Hope in a Time of Turbulence

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. 

Things are uncertain and will remain that way for some time. We've learned that the key to navigating these turbulent times lies in unity: staying informed together, sharing what works, and ensuring that policymakers keep the needs of families with young children and early care and education (ECE) providers at the center of their decisions.

How We've Responded This Year

The OSSS community has been busy turning uncertainty into action. Here's a sample of how we’ve responded so far this year: 

• Empowering ECE Providers: With special funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and led by the Alameda County Office of Education, OSSS partnered to support Immigration Know Your Rights events specifically designed for ECE providers.
• Building Preparedness: After immigration enforcement efforts were recently threatened to be stepped up, we developed a comprehensive resource list to help ECE providers prepare for immigration activities in our community.
• Addressing Food Insecurity: In partnership with our fiscal sponsor the Oakland Public Education Fund, we're working to raise funds and connect food resources for OUSD 3 and 4-year-olds and their families.

Stay Connected, Stay Informed

Keeping up with policy changes that impact the families we serve can feel overwhelming. Especially with so much going on at the city, county, state, and federal levels. That's why we invite you to join the OSSS Policy and Advocacy Committee, which meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm online. Our dedicated Co-Chairs, Diana Garcia and Jamaica Sowell, lead engaging, interactive meetings where we share updates and dive deep into policy developments affecting young children. In addition to tracking state and federal impacts, we focus on Oakland and provide updates on county, city, and OUSD budget and policy news.  It's a space for learning, discussion, and collective action. Interested in joining us? Email Page Tomblin at [email protected] to get connected.