Space for high-quality child care for babies!

South Bay

Babies are born with unlimited potential. However, 87 out of every 100 babies who need childcare do not have a licensed place in LA County. These babies are our society’s next generation of parents, workers, and leaders. We can’t afford to squander the potential of a single child—nor is it acceptable that so many have barriers. When babies do not have the support they need to thrive, their development suffers which leads to lifelong consequences. Long Beach Day Nursery’s West Branch is located in the 90813 zip-code, which is considered one of the most impoverished in the city, plagued with high poverty, crime and violence. 32% of the population lives in poverty. Notwithstanding the challenges, many working families call this area home. This includes 3,877 children ages 0-5 with working parents earning below 70% of the state median income, of which half are ages 0-3. Despite this high number of children, the childcare capacity is bleak with insufficient space available.

Founded in 1912, Long Beach Day Nursery (LBDN) is always seeking out new ways to improve or expand upon our work on behalf of working families. In response to the lack of child care, LBDN is going to significantly expand services to our youngest children in the 90813-zip code. Through a 4-phase approach we will bring infant care to the West Branch for the first time in our 108-year history and also expand access for toddler and preschool aged children. Expansion will provide new space for 27 infants, increase Toddler spaces to from 12 to 40 and our Preschool to from 57 to 64 for a nearly doubled capacity of 131 children! Expansion will include new construction to accommodate 3 new classrooms, early intervention, and training space for families all on our current campus. It is critical to note that the 4-phase approach allows us to continue to provide our much-needed services for free or at low cost, while undertaking this effort. All enrolled children receive LBDN’s high quality early care and education which nurtures their social, emotional, physical, linguistic and intellectual development. We partner with families, provide individualized attention, offer a free on-site early intervention program, healthy, balanced breakfast, lunch and snacks daily and early literacy, art, music, social emotional and STEM curriculum. Specifically, this LA 2050 2021 opportunity will support Expansion Phase 2 through the construction of 2 new classrooms.

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

This initiative will expand quality programming and the number of children we serve. Upon completion we will have doubled our capacity! When children graduate from LBDN we are confident the high-quality early education received within our program has prepared them for success in kindergarten and beyond. For the family, quality childcare provides stability that allows for economic success and growth of working parents. When paired with a comprehensive family engagement approach quality care also increases parenting skills and knowledge. High-quality childcare programs like LBDN are proven to raise academic performance and give children the skills and tools to be successful and contribute to society. Programs like LBDN’s have been proven to lead to lower crime rates, youth who are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and are 2.5 times more likely to continue on to higher education. Unemployment rates, income inequality, prevalence of trauma, and homelessness decreases.

LBDN measures expansion success by completing each phase and expanding enrollment for young children. The already completed Phase 1 has allowed us to serve 12 newly enrolled toddlers. LBDN’s ultimate desired impact is that students succeed in school, lead healthy lives and become productive members of society. Our main goal is that all students receive quality early care and education and graduate LBDN kindergarten-ready. LBDN's overall program quality is measured through numerous annual assessments which include: a self-evaluation with the California Department of Education (CDE) followed with an onsite review, classroom environmental assessments, and parent and staff surveys. Both our West and East Branches are Nationally Accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which requires intense ongoing self-evaluation, the highest industry standards, and an on-site evaluation and observation from a trained NAEYC program assessor.