Support Child Care: Today. Tomorrow. 

Child care is hard. Even for people with means, balancing taking care of young children and work is difficult. Between the high cost of child care and the scarcity of child care providers, a family’s whole world can quickly fall apart.

We are in the middle of a child care crisis that cuts across all socioeconomic and racial lines.

At Children’s Council, we have solutions, but we need your help to fund and grow the number of high-quality child care businesses, especially those serving our most vulnerable communities of color.

Since 2019, Children’s Council’s innovative Child Care Business Incubator has successfully trained and helped launch 100+ new child care businesses in San Francisco, which created 800+ new child care slots.

With your help, we can launch more child care businesses so that EVERY child has access to quality care that helps them reach their full potential and thrive, and their parents can go to work or school and support their families!

One graduate of our Incubator, Krystle Danridge-Pierson, a San Francisco native, wife, mom of two boys, SF State grad, and early childhood educator with 16 years of experience, approached Children’s Council for help launching her own in-home child care business.

Through of our partnership with the Dream Keeper Initiative, Krystle is an important part of our vision to rebuild the community of African American early educators serving the babies, toddlers and preschoolers of San Francisco. Together, we are working hard to ensure that all children have the chance to experience culturally affirming role models in their classrooms from an early age.

Joelle and her mother De’Orsie just love ba​​bies. “I was ten when I realized I wanted to be a teacher,” says Joelle, director of JoJo’s Playhouse, a home-based child care program in the SOMA district. “I love babies so much I wanted to volunteer at the hospital just to hold them,” she says. Since 90% of all brain development occurs before the age of five, the years we spend with nurturing caregivers are critical ones. The mother-daughter dynamic duo opened up their program about five years ago and recently completed the Pipeline for Black Early Childhood Educator Career Development program at Children’s Council — graduating with straight As.

The Pipeline program offered them both an opportunity to complete essential early childhood academic credits they needed to earn their Associate Teacher and Director permits.

Our coaches support early care educators to improve the quality of care they provide to young children. This year, 122 home-based child care business owner-educators like Liting Liu received customized coaching and guidance from our experience team.

Through Children’s Council’s Early Care & Education Quality Coaching services, Liting gained access to a collaborative and supportive space where she learned how to create a high-quality family child care environment.  

We want to support early educators to provide the best care for SF families so that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential and thrive! Join our movement to solve the child care crisis.

“I was in junior high when I had my first African American teacher,” says Lyndale Garner, M.A., a professor at Las Positas College in the department of Early Care and Education. “I was in awe of her because she was Black, too,” she says. Professor Garner is a dedicated teacher and mentor for students enrolled in the Pipeline for Black Early Childhood Educator Career Development program at Children’s Council.

Professor Garner know the importance of what has been coined the “Role-Model” effect, when Black students have Black teachers, they have better long-term outcomes. Having just one Black teacher makes Black children 13% more likely to enroll in college. With two teachers, the likelihood of college enrollment jumps to 32%. Click here to read more about Prof. Garner’s journey and her impact on our Pipeline program.

“Especially since the pandemic, so many programs have closed,” says Professor Nadiyah Taylor of Las Positas College in Livermore, California.

Professor Taylor is a dedicated teacher and mentor for students enrolled in the Pipeline for Black Early Childhood Educator Career Development program at Children’s Council.

Over the last two years, the Pipeline, a collaboration with the Dream Keeper Initiative that aims to increase the number of Black early educators in SF, has graduated nearly 65 early educators. This is cause for celebration! 

Click here to read more about Prof. Taylor’s journey and her impact on our Pipeline students.

Kelly Martinez has worked at Children’s Council for 6 years, supporting 1,000+ early educators to start or grow their child care business through our Family Child Care Business Incubator program. Through her work, San Francisco has 100 more child care businesses operating! 

Her enthusiasm is contagious. Hear what inspires her daily:

Will you help us train more early childhood educators like Krystle Danridge-Pierson, Joelle & De’orsie Kenyatta and Liting Li who would like to start their own child care businesses, serve their communities, and create new jobs?

Will you support the opening of more child care slots by donating to Children’s Council?

In 2024, Children’s Council will be celebrating our 50th anniversary. For 50 years, Children’s Council has advocated for quality early care and education, empowered families with information and financial support, and built the capabilities of educators, ensuring that every child in San Francisco has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Your support ensures this continues. Thank you for your generosity!

**Did you know it’s quick and easy to set up monthly giving to Children’s Council? Consider making a $10, $25, or $50 monthly gift. Set up monthly giving now.