Child-Care Loans Urged by Bradley

Flanked by four council members and a host of child-care advocates, Mayor Tom Bradley on Thursday called for creation of a revolving $150,000 fund that would offer loans to people who wish to open child-care centers in their homes.

The move is intended to bolster the stock of child-care facilities in Los Angeles. According to city estimates, 53,000 children are cared for either in large centers or in individual homes--and another 50,000 children, at minimum, are denied space because of the dearth of child-care providers.

Under terms of the fund, which requires City Council approval, prospective child-care providers would receive loans of up to $2,000 to buy toys and cribs, meet licensing requirements or help pay for insurance.

The city fund initially would assist 85 facilities that could care for up to 700 children, city officials said, and would help more providers as the money is repaid.

‘A Beginning’

“It’s small right now, but this is a beginning,” said Bea Gold, head of the nonprofit Child and Family Services, which assists child-care providers.

According to child-care officials, demand for home care is particularly strong for babies, toddlers and older-aged school children.

“It is growing and it has been for the last couple of years,” said Patsy Lane, the city’s child-care coordinator.

The city has actively pursued child-care strategies in recent years. In January, a child-care center that serves 100 children opened in City Hall South, and another, near the Convention Center, is expected to open early next year. Three others are in the planning stages.

City policies also give preference when granting city business to firms that have addressed their employees’ child-care concerns.

Delivering child-care programs has also been a political plum in recent years, and the announcement of the proposed loan plan on Thursday brought out not only the mayor but council members Joy Picus, Ruth Galanter, Robert Farrell and Zev Yaroslavsky.

Sizable Demand Cited

“There’s a very sizable segment of the community that desires to have . . . family care services,” Bradley said in introducing the plan.

The program would be open to city residents who have started the 60-day licensing process. The loans--issued at two points below the prime rate--would be repayable within three years.

But city officials stressed that the program would be flexible.

“There may be some circumstances under which actual grants can be given,” Bradley said.

Lane, the city’s child-care coordinator, said that the $1,500 to $2,000 level of the loans was reached after talks with industry analysts and child-care providers.

If it proves too little, the amount may be adjusted, she said.