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Uplifting Child Care Innovation:
Welcome to the Uplift Child Care Coalition!
Welcome to the Uplift Child Care Coalition!
The unprecedented cross-county, cross-sector initiative (that) brings together the brightest minds to ignite innovation and reinforce child care as an integral component of an equitable and thriving Central Coast economy.
Uplift Central Coast
Uplift Central Coast
Uplift Central Coast is working toward a shared vision of a diverse, inclusive economy built by and for the region’s residents. Uplift's Regional Plan Part II identified child care as a key economic mobility strategy broken down into four key focus areas:
Expand and retain the child care workforce
Expand child care facilities
Encourage employer supported & subsidized child care
Improve centralized resources and support family navigation of child care options
Uplift awarded $9M in Catalyst Predevelopment Funding, which included a grant to First 5 San Luis Obispo County to facilitate the Uplift Child Care Coalition. Learn more about Uplift Central Coast.
Child Care Coalition
Child Care Coalition
The overarching goal of the Uplift Child Care Coalition (Coalition) is to bring together the brightest minds to ignite innovation and reinforce child care as an integral component of an equitable and thriving Central Coast economy.
The Coalition aims to unite cross-sector partners and coordinate regional efforts in order to:
Facilitate shared learning
Document promising practices
Activate regional advocacy
Advance replication and scaling of promising practices
Best Practice Portfolio
Best Practice Portfolio
The Portfolio of best practices showcases projects (e.g. initiatives, models, programs, strategies, etc.) that center child care as a key driver of economic mobility throughout California’s Central Coast.
The Portfolio features real solutions that promote collective impact. This groundbreaking platform promises to open doors to new partnerships, expand influence, and build capacity to improve the economy in the Central Coast.
Learn more about the best practice Portfolio and how to submit or nominate a project for inclusion.
Child Care Facilities Action Network
The Child Care Facilities Action Network (CCFAN) weaves together local policy advancement efforts, on-the ground implementation support, and community investment, to initiate change. This initiative focuses on helping communities improve local child care land use policies and support the development of new and expanded child care facilities, including colocation with housing and other community uses, as strategies to build economic mobility. This coordinated approach creates:
Clearer and less restrictive approval processes
Faster project movement
More feasible sites for child care
Better alignment with community needs
Measurable increases in child care capacity across the region
Learn more about CCFAN and the various ways to get involved.
About the Uplift Child Care Coalition
About the Uplift Child Care Coalition
First 5 San Luis Obispo County is coordinating the Uplift Child Care Coalition, a regionwide effort to tackle one of the Central Coast’s most pressing challenges: affordable, accessible child care. The Coalition unites advocates from six counties—from Santa Cruz to Ventura—in a first-of-its-kind collaboration to strengthen the child care system as a driver of economic mobility.
The Coalition has teamed up with child care innovators throughout the six-county region to create a multi-sector network that includes early care and education leaders, families, resource and referral agencies, child care planning councils, cities and counties, chambers of commerce and employers, nonprofits and higher education. By bringing diverse voices to the table and turning conversation into coordinated action, the Coalition is paving the way for a stronger, more equitable child care system across the entire Central Coast.
The Coalition aims to:
Facilitate shared learning
Document & showcase promising best practices
Activate joint regional advocacy
Advance regionwide replication & scaling of best practices
Uplift Central Coast
Uplift Central Coast
The backbone funding for the Child Care Coalition was received from Uplift Central Coast (Uplift), which is a six-county coalition working to attract investment and expand opportunities for Central Coast residents. The mission of Uplift is “to uplift our residents as we uplift our regional economy, growing from within to create transformative opportunities for more than 2 million people across six Central Coast counties.”
Uplift's Regional Plans
Uplift's Regional Plans
Under California Jobs First, Uplift created a forward-thinking development plan to help the region thrive. Extensive research and close work with community members, employers, industry leaders, and organizations to better understand the Central Coast economy resulted in two regional plans: Uplift's Regional Plan Part I Report and Uplift's Regional Plan Part II Report.
The Regional Plan Part II identified child care as a key economic mobility strategy broken down into four key focus areas:
Expand and retain the child care workforce
Expand child care facilities
Encourage employer supported & subsidized child care
Improve centralized resources and support family navigation of child care options
Uplift's Catalyst Predevelopment Funding
Uplift's Catalyst Predevelopment Funding
After producing the Regional Plans, Uplift released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Catalyst Predevelopment phase of work. Nearly $50 million in funding requests from more than 136 organizations were received for the $9 million that was available for distribution. 36 organizations who were committed to advancing economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and equitable growth across the Central Coast were awarded funding. These organizations, representing all six counties, span diverse industries and address critical needs in areas such as workforce development, aerospace, education and job training, child care and community development, and climate resilience and sustainable agriculture.
First 5 San Luis Obispo County was awarded a Catalyst Predevelopment grant to coordinate the Uplift Child Care Coalition.
Click here for more information on all of the applicants and grantees.
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