The California Child Development Corps

Building a unified voice of child care teachers & family child care providers in California

The California Child Development Corps is a teacher- and provider-led statewide network of early childhood educators that bridges the concerns of the center-based and home-based workforce.

Child care teachers and family child care providers are the most important ingredient in providing children with stable, high quality early care and education. Their voice are crucial to developing state policies that will truly address the improvement of their own and children’s well-being.

The Corps brings together teachers and providers -- many of whom belong to associations, unions and advocacy organizations -- to organize and advocate for better compensation, benefits, job conditions, and professional respect.

The idea for the network was launched after teachers and providers, in a series of community forums hosted by the Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) in the spring of 2002, called it their top priority to build an effective, representative organization of their own.

Learn more about the founding of the California Child Development Corps.

Impact of the Californial Child Development Corps

Since its founding in December 2002, the Corps has:

• Formed the Corps Coordinating Council, a representative body of teachers and providers, from counties in all regions of California which meets regularly to coordinate and plan actions.
• Built the Corps to over 5,000 participants from 300 in 2002.
• Launched successful postcard and public testimony campaign to renew funding to CARES and AB 212 programs in 2003 and 2005.
• Organized a 2008 postcard campaign and Corps Lobby Days to bring attention to the proposed state budget cut's impact on AB 212 and the early childhood community.
• Represented a united voice of child care teachers and family child care providers in statewide early childhood coalitions.
• Drafted teacher and provider principles for universal preschool
• Conducted speaker trainings in order to prepare Corps participants for legislator and public official visits locally and in Sacramento.