How much does child care, in a home daycare cost in california?

Question

I know many home daycares have different fees, but what is the most reasonable cost in California?

Answer 1

I live in CA in the Mojave Desert. I have 2 kids.. 9 years and 1 years old. My babysitter charges $135.00 / wk for my 1 year old for full time and my 9 year old is only there for 2 hours after school so I pay her $30.00 / wk to watch her. Fees are higher the younger the child and in more expensive areas. The state will also pay day care if you qualify. Contact Community Connections for Child Care.

Answer 2

It really depends on what part of CA you are in. I pay $130 a week full time and that includes 2 meals and 3 snacks. It is a small family daycare, and there is 1 full time provider, and an additional helper who come for half of the day. Both are licensed and cleared with the department of Justice. I found this provider after months of looking, and tons of visits to places that we did not feel comfortable with.

They watch sesame street for 30 minutes and no other TV all day. She has her teaching credentials and has a pre-school curriculum that she follows every day. My son loves it, and since there are only 4 kids all his age it is a great environment. It took months to find it so don't give up, and take the time to find the right fit.

Answer 3

We live in Los Angeles, and paid $135 a week for our son at 14 months. You didn't ask this, but we changed to a small "pre-school" type facility because of issues with the home daycare. Here are a couple qualifiers I wish I'd thought of:

1. If there is only one caregiver, what happens when she is ill or her kids are ill? (We had to miss work both when our son was sick AND when the caregiver or her daughter was ill).

2. Is there an outside play area? The first few months, they took trips to the park, but I think it got to be too much for the caregiver to handle. She started relying on videos way too much.

I'm certainly not bashing home daycares, but I found a small preschool to be much better. It's about 20 kids total, and they are broken up by age into three "classes". He still gets the personal attention, but there is a giant outdoor playground, flexible hours, and backup staff in case of illness. We pay $550 a month.

Answer 4

well california is one of the most expensive staes there is... but luckly for us there is alot of help out here bye state aid so if your low income they will base the cost off your income and if your not than well you would be screwed......