Agenda - 11-02-2006-10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY CHILD CARE TASK FORCE BACKGROUND On November 29, 2005, a special briefing for Orange County employers on the impact of child care on today's workforce was sponsored by the Orange County Board of Commissioners and other local organizations. The purpose of this briefing was to begin a community discussion about the current child care resources and the needs of children in our community. The briefing included information about the economic impact of child care on businesses and some of the options currently available to employers. Commissioners Foushee and Carey attended the briefing. At the end of the meeting, Coinniissioner Foushee recommended that the Board of Commssioners appoint a task force with broad representation including employers and charge the group with raising community awareness, encouraging greater financial participation by the private, business and public sectors in providing child care resources, and championing workplace support for children and families. During the BOCC annual retreat and work sessions, the Commissioners further discussed establishing a Task Force to study the various issues related to child care. The Commissioners indicated their intexest and support for this. concept and provided additional input about the purpose of the task force. Based on this information, the Commissioners established, the Orange County Child Care Task Force. The following is the charge given to this task force. • To create community awareness of and support for the benefits of early childhood education • To increase private, business and public financial contributions for child care subsidies or scholarships • To improve workplace support for children and families The Task Force members include individuals representing university, business, child care providers, schools, non-profit, and local government interests. Attachment A is a list of those organizations and persons serving on the task force. INTRODUCTION This report provides a broad picture of the significant contribution that child care subsidies make to working families receiving them, to the children who benefit directly from the care, and to the economic well-being of the county as a whole. It also contains discussion of the issues examined, documents that describe the current resources and current needs for child care subsidies, and a description of the considerable economic advantage for both families and businesses that child care subsidies provide. Finally, this report provides recommendations for the BOCC on continuing to lead the way in providing affordable child care for Orange County residents. WHY IS CHILD CARE NECESSARY? Child care is an important and necessary part of the lives of most working families in Orange County. Parents or guardians may utilize child care for a variety of reasons. The parent(s) may work full or part-time, attend school, have an illness necessitating child supervision, or require a break from the 2