San Diego County Child Care Blueprint Implementation Plan

In October 2022, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (Board) held a Child Care Conference to understand the complex set of issues related to child care availability and affordability and learn about potential solutions. The conference catalyzed the development of a Child Care Blueprint (Blueprint) for San Diego County with the following vision:

San Diego County is a place where every family has access to child care that meets their geographic, scheduling, cultural, language, and economic needs; the child care provider workforce is highly valued and financially thriving; and all types of child care settings support children’s healthy development.

In 2024, an Implementation Team, supported by the new Child and Family Well-Being Department and composed of passionate people with professional or lived experience related to child care, was formed to lead and advise on the implementation of the Blueprint strategies and actions.

During the early implementation phase, the Implementation Team was hit with the realities of Federal policy changes and cuts to critical programs. In addition, the Blueprint's extensive scope made prioritization and streamlined implementation particularly challenging.

In response, the simple three-pillars approach below has been developed to focus and advance progress.

The three pillars are enhanced by a comprehensive COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY.

San-Diego-County-Child-Care-BlueprintFULL (PDF)

Download the Blueprint

The Three Pillars

Advocacy and Funding

Building the Child Care Ecosystem of the Future

Influence policy and public perception and implement strategies to secure financial resources for the sector

Navigation Hub

Organizing What We Have Today

Create a culturally and linguistically responsive one-stop shop for child care providers, families, employers, and others interested in the local child care sector.

Systems Change and Alignment

Enhancing and Expanding Support

Coordinate and integrate services across major social and behavioral health systems to improve outcomes for families, children, and child care providers.

Advocacy and Funding

Building the Child Care Ecosystem of the Future

Influence policy and public perception and implement strategies to secure financial resources for the sector.

The goal of Advocacy and Funding projects is to build a child care system that is affordable for parents, sustainable for providers throughout the mixed-delivery system, and that provides competitive, professional wages for workers.

As a foundation for advocacy, a true understanding of the supply of and demand for child care in San Diego County is needed. As a first step, findings from State and local studies on child care cost models will be incorporated into key local efforts, including this Blueprint Implementation Plan, Local Planning Council and Resource and Referral data, the Shared Services Needs Assessment, and Berkeley’s San Diego Workforce study.

Building on this foundation, policy advocacy will take place at all levels. At the State and Federal levels, advocacy will focus on pursuing adjustments to child care rates, provider wages, and licensing requirements; promoting family-friendly employer policies and related tax incentives; and advancing the strategic alignment of State and Federal funding streams. At the local level, advocacy will concentrate on zoning reforms to support facility expansion, streamlined permitting for co-located projects, and the integration of child care into broader community planning efforts. Other change efforts will include making insurance more accessible and affordable for providers; working with Community Care Licensing to make their process less punitive for providers and to create a pathway to expunge violations if program improvements are made and maintained; and partnering with public and private coalitions at the local, State, and national levels.

A second component of this pillar is financial resource mobilization. Through mechanisms like development taxes, bond initiatives, and innovative private financing, child care facilities can be expanded and child care slots increased. This work also involves offering incentives for creating new child care slots, developing programs for vulnerable families, and procuring funds to support child care business start-up costs.

This Advocacy and Funding pillar places particular emphasis on infant and toddler care, which will be supported by a pilot subsidy program and informed by cost modeling, scaling projections, and local revenue incentives. These efforts will build on successful community funding models.

Implementation Projects

Increase Provider Wages

Pursue a Comprehensive Policy Approach for Child Care Affordability and Sustainability

Craft a research-informed, compelling case for change and pursue a comprehensive policy approach that includes:
- Early Childhood Education (ECE) educator financial support;
- Infrastructure Grant Fund;
- Cost of care supplement for infant/toddler care;
- Cost of care supplement for Pre-K care;
- Expansion of existing financial support for all eligible families;
- Expansion of eligibility for sliding-scale fees for care;
- Workforce pipeline strengthening;
- Child care business and program success and sustainability strengthening;
- Funding and incentivizing the expansion of family child care services from small to large licenses and community-based center expansions in serving younger ages and/or opening new classrooms;
- Supplemental funding to increase support for new family child care and community-based center start-up costs; and
- Additional measures to support child care access and system sustainability
Include in the County of San Diego Legislative Program, as well as comparable policy advocacy mechanisms across all municipalities and Chambers of Commerce, the following:
- competitive living wages for ECE professionals based on cost of care models;
- infrastructure grant funds availability statewide;
- payment of true cost of care for infant/toddler and Pre-K care based on cost of care models; and progress toward all families having the opportunity to access quality child care and education through Universal Pre-K in a mixed delivery system.

Potential Lead: CFC

Potential Partners: LPC and additional partners identified through policy outreach

Support Local Policy Changes for Facilities Development

Advocate for State Policy to Promote Child Care Business Success

Advocate to Expand Emergency Child Care Bridge to More Vulnerable Families

Advocate to expand the Foster Care Bridge program model to additional vulnerable families, starting with those experiencing homelessness and ultimately including the following:

families with caregivers seeking/accessing substance abuse or mental health treatment;
families at risk of neglect or abuse but without a formal case;
families with reunified biological parents who lack the supports of resource families;
families with parents who are current or former foster youth or in extended foster care;
families experiencing or fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault, or interfamily violence;
parenting teens; families with incarcerated parents or caregivers;
and families of children with disabilities, neurodiversity, or exhibiting challenging behaviors, especially connected to trauma.

As the needs above are met, resolve child care assistance cliffs for the following:

families experiencing homelessness who move into housing;
and child welfare families who will lose access to child care when their Child Protective Services case is closed.

Potential Lead: CFC

Potential Partners: CRS, LPC, County of San Diego Child and Family Well-Being Department (CFWB), and additional Partners

Reduce Burden for Families Seeking and Maintaining Child Care Support

Support Local Policy Changes for Facilities Development

Create and implement a local advocacy campaign to effect the following changes:

zoning and permitting reforms that facilitate the addition or expansion of child care facilities;
inclusion of child care and child- and family-friendly design in community development plans;
and using innovations such as acting as primary leaseholders, creating community land trusts, etc.

Potential Lead: CFC with municipalities

Potential Partners: City of San Diego Office of Child and Youth Success (OCYS), LPC, CRS, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Community Care Licensing (CCL), local decision-makers

Influence Changes to Community Care Licensing Regulations and Processes

Advocate for Community Care Licensing changes that would:

streamline state licensing regulations, requirements, and process for opening, renewing, and maintaining child care licenses;
continually allocate new rounds of state facilities funding;
create a public-facing dashboard to increase transparency and accountability around the Community Care Licensing process;
provide licensing information and documentation in threshold languages to increase access to all expanding and aspiring providers; provide technical assistance to providers that is culturally and linguistically responsive;
and increase local CCL staff capacity.

Potential Lead: LPC

Potential Partners: CFC, CRS, CCL, State legislators

Catalyze Public Funding and Financing

Advocate for cities to include innovative funding and financing investment mechanisms in development plans to expand child care facilities. Consider the following:

use of development tax dollars for facility expansion;
partnerships with Local Education Agencies (LEA), including K-12 schools and higher education which may identify bond initiatives to support facility expansion;
and coordination with local government affairs teams to advocate at the State level.

Potential Lead: LPC

Potential Partners: CFC, LIIF, San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), San Diego County school districts, San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), CFWB

Leverage Public Land and Buildings to Expand Facilities

Advocate for Continuation of Healthy Development Services

Conduct a funding landscape assessment and pursue opportunities that may exist to tap into Medi-Cal, CSPP/CCTR, ELOP, SAMHSA, Advocate for continuation of full funding for Healthy Development Services after FY26 funding cliff, as well as expansion of services based on data developed through implementation of a data dashboard.

Potential Lead: CFC

Potential Partners: F5SD, LPC, County of San Diego Board of Supervisors, San Diego Regional Center (SDRC), Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA)

Expand Funding for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)

Assess the funding landscape and pursue opportunities to tap into Medi-Cal, California State Pre-school Program (CSPP)/General Child Care and Development (CCTR), Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA), Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), California Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Network, etc. Identify appropriate funding carve-out based on Behavioral Health Services optimal care pathway and advocate for alignment within the County budget. Advocate for State to dedicate behavioral health funding to IECMHC after implementation of Prop 1, and for dedicated local funding for IECMHC.

Potential Lead: CFC and IECMH Hub and Network (once established)

Potential Partners: F5SD, County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services (BHS), CFWB, American Academy of Pediatrics-California Chapter 3, LPC, YMCA, San Diego State University HEY Clinic, Rady Children's Hospital, Neighborhood House Association (NHA), Children's Paradise, Inc., WestEd, Motiva, Chicano Federation, Bright Connections, Episcopal Community Services, therapeutic preschools

Establish a Child Care Funders Collaborative

Incentivize Integration of Child Care into New Developments

Work with Housing and Community Development Services to include incentive points on local Notice of Funding Availability for developments that integrate early learning and care spaces, both centers and family child care homes, including surplus land planning and affordable housing developments, which may include mixed-use developments and transit-oriented developments (as funding sources permit).

Potential Lead: To be determined (TBD)

Potential Partners: CFC, LPC, municipalities, OCYS, developers

Influence Local Permitting Processes

Advocate to Include Child Care as a Component in City and County Plans

Amplify Public-Private Child Care Financing Models

Increase awareness of innovative public-private child care financing models and launch new joint funding initiatives with community development financial institutions. Reap the learning and understanding of Mission Driven Finance CARE San Diego.

Potential Lead: CFC

Potential Partners: CFC, LPC, Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County, Inc. (MAAC), NHA, Mission Driven Finance, financial institutions

Navigation Hub

Organizing What We Have Today

Create a Navigation Hub for child care professionals, providers, families, employers, and other parties either in or interested in the local child care sector. This one-stop shop will be culturally and linguistically responsive, serving non-English speakers and immigrant and refugee populations in San Diego.

For child care professionals, the Navigation Hub (Hub) will offer essential access to mental health and well-being, business resilience, and professional development resources.

The Hub will feature a comprehensive list of existing, tangible well-being supports; a list of culturally responsive ideas and tips for self-care and emotional regulation; and a mechanism whereby child care centers and family child care homes can offer ideas and tips for self-care and warm handoffs to existing resources. To promote greater awareness about the importance of child care professionals’ physical and emotional well-being to the quality of their work, educational materials will be disseminated through the Hub and related communications campaign. These materials will also be shared through the new YMCA provider website and existing training on well-being. Because not all child care professionals have health insurance, the Hub will also include a process to assist child care professionals with enrollment so they can access more formal behavioral health supports.

For providers, the Hub will offer business resilience support, information on the full array of start-up costs for family child care homes and centers, technical assistance in securing available funding, and a registry of providers that need to close. To ensure provider business resilience needs are met, those implementing the Blueprint will create a landscape of existing services and analyze the gap between existing capacity and provider need (see Pillar 3: Systems Change and Alignment). Under the Advocacy and Funding Pillar, they will advocate creating a sustainable model and secure long-term funding for successful programs like STEPS and Shared Services Alliance, which include a successful cultural navigator component.

Finally, the Hub will provide information on all training and continuous learning opportunities available to child care providers across the County.

For families, the Hub will include comprehensive information about child care options and how to choose quality care for their families.

For employers, the Hub will offer employer policy templates and a repository of existing tax benefits to incentivize child care.

For those interested in opening new or expanding child care business, the Hub will include a comprehensive guide detailing the process of establishing new licensed child care facilities in San Diego County. This guide will provide essential technical guidance, clarify regulatory requirements, outline financing options (e.g., grants, loans, and tax credits), and connect current or potential providers with vetted professionals such as contractors, land use attorneys, and architects. The guide will also include crucial supply and demand data to inform site selection, identify publicly owned properties suitable for child care repurposing, and highlight the need for infant and toddler slots.

A communications campaign will be developed and rolled out to inform the child care field, parents, and interested stakeholders about the Hub and the variety of resources available.

Implementation Projects

Improve and Expand Access to Child Care for Vulnerable Families

Expand access to child care for vulnerable families by: 1) streamlining referral pathways for health and human services providers who serve vulnerable families; and 2) integrating the subsidy application and child care navigation processes. Assess current opportunities to prioritize certain groups of vulnerable families for Alternative Payment and other funded care programs.

Potential Lead: CRS

Partners: CFWB, County of San Diego Self-Sufficiency Programs, F5SD, SDCOE, LPC, Community Information Exchange Network (CIE), Centralized Eligibility List user representatives, health and human services providers serving vulnerable families

Improve Access to Care Navigation

Enhance San Diego County Child Care Resource and Referral (R&R) services to include transitional kindergarten (TK) and other school-based, license-exempt early childhood education (ECE) and out of school time (OST) programs. Integrate a subsidy and free program eligibility calculator and an application wizard for a variety of program types. Conduct outreach to encourage LEAs to accept initial applications from the R&R and to share R&R information with families seeking care, including for children who cannot access on-site programs.

Potential Lead: CRS

Partners: SDCOE, CDA, pilot agencies and LEAs

Navigate Facilities Improvement and Development

Deliver end-to-end assistance to any public or private entity looking to increase the number of licensed child care slots in San Diego County through facility improvement or development. This service will be provided through the Navigation Hub and navigators will be hired to provide support and technical assistance.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: LPC, CCL, EDC, LEAs, municipalities (zoning, permitting, fire), OCYS, F5SD, child care providers, CCPU, United Domestic Workers (UDW), CFC

Create and Manage a Vendor List

Host Workshops on Facilities Development

Host a regular series of educational workshops aimed at bringing key entities together to support strategic expansion of child care facilities. Include economic development councils, chambers of commerce, government, and other stakeholders to discuss status, opportunities, and challenges in child care facilities development in the San Diego region. Identify topics and presenters, develop content and resources, advertise and convene workshops.

Potential Lead: LPC

Potential Partners: CRS, LIIF/Build Up CA, MAAC, NHA, providers, municipalities, OCYS, Regional Chamber of Commerce, EDC

Establish a Risk-of-Closure Clearinghouse

Support Successful Funding Proposals for Public Land or Buildings

Create a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Training Continuum

Facilitate a collaborative, sustainable effort across all child care education and training partners to streamline access to culturally and linguistically responsive free and low-cost education and training opportunities. Conduct an assessment to understand the full array of education and training opportunities across San Diego County, as well as existing local and State funding streams which can reduce or eliminate any out-of-pocket costs to child care providers. Prioritize education and training programs specifically focused on caring for infants and toddlers.

Potential Lead: SDCOE, Quality Counts California (QCC) Consortium

Potential Partners: CRS, Family Child Care Success (STEPS) partners (International Rescue Committee, Chicano Federation, Horn of Africa, Center for Excellence in Early Development at San Diego State University), Women’s Business Center (WBC) at Southwestern College

Provide Individualized Support for Advanced Education and Training

Create and sustain a service through the Navigation Hub where child care professionals can receive individual counsel and guidance to pursue and enroll in higher education and training and receive supportive funding.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: CCPU, Family Child Care Success (STEPS) partners (International Rescue Committee, Chicano Federation, Horn of Africa, Center for Excellence in Early Development at San Diego State University), Women’s Business Center (WBC) at Southwestern College

Create Landscape of Professional Development Opportunities

Create a landscape of the training and continuous learning opportunities available to child care professionals across the County. Include: organization providing the training, audience/eligibility (e.g., type of provider), how often the training is provided and time of day, training topic(s), funding for the training (including duration of funding), whether the training is provided in languages other than English, whether compensation is provided, whether CEUs are provided.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: SDCOE, Family Child Care Success (STEPS) partners (International Rescue Committee, Chicano Federation, Horn of Africa, Center for Excellence in Early Development at San Diego State University), Women’s Business Center (WBC) at Southwestern College

Create a Landscape of Business Resilience Supports

Develop a landscape of existing child care business resilience services and supports, the capacity and cultural responsiveness of existing services, how they are funded, and the duration of funding. Analyze the gap between existing capacity and provider need to determine what is missing from the continuum of support.

Potential Lead: CRS

Enhance Existing Business Resilience Supports

Once the landscape of existing supports is complete, establish and support a child care provider-led design team to outline the primary needs of child care business owners in San Diego County. Build on the County of San Diego’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Shared Services Alliance investments and leverage existing statewide programs, like Child Care Providers United and the California Department of Social Services California Early Childhood Online, to support child care business owners. Elements of support may include child care business efficiency, such as using local data to manage rates, business planning, expense management, strategies for growth, marketing, economies of scale services, and using tax incentives all through support from business counselors and cultural navigators.

Manage a Registry of Providers Closing

Establish and manage a registry of providers considering closing and then determine support needed. In the event of a provider closing, the process will also include a referral opportunity to other providers interested in taking on the child care business, or at least ensure other providers may have an opportunity to access furniture, materials, etc.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: CCL

Raise Awareness about the Value of Self Care

Leverage existing programs for child care providers, like coaching and apprenticeships, to disseminate information about the value of and tangible supports for self-care, respite, and emotional support. Inform child care program operators about how to access mental health and wellbeing resources and provide a warm hand off to ensure providers can find and access programs. Utilize the Community Information Exchange when applicable.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: CIE, SDCOE

Support Child Care Professionals' Well-Being

Support the mental health and well-being of child care professionals by increasing access to information and resources. Create a comprehensive list of existing, tangible well-being supports (at a minimum, explore: Community Information Exchange, IRC, Faith-based organizations, child care center Employee Assistance Programs). Create a list of culturally responsive ideas and tips for self-care and emotional regulation. Develop a mechanism whereby child care centers and family child care homes can offer ideas and tips for self-care and warm handoffs to existing resources. Disseminate information about the importance of physical and emotional well-being and resources available. Leverage existing training on well-being (for example, training for foster parents). Assist providers in accessing health insurance so that they can access behavioral health supports.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: CCPU

Systems Change and Alignment

Enhancing and Expanding Support

Coordinate and integrate services and supports provided by State, County, municipal, and educational entities to improve outcomes for families, children, and child care providers.

The third pillar focuses on how public and private systems work together to improve access to critical information and services. One key element of this pillar is streamlining developmental and behavioral health care. This includes expanding developmental screenings and improving care coordination and building a sustainable countywide mental health consultation model. These foundational efforts should ultimately align with and feed into a County-led Optimal Care Pathway—an integrated, long-term care strategy championed by Supervisor Lawson-Remer.

Other areas of focus include enhancing data collection and monitoring and strengthening partnerships across the child care ecosystem.

In the area of data collection and monitoring, this pillar seeks to deepen understanding of child care supply and demand, with a particular focus on assessing the need for infant and toddler slots. It will also integrate enhanced supply and demand data to inform site selection.

Partnerships are also critical to improved coordination and alignment. This will include fostering deeper partnerships between schools and child care providers and streamlining planning, permitting, construction, licensing, and other approval processes.

Implementation Projects

Systematize Early Childhood Developmental Data Collection and Monitoring

Identify optimal care pathways and goal service levels for early childhood development. Create a data dashboard aligned to established goals. Include workforce data, connections to early childhood education, and child and family impact data.

Potential Lead: F5SD and AAP-CA3

Potential Partners: LPC, County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (BOS), SDRC, SELPAs, Healthy Development Services (HDS) regional implementers

Systematize IECMH Data Collection and Monitoring

Identify optimal care pathways and goal service levels for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Create a data dashboard aligned to established goals. Include workforce data, connections to early childhood education, and child and family impact data.

Potential Lead: F5SD

Potential Partners: BHS, CFWB, AAP-CA3, LPC, YMCA, SDSU HEY Clinic, Rady Children's Hospital, NHA, Children's Paradise, Inc., WestEd, Motiva, Chicano Federation, Bright Connections, Episcopal Community Services, therapeutic preschools

Create Developmental Support Hub for Children 0 to 5

Expand AAP-CA3's role to create a system hub for developmental support for parents, pediatricians, and childcare providers of children 0 to 5. Link the development support hub to the Navigation Hub and communications strategy.

Potential Lead: F5SD and AAP-CA3

Potential Partners: LPC, County of San Diego Board of Supervisors, SDRC, SELPAs, HDS regional implementers

Address Identified Gaps in Developmental Supports for Young Children

Address gaps identified by the Child Care Blueprint Implementation Workgroup including:

simplifying referral pathways
enhancing universality of screenings
supporting screeners appropriately
supporting warm connections to culturally responsive, trauma-informed assessment
enhancing parent education
increasing the developmental services workforce
enhancing support for child care providers for inclusive and adaptive care
increasing alignment between early childhood special education opportunities and family childcare needs
increasing accessibility of therapies
enhancing access to care coordination across systems
expanding access to care for children with developmental needs beyond elementary school
improving ease of use for existing funding streams

Potential Lead: F5SD and AAP-CA3

Potential Partners: LPC, County of San Diego Board of Supervisors, SDRC, SELPAs, HDS regional implementers

Identify Opportunities for Developmental Screenings and Referrals for Priority Populations

Develop a Countywide IECMHC Scope of Work

Establish a Steering Committee to develop a Countywide IECMHC continuum of care. This continuum would integrate existing level of service models in the County and be aligned with the Children, Youth, and Transition-Age Youth Behavioral Health Continuum Framework for 0-25, approved by the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors on September 24, 2024. Create a network hub for IECMH supports for providers, parents, pediatricians, and child care providers, linked to Navigation Hub and communications strategy.

Potential Lead: F5SD

Potential Partners: BHS, CFWB, AAP-CA3, LPC, YMCA, SDSU HEY Clinic, Rady Children's Hospital, NHA, Children's Paradise, Inc., Wested, Motiva, Chicano Federation, Bright Connections, Episcopal Community Services, therapeutic preschools

Conduct a Study of Supply, Demand, and Facilities

Conduct a comprehensive study of child care supply, demand, and facilities to be updated annually. In the study, include an assessment of current facilities, discussion of facility expansion opportunities, and identification of possible public funding mechanisms to bring to the San Diego region.

Potential Lead: CRS

Potential Partners: LPC, LEAs, philanthropy, academic partner (TBD), EDC, municipalities (real estate), OCYS, commercial real estate agencies, NHA, MAAC (real estate), LIIF/Build Up CA, Mission Driven Financing

Facilitate Forums for Local Education Agency (LEA) Leaders and ECE and OST Professionals to Collaborate

Create new or enhance existing forums to collaborate in the areas of:

shared learning and resources
professional networking
communications with families
streamlining connections between program types
alignment on educational and developmental approaches and school climate efforts
supporting individual student needs
referring to appropriate community supports
coordinating space needs

Potential Lead: SDCOE

Potential Partners: LPC, CRS, pilot agencies and LEAs of project to enhance care navigation

Coordinate Entities with Critical Roles in Licensing

Host a regular (quarterly) meeting for the two regional Community Care Licensing managers and all the fire marshals to align on process, timing, requirements, and expectations. Review the pipeline of upcoming licensing applications and establish communication processes among the entities with the common goal of expanding child care and improving child care facilities quality in the region.

Potential Lead: OCYS

Potential Partners: CFC, LPC, CRS, LIIF, municipalities (fire, permitting), CCL

Get Involved

Thank you for your interest in supporting implementation of the San Diego County Child Care Blueprint!

No one sector or group alone can achieve the goals of this plan. Acting in unison, with clear priorities, common goals, and a coordinated approach is needed.

Please contact CFWB_OCFS.HHSA@sdcounty.ca.gov to learn more about opportunities to get involved.