Number Of LA County's In-Home Daycare Centers Plummets 34 Percent Since Recession
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — As home prices have skyrocketed in Southern California, the number of in-home daycares has plummeted due to rising costs and stagnant wages.
Over the past eight years, Los Angeles County has seen a 34 percent drop in the number of in-home daycare centers since 2008.
In-home daycare centers are typically run as home businesses, but workers at these facilities earn, on average, $12 an hour.
The care for an infant can run as much as $9,000 a year at one of these centers, which is typically the cheapest option compared to a childcare center or an in-home baby-sitter or nanny. And for families with multiple children, childcare costs easily rivals or outpaces rent.
Because childcare providers in an in-home daycare center can only care for a maximum of 12 children, growth is limited. With the costs of materials, insurance and housing on the rise, and cuts to subsidized childcare, many providers are simply closing up shop.
And with fewer childcare options, the costs of care only goes up for cash-strapped parents fortunate enough to find an opening, and options dwindle even further for parents who work non-traditional hours.
"When there's fewer licensed childcare providers, there's less access to care," said Dr. Susan Savage of Los Angeles County's Child Care Resource Center.