An application on the county’s website is due 5 p.m. Aug. 6, and money is expected to be distributed this year. Land developers in the county pay into the fund to help meet the increased demand for child care.

• In 2014, the program awarded $361,000 across 23 providers.
• The most recent distribution cycle that ended in 2021 awarded $152,400 across 15 providers. Loans ranged from $2,000 to $17,400. 
• Projects have included fences, kitchen improvements, concrete slab replacements, plumbing and gutter repairs. 
• The loans supported the care of 220 children, county leaders said.

A $17,400 loan in 2021 helped Brook Knoll Buddies preschool off Graham Hill Road stay afloat, said its director, Lori Bare. The preschool at 109 Treetop Drive north of Santa Cruz is now at capacity with 12 children. Its waitlist is about one year.

“It kept our doors open,” Bare said of the “life altering” loan. “It gave me a new project to work on with the school at a time I may have closed,” she said. “COVID was a difficult period with preschool enrollment half of what it was.”

The loan paid to fill in a pool and landscape her backyard. It opened up previously unutilized space on her 1 acre property to create a natural playscape for kids with a blueberry and mint garden. 

The loan didn’t help her expand operations, Bare said. She would need a special use permit to change the county zoning that would cost about $10,000, she said. 

Projects funded by the loans can have a significant impact on strengthening the child care system, according to reports from the Santa Cruz County Childhood Advisory Council. The services are highly valuable to the community but don’t necessarily generate high income for individual providers.

Most loans are forgiven in the program. To qualify, recipients must complete the approved project, provide child care for an agreed-upon period that is typically two to five years and submit periodic enrollment reports. Recipients receive half the funds when documentation is submitted and the remainder upon project completion.

A Child Care Development Fee committee is expected to establish the funding criteria. A separate panel of First 5 Commissioners, Childhood Advisory Council members, and local leaders with expertise in child care then review applications.

A county loan renovated the backyard of Brook Knoll Buddies preschool and helped preserve the business. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Correction: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect address for Brook Knoll Buddies.

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