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Affordable, high-quality child care is essential for families of young children across California. It allows parents to work, provide for their kids, and have peace of mind knowing their babies and toddlers are safe, nurtured, and supported.

That’s why we made our new video, “Caring for Families Carries Us All,” for our #BirthtoThree Campaign: to tell the story of why child care matters and why access to care for young children should matter to us all.

🎥Watch the video
📣Share it with your community
And if you’re inspired, consider making a donation to support our work to expand access to child care for infants and toddlers: bit.ly/SupportEECA

We have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! We're excited to introduce a new look and digital home for @earlyedgeca!

This refresh is more than a visual update. It’s a reflection of how our organization has grown, the communities we serve, and the movement we’re building together for Early Learning and Care.

Check out our new look and explore our refreshed site: earlyedgecalifornia.org

We’re thrilled to share this next chapter with you, and so grateful to have you as part of the Early Edge community.

It’s a new year with more reasons to celebrate Transitional Kindergarten (TK) as California continues to expand the program to more children in 2023! 🎉 @cagovernor @gavinnewsom has recorded a special message about TK for us to share with parents, teachers, and school administrators. Thank you, Governor, for your passionate support of this exciting, free preschool option and for making it available to all 4-year-old children in California. Click the link in bio to watch. #TKCalifornia #tkca

A priority area in @earlyedgeca's 2026 Policy Agenda focuses on ensuring high-quality implementation of #universalpreschool by incorporating developmentally appropriate practices across the mixed-delivery system and leveraging partnerships between school-based providers and community-based organizations to meet the needs of children and families.

Our priority actions to support universal preschool (#UPK) implementation include:

⭐️ Expandi Family Child Care Home Education Networks (FCCHENs) by making them more accessible to Family Child Care Home (FCCH) providers.

⭐️ Support the identification, adoption, and rollout of a developmentally appropriate Multilingual Learner (ML) screener in TK.

⭐️ Increase family awareness and understanding of the UPK programs they qualify for, prioritizing families with the greatest need and families of 3-year-olds, who are currently underenrolled.

Read our policy agenda (link in bio) to learn more: earlyedgecalifornia.org/early-edge-californias-2026-policy-agenda

Families across California are seeing the benefits of #TransitionalKindergarten (TK) for their children firsthand from building their communication skills to nurturing their confidence in the classroom. 🌟

“[My son has] learned to vocalize his needs, wants, what he likes, how he’s feeling. I definitely think it has had a positive impact on my son.” — Lizbeth Orozco, @downey_unified (Spectrum News)

Watch this @spectrumnews1socal segment to learn more: spectrumnews1.com/ca/la/education/2026/02/20/transitional-kindergarten-4-year-olds-california

Visit the #TKCalifornia website (link in bio) to learn more about TK: tkcalifornia.org

We're happy to join @edtrustwest today for their advocacy day: "Leaders Affirm That Black Minds Matter" to advocate for budget and legislative proposals that will support Black student success throughout California. It was great to hear from @asmcoreyjackson, who provided insightful remarks on the need to advance ACA 7 to address racial disparities in public education. #BlackMindsMatter

Early Edge's Executive Director Patricia Lozano weighs in on the Governor's May revisions to the 2026-27 state budget in @EdSource latest round-up, uplifting the reduction to the cost-of-living adjustment and the troubling signal it sends to providers who are already operating on the margins, “Access to affordable child care isn’t just an early learning issue, it’s essential to families’ economic well-being,” she said. “The governor has been a strong champion for children during his years in office, and we’ll be urging the Administration and the Legislature to fulfill the promise of funding additional child care slots and restoring COLA before the budget is finalized.”

Read the article for the full overview of key early learning and education takeaways from the May Revise: https://edsource.org/2026/newsom-revised-state-budget-schools/758339

#EarlyLearning #ChildCare #ELC #EarlyEdge #CaliforniaELC See less

Assembly Bill (AB) 2325, cosponsored by @caltog and @earlyedgeca, unanimously passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee yesterday!

Thank you to Asm. @alvarezsd for his leadership on this important legislation to build a bilingual teacher pipeline that supports California's #MultilingualLearners, and to the Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair @asmbuffywicks and Committee members for prioritizing AB 2325 in this year's legislative cycle.

The bill now goes to a vote on the Assembly Floor! Learn more about #AB2325 (link in bio): earlyedgecalifornia.org/bill/ab-2325-bilingual-teacher-pipeline/

Early Edge's Executive Director Patricia Lozano weighs in on the Governor's May revisions to the 2026-27 state budget in @edsource latest round-up, uplifting the reduction to the cost-of-living adjustment and the troubling signal it sends to providers who are already operating on the margins, “Access to affordable child care isn’t just an early learning issue, it’s essential to families’ economic well-being,” she said. “The governor has been a strong champion for children during his years in office, and we’ll be urging the Administration and the Legislature to fulfill the promise of funding additional child care slots and restoring COLA before the budget is finalized.”

Read the article for the full overview of key early learning and education takeaways from the May Revise: https://edsource.org/2026/newsom-revised-state-budget-schools/758339

#EarlyLearning #ChildCare #ELC #EarlyEdge #CaliforniaELC

@cagovernor @gavinnewsom has been a champion on issues impacting young children, their families, and the workforce and we thank him for his commitment to Early Learning and Care and the continued investments in Universal Transitional Kindergarten. However, we are concerned with the omission of the plan to fulfill the State’s promise of funding an additional 44,000 slots for our youngest learners, the lack of dedicated funding for implementing alternative methodology that reflects the true cost of care to ensure child care providers are paid a fair and just wage, and the rollback of child care cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).

Access to affordable child care is an issue that impacts all Californians. When child care programs are sustainable, the workforce is stronger, businesses grow, and our economy prospers. 🌟 Link in bio to read our statement on the Governor’s 2026-27 May Revise: earlyedgecalifornia.org/governors-may-revise-preserves-early-learning-gains-but-misses-opportunity-to-strengthen-child-care #CAbudget #CAleg

@cagovernor @gavinnewsom has been a champion on issues impacting young children, their families, and the workforce and we thank him for his commitment to Early Learning and Care and the continued investments in Universal Transitional Kindergarten. However, we are concerned with the omission of the plan to fulfill the State’s promise of funding an additional 44,000 slots for our youngest learners, the lack of dedicated funding for implementing alternative methodology that reflects the true cost of care to ensure child care providers are paid a fair and just wage, and the rollback of child care cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).

Access to affordable child care is an issue that impacts all Californians. When child care programs are sustainable, the workforce is stronger, businesses grow, and our economy prospers. 🌟 Link in bio to read our statement on the Governor’s 2026-27 May Revise: earlyedgecalifornia.org/governors-may-revise-preserves-early-learning-gains-but-misses-opportunity-to-strengthen-child-care #CAbudget #CAleg

In the latest installment of the ongoing family engagement blog series, Multilingual Promise unpacks findings from listening sessions with Chinese-speaking families in Los Angeles County.

It’s clear that home language and culture must be respected in early childhood classrooms.

Visit the link in our description to read the blog series from the Dual Language Learner Master Plan Advocates!

californianstogether.org/what-la-county-families-are-telling-us @bay_area_council @caltog @earlyedgeca @piqeusa @advancingjusticesocal @edtrustwest @weareunidosus

@earlyedgeca is proud to support the following legislation this year to strengthen supports for children, families, and the Early Learning and Care workforce:

⭐️ AB 1631 by @asmmuratsuchi – Elementary education: kindergarten.
⭐️ AB 1784 by @asmgailpellerin – Postsecondary education: nondiscrimination: pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues.
⭐️ AB 1790 by @asmdamonconnolly – Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.
⭐️ AB 1914 by @asmpilarschiavo – General plan elements: childcare.
⭐️ AB 1981 by @asmaguiarcurry – Subsidized childcare: reimbursement rates: reporting.
⭐️ AB 2092 by @asmmiabonta – Early Childhood Integrated Data System.
⭐️ AB 2332 by @asmmarkgonzalez – Dual language immersion: Dual Language Immersion Coordinator.
⭐️ AB 2379 by @asmsolache and asmjuancarrillo – Family daycare homes: Fourth Amendment training.
⭐️ AB 2429 by @asmblancarubio – Childcare: mental health consultation services.
⭐️ SB 902 (Grayson) – Childcare: electronic signatures.
⭐️ SB 1051 by @sencarolinemenjivar – Foster care: childcare.

Link in bio to learn more about the Bills We Support: earlyedgecalifornia.org/our-impact/budget-bills-we-support #CAleg