To establish the San Mateo County Childcare Central Initiative, the Board of Supervisors is considering allocating $10 million that will go toward increasing access to affordable childcare, employment opportunities and transparency.
Supervisors Jackie Speier and Lisa Gauthier have taken what they’ve learned about the difficulties families face when seeking childcare over the course of multiple town hall meetings and are now proposing a significant investment on the county’s behalf toward improving the landscape.
Many families are struggling to find and afford childcare that meets their family’s needs, according to a staff report.
“Without appropriate childcare, residents, mostly women, miss out on employment and educational opportunities, or leave the region altogether, which in turn negatively impacts the economy,” the staff report said.
At the board’s upcoming meeting Tuesday, June 9, a resolution will be considered to hire a company to create a countywide public-facing childcare navigation technology as well as launch a multisource provider payment program for childcare.
The navigation technology — referred to SMC Childcare Hub — would serve as a one-stop shop for families seeking quality care for their children aged 0-12. The site would include both subsidized and private pay options, as well as a range of styles such as center-based programs, family home care, nanny care and before and after-school options, according to a staff report.
The portal would include information on state licensing records and eligibility determination, intake process, subsidy routing and document management for families using subsidy programs.
Recommended for you
Beyond consolidating childcare services into one portal, the resolution also proposes to establish a multisource provider payment model, commonly referred to as TriShare. This model allows the cost of childcare to be shared among a government agency, an employer and a qualifying employee.
“Through the TriShare Pilot program, the county will offer the opportunity for local employers to support their eligible employees with childcare expenses by matching employer contributions and providing program administration,” the staff report said.
The county itself would participate in the program as an employee on behalf of county employees, the staff report said. The resolution would allocate $8,865,000 to the SMC TriShare program.
A needs assessment conducted in 2025 identified a shortage of 1,402 infant childcare spaces and 7,501 spaces for children ages 5 and up across the county, according to a staff report.
The assessment also found that the biggest challenges families face when seeking childcare is affordability, the ability to enroll right away, and identifying a program with a desired schedule.
The Board of Supervisors will consider the item at its meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 9.
Doubling down on income redistribution, how immoral to steal money from hard working, responsible families and giving it to irresponsible families and of course the government. Perhaps families should look into the financial costs of raising a family prior to bearing children and finding out they can’t afford children. When I entered kindergarten, my sister and my twin brother were quite capable of walking home on our own, and taking care of ourselves. No afterschool care needed.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(2) comments
It's sbout time. Great idea!
Doubling down on income redistribution, how immoral to steal money from hard working, responsible families and giving it to irresponsible families and of course the government. Perhaps families should look into the financial costs of raising a family prior to bearing children and finding out they can’t afford children. When I entered kindergarten, my sister and my twin brother were quite capable of walking home on our own, and taking care of ourselves. No afterschool care needed.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.