In the early 1990's, the Calaveras Child Care Council (CCCC), was established to develop local priorities for child care through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDGB).

The Calaveras Child Care Council is a collaboration of consumers, service providers, public agencies and other community representatives working together to assess and coordinate the delivery of quality child care services and programs. The Council's mission is to "...support the success of all children, their families and the economy of our community through the development of affordable, accessible, quality child care." The Council's vision is that Calaveras County have "...an inclusive, quality, affordable child care system that promotes healthy, successful children and youth."

As part of its duties the CCCC is required to conduct periodic assessments of the county's child care needs and issue a Needs Assessment Report. This report highlights child care needs and issues across the county and in specific Calaveras communities and is intended to assist the Council as well as other groups and policy makers in planning for future child care needs in Calaveras County. The variety of findings and research activities used include a county-wide needs assessment used to develop a 10-year master plan for children and youth; 2002 research on family needs related to child care; two child care providers surveys (2002 and 2003); and, a child care provider compensation report issued in 2002.

Child Population Highlights - According to 2000 Census data, there were 4,928 households with children 18 years of age or younger in the county, and the total population of children 0-14 years was 7,425. Of those, 627 children lived with their grandparents, 143 children lived with other relatives, and a total of 1,067 children or 11.5% of all children under the age of 18 lived in households without their parents. 87 children lived in foster care for at least some portion of 1999, while 120 children did so during the year 2000.

Languages Spoken in Homes - Of the 387 child care referrals provided by HRC Child Care Resources between May 2002 and April 2003, 384 families reported speaking English; 15 families reported speaking Spanish; one reported speaking Chinese, and three were reported as speaking an "other" language.

Subsidized Child Care Eligibility - As of May 2003, 143 families with 273 children were on the eligibility list for subsidized child care through the Human Resources Council (HRC) Child Care Resources (CCR). At the time of this report, 141 children ages 0-3 and 130 children ages 3-5 were on the Head Start / State Preschool Eligibility List maintained by HRC CCR. The subsidized child care program of the Calaveras County Office of Education (CCOE) has one family with two children ages six and eight on the waiting list for child care who were determined not to be at risk. Both of those children were English speaking.

Families Receiving Public Assistance - During the fiscal year ending July 2002, Calaveras CalWORKS case load included 29 two parent families, 107 families with no parents, and 243 reported as "all other" families. Those cases involved 607 children overall, or 8% of the population 14 years and younger. Also, 763 families and 1191 children were actively on Medi-Cal.

Children with Special Needs - In May 2003, the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Eligibility list identified 12 children with an individualized family service plan (IFSP) and 792 children with an individualized education program (IEP). According to HRC Child Care Resources, fifty percent of the providers responding to a 2003 survey stated they cared for children with disabilities. Types of disabilities for children in child care varied, with children frequently having more than one disability.

Child Abuse Cases - The Calaveras Works and Human Services Agency received 806 child abuse reports involving 960 children in 2002. Between May 2002 and April 2003 twenty-three referrals for respite care were received by the Human Resource Council's Child Care Referral program.

Migrant Families with Children - In 2003, no families were identified as migrant families with children in Calaveras County.

External Forces - Among the most important issues impacting child care are potential Realignment of child care from the state to county government, federal reauthorization of child care funding, state budget cuts, Calaveras' School Readiness Initiative and California's commitment to offer Universal Preschool by 2014.

Access to Child Care - Access to child care is a pressing concern for many Calaveras families. At the time of this report, the total number of licensed child care spaces available in Calaveras County was 817 including all Head Start and State Preschool facilities, licensed family child care homes and licensed centers. One Early Head Start facility, 8 Head Start facilities, 8 private child care centers and 41 licensed family child care homes are comprised of these available slots. The only providers offering weekend care are Family Child Care providers.

Affordability of Care - According to the survey of families conducted in 2002, 92% of all respondents had one or two children in care, with the remaining 8% having three or four children in child care. 50% of all respondents indicate cost as the biggest barrier to accessing child care for their family. Although, the cost of child care in Calaveras County falls below the national average of cost of child care in rural areas, many times those lower costs are subsidized by the providers themselves.

Unlicensed Care - Solutions identified by parents to their inability to access care including staying home from work (47%), and family members staying home to care for children (21%). Two families reported having older children stay home from school in order to care for younger siblings. Between May 2002 and April 2003, 95 unlicensed providers including relatives and those certified through Trust Line provided subsidized child care.

Child Care Workforce Issues - In May 2002 Calaveras Child Care Council conducted surveys of child care providers and families needing child care and published a report of findings. In April 2003, HRC Child Care Resources issued a follow up survey to child care providers. Ninety-five percent of providers earn less than $30,000 per year providing child care services.