The state’s one-stop online shop for public resources during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic just added another stop.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday the deployment of a new portal, with childcare information for parents coping with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It’s accessible through the state’s omnibus website, covid19.ca.gov, which it stood up in mid-March, and is envisioned as a aid to essential workers and vulnerable residents.
“You can’t have a workforce unless they’re taking care of their children and are confident in the quality of that care,” Newsom said during his daily 12 p.m. press conference. “This portal is a tool to navigate. A tool where we do a lot of the vetting, we do a lot of the research.” Among the takeaways:
• Through the portal, the Governor’s office said in a news release, it offers an interactive, statewide map of qualified licensed child care providers in English and Spanish. It’s searchable by name, address or zip code through technology from San Francisco’s Mapbox; and data from United Kingdom-based OpenStreetMap. Listings of open licensed child care programs include health and safety information, age of children accepted, capacity, availability, hours and contact information.
“We know that child care keeps California working. This has been a long time in the making,” said California Department of Social Services Director Kim Johnson. Her agency partnered in the initiative with the California Department of Education, Redwood City-based OpenLattice and the Children’s Data Network, from Los Angeles.
“It's an honor to collaborate with the State of California and our partners to support parents and children during COVID-19,” OpenLattice said on LinkedIn.
• The new portal was, Newsom said, “almost two decades in the making,” though he didn’t elaborate on why that was. The governor did, however, name-check two power employee labor unions, United Domestic Workers and the Service Employees International Union. Their earlier initiative, carinacare.com, Newsom said, helped inspire the state’s new site.
• Newsom also put in a plug for covid19.ca.gov, first announced March 18, encouraging people to visit the site not just for child care information, but other data as well. On Monday, for example, the state added information on numbers of personal protective equipment deployed to each of California’s 58 counties. Information on mychildcare.ca.gov will be updated twice a week, the state said.
“And so, I encourage you to take a look. Particularly in light of some of the updates today on open space and outdoor activities,” said Newsom, who also Thursday announced the shuttering of Orange County beaches to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
