HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Review of Childcare in Downtown DublinSTAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
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Agenda Item 8.1
DATE:August 16, 2022
TO:Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM:Linda Smith, City Manager
SUBJECT:Review of Childcare in Downtown Dublin Prepared by:John Stefanski,Assistant to the City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:The City Council will receive a report reviewing childcare within the City and in the Downtown. This item is in response to an Item 9 request by the City Council for information regarding childcare, particularly for those families living in affordable units in the Downtown area.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:Receive the report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:None.
DESCRIPTION:This item is in response to an Item 9 request by the City Council for information regarding childcare in the Downtown neighborhood. BackgroundThe State of California Department of Social Services is responsible for licensing and regulating childcare facilities. Childcare is generally provided in licensed Family Childcare Homes or in licensed Childcare Centers (licensed childcare providers). Family Childcare Homes include both Small Family (up to eight children) and Large Family (up to 14 children). Childcare Centers include Infant Centers, Day Care Centers, and School Age Day Care Centers (Extended Day ChildCare). Data and Information provided in this report was provided by the Department of Social Services and details only those licensed childcare facilities. Within the City there are 109 licensed childcare providers whose services include a mix of either Infant Care, Day Care Centers, and School Age Day Care Centers/Extended Day Child Care (EDCC)
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or are Small Home Childcare Providers. In total, these providers are licensed to accommodate 3,596 children, and are mostly concentrated west of Hacienda Drive, except for Small Home Providers which are predominately located east of Hacienda Drive.Table 1: Citywide Childcare Services by Location1Childcare Services East of Hacienda West of HaciendaDay Care Center 3 19Infant Center 0 6School Age Day Care Center 5 5Small Family Providers 40 31Total Providers 48 61Total Licensed Capacity 1,516 2,080The availability of childcare providers located west of Hacienda Drive in Downtown Dublin, narrows considerably, however several additional options exist within a half-mile radius of the Downtown Dublin boundary lines: Table 2: Downtown Childcare Services
2Childcare Services Downtown Dublin Downtown PlusHalf-Mile Radius Day Care Center 6 6Infant Center 3 2School Age Day Care Center 1 2Small Family Providers 1 7Total Providers 11 17Total Licensed Capacity 575 1,629Barriers to Accessing ChildcareIn preparation of this item, Staff met with representatives from Hively, a Childcare Resource and Referral Agency, to better understand childcare access in Dublin. From Hively’s perspective, childcare is generally available in Dublin. It is their view that the challenge facing families is the lack of available transportation to afterschool childcare for children not enrolled in onsiteextended care school programs. Data from Hively shows that there are only five childcare providers in the City that provide transportation for children, two of which are in Downtown Dublin. Furthermore, demand for extended care programs typically exceeds supply, with all eight offered in Dublin through Extended Day Child Care (EDCC), maintaining waitlists. EDCC does not give priority enrollment to the children of low-income parents; “enrollment eligibility” is granted for siblings of students that are currently enrolled or children of DUSD district employees, and remaining enrollment is handled through a lottery system. Parents of children not in EDCC or programs with transportation must make separate arrangements to have their children transported to their off-site childcare.
1 Data provided by the California State Department of Social Services.
2 Data provided by the California State Department of Social Services.
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DUSD has partnered with LAVTA to provide dedicated bus service to middle and high schools in Dublin, with four regular routes offered during the school year. LAVTA does not offer transit options for elementary-school-aged children. Support for Low-Income Dublin FamiliesHively assists families in Dublin with finding childcare either through providing childcare referrals or connecting families with vouchers which help pay for Hively registered childcare providers. Of the 109 providers in the City, 72 are registered with Hively. Eighty-three Dublin children currently receive childcare vouchers. The Voucher Program automatically enrolls parents who are on CalWORKs; however, for parents not on CalWORKs, it takes Hively anywhere between two and four weeks to process voucher applications. Application processing priority is also given to children who are from lower-income homes, are at-risk or foster youth, or are involved in Child Protective Services.In recent years, funding for childcare has increased substantially from all levels of government,boosting the capacity of childcare providers. Recently, the State expanded the California Alternative Payment Program (i.e., childcare vouchers) to include essential workers, thereby allowing for families who are over the income qualifications to take advantage of the program. Additional State grants for capacity building of childcare providers have also become more readily available. DiscussionForecasting Future Childcare Demand in the DowntownDublin Unified School District utilizes yield rates per residential developments to forecast the number of students generated per housing unit. In the Downtown plan area, there is anticipated to be between 2,500-3,000 units based on the updated plans for the Housing Element. Currently, there are five multi-family projects developed in Downtown Dublin, of which only one is considered affordable (Valor Crossing – 66 units). It is anticipated that two additional affordable projects will be constructed in the next two to three years (Amador Station/Bridge Housing and Regional Street), adding 422 units for very low-, low- and moderate-income households.Assuming these parameters, the estimated TK through Grade 8 student yield from downtown residential development is 584 students, of which 185 would be considered low income. Furthermore, Staff estimates that 439 of these students will be in grades TK-5, 134 of which would be low income. Staff is unable to estimate the total number of children under this age group due to unavailable Census data. Table 3 & 4 below details this further. Table 3: Student Yield Estimates at Neighborhood BuildoutDevelopmentUnitsTotal Student Yield TK-5 Student Yield 6-8 Student YieldHigh Density Yield Rate 0.133 0.036Connolly Station 309 52 41 11Aster313534211
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Valor Crossing 66 11 9 2The Perch 60 10 8 2Elegance35000Avalon West 499 113 79 34Regional Street 114 0 0 0Amador Station/Bridge Housing 308 141 99 42Remaining Downtown Units 1,209 204 161 44Total584439146Table 4: Low Income Student Yield Estimatesat Neighborhood BuildoutDevelopmentAffordable Units Total Student Yield TK-5 Student Yield 6-8 Student YieldHigh Density Yield Rate 0.133 0.036Connolly Station 0 0 0 0Aster103962Valor Crossing 66 11 9 2The Perch 0 0 0 0Elegance0000Avalon West 0 0 0 0Regional Street 0 0 0 0Amador Station/Bridge Housing 308 141 99 42Remaining Downtown Units 151 26 20 5Total18513451These calculations assume that (1) Elegance and Regional Street are senior housing developments and will not generate students; (2) the remaining downtown unit count is based off of 2,913 units; and (3) the Aster project is 33% affordable to account for its transition to “Middle-Income” housing; (4) Amador Station and Avalon West are based off of DUSD development specific student generation calculations, from which staff extrapolated the Grades TK-5 and 6-8 breakdowns. Policy Considerations and OpportunitiesHistorically, the City has relied on a Semi-Public Facilities Policy (Resolution 21-04) which established a standard for the provision of Semi-Public designated land within new developmentprovided by a General Plan Amendment. The Policy requires that:“new residential development subject to the policy shall strive to provide sites for Semi-Public Facilities land uses at a rate of 1 acre (net) per 1,000 residents. In practice, General Plan and Specific Plan Amendment applications shall strive to provide .5 acres of land designated for Public/Semi-Public Facilities per 150 units of single-family density and/or .5 acres of land designated Public/Semi Public facilities per 250 units of medium density or greater density or increments and combinations thereof.”
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As a result of implementing the Policy in 2004, the City was able to guide the development of the Childcare Center at Emerald Vista, Springfield Montessori School, and the School of Imagination on properties designated as Public/Semi-Public. With an anticipated demand of over 400 new children in grades TK-5 in the Downtown, Staff estimates that at least three childcare providers with a capacity of 80-100 children each would be required to meet this increased demand. Currently, the private market is responding to citywidedemand with two childcare facilities under construction in the City and one planning application to construct a daycare facility in the Downtown.However, the City could spur the development of additional childcare facilities in the Downtown through the Community Benefit Agreement process in working with potential developers to dedicate land for, construct, or provide funding for new childcare facilities. The City could also supplement these efforts with a new grant program to assist with the capital costs associated with developing new childcare centers. Transportation for afterschool childcare would still require a solution, which could be achieved through partnerships with LAVTA and potential City subsidy.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:None.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:The City Council Agenda was posted.
ATTACHMENTS:None.
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