Project overview: Construct and reopen a child care center in Yosemite Valley that supports working families in the park, employee retention, new staff recruitment, dual-career families, and women in the workplace.  

How your support helps: In early 2024, the Yosemite National Park Child Care Center had to abruptly close facilities in Yosemite Valley after a new federal regulation required the center to be licensed in the state of California. State licensing brought about new policies, and because the center was functioning in an old National Park Service (NPS) housing unit, the structure, itself, was not adequate to be licensed and was forced to close. 

The loss of the center left families — primarily NPS, Conservancy, and hospitality staff who provide critical services to Yosemite — scrambling without childcare options. A safe child care center in Yosemite Valley is critical for retaining employees, successfully recruiting new staff, supporting women in the workplace, and supporting working families. The sudden loss of this center, which had enabled dual-career Yosemite families to live and work in the park since the early 1980s, threatens the longevity and stability of family communities in the park. The Valley child care center is also an essential feeder program for the historic Yosemite Valley School, another critical part of the community at risk of future failure if the child care center is not reestablished in Yosemite Valley. 

With your support, this project would establish a new center in Yosemite Valley that fulfills all NPS and California state licensing requirements. Park administrators have decided the best option is to bring in a mobile structure designed specifically for Yosemite’s unique childcare needs.  

This year: In 2025, park administrators will obtain NPS approval for the project before beginning to design the new Yosemite Valley Child Care Center. Designers will focus on ensuring proper adherence to California licensing requirements and appropriate facilities for Yosemite’s families. Construction will begin the following year, and park staff expect the center to be complete by early 2027. 

Project partners: Yosemite National Park and Yosemite National Park Child Care Center (YNPCCC)