We have identified many reference links for Policy and Advocacy, and they are separated regionally into San Francisco & California, National and International. Quotations come directly from the agencies' web sites.
- provides information about the current trends and policy issues affecting children and their families. AAC publishes the in English, Spanish and Chinese. Their mission is "to inform, educate and inspire parents, teachers and advocates about how to support quality early education for young children in their homes, schools and communities."
- one of more than 560 regional planning agencies across the nation working to help solve problems in areas such as land use, housing, environmental quality, and economic development. ABAG is owned and operated by the cities and counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was established in 1961 to protect local control, plan for the future, and promote cooperation on areawide issues. In recent years, ABAG has answered the needs of its members by providing low-cost services that save the taxpayers millions of dollars.
- a resource for anyone interested in child care, parenting and families. Childcare resource and referral, training and development, childcare nutritional services, Subsidized Child Care, Child Assessment and Consultation Services, and more
"uses legal expertise to secure good, affordable child care for low-income families and communities ...the only organization in the country devoted exclusively to the complex legal issues that affect child care."
- The Child Development Division of the California Dept. of Education maintains this web page listing links to web sites aiding in the development of quality child care.
(LIIF) provides grants, loans, training, financial resources and support to child care programs in San Francisco
DCYF is a San Francisco City Department whose "mission is to ensure that families with children are a prominent and valued segment of San Francisco鈥檚 social fabric by supporting programs and activities in every San Francisco neighborhood."
"The California Children and Families Act of 1998 (Proposition 10) created the California Children and Families Commission. The state commission is responsible for the implementation of comprehensive and integrated solutions to provide information and services promoting, supporting and improving the early childhood development of children prenatal to the age of five." Locally, First 5 runs the Preschool For All Program, and supports a wide variety of supports to children, families and the Early Care and Education workforce.
is a City Department, reporting directly to the Mayor to manage ECE in San Francisco.
"CPAC is the state-mandated Local Planning Council (LPC), established to provide a forum for the identification of local priorities for child care and early education, and the development of policies to meet these needs." The general CPAC meeting is public and is held every 2nd Wednesday of the month; 9:00 -11:00am; at the Children's Council, 445 Church Street, Room 120.
- Family child care providers are small business owners who care for and educate small groups of children in their homes. It is the mission of the Association to help a diverse membership maintain a high degree of professionalism in the care and education of young children and to promote Family Child Care as a vital and necessary service to the community.
builds, strengthens and empowers play networks to improve the lives of children. We envision a world where stress is reduced in children by: increased child-initiated and intrinsically motivated free play; reduced screen time and high stakes testing and increased open- ended, active play opportunities. We work to support children's healthy development, love of learning and joy in living.
works in support of biliteracy, multicultural competency and educational equality for all students. CABE implements priorities, initiatives and services designed to increase California's capacity to create caring and highly effective learning environments that promote multi literacy and support English learners and all diverse populations to graduate college, forge a career, and be globally prepared to live their lives to their fullest potential.
- The Center for Child and Family Studies (CCFS) is dedicated to ensuring that America's children get a healthy start in life. Current projects/activities include: Infant/Toddler Caregiver Training, Early Intervention, Early Head Start, and Research & Evaluation.
- CLASP is a national public policy research firm with expertise in both law and policy affecting the poor. Through education, policy research and advocacy, CLASP seeks to improve the economic conditions of low-income families with children and secure access for the poor to our civil justice system.
"is focused on achieving comprehensive public investments which enable and reward the early childhood workforce to deliver high quality care and education for all children ...We conduct cutting-edge research and propose policy solutions aimed at improving how our nation prepares, supports and rewards the early care and education workforce to ensure young children鈥檚 optimal development."
- Children Now is a nonpartisan, independent voice for children, working to translate the nation's commitment to children and families into action. Recognized nationally for its policy expertise and up-to-date information on the status of children, Children Now uses communications strategies to reach parents, lawmakers, citizens, business, media and community leaders, creating attention and generating positive change on behalf of children. With particular concern for those who are poor or at-risk, Children Now is committed to improving conditions for all children. Founded in 1988, Children Now is a national organization with special depth in California.
- The Children's Defense Fund exists to provide a strong and effective voice for all the children of America, who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. Our goal is to educate the nation about the needs of children and encourage preventive investment in children before they get sick, drop out of school, suffer family breakdown, or get into trouble.
- The Children, Youth and Family Consortium's Electronic Clearinghouse (CEC) is an electronic bridge to information and resources on children, youth and families. Information about issues related to the health, education and well-being of children, youth and families can be accessed via CEC. This site features articles and research material useful for informing everything from practical parenting to formulating policies, and designing and implementing programs.
- Early Head Start is a new program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women. This new initiative was created with the reauthorization of the Head Start Act in 1994. Early Head Start programs seek to enhance very young children鈥檚 development and promote healthy family functioning and self-sufficiency. This federal commitment includes training, program standards, research and evaluation, and service coordination at the regional and national level.
- HandsNet is a national, nonprofit organization that promotes information sharing, cross-sector collaboration and advocacy among individuals and organizations working on a broad range of public interest issues. HandsNet on the web offers daily news from HandsNet on CONNECT, information about our services, our forums and members, the latest Action Alerts and our Weekly Digest, a sample from the hundreds of policy, program and resources articles posted each week by HandsNet members. HandsNet on CONNECT, a full-featured network environment with interactive forums for human service organizations to exchange information and resources, and collaborate on a broad range of program and policy issues.
- (ACTIONWITHOUTBORDER) - IdeaList is an online resource for nonprofit and community organizations and the people they serve. Idealist allows organizations - whether they have a Website or not - to enter and update information about their services, volunteer opportunities, job openings, internships, upcoming events, and any material or publication they have produced. 11,000 organizations in 125 countries are already using Idealist.
- NaniNet features a searchable database of nanny placement agencies and nanny referral services, directories of firms offering nanny tax services, nanny health and workman's compensation insurance, nanny background verification, and a reading room with articles of interest to nannies and nanny employers. Many nanny placement agencies and nanny referral services provide the visitor with additional information about their nanny services.
- They are a national non-profit dedicated to providing the most up-to-date and useful information to parents seeking child care, child care professionals, NACCRRA members, and child care advocates.
- The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the nation's largest organization of early childhood professionals and others dedicated to improving the quality of early childhood education programs for children birth through age eight. It includes a national network of greater than 400 local, state, and regional early childhood organizations affiliated with NAEYC. Their primary goals are improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education and building public understanding and support for high quality early childhood programs.
- The NCCIC has been established to complement, enhance and promote child care linkages and to serve as a mechanism for supporting quality, comprehensive services for children and families.
is engaged in developing and delivering strengths-based, culturally relevant, evidence-based, and trauma-informed resources that respond to the unique strengths and needs of Black children around issues including early childhood education, health and wellness, literacy, and family engagement...we are committed to our mission "to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and families through education and advocacy."
- A central resource and referral center for information on issues and activities centered around American children and teens. Established to advocate for a much more substantial and urgent effort to stem the growing crisis of our kids: the epidemic child abuse, the alarming suicide rate among our teens, violence directed at and even by children, AIDS, runaways, domestic violence and latchkey children and a lack of adequate activities and opportunities for youth, particularly in cities. It helps other groups with fundraising, creation of local radio public service announcements, media advocacy, affordable Web pages--and effective communication with each other.
(NPIN) - NPIN is an extensive collection of materials for parents and those who work with them. The full texts of brochures, pamphlets, and longer publications for pars and family support personnel are here.
supports low-income working families through child care financial assistance and promotes children's learning by improving the quality of early care and education and afterschool programs.
- The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) provides national leadership for educational research and statistics. OERI strives to promote excellence and equity in American education by conducting research and demonstration projects funded through grants to help improve education; collecting statistics on the status and progress of schools and education throughout the nation; and distributing information and providing technical assistance to those working to improve education. OERI offers a variety of services to customers through its library, institutes and program-specific offices.
- The primary purpose of "The Future of Children" is to disseminate timely information on major issues related to children's well-being, with special emphasis on providing objective analysis and evaluation, translating existing knowledge into effective programs and polices, and promoting constructive institutional change. In attempting to achieve these objectives, they are targeting a multidisciplinary audience of national leaders, including policymakers, practitioners, legislators, executives, and professionals in the public and private sectors. This publication is intended to complement, not duplicate, the kind of technical analysis found in academic journals and the general coverage of children's issues by the popular press and special interest groups.
- ParentsPlace.com is a place where parents of all types connect, communicate and celebrate the adventures of childrearing. Through their bulletin boards and chats, members share insights and lend a supportive ear. You can talk about women's health, child development, your daily pet peeves, schoolwork, discipline issues, current family-related politics, or even a fiction book club. In addition to community, members can access the wisdom of professional experts (all of whom are parents themselves) and take advantage of daily features.
- A document presented by the The Urban Institute entitled "Services for Low-Income Children". This special section looks at some recently expanded federal entitlement programs that include benefits to children. It provides an overview of findings from selected Urban Institute research on the effects of these expansions on the accessibility, cost, quality, and use of these programs by low-income parents and their children.
- Child Care: How Does Your State Rate? This careful and thorough investigation of how each state meets its responsibility in caring for kids is simply not available anywhere else: It is a report that readers, advocates and state officials can use to compare their states with others, and work to further improve programs and services for the nation's children. Their commitment is to look at whether state officials make child care a high priority. They are especially interested in the actions of the governor and state lawmakers, who have the power to both make policy and set aside money to improve and expand child care. Currently, you may search through the database by state.
- UNESCO's Early Childhood and Family Education (ECF) Unit co-ordinates research, activities and initiatives undertaken by UNESCO in early childhood care and education, parent and family education, and in favor of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. With the help of its specialized services, its roster of consultants, its partnership with United Nations agencies. UNESCO undertakes actions in the area of: Early Childhood Education; Training of Early Childhood Personnel; Early Childhood Information and Documentation; Educating for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.