California Child Care Resource & Referral Network

06/11/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a dynamic day in Sacramento on April 28th. We discussed the future of the R&R field and how a statewide support agency could best champion and advance its priorities and needs.

The rich input we received is helping us strategically prepare for the Network's future. To help complete this work, we invited four members of the R&R field whose agencies participated on April 28 to join our Transition team and form a Strategic Futures Task Force.

Their charge is to complete an accelerated strategic planning effort to advise the Board on stewarding the role of the Network in supporting the field.

We are pleased to announce that the following leaders have agreed to join the Strategic Futures Task Force:

• Jill Johnson, Administrator, Division of Early Education Services, Riverside County Office of Education
• Adonai Mack, CEO, Child Action, Inc.
• Laurie Han, Associate Executive Director, YMCA of San Diego County
• Melanie Dodson, Executive Director, 4 Cs Sonoma County and Network Board member

They will join Network Board members David Fleishman, Kerry Venegas, and Jessica Reynaga for meetings now through August. Stay tuned here for continued updates.

06/10/2026

Today is "UnRig California: The People's Purse" Day of Action and Rally in Sacramento. It is organized by major labor coalitions (like SEIU) to demand that large profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

Candy from our policy team is with FFN Provider Suzette from Antioch, who says, "Let’s hold California accountable for our children and pay providers their true cost of child care!!!"

06/08/2026

Things are heating up! Keep your baby comfortable without overheating this summer:
• Dress baby in clothes suitable for the temperature of the room.
• Take off baby’s hat when inside.
• Watch for signs of overheating, such as sweating or hot, red skin.
Learn more:

Everyone who cares for babies can help reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths, such as suffocation.

06/04/2026

Child Care Aware of America(CCAoA) is pleased to invite applications for the Family Advocacy Subgrant and Community of Practice.

Through this project, selected partner organizations will build and support a ladder of engagement and
advocacy for families in their communities to amplify family voices, while integrating Vroom as a tool for
narrative change. For more information, visit: https://hs-3957809.f.hubspotemail.net/hubfs/3957809/RFA%20for%20Vroom%20%26%20Family%20Advocacy%20-%20UPDATED%20(1).pdf?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_0IltgK4-nIfagcxOOOi8W2sFZFJNCuROYmCCQbP5cM31QAfmRTOLBQ8DPiXD-dHoCk5KHfOVQhYfcgTN4s4o5PiQC8g&_hsmi=420867322&utm_content=420867322&utm_source=hs_email

To be considered, proposals must be completed in the “Fillable Proposal Application” and emailed to CCAoA at [email protected] by 5:00PM ET on FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2026. Here is the application: https://hs-3957809.f.hubspotemail.net/hubfs/3957809/RFA%20Fillable%20Proposal%20Application%20Form%20-%20UPDATED.pdf?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8onik-YgBem2t0oBvuHt-qsBDL-_mVfXKWZQkCAvugsJuDj5Yw2pIqJyDI4smbIrquIVjzPj1O5zk_UEvHxwT4uScYSA&_hsmi=420867322&utm_content=420867322&utm_source=hs_email

06/03/2026

The House votes TODAY on H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026, and child care providers and families cannot afford for this bill to pass.

We're all for fighting fraud. But this bill goes further by imposing penalties and new requirements on states that pull resources away from the families and kids who need them most.

The vote is happening this afternoon. Contact your Rep. NOW and urge them to vote NO.

https://www.childcareaware.org/congress-votes-on-child-care-today/

06/01/2026

Child Care Aware of America conducts an annual survey of Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) organizations and state agencies to collect information on child care supply and prices across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Here's this year’s report, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply, linked here: https://info.childcareaware.org/price-and-supply-2025?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8JkqASFYBgwAIoKL-SZVRE-KrFflDbHt31yEtFd_DySaFksWkdof_7uAL8FkaBNIxJyzAOzUlu51M8Ll0ue0lXT4ULeA&_hsmi=421597987&utm_content=421597987&utm_source=hs_email

Our research team contributed to this report by supplying licensed child care supply and price estimates for California.

A new report from CCAoA, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply, found a small decrease in the number of child care centers from 2024 to 2025

06/01/2026

Join Access Humboldt's Executive Director, Christina Marie, as she interviews Kerry Venegas of Changing Tides Family Services about their mission and needs f...

05/29/2026

At the Bridge conference earlier this month, one of the keynote speakers was Katie Raher. Read about her experience:

"I got to remind the beautiful humans at the conference that their own well-being is not selfish and doesn't have to be an afterthought. It is the heartbeat of their impact. Every time they regulate themselves, they co-regulate every person they interact with in their work. And then that person more positively impacts the next. And the next. Ripples that reach providers, children, and families in immeasurable ways.

When the world feels heavy and uncertain (pretty much always these days sadly), I remind myself that there are people like this quietly doing the most important work there is. And I was pinching myself that I got to be even a small part of reminding them of their own power and value and leading them in the kind of nervous system nourishment we all need and they certainly deserve.

I'm truly grateful for the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network creating this space and for centering the well-being of the workforce that makes everything else possible."

Thank you, Katie, for your kind words and expertise that helped us all so much!

05/26/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. What can we do to help our littles with their mental health?

1. Help them recognize and name feelings
2. Help them learn how to relax during difficult moments and how to cope with difficult feelings
3. Teach them how thoughts lead to feelings and lead to behavior
4. Help them stay in the moment to improve self-awareness

Read more here:

Explore the importance of mental health fitness and discover five essential skills to support children's mental wellness.

05/21/2026