The San Francisco County Child Care Subsidy Pilot Project (the Pilot), implemented in September 2005, was introduced as a means to explore solutions to the problems that the state’s “one-size-fits-all” child care subsidy system presents to high cost counties. The Pilot has allowed San Francisco County to address two concerns: first, that families barely earning enough to meet the high costs of living in the county were nevertheless considered too high income to qualify for child care subsidies; and second, that the state reimbursement rates for child care providers authorized under Title 5 of California’s Code of Regulations (Title 5 providers) were so low that contractors could not cover their costs, and therefore, were unable to utilize their full allocation of state and federal child care and child development funds. At the start of FY 16/17, San Francisco County was authorized to implement the plan indefinitely.
This brief contains information on the efficacy of the Pilot components in meeting the needs of children and families in San Francisco. This evaluation is structured around four main goals of the pilot.
