The City Council voted today to use $30 million to provide childcare relief to low-incoming working families in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council President Nury Martinez, who co-authored the proposal with Councilman Curren Price, said the cornerstone of the effort is putting about $10 million toward the Recreation and Parks Department to create 50 Alternative Learning Centers for educational childcare at parks throughout Los Angeles.
“Securing affordable childcare is an enormous burden on low-income working moms during the best of times, but during this COVID-19 pandemic, we have utter desperation as mothers are forced to choose between work or staying home and not having enough money to pay their rent and feed their kids,” Martinez said.
“We can offer a safe place for their children to be while they work and allow their children to do school work and other creative activities.”
The remaining $20 million will help childcare facilities stay open and provide vouchers to working-poor families who need assistance, Martinez said.
The funding is being used from the federal CARES Act and is overseen by the Council’s Ad-Hoc COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment Committee, which Martinez chairs.