Achievements We’ve Made Together

Over the years, family child care providers in California have won:

Rate Increases for Family Child Care

Since 2014, we have been mobilizing in the streets and in Sacramento. Our efforts have raised rates over 20%!

  • 2014-15: Increased the regional market rate (RMR) 9%.
  • 2015-16: Increased RMR 4.5% above the current rate for licensed family child care, license-exempt provider rates increased from 60% to 65% of the family child care home rate.
  • 2016-17: Increased RMR to the 75th percentile of the 2014 market survey as of January 1, 2017. License-exempt providers saw an increase from 65% to 70% of the family child care home rate.
  • 2017-18: Increased RMR to the 75th percentile of the 2016 market survey.

Budget Advocacy

  • In 2017 we passed AB 603, a bill that gave all providers access to direct deposit, and required APs to notify us if a child in our care lost eligibility or hours and state on our checks what we were being paid for — time-saving fixes that allowed us to focus on creating the best early childhood education possible for the children in our care.
  • In 2018, we helped increase the number of AP slots and updated the Regional Market Rate—changes that mean more money for family child care providers.

Increased Access to Affordable Child Care for more Families

  • Increased the number of families (over 7,000 additional families) who have access to quality child care and higher family income eligibility levels.
  • Helped to stabilize child care for 280,000 families by ensuring that families remain eligible for their subsidy for a minimum of 12 months.

Increased Access to Affordable Training for Early Educators 

In 2015, we launched the SEIU Early Educator Training Program and won over $5 million in funding to help 400 child care workers earn more while they learn new skills.  Our apprenticeship is in LA and the Bay Area.

Winning a Voice within the State’s Early Care and Education System

  • Providers meet quarterly with the California Department of Education (CDE) Early Learning and Care Division to address problems with AP program payments, policies & procedures that impact providers. Together we are building legislative strategies to fix the problems once and for all, and sharing our ideas for how to improve the child care system.
  • In 2016, we won a seat on the Governor’s Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Childhood Education and Care to give input to the Governor on the challenges facing child care workers.
  • In 2016, we won a seat on the Speaker’s Blue Ribbon Commission. Since then, providers from across the state are participating in hearings across California, sharing our experiences and providing solutions for Governor Newsom on how to fix our broken child care system, including the need for the right to collectively bargain with the state.

Provider appreciation events

If ever anyone needed a relaxing day in the park, it’s a family child care provider! From Provider Appreciation Day to Mother’s Day, we host events across the state, getting together for a few hours of fun, fellowship, and facts about child care.