Empty child care spaces...sign of the changing economy

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Tough economy: Some child care spots open as parents lose jobs 

The ease with which Lauro found a spot would seem to be good news for Kern County, where in the past civic leaders have wrung their hands over inadequate licensed child care supply.

There are early indications the tide is turning, but that could be a mixed blessing. Those openings may be a sign of a weak economy.

Kern County’s unemployment rate was nearly 14 percent in January, according to the California Employment Development Department. That’s compared with 10.6 percent statewide and 8.5 percent nationally.

With fewer people working, there isn’t as much need for child care.

It’s tough to pinpoint the region’s precise child care capacity because commercial and home-based centers open and close every month, but there’s anecdotal evidence that vacancies are on the upswing.

“One of the things that we’ve seen is that some of the child care centers in town that never had openings, who used to have waiting lists, now are starting to have openings,” said Lisa Duncan-Purcell, program manager of Community Connection for Child Care, a local child development and family services agency that operates a child care referral service.