Is L.A. Parent-Hostile?

I spoke to two different working Moms today who both were complaining that Los Angeles, while it may be considered progressive in general, leaves parents in the lurch in several ways. Most important, the schools are a mess. I'm not just talking about LAUSD. Preschools have one year waiting lists. Child care centers are ridiculously expensive and also frequently have waiting lists, and apparently very difficult to open.

And, I'm sorry, but the level of concentration, research, and patience it requires to get your kid into a decent public school is probably worth tens of thousands of hours that could have been spent working - or doing something fun with the kids!

The other thing that came up: a serious lack of kid activities at hours for working parents. All the Mommy and Me's are during the day, so are lessons of any kind etc. One Mom I spoke to today just wants to be able to meet other parents one night a week to discuss parenting issues. Anyone know of such a group?