Lack of childcare in South Lake Tahoe an issue for parents and the community

You hear of the "great recession" causing issues in many areas from jobs and income to housing, but another victim is quality child care in South Lake Tahoe.

Prior to 2009 there were over 45 licensed day care providers on the South Shore, a majority of them licensed for 12 children and open evenings and weekends. Now, there are just 20, 12 of which are licensed for 12, the other eight are small licenses, for six children or less.

What caused this drop? The middle class moved out of South Lake Tahoe when the recession hit, and jobs dried up. The population that left not only supported child care centers, Montesorri schools and private day care homes, but they were the providers of many of the needed services.

Pre-recession in South Lake Tahoe:
- 45 licensed homes
- Two Montessori schools (there are none today)
- Under the Magic Pine Tree had four sites including an infant center on Ski Run, a center in Meyers, and one in Gardnerville (plus the current site still open)
- Two churches had licensed child care – Hope Lutheran & St. Theresa’s
- Tiny Piny Preschool on Pioneer Trail
- A School age LATCHKEY program across from the Rec Center
- Kindertown Preschool
- Lake Tahoe Child Development Center in Bijou - operated 24 hrs, 7 days per week, - Lake Tahoe Community College w/ LTCC student priority
- EDCOE Head Start & State Preschool (part day; part year)
- Tahoe Parents Nursery School (Licensed Parent Co-Op supported)

Today:
- 20 Licensed Family Day Care Homes (8 small & 12 Large)
- Under the Magic Pine Tree – 1 site w/ infant & toddler care to 6 yrs
- Lake Tahoe Community College – LTCC student priority
- Lake Tahoe Preschool – toddler to 6 yrs (replaced one of the Montessori)
- Child Development Center by Bijou – no longer 24 hours – preschool to 8 years
- Jubiliee Kids Academy - preschool to 6 yrs (replaced Kindertown)
- Appleseeds – toddler to 6 yrs
- EDCOE Head Start & State Preschool – 3 & 4 year olds (part year, part day programs).
- Tahoe Parents Nursery School (Licensed Parent Co-Op supported).
- 2 ski resorts – not year round - cater to tourist daycare needs

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe continues to offer year-round after school and summer recreation programs for school aged children, and the SLT Recreation Center offers a summer only Star Camp, also just for school aged children.

Choices for Children Executive Director Tina Barna presented these facts and figures to the El Dorado County Supervisors during their recent meeting at the lake.

Choices for Children, a multi-county organization dedicated to enriching children’s lives through support and services to families and child care providers, is a resource in South Lake Tahoe for both parents looking for care, and for those that are, or want to be, a childcare provider.

To help bridge the gap from need to an open spot, Choices for Children is offering a licensing orientation session for those wanting to be a "Family Child Care Home" on October 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at their offices at 1029 Takela Drive, Suite 1.

Barna said the current child care capacity is not meeting the needs for parents or the community.

"Quality child care is essential to a thriving community and essential to our economy," said Barna. "To be productive employees, parents need to have reliable child care and know that their children are being cared for in a safe and healthy environment."

What is also a barrier to having day care needs met for local families are the costs. The daily part-time rate for infants ranges from $20 per day to $47, pre-school age $20-$45 and school age daily costs run from $15-$45. Full time costs are much higher with the same age rates $30-$55, $27.50-$50 and $25-$50. That works out to be $5-$7 an hour on an average.

Day care center rates run from $700-$960 per month.

Even with these costs, there are fewer available spots at day care homes and centers than the need warrants.

Barna said a healthy vacancy rate at preschool care centers is 15 percent and South Lake Tahoe is at 5 percent. A higher rate gives parents a variety of programs to choose from while still allowing providers enough business to keep their doors open.

A misleading fact often is the licensed capacity of homes and centers, especially where infant care is concerned. If a facility is licensed for four infants, they may only want to have two.

If parents work nights and weekends, which is very often the case in Tahoe's tourism based economy, child care options reduce drastically. After school care is closed, and many centers don't operate.

Choices for Children and the El Dorado County Early Care and Education Planning Council have developed “The Quality Child Care Matters Campaign” with the goal to increase community awareness of its lifelong benefits.

For those interested in learning more about becoming a licensed daycare provider, call Choices for Children at 530-541-5848. The cost for the program is $25.

Requirements for a license:

Required Licensing Basics for Family Child Care Home:
FCCH - Family Child Care Home LFCCH - Large Family Child Care Home

Attending a Community Care Licensing Orientation is mandatory
Hosted Orientation - $25.00 pre-registration fee *paid two weeks prior
Online Orientation - $30.00
Completed application – cost $73.00 for a small FCCH and $140 for a LFCCH
Cleared TB test - licensee and anyone else in the residence over 18
Criminal Background Check and Child Abuse Index clearance - licensee and anyone else in the residence over 18
Complete 16 hours of Health & Safety Training – which includes:
Infant, Child & Adult CPR
Pediatric First Aid
Preventative Health Practices – including Nutrition Education
Immunization proof against Influenza, Pertussis and Measles

**Community Care Licensing visit to the home – to inspect for any health or safety hazards – required: smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detector and 2A 10BC rated fire extinguisher
**Large Family Child Care Home – Fire Marshal inspection