Early Childhood Programs are Critical for California's Rural Communities

In California’s migrant and agricultural communities, long work days and unconventional hours means our state’s youngest learners require a tailored approach to care and supervision. Without child care that addresses these needs, parents can’t go to work, remain productive, and build successful careers to better support their families.

A child who participates in higher-quality child care shows better language skills, which results in better academic performance later on in life and increases the chances of graduating from high school on time. All of which plays a part in which strengthening the current and future workforce and contributing to public safety and a strong economy.

Child poverty in rural California is both more severe and more persistent than in non-rural areas of the state, and there are also large racial and ethnic disparities. Overall, one-quarter of rural children under age five live in poverty. Counties with persistently high child poverty rates affect minority communities at disproportionate rates, and children of color within such counties have a poverty rate more than double that of non-Hispanic white children.

In California, 60% of the population live in child care deserts (where there are more than three children for every child care slot), though rural communities are most severely impacted by unmet childcare needs. Latino and Native American communities, specifically, are more likely than any other group to live in a child care desert.

Policymakers must support strategic investments for children in rural communities, specifically: early head start and childcare partnerships in rural communities, more resources to help our community recruit, train, and retain childcare providers, and business development support for childcare providers.

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