SCR 72: Childcare Awareness Month.

WHEREAS, Childcare costs the United States economy $122 billion annually in lost earnings, employee productivity, depressed revenue, and decreased consumer spending, according to the Council for a Strong America; and

WHEREAS, Child Care Aware of America found that the national average price of childcare for 2023 was between $11,400 and $11,800 per year and that it would take 10 percent of the median income of a married couple, and 32 percent of the median income of a single parent, to afford this national average price; and

WHEREAS, Child Care Aware of America also found that in California the cost of childcare for an infant in 2023 was $16,432 for a home-based childcare provider and $19,547 for a center-based childcare provider and that it would take 15 percent of the median income for a married couple, and 46.7 percent of the median income of a single parent, to afford this state average price; and

WHEREAS, California is one of the top five states with the most expensive childcare costs in the nationthe most expensive nannies, the most expensive babysitters, and the most expensive daycare for infants, according to the 2023 Cost of Care Report; and

WHEREAS, The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found that, in California, inadequate wages are the leading cause for early childhood educators to change jobs or exit the early care and education workforce; and

WHEREAS, When we invest in childcare, employers retain employees, employers see higher productivity, more families become economically stable, more families become housing secure, consumer spending increases, cities become more attractive to young families, and our collective economies grow; and

WHEREAS, Continued investment in universally accessible, full-day childcare would transform our entire economy and our collective quality of life, whether or not we have children of our own; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims May 2025 as Childcare Awareness Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.