Ignacio Gávez reflects on a time when a one income household could support a family.
“My kids had the luxury [that] my wife was a stay-at-home mom, but that doesn't seem like a lot of years ago,“ he said.
While recovering from back surgery and taking time off work, Gávez is now able to care for his grandchildren but worries about their care when he returns to work.
“You're always looking for that next thing. It's very seldom that you have that steady stream of either daycare or help with that with the child. You know, it's not like before,” Gávez said.
In San Luis Obispo County, ranked among the top 20 most expensive areas in the nation to raise children, according to a 2023 study conducted by SmartAsset, many families cannot afford to have a parent stay at home.
Amanda Stallings lives in Arroyo Grande and faces this challenge.
“They have to be picked up by 3:00, right? So you have to find something that can accommodate that or work less, you know?“ she said.
Data from the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network shows that annual full-time childcare costs for infants at licensed centers reached $16,000 in 2021. That's more than a year of University of California tuition.
“Usually, on average, for these day programs, they cost a bit around $250 a week for YMCA in the city of Arroyo Grande,” Stallings said.
San Luis Child Care’s Needs Assessment from 2018-2022 shows a shortage of childcare, especially in high-cost communities like Arroyo Grande.
The Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County is seeing the need firsthand.
This organization provides crucial support, offering free and affordable enrichment programs before and after school to parents like Stallings, working in partnership with the Lucia Mar Unified School District and with the help of grant funding.
Priority is given to certain groups such as foster, low-income, and homeless students, and the remaining spots are allocated through a lottery system.
“I don't foresee an end in hiring staff because the more we hire for staffing, the more kids we can serve," said Rebecca Britton, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County. "That is our biggest need, staffing in that sense, so we can serve more kids in our community, in our self-help community."
With government grants and private funding, they care for over 1,000 kids yearly and aim to keep expanding.
As we inch closer to spring break, the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County offers a free five-day camp for Lucia Mar Unified School District students in kindergarten through 8th grade. For more information, visit their website.
