Earlier this month, the Alameda County Social Services Agency hosted a forum entitled "Turning Policy Turbulence Into Triumph." It highlighted how organizations across Alameda County are working to transform this vision into reality. For Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS), this challenge has been at the forefront of our work throughout the year. 

Family Child Care providers (FCCs) are educators, business owners, and community leaders who support working parents and families with home-based care and early learning for young children. They play a vital role in our early learning system, with nearly one-third of California’s children in licensed care spending their early years learning and growing in family child care homes. Despite this essential role, FCC providers are often overlooked in policy and funding decisions. 

​As we celebrate a decade of Oakland Starting Smart & Strong, we’ve been reflecting on what we’ve learned alongside families, educators, and our partners. These learnings have helped shape our new Theory of Change, which lays out goals, outcomes, and strategies for Oakland’s entire early childhood ecosystem.