Tracey M. Black, Heidi Gerard, Nancy Harvey, Kym R. Johnson, Maéva Marc, Paulene McCarthy, Savitha Moorthy, David Padilla, Cristina Ramirez Fonua, Mitch Sigman, and Robert E. Williams
1. Welcome & Call to Order Facilitator Dania Torres Wong will call this meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
2. Roll Call
3. Review Agenda & September 18, 2024 Meeting Minutes
4. Public Comment
This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the Community Advisory Council (CAC). At this time, the Public is invited to make any comments related to items not on the agenda within the CAC’s purview. The Council will receive public comment in person or by Zoom utilizing the Q&A Box. Speakers are limited to two minutes. Public comment will be limited to 15 minutes.
5. Adopt the Measure C Child Care, Preschool and Early Education (CCPEE) Community Advisory Council Bylaws
6. Prioritization Activity for Initial Measure C Investments
7. Adjournment
CAC Meeting Agenda October 9, 2024
Information about access:
In compliance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and upon request, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, including interpreter services, please contact Evelyn Navarro at evelyn.navarro@first5alameda.org or (510) 279-6350 as early as possible but at least 72 hours before the scheduled Community Advisory Council meeting so First 5 can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility. Times indicated are estimates and subject to change.
Measure C Community Advisory Council Meeting Minutes
September 18, 2024, 6:00PM – 8:00 PM
First 5 Alameda County Conference Center, Alameda, CA Zoom Webinar Meeting ID: 881 5410 0995 Passcode: 031636
Community Advisory Council Members Present: Heidi Gerard, Nancy Harvey, Kym R. Johnson, Maéva Marc, Paulene McCarthy, Savitha Moorthy, David Padilla, Mitch Sigman, and Robert E. Williams
Community Advisory Council Members Not Present: Tracey M. Black (excused), Cristina Ramirez Fonua
First 5 Alameda County Staff Present: Kristin Spanos, Ayano Ogawa, Lisa Forti, Vanessa Cedeño Geisner, Ana Apodaca, Jill Berkin, Vincent Cheng, Mifta Chowdhury, Bridgett Crawford, Ellen Dektar, Diana Garcia, John Garvey, Mara Goby, Christine Hom, Anne Morrison, Jenna Murakami, Tanya Smith, Nick Zhou
Facilitator: Dania Torres Wong
Agenda Item
Speaker
1. Welcome & Call to Order
D. Torres Wong
2. Roll Call
D. Torres Wong
Discussion
Dania Torres Wong called the Community Advisory Council orientation retreat to order at 6:08pm.
Follow Up
None
3. Review Agenda & August 24, 2024
Orientation Retreat Minutes
Facilitator Torres Wong led roll call at 6:08pm.
Council members Heidi Gerard, Kym R. Johnson, Maéva Marc, Paulene McCarthy, Savitha Moorthy, David Padilla, Mitch Sigman, and Robert E. Williams indicated they were present.
Council member Tracey Black was noted as excused. Council member Cristina Ramirez Fonua was not present.
Community Advisory Council member Nancy Harvey arrived at 6:15pm and her presence was noted for the record.
Facilitator Torres Wong reviewed the CAC meeting agenda and the August 24, 2024 orientation retreat meeting minutes.
None
None
Agenda Item Speaker Discussion Follow
D. Torres Wong
4. Public Comment
D. Torres Wong
5. Welcome & Introductions
D. Torres Wong
6. Early Care and Education Landscape in Alameda County Presentation and Data Walk
D. Torres Wong
K. Spanos
A. Ogawa
L. Forti
Facilitator Torres Wong asked for public comment on items not on the agenda.
The Community Advisory Council members received Public Comment from:
(In Person) Bry ’Ana Wallace, Tamika Williams, Tiesha Allen. (Virtual)
Facilitator Torres Wong welcomed Heidi Gerard and David Padilla to their first meeting.
Community Advisory Council members Heidi Gerard and David Padilla introduced themselves, shared brief highlights about their background, experience, and why they chose to serve on the Council.
Facilitator Torres Wong introduced K. Spanos to provide framing remarks.
Ms. Spanos and Ms. Ogawa presented the Early Care and Education Landscape in Alameda County Overview Presentation (attached).
Ms. Forti presented instructions on the Data Walk interactive breakout activity (attached).
The Community Advisory Council (CAC) and the public participated in the interactive data walk activity. Instructions were also provided for virtual attendees.
None
None
First 5 staff to synthesize high-level themes from the input shared during the Data Walk activity and share back the themes with the Community Advisory Council members at a future meeting.
Agenda Item
Speaker
7. Adopt the Measure C Child Care, Preschool and Early Education (CCPEE) Community Advisory Council Bylaws
D. Torres Wong
Discussion
The CAC and the public rotated through eight stations each focused on one of the following topics: Access, Compensation, Workforce, Facilities, Technology, Data, Equity, and Other.
At each station participants reviewed and reflected on the highlighted data and responded to the following prompt questions:
a. What would you change? (what would you add? what needs context)?
b. What is important? (what meaning do you make? what should be elevated?)
c. Who or what is not reflected? (who/where/what is missing?)
D. Torres Wong facilitated a debrief of the Data Walk activity with the CAC members.
Facilitator Torres Wong asked for public comment.
The Community Advisory Council members received Public Comment from: (In Person) Alia Phelps
Due to time restraints, Agenda Item 7, Adopt the Measure C Child Care, Preschool and Early Education (CCPEE) Community Advisory Council Bylaws, was continued to the next CAC meeting on October 9, 2024.
Follow Up
First 5 staff to agendize the Measure C CCPEE Community Advisory Bylaws on the October 9, 2024 meeting agenda.
Adjournment
Facilitator Torres Wong adjourned the meeting at 8:05pm.
D. Torres Wong
MEASURE C COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL 2024 MEETING CALENDAR
MEETING DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN CALL 510-227-6900 TO VERIFY DATE AND TIME. ALL MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT THE FIRST 5 OFFICE: 1115 ATLANTIC AVENUE, ALAMEDA, CA 94501 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING
MONTH
Community Advisory Council 6:00 PM–8:00 PM *Unless Otherwise Noted
AUGUST Saturday, August 24 *Offsite Retreat, 9 AM-12 PM
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
Wednesday, September 18
Wednesday, October 9
OCTOBER Wednesday, October 16 Meeting Cancelled
NOVEMBER Wednesday, November 6
DECEMBER Wednesday, December 4
Template Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Community Advisory Council Bylaws
ARTICLE I. AUTHORITY
The Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Community Advisory Council (the Community Advisory Council or CAC) is established in accordance with Alameda County Ordinance Code Section 2.08.304.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE AND INTENT
The Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Community Advisory Council was created by the “Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County.” (Measure C). Measure C imposes a half percent sales tax in Alameda County for twenty years. Measure C requires the revenues from this tax to be used to expand access to high quality early education and health care for children in Alameda County, particularly for low- and middle-income children and families.
The purpose of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Community Advisory Council (the Community Advisory Council) is to assist First Five Alameda County, the administering agency of Measure C, by helping to develop policy and programmatic recommendations related to the expenditure of Measure C revenues to promote child care, preschool, and early education in Alameda County
ARTICLE III. ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The role and responsibilities of the Community Advisory Council shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. Perform any and all responsibilities imposed on them collectively or individually by law or by these Bylaws;
B Develop policy and programmatic recommendations related to the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account and its implementation, including but not limited to:
1. Recommendations to the named Administering Agency (First Five Alameda County) about the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Program Plan and Budget;
2. Initiatives to improve the quality and capacity-building of service providers;
3. Initiatives to evaluate and improve the administration of programs, particularly including through the use of technology to streamline and integrate services; and
4. Strategies to enhance community engagement in the planning and implementation of services.
C. Promote and facilitate transparency in the administration of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account, including opportunities for public testimony and a community engagement process with parent, provider and early educator organizations and other
stakeholders to receive input and support robust involvement on program development and implementation.
D. Annually review the audit of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account for the prior year.
E. Provide input, if requested, on the program plan evaluation conducted by First Five Alameda County to determine the effectiveness of investments and to inform the next Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Program Plan and Budget.
F. Meet at such times and places as required by these Bylaws;
ARTICLE IV. OFFICES
SECTION 1. PRINCIPAL OFFICE
The principal office of the Community Advisory Council is located in Alameda County, State of California.
SECTION 2. CHANGE OF ADDRESS
The designation of the Community Advisory Council principal office may be changed by amendment of these Bylaws. The First 5 Alameda County Commission may change the principal office from one location to another within the named county by noting the changed address and effective date below, and such changes of address shall not be deemed, nor require, an amendment of these Bylaws:
1115 Atlantic Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501
ARTICLE V. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
SECTION 1. APPOINTMENT OF COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS
The Community Advisory Council shall be composed of eleven members, including:
A. Two members of the child care workforce, one of whom is a worker from an early care and education center who works in the classroom, and one of whom is a family child care provider. At least one of these two shall be a member of a union;
B. Two parents and/or guardians, at least one of whom must have experience participating in a subsidized program or subsidy wait list;
C. Two employees or representatives of Alternative Payment agencies;
D. Two administrators and/or directors from an early care and education center participating in a subsidized child care program in the County, at least one of whom is an administrator or employee of a public agency; and
E. Three discretionary members, who may include but are not limited to representatives of the Alameda County Office of Education, higher education, parents, public agencies, and labor unions.
The child care workers, parent or guardians, and one representative from an Alternative Payment agency shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors and the remaining six members shall be appointed by the Alameda Early Care and Education Planning Council (or its successor agency).
SECTION 2. TERMS OF OFFICE
Community Advisory Council members shall serve a four-year term, with the exception of the first class of members, five of whom shall serve a two-year term as determined by lottery at the first meeting of the Council with the remainder serving a four-year term. No member may serve on the Council for more than twelve consecutive years.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
SECTION 1. PLACE OF MEETINGS
Meetings shall be held at the headquarters of First 5 Alameda County.
SECTION 2. REGULAR MEETINGS
Regular meetings of Community Advisory Council shall be held on a regular basis at a time and place to be specified by First 5 Alameda County staff. The Commission shall meet as needed to complete their work
SECTION 3. SPECIAL MEETINGS
Special meetings of the Community Advisory Council may be called by First 5 Alameda County staff. Such meetings shall be held at the place designated by First 5.
SECTION 4. OPEN MEETINGS
All meetings of the Community Advisory Council, except those closed sessions permitted by law, shall be open and public. All meetings shall conform to the Ralph M. Brown Act, including requirements for notice of meetings, preparation and distribution of agendas and written materials, teleconferencing, inspection of public records, closed sessions and emergency meetings, maintenance of records, and disruption of a public meeting. Those provisions of law which govern the conduct of meetings of this Community Advisory Council are hereby incorporated by reference into these Bylaws.
SECTION 5. QUORUM FOR MEETINGS
A quorum shall consist of a majority of the seated members of the Community Advisory Council
ARTICLE VII AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT
Except as may otherwise be specified under provisions of law, these Bylaws, or any of them, may be altered, amended, or repealed and new Bylaws adopted by approval of the Community Advisory Council at any duly- noticed regular or special meeting.
ADOPTED: By a vote of ___ on ____.
WELCOME / ¡Bienvenidos! / 歡迎
The meeting will begin momentarily.
Spanish and Chinese interpretation is available
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WELCOME / ¡Bienvenidos! / 歡迎
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INTERPRETACIÓN SIMULTANEA AL ESPAÑOL DISPONIBLE - TODOS
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ENTRANDO A ZOOM POR TELEFONO
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MEASURE C COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
OCTOBER 9, 2024
GOALS FOR TONIGHT
1. CAC to adopt bylaws
2. Review data, themes, and survey feedback
3. Advise on “Quick Wins” initial priority investments
4. Advise on the proposed process for Community Listening Sessions
MEASURE C COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
MEETING – PUBLIC COMMENT
OCTOBER 9, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Public comment for non-agendized matters within the Council’s purview will be taken during Agenda Item 4.
There is a 2-minute time limit for public comment. The timer will beep when time has expired.
Public comment will be limited to 15 minutes.
When submitting your request to make public comment, please share your name, affiliation (if any), and the agenda item you would like to comment on (when appropriate).
Instructions for virtual public comment:
Submit your request to make public comment in the Q&A Box prior to the presentation and discussion of that agenda item.
Virtual attendees are muted. When it is your turn to speak, the host will call your name and unmute you. You will also need to unmute your microphone.
Instructions for in-person public comment:
Fill out a public comment card located at the table near the entrance. Give your card to the First 5 staff member prior to the Public Comment item at the top of the agenda.
Adopt the Measure C Child Care, Preschool and Early Education (CCPEE)
Community Advisory Council Bylaws
DATA WALK THEMES
Major
Themes captured from the Data Walk Post It Notes Include:
Immediate Financial Relief for Providers
Long-term support for existing-facility upgrades as well as creation of new facilities Use Technology to ease enrollment processes Center Equity at every step Base Salaries for Providers
Benefits for Providers
COMPENSATION
Make the system easier to access
WORKFORCE
Improve pipeline via paid apprenticeships, affordable college courses, and outreach
Collect more data to improve understanding of all areas of the county
SURVEY REVIEW
Thank you for filling out the Data Walk Activity Survey. We had 7 responses.
Responses from the survey indicated that:
• The themes resonated with respondents, who provided more detail on their thinking and priorities (in italic underline in the handout)
Additional themes to be considered include:
1. Service Coordination/Integration/Family Navigation
2. Defining Quality
QUALITATIVE THEMES FROM PROVIDER OUTREACH CALLS
MEASURE C MANDATES: CCPEE MEASURE C REVENUE COLLECTION
● As of June 30, 2024, total Measure C revenue was $560.8M
○ 80% to the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account ($448.7M)
○ 20% to the Pediatric Health Care Account ($112.1M)
● Annual revenue for the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account is projected to be ~$154M
● According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center (2019), each dollar invested in ECE generates as much as $1.88 in increased economic activity
ADDRESSING THE FULL NEED IN THE ECE SYSTEM
Estimates for illustrative purposes
ACCESS / SLOTS
Cost per year to expand care for every child under 5 eligible for subsidy in Alameda County:
WORKFORCE
Cost per year to operate a high quality
COMPENSATION
FACILITIES
$600 Million+
ECE provider Apprenticeship program for 1,0002,000 individuals: $16-33 Million
Cost per year to bring ECE provider salary to parity with Kindergarten teacher salary:
$400 Million+
Funding necessary to build and maintain high quality ECE facilities for all children 0-5 in Alameda County: $2-4 Billion
~$5.33 Billion annual cost of everything + initial $4B investment into facilities
*We are here
PRIORITIZING INITIAL INVESTMENTS
TOPICS FROM DATA WALK / MEASURE C MANDATES
• Access / Slots
• Compensation
• Workforce
• Facilities
• Technology
• Data & Evaluation
• Other Investments
Some of these components translate to "quick wins" more easily than others.
QUICK WINS vs 5 YEAR PLAN
QUICK WINS (FY24/25) 5 YEAR PLAN (FY25-30)
Emergency Fund
Facilities Grants
Workforce Development
Technology to Support Eligibility
Determination and Enrollment in Child Care
Fund
Grants
Workforce Development
Technology to Support Eligibility
Determination and Enrollment in Child Care
Compensation
PRIORITIZING INITIAL INVESTMENTS ACTIVITY
The Stations
*Place your sticky dots on the initial investments you think should be the highest priority. *Use the post it notes to answer the questions at each station to provide context.
(Green = CAC, Yellow = Member of the Public)
ACTIVITY DEBRIEF
1. What do you notice?
• As you look around the room, what are the patterns of priorities?
2. What insight is important to name?
• How might this inform our next steps?
*We are here
COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS PLANNING
1. What topics should the community listening sessions cover first?
2. What are the important considerations for participation (i.e. geography, community, provider types)?
3. How might we center equity in the listening sessions?
NEXT STEPS
CAC Gallery Walk Notes 09.18.2024
GREEN Highlights: CAC Members Notes/Reflections
YELLOW Highlights: Public Notes/Reflections
COMPENSATION
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• Advocate for changes in tax law.
o i.e.: FCC can only take a portion of their home. A center owner takes 100%.
• Pay equity for early educators.
• Better pay.
• Increase subsidy reimbursement.
• About the cost of care.
• What the providers would need (pension).
• Pay vacation time.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Honor experience, career lattice, pay more for experience. Start from a livable base.
• Childcare for all.
• Pay Black women.
• Career pathing for progression of career.
• Keeping providers in business.
• Childcare keeps California working.
• Education: the quality of care.
• Are there ways we can increase pay for providers that would be fair and attainable?
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• FFN & FCC are losing money from purchasing diapers for families. How can we help?
• Centers are paid regardless of attendance. Home based providers are not.
• Earning of Black Women.
• Providers often struggle to afford care/education for their own children.
• Quality.
• ECE reimbursement program.
• Informal caregivers FFN/Pay equity.
• Closing the gap between the RMC and reimbursement date.
• Difference between Title 22 & 5 wages
DATA AND EVALUATION
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• Every part and section of Alameda County represented.
• Making sure no one is left behind on anything.
• Qualifications: who is qualified, eligible for services, find ways to quality rather than just identity, who does not qualify/eligible?
• Everyone gets resources and information on needs/wants and whatever going on.
• Data on mixed status household
• Children with special needs, age increase brackets.
• Quality of childcare
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Interoperability between systems
• Tracking numbers of providers to ensure appropriate ratio of children to provider.
• Increasing number of centers.
• Needs of neurodiverse students captured.
• Plan for providers to adopt a system for streamlined data collection.
• What is the distribution of new children are served across the different sectors of the ecosystem? If our goal is to build a variant mixed delivery ecosystem, it would be helpful to have a picture of our baseline.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Input and partnership with CCPU (Childcare Providers )
• Demographics of new incoming ECE providers.
• How do we prioritize?
• Data collection and surveys from more than just Oakland and Hayward.
• Collect data on who are the providers and who parents want as their providers.
• Cultural representation and language equity.
• Awareness of options and providers that are out there; where to research and find them (Many are not in the data system).
• Data that many social determinants of health, passing the data to the appropriate service.
• Religion and differences.
• Population needs: I have a child in HUSD and we hear a lot about detailing unenrollment, curious about how enrollment details/patterns relate to average population trends.
TECHNOLOGY
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• One door to obtain access.
• What led to this fragmentation?
• An app that connects systems.
• Paradigm shift. Medicine has electronic patient records. Why can’t that for accessing family services?
• Use technology to enroll families. We are stuck on paper and wet signatures.
• How can we integrate data between agencies? How can we provide technical assistance?
• Universal, accessible data collection.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Open houses/Meet and Greet providers.
• One application for all assistance.
• Technology for the little (0-5) to learn tools.
• Adoption training of systems (tech) would benefit everyone
• How can families learn about all the services offered to them?
• Challenge of keeping data up to date in a nimble system when no one has time.
• Make the CC system easier for families to understand.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Are there places where it's a more effective system for access?
• One database to simplify systems.
• Integration with existing systems.
• Have we asked Title 22 to show data on children’s growth?
• Set access levels for all service providers.
ACCESS
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• Rules to qualify for the subsidies. Ex: allow self-certification to start care then require all paperwork.
• Language, data/tech barriers.
• Use technology to replace paperwork, signatures, etc.
• Categorical eligibility for more families i.e.: Qualify for SNAP? Auto enrollment?
• More family friendly neighbor.
• More children off waiting list for childcare.
• “The Waitlist”
• DATA
• More inclusive centers.
• More multilingual and culturally competent childcare.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Paperwork is sometimes a barrier for parents.
• Open houses/Meet & Greet/etc.
• Educating families on available sites and subsidies – how do we improve community communication?
• Access to child family navigators.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Families who income off the program but still need the help.
• How do we support centers in accessing subsidies when that is not always feasible in terms of the facility meeting financial needs?
• Tri-Valley is very spread out. Transportation especially for school age kids is huge.
• Reconsider going up to 13.
EQUITY
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• Non-traditional home care providers.
• Quicker interventions for families in need such as referrals from healthcare providers.
• Outreach in underserved neighborhoods to get enrolled in early education.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• How can we ensure that all Alameda County providers have the resources and investments they need to help children be ready for kindergarten.
• Areas with the greatest need.
• Workshops around miseducation of early care/payment, etc. (i.e.: too expensive).
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• How are we collecting the data from the most vulnerable providers?
• Do we have any data from first nation providers?
FACILITIES
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• The max age from 13-16 because they are still children.
• A healthy environment.
• I would like to see cameras in every childcare still.
• Create opportunities for FCCs and FFIVs to expand.
• More access to renovation grants.
• Bulk purchasing, turnkey construction and upgrades, pre-negotiated.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• More activities, not just television.
• Healthy eating in every site.
• Partnerships with housing.
• More outdoor activities.
• Outreach to non-center-based providers to obtain more credentials.
• Creative financing for ownership could include land trust, 1st time owner, etc.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Many programs are surviving due to unpaid labor of family and friends helping with maintenance repairs, etc.
• Support for parent and childcare providers.
• Emergency funding for natural disasters.
• Funding for fire and building code changes.
• Permits for improvements – streamline, fast-track for certain upgrades.
WORKFORCE
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• To have a way to make it easy for us to get a license.
• Create a pipeline for high school students.
• Put aside funds to pay for childcare licenses.
• Pay mandatory training for parents and childcare providers.
• $ their pay.
• Improve pay vacation.
• Provide paid time for classes.
• Funding for teacher assistance (base salary).
• National childcare retirement system.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Pay for providers.
• Stabilized enrollment to create consistency for business.
• Dual language pay.
• Recruit educators of color.
• Having a voice at the table.
• More apprenticeship programs.
• The younger generation needs to be included.
• Mechanism to implement college apprentice programs with providers.
• More easy access to college classes.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Are we thinking about work force conditions?
• Outreach to high schools!!!
• Medical insurance benefits.
• Invest in retirement benefits.
• Childcare providers who work with special needs children.
• Ratios that make staying in the field sustainable – burnout!
• Include the workforce is more equitable.
• Workers’ compensation funding for this
• More PTO for years of service.
• How many ECE educators enter the workforce each year? What proportion of the ECE workforce it this? What supports do we have in place to support and retain new educators?
OTHER INVESTMENTS
What would you change? (What would you add? What needs context?)
• Classes for providers on mental health.
• Financing investment, social, emotional.
• Keep in mental health for providers
• Add mental health for kids.
• Children with special needs.
• Supporting home literacy development to work towards kinder readiness.
• Assist new parents with developing childcare plans.
What is important? (What meaning do you make? What should be elevated?)
• Mental health services for families and childcare for non-working families.
• Grandparents.
• Technology/AI for all back office/administrative tasks to free up time & admin.
• Unhoused families.
• Training for care providers to better support children with special needs.
Who or what is not reflected? (Who/where/what is missing?)
• Supporting providers so children won’t get kicked out of the program.
• Is PD, connection to higher education part of this or not? Tied to compensation?
Alameda County Measure C Community Advisory Council
9-18 Data Walk – Major Themes
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all comments on the topics below, but is intended to give a sampling that helps to note themes in the comments received on various topics that are crucial to implementation of Measure C in both the shorter and longer terms.
Updated on 10-8 to reflect additional input from CAC member survey – adds are in italic underline.
1. Immediate Financial Relief for Providers
Several participants commented during the meeting that providers who are currently struggling to remain afloat need urgent help. The concept of an emergency fund to infuse support into the system for those in dire need was a theme. One commenter asked an overarching question: “How can we ensure that all Alameda County providers have the resources and investments they need to help children be ready for kindergarten?”
• Many programs are surviving due to unpaid labor of family and friends helping with maintenance repairs, etc.
• Keeping providers in business.
• Making sure no one is left behind on anything.
• Equity for non-traditional home care providers.
• Put aside funds to pay for childcare licenses.
• Supporting providers so children won’t get kicked out of the program.
• Important to set clear parameters around receipt of emergency funds.
• It should be case-by-case and tied to fixing the underlying causes.
• Should cover essential expenses like operational needs, not executive compensation or bonuses.
• If funding doesn’t lead to sustainable solutions, it should be deprioritized.
2. Facilities Themes
Using funds to enable providers to make needed facilities improvements was another theme. Several comments addressed areas where such investments are most needed. Comments also included a note that providers may be purchasing supplies for children such as diapers, which reduce the overall available funds for other purposes, including compensation.
• Funding for fire and building code changes.
• A healthy environment.
• More outdoor activities.
• More access to renovation grants.
• Turnkey construction and upgrades, pre-negotiated.
• Permits for improvements – streamline and/or fast-track for certain upgrades.
• Emergency funding for natural disasters.
• Bulk purchasing.
• Diapers, wipes, supplies
• Creative financing and other means of longer-term support for existingfacility upgrades as well as creation of new facilities.
• Having dedicated expert(s) to navigate state licensing, fire, and building codes would make a practical impact.
• The facilities theme also resonated, particularly with regard to the conflicting regulations across the city, county, state and agencies.
• Providers should demonstrate how any facility improvements will enhance safety, accessibility, and learning opportunities.
3. Technology to Support Eligibility for Subsidized Slots / Child Care Enrollment Themes
Participants identified the need for technology to support both providers and parents. For providers, ensuring that data are used to pinpoint areas with the greatest needs and speed up the time between referrals and enrollment as well as enrollment and reimbursement. For parents, themes included using technology to help them submit eligibility information rather than requiring paper forms and helping them identify providers in their areas.
• Use technology to replace paperwork, signatures, etc.
• Use technology to enroll families. We are stuck on paper and wet signatures.
• Medicine has electronic patient records. Why can’t we have that for accessing family services?
• One database to simplify systems.
• Integration with existing systems.
• One application for all assistance.
• One door to obtain access.
• How can families learn about all the services offered to them?
• An app that connects systems.
• How can we integrate data between agencies?
• How can we provide technical assistance?
• Universal, accessible data collection.
• Technology/AI for all back office/administrative tasks to free up time and admin.
• While tech can streamline, adding systems without integration adds complexity.
• Current assessment tools like DRDP are familiar, so training and alignment are crucial.
• A unified system also gathering attendance and parent communication would be ideal.
• The less complicated for family enrollment the faster the process to get enrolled & start care as well as parent start their journey to self sufficiency
• While technology integration is important, I think it’s key to first define the specific functions we need the technology to support and assess how the community currently meets those needs. It’s important to meet the community where they are before implementing new tools.
4. Compensation Themes
Comments emphasized equity in compensation for early educators, and closing pay gaps across provider types. They noted that providers struggle to afford basic needs. Multiple people commented on the need for career ladders/pathways. Comments also included the need for compensation such as paid time off and pension.
• Set base salaries
• Not just basic pay but also paid time off, medical coverage, workers compensation and retirement.
• Pay differentials for dual language providers.
• Pay differentials for education and training achievements.
• Funding for teacher assistants.
• Provide financial support for achieving licensure and paying licensing fees.
• Subsidizing more competitive wages would unlock benefits like PTO and retirement, helping with retention.
• I’m concerned about $15 minimum wage for caregivers: This is an outdated hourly rate, are we mandated to that amount or can we go higher?
• Subsidize cost of insurance for providers (especially auto insurance for those who transport children) & cost of liability insurance.
• Ensure pay for FCC and ECE teachers with CCTC permits are paid on par with ECE teacher salaries at school district.
• Without well-trained and fairly compensated people doing good work, none of the other efforts will be sustainable.
• Ensuring competitive wages, career advancement opportunities, and specialized training especially for working with neuro-diverse populations is critical.
• It is clear from the data that ongoing investment in the early childhood education workforce is an urgent and important need. The discussions around compensation and workforce stability really show how critical it is to close wage gaps and improve working conditions.
5. Workforce Development Themes
Improving workforce development opportunities like paid apprenticeships, affordable college courses, and increasing outreach to potential providers was emphasized by participants in the Activity. Participants also called for a need to offer trainings around addressing mental health concerns and equipping providers with the tools required to effectively support children with special needs.
• Start early with recruitment – such as high school programs, apprenticeships, and easier access to college programs
• Provide paid time for training and taking classes.
• Assist non-center-based providers to obtain more credentials.
• Offer training on how to support children with special needs and children who are neurodiverse.
• Provide classes for providers on mental health.
• Workforce development, especially career advancement, apprenticeships, and funding for ECE classes and specialized training to work with the neurodiverse population, needs much more funding and support.
• Workforce is in great need of up & coming professionals & without that the system will continue to be a challenge for families to access the care.
• Building a pipeline of educators, especially from underrepresented communities, is key to creating a sustainable and diverse workforce. And we need to create this pipeline not just for state preschool programs and centerbased agencies, but also among family child care providers.
6. Data and Evaluation Themes
Increasing and improving data collection around child care needs and realities was a focus of many comments. Participants frequently called for ensuring high quality data collection in all regions of Alameda County to ensure that all children and families are accurately reflected. Additionally, increasing data points captured was named in multiple comments.
• Collect more data to improve understanding of all areas of the county.
• Surveys of providers and families in all areas of the county.
• There is a need for more data on quality of care.
• More data on ethnicity and representation in child care providers/workforce is needed (examples: demographic data measuring cultural diversity, language equity and representation of indigenous populations).
• Collecting and analyzing data on social determinants of health.
• Analysis of how enrollment and disenrollments reflect population trends.
• Collecting data to understand what happens as a result of Measure C investments.
• Ensure that more qualitative data collection and analysis is made a permanent element of the data and evaluation methodologies related to Measure C.
• I think there's a need to better understand the factors that drive family choice when it comes to selecting childcare and ECE options for children.
7. Access Themes
Participants advocated for using funds to increase subsidized contracted slots, eliminate barriers to child care and reduce waitlists. Several comments addressed the need to make accessing child care less complicated, including barriers related to paperwork and language, as well as using funds to provide more education to parents and guardians about child care options and processes. Commentors raised the inclusivity of programs related to cultural and language competency.
• Make the system easier for parents to understand and access.
• Outreach in underserved neighborhoods to enroll children in early education.
• Quicker interventions for families in need, such as referrals from healthcare providers.
• Consider expanding age range for eligibility to include teenagers.
• Access to family child care navigators.
• Provide more education to parents about child care, including availability, cost, how subsidies work.
• Services are needed for children with special needs and children who are neurodiverse.
• Support for parents/families to improve their literacy, access services to meet mental health needs, and increase their ability to support kinder readiness at home.
• Expand CARES program to county-wide via R&R programs.
• Family Navigation and support services – to include warm handoffs to multiple supports families need (early care and education programs, health care, food access, etc).
• Focus on a strong mixed delivery system that offers families safe, affordable, and high quality choices for the care and education of their children.
8. Overarching Themes of Equity
Comments were made in each area about equity and are included above also; things that stood out include:
• Collecting data from, and ensuring that investments in each component address the needs of, a wide and representative variety of providers.
• Ensuring a voice at the table for all of those affected by Measure C decisions.
• Making purposeful efforts to ensure that child care providers and the workforce reflect Alameda County’s diverse population.
• Serving children and families in an equitable way, including but not limited to outreach to underrepresented neighborhoods and support for nontraditional childcare providers
• Understanding how to identify, and collect information from, providers who are the most vulnerable and those who have a history of being marginalized and undervalued.
• Equity needs were expressed by commenters throughout the components of the data walk in terms of:
o Language
o Race
o Ethnicity
o Culture
o Varying neighborhoods/areas of the county
o Type of provider (center vs family home vs FFN)
o Services for children with special needs and neurodiversity
• Serving the neuro-diverse population needs focused training and coordination with providers to ensure equal opportunities.
• Training for providers about children with special needs: Special needs if a very broad category, so we should delineate. Examples: There are neurodivergent children. Children with various physical disabilities. Children that are medically fragile or require medical intervention during the day that a provider can be trained to administer.
• Ensure community engagement efforts are authentic, ongoing, consistent, and intentional, and include the presence and voices of children, parents, family & the community, along with faith-based and local and active public officials, across cultures, races, languages, abilities, and experiences, to inform sound, equitable, and ethical decisions.
• One concern that we have heard from the community is around supporting and sustaining family child care providers. There's a body of research from NIEER by Ellen Frede and GG Weisenfeld focusing on policies and practices for including family child cares in publicly funded programs (here's one example, but they have written quite a bit on FCCs, all of which is worth reviewing and considering: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED628923)
9. Other Themes Raised in Survey
• A key theme might be coordination between providers, Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies, and other agencies providing subsidies and support. The Alameda County system is fragmented, and providers often are unable to connect with families in need even though they have openings and the children are looking for open slots in programs. Better coordination, especially supporting neuro-typical and neuro-diverse children, could reduce gaps in access and make the system more efficient.
• Joy! What can we do to ensure our children and their providers are joyful and not just surviving. Have funding for field trips. Have funding for attendance at professional development conferences. Fund a lottery to provide x number of sabbaticals for early educators.
• Possibly to ensure that we hold the vision and do the work to ensure that historical barriers of institutional and systemic racism and inequity are dismantled and replaced with unifying and restorative systems that center child, family, and community education, health, wellness, engagement and equity, across cultures, races, language, background, and experience, that also recognize child, family, and community health, education, and wellness, as assets with a proven return on investment.
• Quality - During the post-activity discussion, a point was made that what constitutes a robust early childhood program for one child/family does not necessarily mean the same thing for another. Considering Kindergarten readiness as the north start, what universals do we find in high quality programs?
• Quality - Although there's shared understanding around the idea that we need safe, affordable, high quality early childhood education that promote Kreadiness, we did not really get into what the means and how to build community convergence around the meaning of high quality.
• One key theme I felt was underrepresented was the focus on families and children themselves. While there was much important discussion around workforce, facilities, and access, I was curious about data showing the direct impact of these systems on children and families.
