SF Housing Crisis: Family Child Care Provider Resources

By Mona Malan
Director of Child Care Business Initiatives
Children’s Council of San Francisco

With the San Francisco housing crisis continuing and evictions on the rise, there has been a substantial impact on early care and education (ECE) providers and teachers of our city’s youngest children and their families, particularly in the last 1 1/2 years. Here at Children’s Council of San Francisco, we have heard from many Family Child Care (FCC) providers threatened by displacement or eviction, and some who have recently been evicted. Other providers have told us about their rents being increased beyond affordability. And there are numerous examples of households being told by landlords that they cannot legally operate FCC programs in their homes. Any FCC provider operating in an apartment or house they do not own is currently facing instability.

FCC providers face a double-threat, as displacement impacts their business and livelihood, as well as the homes where they (and their families) live. In addition, for every FCC provider who loses their home and is forced to close their program, families lose the stable child care that is so important for parents to work and children to thrive.

There is much misinformation regarding the rights of FCC providers and the intersection with tenants’ rights, especially for those FCC providers living in below-market rate or Section 8 housing. Most tenants in San Francisco have some eviction protections, but knowing your rights is key.

If you are a Family Child Care provider in San Francisco concerned about displacement or eviction, here is a list of resources where you can turn for help.