San Francisco Sun

On May 31, 2024, Mayor London N. Breed announced proposed budget investments aimed at expanding San Francisco's early child care and education efforts to reach more families. In collaboration with Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Mayor Breed established the Department of Early Childhood (DEC) to implement strategies from her Children and Family Recovery Plan. These strategies have doubled the number of children receiving subsidies for early care and education annually from 6,000 to 12,000 over five years, cut the waitlist for subsidized care by 72%, built or renovated over 40 facilities citywide, and increased salaries for more than 2,500 educators.

The new budget aims to support over 25,000 San Franciscan families with young children under six years old. It includes a pilot program offering evening and weekend childcare hours for families with non-traditional work schedules. The budget also proposes infrastructure improvements to ensure safe and equipped facilities and bolsters programs to recruit and retain early educators.

"Families and kids can’t wait. San Francisco is committed to supporting our families and children by providing a strong foundation for early childhood services,” said Mayor Breed. “Supervisor Melgar has been a leader and a strong partner in the push to make early child care and education affordable for more families in San Francisco."

Supervisor Myrna Melgar added, "The promise of Baby Prop C is to build out a truly universal early care and education system in San Francisco. With this expansion, we are getting one step closer by bringing more middle-income families into the subsidized network."

The proposed $120 million investment will expand eligibility for financial support for early learning to include families earning up to 150% of the Area Median Income (AMI), approximately $224,800 for a family of four. Families making under 110% AMI will continue receiving full support free of charge within DEC’s Early Learning San Francisco network.

Ingrid Mezquita, DEC Executive Director, emphasized that "All San Francisco families deserve access to amazing early care and education for their young children." Lila Nelson from SF Parent Coalition noted that expanding subsidized child care can benefit children's academic progress throughout their lives while reducing learning disparities.

Yensing Sihapanya from Family Connections Center stated that "Expanding income eligibility for child care subsidies will support hundreds of families to stay in San Francisco," contributing to the city's economic recovery.

These investments are part of Mayor Breed’s FY 2024-2026 Budget which will be submitted by June's beginning to the Board of Supervisors for review. This expansion is funded by Proposition C (“Baby C”), a commercial rent tax generating dedicated funding approved by voters in 2018.

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