JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The cost and availability of child care are major concerns for many Jacksonville residents, and the Mayor’s Office has launched a task force to address the issue.
The Child Care Solutions Task Force met for the first time Wednesday afternoon at City Hall as the members took a deeper look at the problem.
According to city research, families in Jacksonville pay an average of $9,516 a year for child care — the second highest rate among major cities in Florida.
Officials say the city also has fewer child care facilities compared to the number of children, with roughly 36% more children than working adults, and about 35% of households led by single parents.
Now, it’s up to the newly formed task force to develop recommendations to improve the city’s response to these real-world issues, which trickle down to affect small businesses and the regional economy.
Izella Beckford, owner of God’s Patch Childcare & Learning Center on the Westside, sees the challenges first-hand.
She feels a solution is “being there for us as individuals, owners, providers, so we can be able to pay our employees more.”
But Beckford also knows that the issue begins in homes.
“I feel like they should step in more to give the parents more, and don’t go by their income where it’s so high where they’re not eligible to receive the vouchers, because most parents cannot afford centers, can’t afford child care because of how much it costs,” Beckford explained.
The task force includes a coalition of about 25 child care experts, medical professionals, and working parents (see full list of members below).
The members will break into five working groups to address:
- Access & Supply
- Affordability & Financing
- Quality & Workforce
- Family Navigation & Supports
- Employer & Ecosystem Partnerships
The working groups will then bring their findings to the whole task force, which will make recommendations to Mayor Donna Deegan on actionable long-term solutions, which will focus on improving access, affordability and quality of child care, and addressing child care workforce concerns.
The task force plans to meet every two weeks over the next four months to gather data, hear from parents and providers, and develop recommendations. City officials will join monthly check-ins to track progress.
Once the report is complete, it will be presented to Deegan for approval before moving to the city government for potential action.
List of task force members:
- Betty Burney, Child Care Center Consultant
- Angel Carro, Early Learning Coalition of Duval
- Martha Cox, Episcopal Children’s Services
- Cheryl Fountain, Early Learning Department, UNF
- David Garfunkel, Jacksonville Civic Council
- Gregory Grant, JSEB Administrator, COJ
- Coretta Hill, COO, United Way NE Florida
- Faye Johnson, CEO, NE Florida Healthy Start Coalition
- Lucy Klausner, Episcopal Children’s Services
- Isaiah Oliver, Community Foundation of NE Florida
- Akilah Pope, Medical Director, DOH Duval
- Dr. Natalya Roby, CEO, Episcopal Children’s Services
- Sara Smith, Family Support Services
- Cheryl Taylor, CEO, Career Source NE Florida
- Tawanda Washington, DOH Duval
- Kortney Wesley, Dir. Government Affairs, DCPS
- Yasmina White, Parent Leader
- Colleen Wilson, Jacksonville University
- Christine Wolfe, Family Support Services
- ReShawndia and Dontorien Mitchell, Mitchell Learning Academy