Child Care: For Many, the Real Work is Only Beginning.

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And that includes L.A. County’s hundreds of child care centers and education facilities — with an estimated 503 of them impacted by the massive Palisades and Eaton fires.

“We’re still assessing the loss,” said Cristina Alvarado, executive director of Child Care Alliance Los Angeles, a partnership, formed in 1997, that provides services for thousands of families and child care providers across the county. “A number of centers and some family childcare homes have been lost.”

The alliance works with 10 childcare agencies across L.A. County. The biggest impact was in the area of the Eaton fire, with at least 139 centers lost along, with family homes that provided child care, Alvarado said. Some of those were large operations.

On Saturday, Jan. 25, there was a supply distribution for child care providers organized by the L.A. County Early Care and Education Emergency Response Team at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena.

The team is focused on helping providers clean up their sites to become operational and able to serve children again. Vouchers are also being distributed to families who qualify, those either on government aid or who meet income eligibility standards.

The work ahead is daunting.

Information provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said referral agencies are working across various communities to help families locate early child care and education services. (Families can call the Child Care Alliance at 888-922-4453 or go to ccala.net to locate resources and referral agencies in their neighborhoods.) L.A. County and city have both set up emergency childcare options for families through their respective recreation and parks departments.

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