The California Child Care Portfolio

Since 1997, the Network has produced the biennial California Child Care Portfolio as part of its statewide Child Care Data Standardization Project. Every two years, the Network has published reliable information about the amount of licensed child care and the estimated demand for care in each county in the state and statewide. The Portfolio is based on data gathered from the 60 state-funded R&R agencies. The R&Rs obtain the information from more than 45,000 child care providers and from tens of thousands of parents who call local R&Rs daily in their quest to locate appropriate child care.  To supplement this information, data from the U.S. Census, California Department of Finance, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other public and private sources is generally included in the Portfolio. 

This data assists national, state, and local policymakers, business leaders, health care professionals, educators, planning agencies, and child care advocacy organizations to address the child care needs of families in California.