Community Change Action’s 4th Annual National A Day Without Child Care

On May 12th, Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) joined Parent Voices Oakland (PVO) to travel to Santa Clara County for Community Change Action’s 4th Annual National A Day Without Child Care. This organizing effort was the first regional collaboration of child care advocacy organizations in recent years. The Bay Area has one of the highest costs of living in the country, making regional actions relevant.  

​A “Day Without Child Care” is a call to protect ALL of our care – childcare, healthcare, Head Start, food support, and home care. Demands included:

• An equitable childcare system built on racial and gender justice
• Thriving wages for childcare providers
• Affordable and accessible child care for all families.
• No cuts to Head Start
• No cuts to Medicaid/SNAP

Almost 50 parents, childcare workers, and advocates gathered for a rally outside the  federal building in San José. This year’s Day Without Child Care comes at a time when access to child care is under threat. For example, the Santa Clara County Office of Education recently announced plans to lay off more than 250 Head Start teachers and staffers, citing uncertainties in federal funding. These layoffs impact low-income children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start, as well as other programs. Early Head Start provides care for children from 0-3 years old, and Head Start serves children between 3 and 5 years old.

Clarissa Doutherd, PVO’s Executive Director, spoke at the action.  “We deserve a fair and just child care system in California, the fourth largest economy in the country. We can afford universal child care”. Parent Voices Oakland has joined a coalition of parent advocacy groups and Head Start providers in a lawsuit to prevent the dismantling of Head Start. 

Carolyn Carpenter, who has worked as a family child care provider for more than 35 years and is a member of the OSSS Family Child Care Policy Program, was interviewed at the action by the East Bay Times. “That’s very discouraging, to have done something for 35 years — and I’ve gone to school for it and I have a degree — and be so undervalued,” Carpenter said. “The pandemic highlighted what was already problematic. There was already a lack of funding.”

Read articles from KQED and the East Bay Times for more information about the “Day Without Child Care” action and the effects of potential cuts. To join in future actions to protect ALL of our care, contac​t [email protected].