Policy & Advocacy 

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 and families most impacted by racial and economic inequity.

With support from the Hellman Foundation, OSSS is building a community-driven policy agenda, grounded in these equity areas:

• Systems change for Oakland’s youngest learners​
  • Advocate for long-term public investment in early childhood systems
  • Build and expand trauma-informed systems
• Parent and family leadership in community investment
  • Listen to parent, family, & community leadership
  • 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
  • Advocate for workplace safety especially in context of COVID-19

All of our policy and advocacy work is grounded racial justice. Read our racial justice statement here.

Learn more about our policy agenda. Download it here or view the embed below.