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It’s been 4 years since Alameda County voters passed Measure C, a sales tax measure aimed at increasing access to social services for low-income families.
After years of legal battles, the county can finally use the money it has been collecting, and advocates hope it will provide relief to families struggling with child care costs.
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Episode Transcript
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Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Some much needed relief is coming for parents in Alameda County who are struggling to pay for child care. Earlier this year, a state Supreme Court judge ruled that Measure C, a county sales tax aimed at increasing access to social services for low income families could finally go forward.
Erica Hellerstein: In some ways, it’s kind of a drop in the bucket, but in other ways people will say, yes, it’s a drop in the bucket, but it’s a very significant drop in the bucket.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: In Alameda County, the cost of child care has increased by 64% in the past decade. And advocates hope that money from Measure C can help. Today, how help could finally be on the way for Alameda County parents.
Erica Hellerstein: Karina is a single mom. She lives in Oakland. She has a three year old.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Erica Hellerstein is a senior labor and economics reporter for El Team Pono, a Spanish language news organization covering issues affecting Latino and Mayan immigrant communities in the Bay Area.
Erica Hellerstein: She’s 24 years old and she’s from Guatemala. And she speaks mom, which is a language spoken by indigenous communities in parts of Mexico and Guatemala. So I actually spoke to her through a translator. She works 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.. She sells fruit. She’s a fruit vendor. And as a single mom, she’s she’s grappling with this scenario.
Erica Hellerstein: You know, how do I pay for care and also make a living? A lot of people turn to informal childcare providers so they might not go to a child care center, but they turn to networks of people in their community. Family, friends. Friends of friends, that kind of thing, who provide care. So she’s found someone, but she doesn’t have support to pay for that.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: How much is Karina spending on child care?
Erica Hellerstein: She’s spending a lot. So basically through the fruit selling that she’s doing, she’s earning not much. She’s earning $300 weekly. She’s spending $35 a day for child care. And so when all is said and done, she is not left with much money because she’s spending that five days a week. She only has $125 to support her family and herself on a weekly basis. So, of course, this is Oakland. That’s not much money. So, yeah, she’s really, really financially insecure.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: So, I mean, Crean is the exact kind of person in Alameda County that this measure and Measure C, which we’re talking about today, is supposed to help. What exactly is Measure C and what was the thinking behind it?
Erica Hellerstein: Measure C is a half percent sales tax. And it would expand access to subsidized child care, which is available either as a voucher, so you get a voucher to go to daycare and use that money there, or you get a spot in a licensed or child care center that has special spots for subsidies.
Erica Hellerstein: And currently, there’s a huge gulf between the number of families that are eligible or the kids that are eligible for a subsidy and the number of subsidies available to low income families. The most recent data available from 2021 said there’s almost 7000 kids that are currently on the waiting list for a subsidy and that there’s a 90% unmet need.
Erica Hellerstein: So the people who are eligible don’t have access. So Measure C is really intended to address that, and it’s expected to raise about $150 million annually and infuse it into this system for 20 years.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: So Measure C is trying to close this gap of the need for child care, it sounds like in Alameda County who is pushing for this?
Erica Hellerstein: So people have been talking about this for a long time. This was really driven by this very grassroots coalition of activists and advocates. And they created this organization called Parent Voices. It’s a statewide organization, but they have a very powerful Oakland chapter.
Erica Hellerstein: And the Oakland chapter really pushed for Measure C, They were absolutely a driving force behind this gathering signatures and just really pushing for this, not just as a legislative matter, but to be something that people are really talking about.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: It does strike me. This measure passed in 2020, right? Yes. But why hasn’t anyone been reaping the benefits of it yet?
Erica Hellerstein: Well, this measure did pass in 2020, but the reason we’re talking about it today really is because for years it was held up in court. The measure was challenged by the Alameda County Taxpayers Association, and it’s been going through the, you know, back and forth of the courts ever since.
Erica Hellerstein: You know, the sales tax, the money from that did start to be collected. But during this time of back and forth in the court system, it was held in escrow, all those funds. In April, the California Supreme Court basically upheld Measure C said this.
Erica Hellerstein: You know, we’re we’re done here. We’re done having this back and forth and measures he can go into effect, which meant all of these funds that that had been collected and held in escrow finally could be put out into the world to support families. So there has been this very long wait.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Yeah. So now this money is hopefully going to be rolling out soon. What could this mean for parents? What are all the different ways that this money could be used?
Erica Hellerstein: I think the primary thing relevant to what we’re talking about is just that subsidy expansion. So if you meet these income eligibility limits, these thresholds that maybe instead of waiting on, you know, going to agencies across the county and trying to figure out, can I get a spot, can I not being put on all these different waiting lists, maybe waiting for years. I talked to one woman in the North Bay.
Erica Hellerstein: She was on a waiting list for a subsidy for ten years for her kid. So by the time, you know, it was all said and done, her kid went from 2 to 12. She didn’t need it anymore. Right. But during that time, she dropped out of school to care for her kid full time.
Erica Hellerstein: She really put her career on hold. So I think she’s an example of somebody who, if the funds could get there sooner, maybe she wouldn’t have to redirect her whole trajectory around this issue.
Erica Hellerstein: Another part of Measure C that I neglected to mention is it would also use some of those funds to increase the the pay for child care providers. It’s a aging workforce largely made up of women of color, and they don’t earn a lot of money. I think they currently earn around $15 an hour in Alameda County, roughly. You know, they’re struggling themselves to keep up with all these rising costs we’re talking about.
Erica Hellerstein: I’ve asked this question like to the agency that’s administering this like. What’s next when her family’s going to see this money? When is someone like Karina going to get the support? And it’s still kind of a you know, we can’t really answer that. We’re still figuring out.
Erica Hellerstein: They’re currently conducting surveys across the county to try to, you know, understand the sort of picture and the need better. And so there’s a lot of steps that need to be taken. And I think in the coming months, we’ll see a clear picture of what this plan will look like and hopefully a timeline.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: So a lot of work.
Erica Hellerstein: Lots of work.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Work still needs to be done before people see money in their pockets. But I mean, Erica, how big of a deal do you think this is? Like how big of a dent do you think you can make in this problem? We were talking about at the beginning of child care costs in Alameda County.
Erica Hellerstein: You know, in some ways it’s kind of a drop in the bucket, right? But in other ways, people will say, yes, it’s a drop in the bucket, but it’s a very significant drop in the bucket. I think the agency administering this said, you know, they expect around 100,000 families to benefit from this over the next few years.
Erica Hellerstein: So that’s not nothing. But there is this massive need across the state. The estimate is that there’s something like 2 million families across California that are eligible for subsidies and they’re not getting them.
Erica Hellerstein: I think what Alameda County actually represents as creative local policymaking to address an issue, one of the organizers really pushing for measures, he said, you know, we’ve actually heard from people in other counties in California who want to replicate what we just did. So they’re also recognizing that they’re not getting enough from the state.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: What challenges are ahead for the implementation of Measure C? It sounds like it’s going to take a while to really know when or how soon parents are going to see this money. But what challenges are ahead for the county and really rolling this out.
Erica Hellerstein: I wish I knew the answer to what it would look like because even as I was discussing child care needs with, you know, with families and having interviews with folks and we were discussing stuff and then Measure C comes up, we’re talking about policy. They asked me a bunch of questions.
Erica Hellerstein: I’m like, I don’t know the answer to that. So I think, you know, the the primary thing is just figuring out what this is going to look like. You know, I think another question that I think Kareena story in some way encapsulates as well is some of the people who are most in need of this, you know, low income single parents, homeless families as well, or families who are currently struggling to find housing security and families.
Erica Hellerstein: Speakers, non-English speakers, Yeah, families who are disconnected altogether from social services, which does describe Karina. She had no idea that she could get support, that there is support, you know, making sure that this support gets to the people most in need will be a challenge as well.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, Erica, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it.
Erica Hellerstein: Thanks so much for having me.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: That was Erica Hellerstein, a senior Labor and economics reporter for LTI Pinole, a Spanish language news organization covering issues affecting Latino and Mayan immigrant communities in the Bay Area. We’re going to leave you a link to Erica’s story on Measure C for Latin Bono in our shownotes.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: This 26 minute conversation with Erica was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. It was produced and scored by me. The Bay is a production of listeners supported KQED in San Francisco. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks for listening. Peace.