AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE & QUALITY CHILD CARE FOR SANTA BARBARA

By Roger L. Horton

I believe we are nearing a child care crisis in our community. The cost of quality care is too high and there is a great need for new child care facilities to be built. We must do more for the next generation of Santa Barbara residents.

According to recent studies, there are an estimated 8000 children in Santa Barbara in need of infant or special needs child care. Only half of these children have a stay at home parent and the city currently has facilities for only 1500 children. We are not meeting the current need for child care in Santa Barbara, and the number of families with need is projected to grow rapidly in the next few years.

It is essential that Santa Barbara has accessible, affordable and quality licensed care facilities for our community.

I believe we should fund a City Childcare Coordinator, such as can be found in many neighboring cities. Much work is needed in the areas of zoning, planning and ordinance control, to aid in the development of much needed facilities and to help businesses develop childcare options for their employees. Coordinating our efforts with the County will make our total resources stretch further and be of great benefit to all. I believe there is no greater asset for any community than its children.