Advocate for Child Care

A stronger future starts with quality child care. Together, we can lift up the voices of parents and providers to shape policies that make child care more accessible, affordable, and sustainable for all.

Child care providers at a rally, advocating for fair reimbursement rates at California's State Capitol.

Founded on Advocacy
for Families

Since 1976, Child Action has helped shape child care policy and strengthen family support across Sacramento County. We connect families to affordable, quality care and stand beside the early educators who make that care possible. Every child deserves a strong start. Effective child care policy ensures families can access the care they need to thrive.

Quality Child Care Strengthens Families and Our Community

Child care policy isn’t just about programs or funding—it’s about building strong families and thriving communities. Quality care fuels the workforce, supports parents’ stability, and gives children the foundation they need to succeed.

Affordable, high-quality care helps:

  • Parents enter and stay in the workforce or pursue education with peace of mind
  • Children grow and thrive in safe, nurturing environments
  • Communities become stronger, healthier, and more resilient

When systems work well, families experience less stress, children thrive, and communities prosper. That’s why effective child care policy benefits everyone.

At Child Action, we see every day how early care and education transform lives. Investing in it isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s how we build a stronger Sacramento County for all families.

Child Action’s Chief Strategy Officer, Blake Johnson, and Representative Ami Bera visit Play-ology in Rancho Cordova to meet with the center’s owner and discuss ways to strengthen child care policy and provider support.

Public Policy Platform

At Child Action, we advocate for policies that honor families and providers, strengthen child care systems, and ensure every child has access to safe, affordable, high-quality care. Our priorities include:

  • Fair Pay for Providers – advocate for child care providers to be paid the true cost of care.  
  • Fair Agency Funding – pursue CAI’s receipt of funding that comprehensively covers the actual cost of rendering our service. 
  • Parent Choice for Child Care – advocate for the inclusion of all community and home-based care settings within California’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten system.
  • Family Friendly Services – promote the streamlining of family enrollment policies that reduce the paperwork burden and simplify the process.
  • Workforce Recruitment – advocate for increased training and educational opportunities to serve both the current ECE workforce and potential recruits to expand access to high-quality child care for families.
  • Regional Approach to Child Care – pursue and lead regional partnerships in the early care and education space, cultivating a roadmap for child care.
  • Whole-Family Approach – advocate for interoperability between family-serving programs. 

Policy In Action

At Child Action, we turn our public policy goals into real change — with your help.
By testifying in committee hearings, sharing powerful stories with changemakers, and meeting directly with legislators, we make sure the voices of families and providers are heard where it matters most.

Through partnership and collective action, we’re shaping a fair and sustainable child care system that works for children, families, and providers alike.

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