Family Child Care Providers Lead the Way

Family child care (FCC) providers are business owners, educators, and community leaders, who support working parents and families with home-based holistic care and school readiness for young children. The Oakland / Alameda County Family Child Care (FCC) Policy Program is a group of FCC providers and parents interested in learning about early childhood policy, advocating for FCC providers and their businesses, and strengthening the whole field through connecting with elected officials and early childhood systems partners. OSSS, along with BANANAS and First 5 Alameda County, supports the FCC Policy Program.

 Since launching in 2021, FCC providers have: 

• Submitted a proposal to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to launch an FCC emergency fund. The request was for a $1 million investment of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support providers in emergency situations to sustain their businesses. The group engaged with community partners and County systems leaders about the ongoing FCC needs. With this engagement, alongside that of the broader early childhood field, they supported the advocacy efforts towards the $4 million of one-time ARPA investment for licensed child care providers, launched by Alameda County’s Social Services Agency in July 2022.

• Hosted two Community Conversations for FCC providers to share policy developments and community resources
• Joined partner organizations for 2021 legislative visits to share their perspective and concerns with Universal Transitional Kindergarten.
• Met with Alameda County early childhood systems leaders, who seek to support communication between the FCC group and the Board of Supervisors. 
• Connected with the OUSD Kindergarten Readiness Program Managers to share ideas on how they can partner to support the children they serve. 
• Met with First 5 Alameda County to discuss initial plans for Measure C implementation and redefining “quality” in Quality Counts. 
• Organized a meeting with State Senate Women’s Caucus staff for the Emergency Fund. 
• Participated in an OUSD Universal Pre-Kindergarten / Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UPK/UTK) implementation work group. 
• Met with Oakland City Councilmembers and made a $2 million ask to establish a trust for an emergency fund and economic supports.

OSSS is proud to cultivate FCC provider leadership and help build these connections with electeds, public systems, and community partners. If you’d like to learn more and join these efforts, contact OSSS Policy Analyst, Trisha Barua at trisha@oaklandsmartandstrong.org.​