Child care is the only way many working parents can balance career success with family responsibilities, and it's especially crucial to bringing women back into the workforce. Child care and early education are critical pieces of our human infrastructure, and we need to act like it. We need the Governor and Legislature to work with us to overhaul the child care industry to adequately support kids, families, and providers to ensure our economy can fully recover. 

If you agree, please support our contract requests by signing our petition and make sure your voice is heard!

1. Increase available child care by ensuring child care jobs are good jobs. Retain and attract the most talented early learning and care professionals by increasing provider pay so that providers can afford to care for their own families. Ensure providers have access to fair benefits like health care, retirement plans, and adequate sick leave and time off. Invest in a state-supported education fund that will allow providers to gain new knowledge and skills on emerging topics. All while keeping child care affordable and accessible to working families. 

2. Make quality child care more affordable so that all children have a chance to succeed in school, regardless of race, income, or zip code. Fund more child care vouchers for families, a permanent end to family fees, and more child care capacity statewide.  Expand hard-to-find child care for families needing help on weekends and evenings or for children who have special needs, by increasing pay for providers offering these services.

3. Improve and streamline how California's child care system works. Improve transparency and communication between the state, local organizations, parents, and providers so that everyone receives the same information regarding state policies. Ensure there are no interruptions in care by eliminating any administrative delays in paying providers.