Laserfiche WebLink
61. - Page 1 of 9 <br />/<�ik <br />Redwood <br />CitylCallifornia <br />Faunded 1867 <br />A,&/ <br />DATE: May 6, 2019 <br />SUBJECT <br />STAFF REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br />Resolution to Support Assembly Bill 452 (Mullin) regarding Child Care Facilities Grant Program <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />1. Adopt a resolution supporting State legislation - Assembly Bill 452 (Mullin): Child Care Facilities <br />Grant. <br />2. Approve mailing letters of support from the City Council to the State Assembly. <br />STRATEGIC INITIATIVE <br />Community for All Ages <br />BACKGROUND <br />In June 2017, the City Council received a presentation on the Child Care Facilities Needs Assessment study. <br />The study quantified the child care/early learning supply gap in Redwood City, and proposed several <br />potential solutions to the shortage of physical facilities for this use. Lack of appropriate, affordable, <br />licensable spaces for new programs is a major barrier, and facilities financing sources are very limited. <br />The California Department of Education administers state child care/preschool subsidy funding for <br />children from birth to age 13 in low-income families, but for the last 20 years has offered only a Facilities <br />Revolving Loan Fund for portable buildings to house those programs. The program is severely <br />underutilized for various reasons, so the balance of $25M -35M is at risk to be used for purposes other <br />than child care facilities. Staff worked with Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Kevin Mullin on two bills in past <br />years to attempt to fix the Loan Fund program. Neither passed but advocacy resulted in minor tweaks to <br />the program. Assemblymember Mullin's current bill AB 452 would convert the loan program to facility <br />grants of up to $1M for construction of new child care centers and small grants for licensed family child <br />care home expansion. Current proposed language would require such facilities to serve at least 50% low- <br />income families. Governor Newsom's January budget proposal includes $245M of Child Care <br />Infrastructure Grant funding, and Assemblyman Mullin is advocating for those funds to be distributed <br />through this new grant program. <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore <br />266 <br />