Back in April, L.A. City Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the L.A. Emergency Child Care Connection program to help essential employees at participating hospitals access child care. With many child care centers still closed because of the pandemic, Garcetti expanded the program in May to include additional emergency responders employed by the City of L.A.

Since its inception, the program has benefited hospital workers stationed at hospitals across the region, including White Memorial, California Medical Center and Northridge Medical Center. The program offers hospital workers free referrals to licensed child care providers in the community, and qualifying workers can also get assistance paying for child care. They may be eligible for a $100 stipend per shift to pay for the type of child care that best works for them. On April 13, the city’s Recreation Centers near participating hospitals also started providing free child care to hospital employees with limited child care options.

Now additional frontline workers can also benefit from the program. This includes employees at the Los Angeles police and fire departments, the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport and Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment. These benefits are expected to be available until June 30. As we dive into the summer, we can expect to see more child care sites gradually reopen, but the question still remains, will enough of them open up in time to meet the growing demand as more parents transition out of their home offices?