Lessons from Oakland’s FCC Policy Program

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. 

In Oakland, that’s beginning to change, thanks to a growing movement of providers who are organizing, advocating, and shaping the future of early care and education. OSSS developed the Oakland FCC Policy Program along with partners BANANAS and First 5 Alameda County in 2021, to cultivate and amplify FCC leadership and advocacy efforts. In this program, FCC providers set their own priorities, while OSSS offers critical backbone support, including education, information and logistical assistance. 
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Engage R+D, an evaluation and learning firm, has documented the overall impacts of the program through interviews, document review, and reflection sessions. Below is a summary of their findings, including key lessons learned to inform this work and similar efforts with FCC providers.

​Building Voice and Power for FCC Providers

Since its launch, the Oakland FCC Policy Program has served as a space for FCC providers to learn about policy, connect with decision-makers, and advocate for the needs of home-based educators and their small businesses. The program meets monthly and offers participants stipends for their time.

Over the past few years, members have created an advocacy film, met with city and state officials, hosted community conversations, and helped shape key policy decisions, including the five-year implementation plan for Alameda County’s Measure C Child Care Initiative and the establishment of a $10 million annual Emergency Revolving Fund for at-risk child care programs.

“It became an Oakland space… I think the reason the group continues to thrive is because there’s cohesion around who the providers are, what their values are, who they serve—their lived experiences.” – Staff Member

Five Strategies for Supporting Provider Advocacy

Engage R+D found the following five key strategies played a key role in making the program successful:

1. Create locally rooted spaces. The program was intentionally designed for Oakland — honoring the city’s diversity and the lived experiences of its providers.
2. Build trust through authentic convening. Meetings balance structure and spaciousness, with room for both policy discussion and open sharing.
3. Foster peer learning and resource sharing. Providers regularly troubleshoot together, exchange business tips, and offer mutual encouragement.
4. Develop grassroots leadership. Over time, members have grown more confident speaking at public meetings, testifying before boards, and mentoring others.
5. Connect providers to decision-makers. The program serves as a bridge between FCCs and policymakers, helping ensure that those crafting policy hear directly from those doing the work every day.

“Maybe some meetings have full agendas and others are just listening sessions. That gives people space.” – FCC Provider

“Watching FCC participants stand before the Board of Supervisors and legislators to demand respect and support—and to be treated as the professionals they are—has been wonderful.” – Partner

Deepening Provider Power

As California’s early learning landscape evolves with the expansion of Transitional Kindergarten (TK), FCC providers are thinking deeply about how home-based care fits into the larger system. Through interviews, participants identified three priorities for the next phase of the work:

Telling the FCC story.
Providers want to expand public understanding of what FCCs offer, emphasizing their role as small business owners and early educators.

Bringing in parent voice.
Members are eager to build stronger partnerships with families and parent advocacy groups to ensure shared understanding and joint advocacy.

Growing new leaders.
The group aims to welcome new providers and develop sustainable leadership so the space continues to reflect the diversity of Oakland’s child care community.

“Being part of the policy work gives me a chance to help others understand what we do—so policies aren’t based on guesses about our work.” – FCC Provider

Lessons for the Field

The FCC Policy Program offers practical insights for anyone seeking to strengthen provider organizing and advocacy:

• Be flexible. This work requires patience and responsiveness as provider needs and external conditions change.
• Establish clear roles and boundaries. Define who convenes, who participates, and how decisions are made.
• Design intentionally. Include a mix of emerging and established leaders to keep perspectives fresh.
• Prioritize hospitality and care. Stipends, food, and space for connection matter — they communicate respect.
• Engage power boldly. Real systems change requires being in conversation with those who shape policy and funding.

The Oakland FCC Policy Program shows what’s possible when those closest to the work lead the way. By combining learning, advocacy, and connection, the program has helped transform isolation into collective power, ensuring that family child care providers are recognized not only as caregivers, but as the educators, entrepreneurs, and policy champions that they are.

Read the full memo: From Family Child Care Providers to Policy Champions: Lessons from Oakland’s FCC Policy Program