Finding child care in California, especially for infants, is getting harder to do. The number of licensed home day cares has steeply declined in the state with thousands closing the last decade. Since 2008, the state has seen a 26 percent decline in the number of these small businesses, according to a recent report from the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network.

There are a number of factors contributing to the decline – an aging workforce, rising costs of living, low wages. But the need for care is massive and has ripple effects on the work force. Home day cares are often more affordable, more likely to offer slots for infants and toddlers and more likely to offer non-traditional hours. The latest L.A. County child care needs assessment found an estimated 87 percent of working parents with infants and toddlers in the county do not have access to licensed care.

This story originally aired on KPCC.

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.