The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego will help ease child-care costs for city employees

Emily Alvarenga, The San Diego Union-Tribune

To help its employees with the cost of child care, San Diego is launching a pilot program that will subsidize some costs for workers with children 12 and under.

The city contracted with TOOTRiS, a San Diego tech startup that connects parents and child-care providers, to create its pilot program, which starting in September will allocate anywhere from $100 to $1,000 in monthly child-care benefits to eligible city employees.

“We know the high cost of quality child care can create a financial burden for families,” Mayor Todd Gloria said, “By supporting our employees with this child-care benefit, they can confidently come to work every day and continue providing the services San Diegans depend on.”

A YMCA survey in 2021 found that nearly 190,000 children under 12 in San Diego who need child care lack it. And a University of San Diego report found the child-care spots that are available are not affordable for many families, costing anywhere from $12,900 to $19,500 a year.

A growing number of local government and law enforcement agencies, many struggling with a rash of vacancies, are offering benefits such as child care and housing to help hire and retain workers.

Gloria says the pilot program will help the city better understand the child care needs across its 12,000-person workforce.

In 2021, the first comprehensive pay equity study of San Diego’s city workforce found that women earn 17.6 percent less than men.

The study says the gaps in pay are primarily caused by factors other than intentional bias — including the impacts of parenthood, such as working less overtime or pursuing fewer higher-paying jobs.

Since then, the city’s Office of Child and Youth Success, which launched last year as the first city agency focused on challenges facing youth, has been working to find ways to close that disparity gap, according to Executive Director Andrea O’Hara.

Last fall, a needs assessment of more than 250 city employees found that 50 percent said they used child-care services and another 24 percent said they don’t need child care now, but will in the future.

Additionally, 56 percent said they would consider enrolling in a continuing education or professional development program to offset the cost of child care.

“So not only is this benefit great for recruitment and retention for city employees, but also will help current employees that want to continue advancing,” O’Hara said.

To be eligible to participate in the city’s municipal child care benefit pilot program, city employees must have an individual base gross income of less than $95,350 per year, work full-time or work at least 20 hours per week while also enrolled in a training or higher education program.

Benefit payments may range from $100 to $1,000, per dependent, depending on the number of employees who apply and based on family need factors, such as permanent housing status, military or veteran status, whether the family is fostering a child, or if the child has an individual education plan or disability.

Once applications are reviewed and approved by the city, child-care benefit payments will be dispersed directly to child-care providers monthly via the TOOTRiS platform, starting in September.

Employees can use a desktop or mobile app to track real-time availability for full-time or drop-in slots, as well as summer camps, before or after-school programs, extracurriculars, special needs, tutoring or in-home babysitters.

Eligibility and needs factors were modeled after other subsidized child-care programs implemented in the state.

The Sheriff’s Department also partnered with TOOTRiS this month to allow deputies and non-sworn department staff access its online platform, where they can search, vet and enroll in affordable child care programs at nearly 4,000 licensed child care centers and in-home care providers across the county.

The pilot program was funded through a $2 million federal community project grant secured by Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, who represents the 51st Congressional District.

“The cost of child care shouldn’t prevent parents from going back to work and advancing their careers — but that’s the case for so many San Diegans, including many of the amazing employees who keep our city running,” Jacobs said.

The city will also be able to use the TOOTRiS platform to disperse and track employees’ child-care benefit payments, providing a high level of transparency and full accountability, said TOOTRiS founder and CEO Alessandra Lezama.

“Supporting San Diego’s city employees with child care benefits — especially those with the most need — makes strong fiscal sense,” Lezama said. “By giving its working parents direct access to licensed child care, no matter the time of day, or day of the week their shifts fall, the city of San Diego led by Mayor Todd Gloria is empowering its workforce and their families and leading the way for other employers in our region to follow.”

The pilot program is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to support its workforce by offering competitive benefits.

Last month, Gloria also signed a parental leave benefits package that included doubling leave for full-time workers from four to eight weeks.

The city is also working to adapt dozens of city properties for use hosting child-care facilities to serve city workers and residents.

In November, San Diego voters approved a ballot measure that will allow child care facilities in public parks.

The city is currently working with providers and visiting each site to figure out how to determine which are suitable, as well as searching for funding opportunities to complete site improvements.

The city hopes the pilot program can be a model for other organizations and municipalities to consider investing in their employees.

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