child care

Most of what Californians experience with homelessness occurs along public spaces and city streets. With more than 170,000 unhoused people in the state, residents often see the crisis reflected in encampment tents along a roadside or panhandling on street corners. But one aspect of homelessness has surprisingly presented itself in Ojai, a small mountain valley […]

If you need any more proof of labor’s power in Democratic politics, look no further than the joint conference of the California Labor Federation and the State Building and Construction Trades Council. Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom told the gathering — “Unionize California” emblazoned everywhere — that worker rights are under threat in other states and […]

Bay Area Rapid Transit, San Francisco’s MUNI, Los Angeles Metro and transit agencies across the state are struggling to keep afloat. Public transit ridership in California hasn’t recovered since plummeting during the pandemic. And since then, transit agencies have been anticipating a “fiscal cliff” — a steep drop in revenue combined with the end of […]

A 2022 study revealed that child care workers in California are paid just 25-30% of the cost of providing care. The inadequate pay has racist roots, and workers in this crucial industry are demanding action from state leaders.

“It’s hard for any legislator to admit that a policy they championed, and put a lot of money behind, is going to make things worse.” That comment, from San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, came during a Saturday panel on child care at Politifest, an annual series of debates and discussions hosted by the nonprofit […]

For the last two years, some families who receive subsidized child care got a waiver from the fees they pay to participate. But the waiver will end next year after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have extended it, citing an expected decrease in state revenue.

California day camps operate without background checks, CPR training, child/adult ratios or required reporting of injury and death. A family whose daughter drowned at a camp is working to change that.

Despite an unprecedented budget surplus, funding to meet the state's goal of expanding Head Start programs has remained elusive. Instead, hundreds of Head Start classrooms statewide are closed because of the inability to hire staff to serve children.

Cannabis revenue has become a major funding source for state services to children and families living in poverty. The Legislature needs to back the governor’s long-term solution to protect it.

The state mandates transitional kindergarten, but isn’t paying the tab for a small portion of wealthy school districts. Some are balking.