Policy & Advocacy
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Oakland Starting Smart and Strong leverages the power of our collaborative’s stakeholders to advocate for policies that build and improve the systems that support Oakland children, families, and early childhood educators most impacted by racial and economic inequity.
Additional information on our policy and advocacy work can be found in our blog posts. |
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With support from the Hellman Foundation, OSSS is building a community-driven policy agenda, grounded in these equity areas:
Visit our Public Meetings page to learn about the broad range of Oakland and Alameda County public meetings, as well as how to share your priorities with elected representatives.
All of our policy and advocacy work is grounded racial justice. Read our racial justice statement here.
- Systems change for Oakland’s youngest learners
- Advocate for long-term public investment in early childhood systems
- Elevate early childhood as a priority in City government and Oakland Unified School District
- Parent and family leadership in community investment
- Listen to parent, family, & community leadership in equitable implementation of publicly-funded early childhood education
- Leverage data in support of community priorities
- Equity for early childhood professionals and friend/family/neighbor caregivers
- Increase access to high-quality training, improved pay and working conditions, supplies, and resources
- Amplifying Family Child Care (FCC) provider leadership in local advocacy
Visit our Public Meetings page to learn about the broad range of Oakland and Alameda County public meetings, as well as how to share your priorities with elected representatives.
All of our policy and advocacy work is grounded racial justice. Read our racial justice statement here.
OSSS's 2025 policy priorities include:
Learn more about our policy agenda by downloading it here or scroll down to view it below.
- Equitable implementation of the Oakland Children’s Initiative, Measure C, and Universal PreK/TK in Oakland
- Uplifting early childhood as a priority in Oakland city government and school district, with a focus on preserving and expanding programs and resources that meet the needs of families with young children
- Supporting Oakland early childhood educator and provider advocacy goals
Learn more about our policy agenda by downloading it here or scroll down to view it below.
2023-25 Oakland City Budget & Early Childhood:
- Read the about Oakland's 2024 Midcycle Budget here.
- Read about early childhood and the 2023-25 city budget here.
- As the City of Oakland implements the 23-25 Budget, this report from OSSS highlights priority areas that help increase access and opportunities for all young children and families in Oakland to realize their full potential.