Child care in the Sacramento area is coming apart at the seams, according to a new regional poll and interviews with parents and providers. Many families say they are cutting work hours or leaving jobs altogether because daycare and preschool costs, combined with a shrinking number of available seats, make paid work feel out of reach.
The April 2026 Economic Mobility Poll from Valley Vision found that 17% of parents or their child's other primary caregiver reported they are not working because childcare is too expensive. The poll also reports that 32% said they had left a job to provide unpaid care, and the pain is sharpest for lower-income households: 67% of respondents with household incomes under $50,000 said they had left work for unpaid caregiving.
For families in Sacramento, the crunch is not theoretical. Alison Alexander, a mother of three, told Abridged by PBS KVIE she pays $301 a month for a five-day Sacramento City Unified School District preschool spot and described the daily scramble as "a nightmare." That same story reports the district has floated cuts that could affect Rosemont's Edward Kelley Preschool.
Why providers say they can't make the math work
On the provider side, operators say the numbers no longer add up. They point to rising payroll, insurance and operating expenses that have eaten into already thin margins. "Payroll costs at my center have tripled since 2010," Kari Roberts, owner and director of Alphabet Soup Childcare in Woodland, told Abridged by PBS KVIE, adding that state reimbursements for subsidized spots have not kept pace.
Research from the Public Policy Institute of California and reporting from KPBS/CalMatters note that the statewide expansion of transitional kindergarten has pulled many 4-year-olds out of private centers, cutting off a key revenue stream that helps underwrite more expensive infant and toddler care.
Rosemont preschool at risk
In Rosemont, Edward Kelley Preschool sits on a historic one-room site at 3340 Bradshaw Road and operates a parent-participation, five-day program. District materials list tuition as 10 equal payments of $301 for the five-day class, according to Sacramento City Unified. The Rosemont Community Association says it has petitioned the district to keep the program open rather than shutter the site.
What leaders say and next steps
Valley Vision has scheduled an informational webinar for Thursday, April 30 to walk through the poll findings and bring local experts into the conversation. Residents can register on Zoom. Policy researchers and providers are pointing to rate reform, stronger subsidies and partnerships between school districts and private providers as possible parts of the fix, although each idea would require sustained funding and coordination, according to the Public Policy Institute of California analysis.
The stakes are not just personal but economic. The Valley Vision report estimates that gaps in accessible, affordable child care cost Sacramento County roughly $1.2 billion a year in lost productivity. For many families, that math shows up as fewer hours, missed promotions or no paycheck at all, and parents, providers and local officials say it will take targeted funding plus better coordination before the region can stop calling the situation a "nightmare."
