State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson joined parents, teachers, and business leaders last week in opposing further cuts to California’s beleaguered child care system, and called for the state to renew its commitment to quality early learning programs.

The proposed state budget would cut more than $500 million from child care programs statewide, cutting services to as many as 62,000 low-income children.

The new cuts would come on top of nearly $700 million in reductions to these programs over the last four years – a 42 percent reduction in state funding.

“For decades, California has been committed to a simple but powerful idea: Children deserve more than just a safe place to wait while their parents work. They also deserve a chance to learn and to grow. It pains me to say it, but California’s budget crisis has put that commitment to our children in jeopardy,’’ Torlakson said at a news conference at Proyecto Pastoral’s Centro de Alegría (The Joy Center), one of many child care providers threatened by the proposed budget cuts.

Torlakson was joined at the news conference by Assemblymember Mike Eng (D-Alhambra); David Rattray, vice president of the Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce; Rafael Ramirez, director of the Proyecto Pastoral Early Education Centers; Kathleen Malaske-Samu of the Los Angeles County Policy Roundtable for Child Care; and by parents who depend on the program.

“Early child care is key to helping young children develop the linguistic, cognitive, social, and emotional building blocks necessary to succeed in school and in life,” Assemblymember Eng said. “I believe this is especially true for children that come from low-income and working-class families. While I understand that reductions are necessary to balance our $9.2 billion deficit, I believe that slashing our support for child care and development programs is unwise and will ultimately cost the state more in the long run.”  

“California is experiencing a looming budget deficit and is faced with difficult decisions,” said Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President David Rattray. “It is instrumental that through this painful process, we carefully maintain our investment and infrastructure of early childhood education, which is the foundation of a skilled future workforce.”

“At Centro de Alegría we provide our children with high-quality learning experiences that will prepare them academically, socially, and emotionally not just to excel in kindergarten but to succeed in life,” said Rafael Ramírez, Director of Early Education Centers at Proyecto Pastoral. “The proposed budget cuts could shut out half of the children we currently serve, and have a ripple effect on the community who relies on the programs.”

There also is a proposal to reduce the quality of these programs by severing the tie between providers and the California Department of Education (CDE), which provides training, curriculum, guidance, and oversight of quality preschool and child care programs statewide.

“These proposals fly in the face of literally decades of research into the benefits of strong early childhood education programs,” Torlakson said. “The consensus is clear: invest in kids early, and reap the rewards of a better-educated, more productive workforce, and a healthier state, or pay the price later—with more high school dropouts and more young people headed for trouble.

“For decades, our early learning and child care system has been a model for the nation. Teachers are well-trained. The curriculum is carefully developed. And longstanding partnerships exist between the Department of Education and local providers,” Torlakson said. “The proposal to sever that connection and place oversight of these programs in the hands of overworked county welfare offices—with no background, no training, and no support—would be a huge step backward for California. Elmo and Barney are great TV characters, but they’re no substitute for a dedicated teacher and a quality early learning and child care program.”