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.
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.
Public Policy Platform
Child Action advocates for policies, legislation, and budgetary proposals informed by the families we serve and beneficial to our diverse community of early educators. Child Action actively pursues and supports policy initiatives that promote social justice, equity, and strength-based trauma-responsive programs. We call for the maintenance and expansion of child care funding at all levels of government and oppose any reductions that jeopardize access to affordable, high-quality ECE programs. To achieve these priorities, we will champion:
- Fair Pay for Providers – advocate for childcare 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.
- Protect Families’ Access to Child Care – advocate for the preservation of all child care slots—both those currently funded and those promised by the Administration. Prioritize protections for our most vulnerable families, particularly those supported through the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for foster children.
- 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 and provider 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 childcare for families.
- Regional Approach to Child Care – pursue and lead regional partnerships in the early care and education space, cultivating a roadmap for increasing access to quality ECE programs.
- 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.
Share Your Child Care Story
Behind every policy decision is a real family or provider. When you share your child care experience, you help us elevate lived experiences in budget advocacy, legislation, and public hearings. Your voice can help shape a stronger, more equitable child care system.
Your story can influence child care policy
Share your experience