Dear Friends,

Struggling to find child care? You are not alone.

Child care is a major crisis in our county and across the country. In San Mateo County, the cost for one infant can easily be over $30,000 a year. We have a severe shortage of infant and school-age care with thousands of parents unable to find or afford spots. Many parents are forced to cut spending, dip into their savings, accrue debt, leave the workforce, or move.

We want to hear from you directly how child care is impacting your life.

We will be hosting four town halls across San Mateo County to collect stories from parents and child care providers. Your voices are essential to better understand your experiences and challenges navigating our current child care system.

We will provide light dinner for attendees and a kids' corner for potty trained children age 2.5 or older, subject to capacity. If you plan to bring a child, please RSVP using the link below.

If you are unable to make it to any of these dates, we would still love to hear from you. Please share your experiences with child care by emailing SMC_SupGauthier@smcgov.org or by completing our brief survey here.

Making child care accessible to every parent in San Mateo County is a top priority for us. We need your help and participation to achieve that goal, so please join us in one of the town halls listed above and make your voices heard. We want San Mateo County to be a place where children and families can truly thrive.

All the best,

Supervisors Jackie Speier & Lisa Gauthier