At a time when childcare costs statewide rival that of rents and the gap between supply and demand remains pervasively excruciating, Santa Barbara County has just received props for leading the pack for bridging the divide. Of all 58 counties in the state, Santa Barbara has made the greatest progress in increasing enrollment for publicly funded childcare, according to a report recently released by California Budget & Policy Center. According to this report, Santa Barbara saw a 160 percent increase in enrollments between the years 2021 and 2024.
The $2 million in federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) money the county supervisors threw at the problem helped, but according to the report, it was really the effective collaboration and creative cross-pollination between the organizational beneficiaries of that money — the Santa Barbara Foundation, the United Way, and the Children’s Resource and Referral Agency, to name three — that made the big difference. These agencies worked together targeting land-use barriers blocking people trying to get into the business, start-up subsidies to help defray the costs of launching a new business, and training in essential business and operational skills for newcomers to the field.
The partnership drafted a master plan and set a goal of creating 3,000 new spaces by the year 2030. By 2025, the initiative had launched 2,000 more licensed childcare slots. Given the disproportionate burden the childcare shortage placed on women of color, much of the training was focused on in-home operations serving that population.
“Santa Barbara County’s progress reflects that effectively expanding enrollment in childcare cannot happen among isolated interest groups,” the report concluded. “Despite progress, much more work remains in Santa Barbara County — the shortage of infant and toddler care remains severe, affordability challenges persist, and many providers continue to face barriers related to workforce shortages, aging facilities, and capital needs.”
