On Thursday, June 2, family child care providers marched, picket and broke open an oversized piggy bank piñata in front of Governor Gavin Newsom’s office in Downtown Los Angeles urging him to invest some of California’s historic $97 billion budget surplus on stabilizing the state’s child care workforce. 

Just weeks before Governor Newsom and legislators vote on a state budget, family child care providers are urging them to invest in a retirement fund for providers who dedicate years to nurturing and teaching children, yet who must often end their careers in poverty. Access to retirement benefits is critical to maintaining and attracting new talent to the dwindling yet essential child care workforce. Currently, less than a quarter of providers have any retirement savings, compared to half of California’s workers and 95% of union workers.

Governor Newsom has made public commitments to supporting the essential work done by providers, but so far this has not translated to meaningful improvements in providers’ ability to retire with dignity.

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