Families in Moreno Valley and Perris juggling overnight warehouse shifts and scarce daycare openings just got a financial lifeline from Sacramento. California has approved $2 million in startup funding for what would become the state's first childcare special district, a government agency modeled after the kind that typically handles water, sanitation, or fire protection but instead would coordinate childcare access across the two Riverside County cities.
Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson announced the funding on September 2, 2026, saying the money will cover local startup costs as the proposed Moreno Valley-Perris Childcare Special District takes its first organizational steps, according to his official announcement. As reported by LAist, Jackson said he was tired of waiting for state and federal governments to provide enough childcare slots for families in the Inland Empire, and pushed to get the district off the ground even after his original legislative vehicle collapsed.
That original bill, Assembly Bill 2083, would have created a five-year pilot program for the district, but it did not become law, according to BillTrack50. Separately, the state approved $2 million in startup funding for the proposed district.
A District Built for Shift Workers, Not the Nine-to-Five Crowd
The special district is designed to offer childcare 24 hours a day, seven days a week for families needing care outside conventional work hours, per legislative analysis from the Assembly Committee on Human Services. That schedule could matter in a region where many parents work outside conventional hours.
The need is stark by the numbers. Kidsdata's measure of licensed childcare availability for children with working parents in Riverside County is based on a 2023 indicator published in May 2025, according to data compiled by Kidsdata.org. Even for families who can find a slot, the cost is punishing: in Moreno Valley, center-based infant care averages $1,890 a month, consuming 24.6% of median household income, while Jackson's office has highlighted childcare costs in Perris.
According to the California Department of Social Services, its Child Care Licensing Program licenses child care centers and oversees pre-licensing inspections and capacity requirements.
Riverside County Costs Outpace the Rest of the State
Riverside County's childcare costs aren't just high locally — they outpace much of California. Federal Department of Labor data analyzed in 2026 shows center-based infant care in the county averages $21,043 annually, or $405 a week, which is 17% higher than the statewide county average of $17,920 and consumes 25% of the county's median household income, according to Beverly Research. Federal guidelines generally consider childcare affordable only when it costs no more than 7% of household income, a benchmark Riverside families are blowing past several times over.
Jackson has said he hopes additional funding down the line could help build toward universal childcare for families in the district regardless of income, with services and subsidies ultimately determined by whatever revenue the district can raise, LAist reports. But he's also been clear that the decision isn't his to make unilaterally: Jackson said the creation and funding of the special district must go before voters, and that he wanted residents themselves to decide whether to invest in childcare.
Cities Split, and a 2028 Vote Looms
That local buy-in has already proven complicated. Moreno Valley's City Council rejected the proposed childcare district at an April 21, 2026, meeting, while the Perris City Council voted 3-2 against a resolution backing the bill a week later, according to CitizenPortal.ai. Governance of the eventual district would depend on appointees from both cities, meaning that split will likely resurface as the district takes shape.
Before any of that can happen, the proposal must move through additional steps before voters can weigh in. Voters could ultimately decide how to fund the district as soon as 2028, and the funding mechanism under consideration may include a tax, according to LAist. Several details remain unresolved, including who will actually sit on the district's governing board.
A guide from the Nipomo Community Services District says that when a new service requires special taxes or benefit assessments, the district must obtain approval from voters or property owners. The California Secretary of State says the state Constitution requires approval by two-thirds of voters before a local government can impose a special tax.
California already has independent special districts handling services including water and fire protection, but none until now has applied that model to early childhood education, according to the International City/County Management Association. If Moreno Valley and Perris move forward, it would mark a first for the state.
The gap this district hopes to fill is part of a larger statewide problem. Limited access to childcare helps explain why Jackson and local leaders felt compelled to build a new government structure rather than continue waiting on existing state and federal programs to catch up with demand.
