Child Care Law Center

Advocacy: The CCLC fights for child care policies that are just and fair for children, families and providers, regardless of race or economic status.Affordable child care for families with low incomes: CCLC succeeded in winning a one-year waiver of child care fees for families enrolled in subsidized child care in California. This is the third year in a row that CCLC succeeded in getting the fees waived. The state assesses fees based on a family's income. The fees range from $64-$654 a month for a family of three with monthly earnings of $2,825 - $7,244. One hundred and fifty thousand families were immediately impacted. All families enrolling until June 2023 will also benefit.Our advocacy resulted in funding for an additional 22,000 affordable child care vouchers in California for 2022-2023. Families with low incomes will use these vouchers to pay for child care so they can work and afford their other basic living expenses. Increasing the child care supply: Last year, CCLC assisted the California State Fire Marshal in issuing uniform guidance to all local fire departments. The guidance clarifies that local fire departments may not charge a fee for fire clearances. It unifies rules regarding inspections and fire safety. This advocacy affects approximately 25,000 home-based child care providers (and impacts 150,000-300,000 children who attend the child care programs). Previously, local fire departments assessed fees, and followed a wide range of rules. The inconsistent rules were a barrier to opening up a home-based child care. This year, we monitored the implementation of the fire guidance to ensure local fire departments follow the law. For example, when Los Angeles assessed a fire safety permit fee of $501, we explained to the Department of Finance its error and helped secure refunds to the hundreds of individuals who paid the fee. By eliminating barriers like this, we make it possible for child care providers to run their businesses, have economic security, and provide care for more children in their communities.Protecting housing rights for child care providers: CCLC works with government agencies and nonprofits to improve laws and policies to prevent unjust rent increases, evictions, and discrimination.Home-based child care providers face discrimination when trying to rent and are susceptible to the housing crisis facing so many Californians. Promoting and protecting child care providers' homes is critical to addressing our housing crisis and the child care shortage. Many families rely on home-based child care for their babies and toddlers.Increasing economic security for child care providers: CCLC gave legal interpretation and analysis to policymakers and policy advocates on more than a dozen specific policies, laws and regulations, to assure that new federal requirements were followed, and to assure uniform interpretation across California. The results included accurate and fair reimbursements to child care providers, in particular for their work caring for children with disabilities, children in the foster care system, and children from families with low incomes.Our interpretation and explanation of funding from Congress in the CARES Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, and the American Rescue Plan Act guided state agencies responsible for distributing the funds. Thousands of child care providers received grant payments to pay staff, purchase equipment, and make necessary renovations to their home-based child care businesses.We advocated in the state budget process to create more equitable payment rates and retirement benefits so that child care providers, who are some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, would be paid more fairly and be able to meet their own expenses.

Lobbying: CCLC engages in administrative and legislative advocacy to achieve its mission. Some advocacy activities constitute lobbying. CCLC engages in these activities where not restricted by funders, and to the extent permitted by law.

Technical assistance for legal services programs: CCLC is the only organization in the country devoted exclusively to child care law. Our primary purpose is to provide technical assistance, information, training, and co-counseling to IOLTA-funded legal services programs in California. Through our research and advocacy, we address the systemic injustices embedded in our legal system and child care policies. We update legal aid programs about changing laws and regulations that impact Californians with low incomes, so they can help their clients. Legal aid programs rely on our legal expertise about children and families and child care to give assistance and representation to their clients.In addition to our support services, we assisted individuals with limited representation to protect housing, subsidies for children with disabilities, subsidy benefits, or other issues.

Community education and outreach: CCLC gives families, child care providers, attorneys, and advocates specific information about child care-related legal topics, including children with disabilities, housing and zoning rights, and child care financial assistance. We conducted 50 workshops attended by approximately 3,000 people, answered 300 questions for information via email, and posted answers to 63 Frequently Asked Questions on our website. Our staff also participated in countless informal information sessions, stakeholder meetings, and community meetings so attendees could rely on legal expertise. CCLC includes landlords, city governments, and homeowner associations in our community education plan. Hence, they know the rules they must follow to promote and protect child care programs in their communities.CCLC educates community partners and advocates about racial justice and social justice and builds a racial equity lens into education and advocacy activities.