HUMA HUSAIN UP206A – WINTER 2011 FINAL PROJECT Childcare in LA County

Policy Questions Are there any under-served communities with respect to licensed child care? Where could new licensed facilities be most beneficial?

Methodology Map all licensed child care facilities in LA County Locate communities that have a high level of need and do not live within walking distance of child care Determine an optimal location for new licensed facilities based on proximity to homes and schools

Child Care Centers in L.A.

Variables Used to Determine Need # of children under 5 years old # of household that don’t own a car proximity to a licensed child care center median household income # of families with children living in poverty

# of Children Under 5 Median Household Income # of Families Below Poverty # of Households with No Car

Index of Need Need = 2 x (Proximity) + 2 x (No Car) + 2 x (# of Kids) + (Median Income) + (Poverty)

Child Care Centers and Need

Areas within walking distance of child care ½ mile buffer = 10 min walk

Focus Area: Littlerock # Children under 5 years old = 1,044 Capacity of Childcare Center: 30 children

Model: Converting Variables to Raster Files

Model: Reclassifying Variables

Metadata

Skills/Requirements Inset Maps – locating LA County and Littlerock Attribute Sub-Select – selecting residential landuse parcels from landuse shapefile Boundary Sub-Select – selecting schools and daycare centers in Littlerock area Buffering – created walking distance buffers around child care centers Geoprocessing – clipping street, landuse and census tract layers to Littlerock area Geocoding – mapped xy coordinates for child care facilities in LA County Modeling – used models to convert shapefiles to raster files and reclassify variables Metadata – created for original child care data Measurement/Analysis – using buffer tool to measure distance Hotspot Analysis – created an index using spatial analyst to find hotspots (highest-need areas) Spatial Analysis – created a ‘distance to daycare’ variable using euclidian distance, used raster calculator to derive index 7-Layer Map – map of Littlerock with census tracts, child care centers, schools, index and buffers

Sources SimplyMap  income, household vehicles, population UCLA Mapshare  schools, streets, census tracts American Fact Finder  poverty