On kidsdata.org, indicators of early childhood care and education include:

• The percentage of children ages 0-5 whose parents read with them, by weekly frequency
• Single-year estimates of the percentage of children ages 3-5 enrolled in preschool or kindergarten, by county and county group, and—for the U.S. and California—by age and by race/ethnicity; also available are five-year estimates for cities, school districts, and counties with at least 10,000 residents and for legislative districts

Kidsdata.org also provides the following measures of licensed child care in California:*

• The median annual cost of child care in child care centers and family child care homes, by age group
• The percentage of children in working families for whom child care spaces are available
• The number of child care spaces in licensed facilities and the percentage of full-time and part-time spaces available
• The number of licensed child care facilities and the percentage of facilities offering evening, weekend or overnight care
• The percentage of child care requests by age group and the percentage of requests for evening, weekend or overnight care

Experiences during early childhood lay the foundation for future health and well being, and the quality of children's early care and education (ECE) can have significant, lasting effects (1). High-quality ECE programs deliver evidence-based learning opportunities that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate, along with emotionally responsive care that supports the whole child (1). Participation in quality ECE programs before age 5 is associated with improved cognitive, social-emotional, behavioral, and physical health, as well as increased school readiness, academic achievement, and earnings in adulthood (1). Positive outcomes are particularly pronounced for children from low-income families, children of color, and those at risk for academic challenges, such as children with disabilities and those with a first language other than English—groups who often face the greatest barriers to accessing high-quality ECE (1). The benefits of quality ECE extend beyond individuals to society overall, as improved long-term outcomes can reduce the need for more costly interventions later in life (1).

A critically important ECE need for many families is child care. Reliable child care can help families move out of poverty and achieve financial stability by enabling parents to work or pursue education and job training (2). However, finding affordable, high-quality child care is a major challenge for many families, especially in California, and access differs based on geography, income, race/ethnicity, language, and disability status (1, 2). California consistently ranks among the least affordable states for center-based infant care in the nation (2). According to a 2023 report, costs for center-based infant care in California made up an estimated 15% of the median annual income for married couples and 47% for single parents—well above federal recommendations that child care should cost at most 7% of a families’ annual income (2). Unaffordable child care has a large-scale impact on California's economy, with unmet needs for infant and toddler care alone estimated to cost the state $17 billion annually in lost productivity, wages, and tax revenue (3).

California's 35,836 licensed child care centers and family child care homes provided 990,332 child care spaces in 2023—up more than 27,000 spaces from 2021, but still more than 93,000 spaces lower than 2008. According to 2023 estimates, there was one licensed child care space available for every four California children ages 0-12 with working parents; in some counties, availability was lower than one space for every six children.

In 2022, median annual costs for full-time licensed infant care at the county level ranged from $11,500 to $31,500 in child care centers and from $9,900 to $21,200 in family child care homes. Across counties, care for toddlers and preschoolers was generally less expensive, but also showed wide variation, from $7,600 to $24,800 annually in child care centers and from $9,000 to $21,300 in family child care homes.

An estimated 51% of California children ages 3-5 were enrolled in preschool or kindergarten in 2021, down from more than 60% between 2007 and 2019. U.S. figures followed a similar trend over this period. Statewide and nationally, percentages have fallen for each age and race/ethnicity group with data—e.g., the percentage of California four-year-olds enrolled in pre-primary programs dropped by almost a third between 2019 and 2021, from 63% to 45%.

Early childhood is a critical period of biological, cognitive, and social-emotional development (1). The quality of children's environments and experiences during these years has lasting effects (1). High-quality early care and education (ECE), in particular, can have positive, long-term impacts ranging from improved cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning to better health, educational attainment, and earnings later in life (1). Access to high-quality ECE helps prepare children for kindergarten and can close early gaps in academic achievement that often widen with age (1, 2). Leaders increasingly see investments in ECE as a way to reduce educational and health inequities and improve outcomes for historically underserved groups (1). Decades of research show these investments pay off; for example, every $1 invested in high-quality ECE yields an estimated return of about $7 in social benefits (2). ECE also plays a critical role in family financial stability, as many parents need child care in order to work or go to school (3).

However, a significant number of families have difficulty accessing quality ECE, especially in California, due to a lack of program availability and affordability (1, 3). California is consistently ranked among the least affordable states for child care in the nation, and just 11% of the state's eligible children receive subsidized care (4, 5). Although the state has made significant progress in recent years, additional long-term efforts and investments are needed to build a high-quality, accessible, and affordable system, along with a diverse, skilled, and adequately compensated ECE workforce (3).

Policy and program options that could improve ECE include:

• Building and establishing stable funding for a comprehensive ECE system, improving infrastructure and coordination, incentivizing program quality, and prioritizing care for infants, toddlers, and children with the greatest needs (1, 3)
• Increasing substantially the numbers of young children receiving child care subsidies and preschoolers enrolled in the California State Preschool Program, while creating adequate capacity for high-quality, universal preschool for all children ages 3-4, ensuring programs reach the most vulnerable children and are responsive to families’ needs (3, 5, 6)
• Supporting ECE programs in meeting established quality benchmarks, such as staff-child ratios and teacher training, and continuing to strengthen California's ECE quality improvement and standards systems, prioritizing equity and making sure that all publicly-funded programs participate in a continuous improvement process and have access to coaching or other program support (1, 2, 3)
• Continuing efforts to strengthen, diversify, and expand the state's ECE workforce infrastructure, providing clear pathways for career advancement, living wages for providers, and coordinated, standardized, high-quality professional training and support (3)
• Ensuring that all California children receive developmental screenings and have access to quality early intervention and other support services, delivered by a well-trained, diverse workforce; also, improving alignment and transitions between systems for infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and K-12 students, especially students with special needs (3)