Assemblywoman Bonilla Urges Child-Care Restorations

Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord) this week recommended to rescind reductions made to state child care and pre-school programs in the March budget package.

Bonilla, who chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance, has heard from many child care and preschool providers of the many detrimental impacts to children and working families from cuts, according to a Bonilla news release.

According to documents released by child care and preschool organizations, the combination of three devastating reductions will lead to:

• 75 percent of programs being forced to shut down completely
• 91 percent of programs being forced to close high-quality classrooms.
• 96 percent of programs dis-enrolling families.
• 91 percent of programs such as the California State Preschool program would be laying off staff, ranging in the number of 3 to 150 staff in each site.

 “Because I believe that repaying education debts should be our highest priority and in recognition of the disproportionate and severe cuts that impact our children throughout California, I am proud that my Democratic colleagues on the subcommittee have voted, as part of the revised budget, to recommend to the state Assembly to restore funding to child care programs,” said Bonilla.

If Bonilla and her political allies are able to restore funding to these programs, it would save 70 full-time slots out of about 240, and 46 half-time slots out of 108 at the Cambridge Child Development Center, Bonilla said. At the Concord Childcare Center, the restorations would save six infant care slots and 17 out of 115 full-time slots.