thinking about it more and more, because I can make more money teaching dance than doing my own nanny share,” Cruz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a community with other parents has helped Malekzadeh get by when she’s in a child care pinch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re gonna be five minutes late to pick up, you have to have someone else that you can text, and be like, ‘Can you grab my kid for me real quick?’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078901\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260401-affordabilitychildcare00326_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annie Malekzadeh walks her kids home after school in Pleasant Hill on April 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Malekzadeh tutors on the side to make some money and said she’s constantly revising the family budget as grocery and health insurance prices go up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m looking at where can we cut costs and what bundle can I use or coupon can I use to save money? I do most of our shopping at Costco now because buying in bulk is usually cheaper,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family is also taking fewer trips, but Malezadeh said, despite these compromises, she’s grateful she has been able to afford raising three kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel very fortunate that I got through having our second kid and didn’t feel done,” she said. “Instead of living with the potential of regretting it for the rest of my life, I was able to say, ‘Hey, can we have another one? Can we work that into the budget?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12075761/when-child-care-costs-half-a-paycheck-bay-area-parents-must-choose-kids-or-career",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_31795",
"news_1758",
"news_6266",
"news_34551",
"news_28250"
],
"tags": [
"news_26598",
"news_25647",
"news_1386",
"news_20754",
"news_18053",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_18352",
"news_23333",
"news_36350",
"news_19904",
"news_21789",
"news_689",
"news_28373"
],
"featImg": "news_12078463",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12076592": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12076592",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12076592",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1773703532000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "san-francisco-kids-with-special-needs-get-delayed-and-unequal-access-to-services",
"title": "San Francisco Kids With Special Needs Get Delayed and Unequal Access to Services",
"publishDate": 1773703532,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "San Francisco Kids With Special Needs Get Delayed and Unequal Access to Services | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>Babies and toddlers with special needs are not getting the therapies they’re entitled to receive in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> in a timely way, if at all, according to a survey released Monday of more than 400 early child educators and providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://felton.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/WHITE-PAPER_EII-Equity-Taskforce_11-2025.pdf\">report, from a task force made up of early childhood education advocates\u003c/a>, found the agencies responsible for delivering them are disconnected from one another. These challenges make it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979071/californias-low-income-families-face-barriers-to-in-home-therapy-for-infants-with-developmental-delays\">especially hard for immigrant and low-income families\u003c/a> to access services aimed at supporting children’s language, physical and social-emotional development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report calls for building a system that better coordinates services — something the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood is looking into.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of programs are fragmented, and it’s up to us to start putting those pieces together,” said Ingrid Mezquita, director of the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43631\">Federal law guarantees\u003c/a> services like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy for children under the age of 3 who may have a disability. Experts say getting these services during the early years, when children’s brains are the most adaptable, can head off the need for special education services when they’re older. Any delay can have long-term consequences for their development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076657\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12076657 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Babies and toddlers with special needs in San Francisco are not receiving therapies they’re entitled to in a timely way — if at all — according to a new survey of more than 400 early childhood educators and providers. \u003ccite>(Andrew Stelzer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“And yet we see time and time again, particularly for children in certain zip codes, children of certain races, children who speak certain languages, that they are waiting long periods of time or never being connected to the services,” said Heidi Lamar, program director for Compass Family Services’ Children Center, and coleader of the task force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, caregivers or pediatricians who observe a developmental concern refer families to the Golden Gate Regional Center, a nonprofit responsible for getting children assessed, determining their eligibility and arranging early intervention services. The services are funded by a blend of state and federal grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a child needs therapies after turning 3, their families must go to the San Francisco Unified School District to request continuing services.[aside postID=news_11979071 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240309-EARLY-START-DEVELOPMENTAL-DELAYS-MD-02-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg']But early childhood educators and providers reported in the survey that limited coordination and communications between these systems and underfunding of the services often result in delayed and unequal access to the therapies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report noted that Black and Latinx students, and children with special needs, scored the lowest in SFUSD’s kindergarten readiness evaluations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Karla Ramos said her daughter, who has Down syndrome, lost access to therapies after turning three last Fall and had to wait months to restart them through the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Imagine a child who’s already struggling — she’s still in diapers, and she just learned to walk in October — still maneuvering and learning a lot of things,” Ramos said. “I felt that it’s a great disservice for children with needs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some child care programs have taken it upon themselves to hire in-house early intervention specialists, but have a hard time recruiting and retaining them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mezquita said the city is also looking into “building the capacity” at early learning programs to provide the services to children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076655\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076655\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victoria Golobordko walks a child at Daycare Bumblebee in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2026. San Francisco is expanding access to child care by offering 50% discounts to middle- and upper-middle-income earners in an effort to tackle affordability issues in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Daycare Bumblebee is trying to get approval to enter the city’s Early Learning For All system. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Besides calling for better coordination between child care providers, the school district, regional centers and health care providers, the task force also urged the city to fund the “true cost” of supporting children with disabilities, including smaller class sizes staffed with specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lamar said most of the people involved in caring for or providing early intervention services want to make improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s interest, there’s motivation, there is care,” she said. “There are also some feelings of being daunted by the huge workload it’s going to take to really make sure that no child is falling through the cracks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The report recommends increased funding and better coordination between child care providers, the school district and health agencies.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1773705840,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 18,
"wordCount": 780
},
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Kids With Special Needs Get Delayed and Unequal Access to Services | KQED",
"description": "The report recommends increased funding and better coordination between child care providers, the school district and health agencies.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "San Francisco Kids With Special Needs Get Delayed and Unequal Access to Services",
"datePublished": "2026-03-16T16:25:32-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-03-16T17:04:00-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 18540,
"slug": "education",
"name": "Education"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12076592",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12076592/san-francisco-kids-with-special-needs-get-delayed-and-unequal-access-to-services",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Babies and toddlers with special needs are not getting the therapies they’re entitled to receive in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> in a timely way, if at all, according to a survey released Monday of more than 400 early child educators and providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://felton.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/WHITE-PAPER_EII-Equity-Taskforce_11-2025.pdf\">report, from a task force made up of early childhood education advocates\u003c/a>, found the agencies responsible for delivering them are disconnected from one another. These challenges make it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979071/californias-low-income-families-face-barriers-to-in-home-therapy-for-infants-with-developmental-delays\">especially hard for immigrant and low-income families\u003c/a> to access services aimed at supporting children’s language, physical and social-emotional development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report calls for building a system that better coordinates services — something the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood is looking into.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of programs are fragmented, and it’s up to us to start putting those pieces together,” said Ingrid Mezquita, director of the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43631\">Federal law guarantees\u003c/a> services like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy for children under the age of 3 who may have a disability. Experts say getting these services during the early years, when children’s brains are the most adaptable, can head off the need for special education services when they’re older. Any delay can have long-term consequences for their development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076657\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12076657 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/Yolanda-WIlson-2-kids_qed-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Babies and toddlers with special needs in San Francisco are not receiving therapies they’re entitled to in a timely way — if at all — according to a new survey of more than 400 early childhood educators and providers. \u003ccite>(Andrew Stelzer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“And yet we see time and time again, particularly for children in certain zip codes, children of certain races, children who speak certain languages, that they are waiting long periods of time or never being connected to the services,” said Heidi Lamar, program director for Compass Family Services’ Children Center, and coleader of the task force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Usually, caregivers or pediatricians who observe a developmental concern refer families to the Golden Gate Regional Center, a nonprofit responsible for getting children assessed, determining their eligibility and arranging early intervention services. The services are funded by a blend of state and federal grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a child needs therapies after turning 3, their families must go to the San Francisco Unified School District to request continuing services.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_11979071",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240309-EARLY-START-DEVELOPMENTAL-DELAYS-MD-02-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But early childhood educators and providers reported in the survey that limited coordination and communications between these systems and underfunding of the services often result in delayed and unequal access to the therapies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report noted that Black and Latinx students, and children with special needs, scored the lowest in SFUSD’s kindergarten readiness evaluations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Karla Ramos said her daughter, who has Down syndrome, lost access to therapies after turning three last Fall and had to wait months to restart them through the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Imagine a child who’s already struggling — she’s still in diapers, and she just learned to walk in October — still maneuvering and learning a lot of things,” Ramos said. “I felt that it’s a great disservice for children with needs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some child care programs have taken it upon themselves to hire in-house early intervention specialists, but have a hard time recruiting and retaining them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mezquita said the city is also looking into “building the capacity” at early learning programs to provide the services to children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12076655\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076655\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260130-sfchildcareaccess00146_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victoria Golobordko walks a child at Daycare Bumblebee in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2026. San Francisco is expanding access to child care by offering 50% discounts to middle- and upper-middle-income earners in an effort to tackle affordability issues in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Daycare Bumblebee is trying to get approval to enter the city’s Early Learning For All system. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Besides calling for better coordination between child care providers, the school district, regional centers and health care providers, the task force also urged the city to fund the “true cost” of supporting children with disabilities, including smaller class sizes staffed with specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lamar said most of the people involved in caring for or providing early intervention services want to make improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s interest, there’s motivation, there is care,” she said. “There are also some feelings of being daunted by the huge workload it’s going to take to really make sure that no child is falling through the cracks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12076592/san-francisco-kids-with-special-needs-get-delayed-and-unequal-access-to-services",
"authors": [
"11829"
],
"categories": [
"news_18540",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_34055",
"news_32102",
"news_32928",
"news_29460",
"news_20013",
"news_27626",
"news_38"
],
"featImg": "news_12076653",
"label": "news"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts?author=11829&authorName=Daisy Nguyen": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 0,
"size": 9
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 9,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 108,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"news_12086244",
"news_12083754",
"news_12083461",
"news_12082904",
"news_12081587",
"news_12079838",
"news_12079493",
"news_12075761",
"news_12076592"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"source_news_12083754": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_news_12083754",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "The Bay",
"link": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/thebay",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_news_12079493": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_news_12079493",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "The Bay",
"link": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/thebay",
"isLoading": false
},
"news_18540": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_18540",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "18540",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Education",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Education Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2595,
"slug": "education",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/education"
},
"news_28250": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_28250",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "28250",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Local",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Local Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 28267,
"slug": "local",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/local"
},
"news_8": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_8",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "8",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 8,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/news"
},
"news_25647": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_25647",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "25647",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "affordable child care",
"slug": "affordable-child-care",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "affordable child care | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 25664,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/affordable-child-care"
},
"news_1386": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_1386",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "1386",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Bay Area",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Bay Area Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1398,
"slug": "bay-area",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/bay-area"
},
"news_18538": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_18538",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "18538",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 31,
"slug": "california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/california"
},
"news_32768": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_32768",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "32768",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "child care centers",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "child care centers Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 32785,
"slug": "child-care-centers",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/child-care-centers"
},
"news_32102": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_32102",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "32102",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "early childhood education and care",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "early childhood education and care Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 32119,
"slug": "early-childhood-education-and-care",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/early-childhood-education-and-care"
},
"news_32928": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_32928",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "32928",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "early childhood services",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "early childhood services Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 32945,
"slug": "early-childhood-services",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/early-childhood-services"
},
"news_29460": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_29460",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "29460",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "early education",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "early education Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 29477,
"slug": "early-education",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/early-education"
},
"news_20013": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_20013",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "20013",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "education",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "education Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 20030,
"slug": "education",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/education"
},
"news_27626": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_27626",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "27626",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "featured-news",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "featured-news Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 27643,
"slug": "featured-news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/featured-news"
},
"news_19904": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_19904",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "19904",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Labor",
"slug": "labor",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Labor | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 19921,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/labor"
},
"news_33746": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33746",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33746",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Education",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Education Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33763,
"slug": "education",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/education"
},
"news_33733": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33733",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33733",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33750,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/news"
},
"news_26598": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_26598",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "26598",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "affordability",
"slug": "affordability",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "affordability | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 26615,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/affordability"
},
"news_35160": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_35160",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "35160",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "childcare providers",
"slug": "childcare-providers",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "childcare providers | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 35177,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/childcare-providers"
},
"news_33812": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33812",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33812",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Interests",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Interests Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33829,
"slug": "interests",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/interests"
},
"news_17762": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_17762",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "17762",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "kids",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "kids Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 17796,
"slug": "kids",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/kids"
},
"news_22598": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_22598",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "22598",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "The Bay",
"description": "\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11638190\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/02/TheBay_1200x6301.png\" alt=\"\" />\r\n\u003cbr/>\r\n\r\nEvery good story starts local. So that’s where we start. \u003ci>The Bay\u003c/i> is storytelling for daily news. KQED host Devin Katayama talks with reporters to help us make sense of what’s happening in the Bay Area. One story. One conversation. One idea.\r\n\r\n\u003cstrong>Subscribe to The Bay:\u003c/strong>\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452?mt=2\">\u003cimg src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/Listen_on_Apple_Podcasts_sRGB_US-e1515635079510.png\" />\u003c/a>",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "Every good story starts local. So that’s where we start. The Bay is storytelling for daily news. KQED host Devin Katayama talks with reporters to help us make sense of what’s happening in the Bay Area. One story. One conversation. One idea. Subscribe to The Bay:",
"title": "The Bay Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 22615,
"slug": "the-bay",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/the-bay"
},
"news_2252": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_2252",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "2252",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "transitional kindergarten",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "transitional kindergarten Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2267,
"slug": "transitional-kindergarten",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/transitional-kindergarten"
},
"news_31795": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_31795",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "31795",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 31812,
"slug": "california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/california"
},
"news_35760": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_35760",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "35760",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "funding cuts",
"slug": "funding-cuts",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "funding cuts | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 35777,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/funding-cuts"
},
"news_16": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_16",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "16",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Gavin Newsom",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Gavin Newsom Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 16,
"slug": "gavin-newsom",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/gavin-newsom"
},
"news_17867": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_17867",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "17867",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Redwood City",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Redwood City Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 17901,
"slug": "redwood-city",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/redwood-city"
},
"news_20754": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_20754",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "20754",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "child care",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "child care Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 20771,
"slug": "child-care",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/child-care"
},
"news_33738": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33738",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33738",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33755,
"slug": "california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/california"
},
"news_23333": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_23333",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "23333",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "families",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "families Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 23350,
"slug": "families",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/families"
},
"news_273": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_273",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "273",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Vallejo",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Vallejo Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 281,
"slug": "vallejo",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/vallejo"
},
"news_260": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_260",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "260",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Alameda County",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Alameda County Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 268,
"slug": "alameda-county",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/alameda-county"
},
"news_5012": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_5012",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "5012",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Castro Valley",
"slug": "castro-valley",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Castro Valley | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 5031,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/castro-valley"
},
"news_34054": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_34054",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "34054",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "oakland",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "oakland Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 34071,
"slug": "oakland",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/oakland"
},
"news_36379": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_36379",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "36379",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "outdoors",
"slug": "outdoors",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "outdoors | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 36396,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/outdoors"
},
"news_33741": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33741",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33741",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "East Bay",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "East Bay Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33758,
"slug": "east-bay",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/east-bay"
},
"news_689": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_689",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "689",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Parenting",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Parenting Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 698,
"slug": "parenting",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/parenting"
},
"news_1758": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_1758",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "1758",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Economy",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "Full coverage of the economy",
"title": "Economy Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2648,
"slug": "economy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/economy"
},
"news_6266": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_6266",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "6266",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Housing",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Housing Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 6290,
"slug": "housing",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/housing"
},
"news_34551": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_34551",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "34551",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Labor",
"slug": "labor",
"taxonomy": "category",
"description": "We examine worker safety, workplace regulation, employment trends and union organizing.",
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Labor | KQED News",
"description": "We examine worker safety, workplace regulation, employment trends and union organizing.",
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 34568,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/labor"
},
"news_18053": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_18053",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "18053",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Concord",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Concord Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 18087,
"slug": "concord",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/concord"
},
"news_18352": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_18352",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "18352",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "East Bay",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "East Bay Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 18386,
"slug": "east-bay",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/east-bay"
},
"news_36350": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_36350",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "36350",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "featured-affordability",
"slug": "featured-affordability",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "featured-affordability | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 36367,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/featured-affordability"
},
"news_21789": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_21789",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "21789",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "nurses",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "nurses Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 21806,
"slug": "nurses",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/nurses"
},
"news_28373": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_28373",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "28373",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "parents",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "parents Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 28390,
"slug": "parents",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/parents"
},
"news_33739": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33739",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33739",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Housing",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Housing Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33756,
"slug": "housing",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/housing"
},
"news_34055": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_34055",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "34055",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Daniel Lurie",
"slug": "daniel-lurie",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Daniel Lurie | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 34072,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/daniel-lurie"
},
"news_38": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_38",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "38",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "San Francisco",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 58,
"slug": "san-francisco",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/san-francisco"
},
"news_33729": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33729",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33729",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "San Francisco",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33746,
"slug": "san-francisco",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/san-francisco"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
