"It's hard finding a place you feel comfortable leaving your kids!" says Willow Lancaster of San Francisco. Lancaster, like many other immigrants, wanted a place where her kids would be safe and could continue to speak both Spanish and English—a place close to home that she could afford.

Although parents know that quality preschool can help their kids succeed, many have a hard time finding programs that work for their families. For children of immigrants—now half of all children in California—there are extra challenges.

"Some families don't feel comfortable taking kids to a center," says UC Berkeley researcher Margaret Bridges. "They may be more comfortable with a family member. It really varies: some families are very concerned about school readiness (or) particularly worried about learning English. Others want environments that feel comfortable, that have respect for parents' values, staff that speak the home language."

They face challenges including:

Cost: "Preschool is a luxury for the refugee/immigrant community," explains My Linh Pham, director of the Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation (VIVO) in San Jose, "Parents are aware of the fact that they should enroll kids in preschool. But when you work in a restaurant 10 to 12 hours a day for $50 a day, you can't pay for preschool." Licensed preschool care in her county costs almost $200 a week, according to the Child Care Resource and Referral Network.

Lack of space: Lancaster recalls her frustrating search: "I looked at family homes. I tried centers but most have waiting lists." According to a report from Fight Crime Invest in Kids California, 76% of publicly funded preschool programs report waiting lists totaling over 50,000 children statewide.

Program requirements: "The most common problem," says Monica Andrade of East Oakland, "is that you need to be too poor to be in Head Start!" When her husband got a new job, the family no longer qualified.
The application process itself can be a barrier. To enroll her child in preschool, says Oakland mom Claudia Gonzalez, "I went to the school and filled out lots of papers. Then they sent me to the district. They said there was some missing paperwork, so I had to go back to the school. By that time there was no space."

Hours: Many preschool programs hold half-day sessions, but most immigrant parents work, says Maria Luz Torre, an organizer for San Francisco Parent Voices. They "prefer (a program) where you don't have to pick up your kid in the middle of the day."
"It's hard to go to school and work," adds Andrade, "because the programs don't have the capacity to care for your children for as much time as you need."

"I got lucky!" says Lancaster. She found places for her children in a program that picks up her son after school.

Immigration status: "At state-funded pre-schools and child care centers, we do not look at the immigrant status of either parent or children," says Nancy Remley, a California Department of Education administrator. That's also true of Head Start. But undocumented parents are often reluctant to put their names on a waiting list, says Janet Zamudio, a counselor at Bananas, an Oakland child care resource and referral agency. And programs funded by CalWORKs do ask for the parent's Social Security number.

Cultural differences: In the immigrant families served by Family Connections in San Francisco, says director Maryann Fleming, many grandparents care for the children full time—but then may feel "stripped of their contribution to the family" when a child enters preschool.

Parents and educators may also hold different views about preschool. Many families, says Fleming, are disappointed that the children play, rather than work at learning, while early childhood educators believe that children learn best through play.

Language barriers: Even though many programs have staff that speak other languages, says Zamudio, "it's frightening for some immigrants who don't speak (English) when (they) place that call" looking for a preschool.

This article is part of a series produced in collaboration with California Tomorrow and funded by the Zellerbach Family Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Foundation. It is reprinted with permission from the March-April 2006 edition of Children's Advocate online magazine.