“Children Learning, Parents Earning, Communities Growing"Legislative and Budget Priorities2023 CAPPA Public Policy PrinciplesThe California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA) is a 45-year network of community-based public and private nonprofit agencies that provide child care and other services to income eligible families in each of California’s 58 counties. The CAPPA network promotes parental choice and supports the whole family with access to child care, food, housing, transportation, mental health, domestic violence, health care and other services to lift families up from poverty to self-sufficiency. Our services to the community have evolved from child care as a parental work support into multidimensional programs that meet the needs of working parents as well as the daily needs of families. We value being a collaborative partner focused on directing resources and services to meeting the needs of underserved communities. To continue lifting up the Whole Family/Whole Child needs, CAPPA will focus on: Accessibility: Stabilize and fund a well-resourced workforce 1. Secure stable funding to support the state’s multi-year commitment to provide 200,000 new child care slots on top of the 107,584 for center-based and family child care provider vouchers funding in the 2020 Budget Act. 2. Maximize blended one-time and ongoing federal and state dollars to honor parental choice of care in all quality settings that best meets the real time working needs of families in California’s 24 hour/seven days per week economy 3. Establish fair and equitable policies for subsidized parents that that mirror the private market wherein all families have the same access to settings that best meet the unique needs of parents who work 9-5 or nontraditional schedules, both types critical to keep California’s economy strong Workforce: Ensure a well-resourced workforce and sustainable pipeline of new providers for the future that reflects the critical contribution of their services to a thriving economy 1. Compensate early care and education providers through meaningful rate reform that recognizes quality and experience being delivered in early care and learning environments 2. Address the economic inequity of California’s child care and early learning system carried mainly on the backs of low-income Black and Brown women 3. Fund a pathway to support individuals that choose Early Childhood Education as a vocation and value its Importance as critical to a healthy economy Communities and Partnership: Strengthening whole family/whole child needs can be successfully addressed when supported with a coordinated network of state, local community and neighborhood stakeholders 1. Collaborate with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) on building upon community-based programs that are uniquely positioned to talk with parents and support their under-resourced connections to needed services (i.e, child care, nutrition, immigration, housing/homelessness, foster care, mental health, transportation, etc.) 2. Strengthen funding, reduce unfunded mandates, maximize technology and reduce contract barriers in order to create a cohesive delivery system that values a coordinated delivery of programs with allocated monies 3. Show the data of the working families’ contributions back into the local and statewide economy via taxes through their Return On Investment (ROI) when they are employed and earning On the Ground Emergency Response: During the COVID pandemic as well as during regional declared state’s of emergency, our community members stay open and are accessible to 1. Provide immediate support to displaced families 2. Provide immediate access to food, diapers, clothing and housing 3. Provide meaningful one-time and ongoing investments and stipends to child care providers 4. Provide immediate communication and outreach to families, fragile populations and those in need |