Board reaffirms support for early care, celebrates Week of the Young Child and urges preservation of Prop C funding

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on April 8 adopted a resolution recognizing the Week of the Young Child (April 5'April 11) and reaffirming the city's commitment to expanding access to early care and education, reducing barriers, and leveraging partnerships to serve young children and families.

Supervisor Matt Melgar introduced the resolution and underscored the role of early care educators, many of whom are women of color, in the city's workforce. Melgar and multiple public commenters pressed board members to protect Baby Prop C funding and continue investments that have targeted educator wages, professional development, and facility expansion.

Why it matters: Dozens of early-childhood advocates, educators and provider organizations testified during public comment. Speakers described measurable local impacts from Prop C investments: increased educator wages, new facility construction and a substantial reduction in waitlists. Speakers urged the board to preserve the voter-approved purpose of Baby Prop C during a lean budget year and to expand access for infants, children with special needs, black and indigenous children, and families with nonstandard work hours.

Public testimony and stakeholders: Representatives from the Children's Council of San Francisco, the San Francisco Early Care and Education Advocacy Coalition, the Black Early Educator Policy Council, the Family Services Alliance, and multiple early education providers described the local benefits of targeted investments. Several speakers requested more funding to raise wages, help home-based providers with facility upgrades, and expand slots for infants and families with irregular work hours.

Outcome: The resolution was adopted "same house, same call" without objection. Several supervisors noted continuing site visits to local childcare programs and reiterated the commitment to maintain funding designated by Baby Prop C.

Quotes from the meeting: "Early care educators are essential to our city, but are so severely underpaid and underappreciated for the work that they do," Supervisor Melgar said. "As we go through this difficult budget season, we don't turn our backs on our promise."

"These dollars have helped educate and support early educators, increase salaries to aid in recruitment and retention, and most visibly expand access by building and renovating childcare facilities across the city," said Liz Winograd of the Low Income Investment Fund during public comment.

What the resolution does not do: The resolution recognizes the week, affirms policy goals and political support for early care investments; it does not change budget appropriations on its own but reiterates the board's intention to protect Baby Prop C funding in upcoming budget decisions.

Context: Advocates said the city has invested nearly $15 million in new sites and quality improvements this year and credited Baby Prop C with reducing the early-childhood waitlist by roughly 73% since 2018, per testimony.