LA women built a child-care haven on their block

When the seven-beat rhythm of “shave and a haircut, two bits” resounds in the mornings on a car horn through this South LA neighborhood, Jackie Jackson or Guadalupe Andrade is likely behind the wheel, child-care providers who live on a one-block stretch of 115th Street. The cheerful honk is a familiar greeting among parents, community members and these local child-care workers on their pick-up routes. At day’s end, the children will be dropped off at their doorstep, an invaluable service to working parents.

In an effort born of their determination to keep their businesses afloat while serving their neighbours, a tight-knit group of child-care providers stands as an unusual, grassroots example of resilience amid a time of struggle for the child-care industry, which is beset by the high cost of providing their service, staff shortages and competition with transitional kindergarten to enroll 4-year-olds.

Jackson and the three other child-care workers who operate on 115th Street lean on one another to keep their child-care homes open. Their secret? They identified the pain points of parents and focus on addressing those needs — offering door-to-door transportation, tailoring support services to specific family concerns and keeping costs down by sharing resources. They often help families with food and have taken on a civic activist role when needed.

The day-care providers of 115th Street call themselves “the learning village” and swap furniture and toys, send photos of activities they’ve developed and advise each other on anything from selecting kid-friendly cups to dealing with difficult behavior. Together, they serve 60 children. “We all have things to share,” Jackson said. “Behaviour, transportation — everything you want to name. We all have it to share because we all try to make a difference. Support networks are vital for child-care providers, who can often feel isolated running their small businesses, said Donna Sneeringer, president of the Child Care Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps connect families in Southern California with child care and subsidies. Collaborative, peer-based support can help them stay in business longer and provide stable care to the community, she said.

“They become a fixture of that neighbourhood and that community,” Sneeringer said. “It can be a wonderful support, both to them but also to all the families, because it makes the service richer and it helps build community more broadly.” Though formal state-funded networks of child-care providers do exist in California, the self-styled providers of 115th Street illustrate how vital such connections can be, Sneeringer said.

Since Jackson first opened Touched by an Angel Child Care nearly 25 years ago, she’s seen 12 providers come and go — many of whom she recruited herself. Four providers currently operate on the 700 block of 115th Street.

Jackson’s pinkish-colored home stands at the center, a painting of a young boy and girl flying kites decorating the front window. To her right is an orange house that’s been home to Andrade Family Child Care since 2002. Next is a yellow home with brown trim, Perez Family Child Care that opened in 2022. Marquez Family Child Care, in operation since 2023, is across the street.

The four licensed family child-care facilities are located in homes either owned by the operator or a family member. The families of most children enrolled receive state and local subsidies and were referred through programs such as Crystal Stairs and Girls Club of Los Angeles — or they found out about 115th Street via word of mouth. Jackson and Andrade also connect with families through Early Head Start, a partnership which Perez also hopes to establish.

On days when Eunise Perez has fewer kids in her care, her crew of little ones occasionally take a field trip to Andrade’s day care for joint activities. At Halloween, the four providers gather for daytime trick-or-treating. Santa visits with toys at a Christmas party hosted by Jackson.

Tribune News Service