EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION RESOURCES
Partner
Organizations
CPAC partners with local ECE organizations collecting and analyzing data related to supporting families and the positive development of children and youth in San Francisco.
Family
Resources
Research shows 90% of a child’s brain develops by age 5. Quality early child experiences create the foundation for learning and development later in life.
Providers
and Educators
Supporting center and family child care educators is essential to ensure children and families have access to high-quality early care & education.
Community Partners
San Francisco Department of Early Childhood (DEC)
The Department of Early Childhood (DEC) is San Francisco’s lead agency for early childhood, investing in the healthy development of young children. As the City’s largest early childhood funder, DEC provides resources, expertise, and leadership to support those caring for San Francisco’s youngest residents.
Children’s Council
For more than 45 years, Children’s Council has been the heart of child care and early education in San Francisco, advancing the belief that high-quality child care can transform lives and communities.
Wu Yee Children’s Services
Wu Yee Children’s Services believes nothing is more essential than excellent child care and education for all our children, right from the start.We Yee partners with parents, as well as countless individuals and organizations across San Francisco, to provide a network that strengthens and connects a diverse, resilient community around our children.
Low Income Investment Fund
Using capital, capacity building and public advocacy together, LIIF builds
sustainable community-based systems to support child care facility financing
and development.
San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families
DCYF envisions a strong San Francisco where all children and youth
are supported by nurturing families and communities; all children and
youth are physically and emotionally healthy; all children and youth are ready to learn and succeed in school; and all youth are ready for
college, work and productive adulthood.
San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department
Research shows that children who experience meaningful connections to nature in their daily lives are healthier, happier, and more resilient. Yet today’s kids spend half the time playing outside than their parents did. The San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department wants to change that!
Department of Public Health
The San Francisco Department of Public Health protects and promotes the health of all San Franciscans through the San Francisco Health Network and Population Health.
Family Resources
Family Resource Centers
San Francisco has 26 family resource centers that operate under a shared vision built on families who are thriving, connected, and able to support their children’s lifelong success. Parents with children of any age are encouraged to discover the many resources available at all family resource centers across San Francisco.
Paying for Early Care & Education
The Children’s Council of San Francisco and Wu Yee Children’s Services help families and guardians find early care and education services. These community-based organizations are funded by the California Department of Social Services and the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood to ensure all families have access to free personal assistance locating and choosing early care and education in San Francisco.
Children’s Council
Wu Yee
Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
Support for Families with Disabilities
A parent-run nonprofit organization, based in San Francisco, that ensures that families of children with any kind of disability or health care need have the knowledge and assistance they need to make informed choices supporting their child’s health, education, and development.
Get Involved
There are several options for parents to get involved both locally and at the state level to advocate for the resources and policies that make a positive impact on the early care and education system and the children and families that are served in San Francisco.
CPAC
San Francisco Child Care Planning & Advisory Council appoints 25 seated members to serve on the council for 3-year terms. To learn more about becoming a seated member, please read here.
Early Childhood Community Oversight and Advisory Committee (EC COAC)
The Early Childhood Community Oversight and Advisory Committee (EC COAC) advises the Department of Early Childhood and the Children and Families Commission. It helps shape strategies, policies, and procedures, including those for the Early Care and Education for All Initiative (Baby Prop C). The committee also guides community engagement and provides recommendations to the Department, Mayor, and Board of Supervisors.
Children and Families Commission
The Children and Families Commission, also known as First 5 San Francisco, oversees the city’s Proposition 10 funds—about $6 million annually from a tobacco tax to support early childhood programs. In 2022, it merged with the Office of Early Care and Education to form the Department of Early Childhood. The Commission includes four City agency representatives and five members appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and it operates two committees focused on program performance and fiscal oversight.
Parent Voices is a statewide organization supporting parent efforts to take action on local, statewide, and national issues related to making high-quality early care and education affordable and accessible to all families. If you are interested in being a parent advocate or simply learning more about their work connect with them.
ECE Educator Resources
