Parent Voices

Parent Voices is a parent-led, parent-run grassroots organization. They fight to make quality child care affordable and accessible to all families. They advocate to increase funding, improve quality, and provide better access to child care.

Parent Voices is a partnership of parents from Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Francisco counties, with close to 20 other emerging chapters statewide. It is coordinated by the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network through child care resource and referral agencies in each county.

Parent Voices is guided by a steering committee of parents from each chapter. The committee meets once a month to make decisions about organizing and campaign development.

Over the past few years, Parent Voices has

• Successfully pressured the California governor to reinstate funding for CalWORKs child care subsidies
• Placed members on local and national media to highlight the problems parents face in finding high-quality, affordable child care
• Sponsored and supported local actions to increase funding, improve quality, and provide better access to child care
• Worked with state legislators to ensure the presence of a parent representative on the Child Care Planning Council of every county in California
• Hosted training sessions on how the legislative and budget processes work and on the child care delivery system in California
• Trained child care providers, family service providers, and community organizers in assessing eligibility for child care support and applying for assistance
• Worked to change public policy to improve the lives of young children with asthma

SUPPORT PARENT VOICES! To find out how to get involved, call
(415) 343-3383, or e-mail parentvoices@childrenscouncil.org.