Early Edge Blog

Early Edge Policy Corner: Connecting Policy and Practice: Centering Family and Community Voice

September 16, 2026

By: Carolyne Crolotte, Director of Policy, Early Edge California

At Early Edge California we are committed to ensuring our policy work is driven by the lived experiences of those we are aiming to impact. We ensure this through our wide variety of family and community engagement efforts, including hosting family and practitioner listening sessions in collaboration with our partners and meeting regularly with our advisory groups. For instance, in collaboration with our DLL Master Plan Advocates partners, we conducted family and practitioner listening sessions to help inform California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and family blog series that have been instrumental in guiding our policy work. We have also been hosting our Early Edge Advisory Groups since 2018, including our educator advisory groups in Los Angeles, Fresno, and the Bay Area, parent advisory groups, Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) advisory group, and leadership council to hear directly from practitioners and families about the challenges they are facing around early learning and care. These conversations have been critical to shaping our policy work over the years.

Most recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a listening session with the support of our partners at Black Californians United for Early Care and Education (Black ECE) and Early Edge consultant Dr. Lisa Wilson. We had the opportunity to bring together 18 Black educators and parents from across the state who are members of Black ECE’s Lift Every Voice provider group. We asked them about their experiences as providers and parents around a wide variety of issues impacting early learning and care in California, including: access and affordability as it relates to birth to three child care, universal preschool, and systemic challenges affecting Black families.

We are grateful for the time the participants took to join us as well as the important insights they shared, which include the following highlights and common themes:

• For Families:
  • Navigation and Enrollment support: Families need support in accessing and navigating information about programs and services they qualify for where their children’s culture and identity are understood and affirmed. 
  • Access to affordable quality care: Families face challenges in finding quality care at a low cost that meets their needs, including hours of operations for working parents and care that is reflective of their culture and language. 
  • Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Navigation: Parents need trusted support navigating the IEP process from people who understand their culture, language, and lived experiences.
• For Providers:
  • True Cost of Care & Provider Sustainability: Current reimbursement does not reflect the true cost of providing care. Some providers are taking second jobs simply to cover personal and business expenses, including their mortgages.
  • Access to Support for Children with Disabilities: Providers need greater support accessing funding and resources to adequately serve children with disabilities.
  • Access to Additional Coursework and Certifications: Providers are interested in pathways to obtaining their Child Development Permit and the PreK-3 Specialist Credential. However, they need financial incentives and supports as well as flexibility in classes offered through online and evening/weekend options in order to do so.