First 5 LA and Early Edge California Celebrate AB 378 Signing
First 5 LA and Early Edge California Celebrate AB 378 Signing as Big Victory for Family Childcare Providers, Children, and Families
California Early Learning Groups, First 5 LA and Early Edge California, praised family childcare providers in California for their long-fought victory for collective bargaining rights and improved early childhood education that culminated with Governor Newsom signing AB 378 on September 30, 2019. This year’s legislation was achieved after more than a decade of work by family childcare providers—who are predominantly women and people of color—to lift themselves out of poverty, prioritize training and professional development, and better address the educational needs of children and families in our state.
The two groups applauded the leadership and vision of Governor Newsom, the authors of AB 378, Asms. Limón and Gonzalez, as well as the unions who sponsored the legislation, SEIU Locals 99 and 521, and AFSCME UDW. This new law will lead to higher quality early learning across the state by improving training, professional development, and retention for the caregivers of our youngest infants and children through their ability to collective bargain.
Highlighting the signing of AB 378 as a huge win for children and families in California, Kim Pattillo Brownson, Vice President for Policy and Strategy of First 5 LA, stated, “This important law will help our youngest children by helping family childcare workers have greater stability and decent wages so they can stay in the field and continue to enrich the lives of the children they serve. This is a ‘win-win-win’ because it helps young children through quality early education, it helps parents be productive in the workforce, and it helps providers with greater stability, less turnover in the classroom, and better training and retention of a vital workforce.”
Early Edge California supported AB 378 because it will lead to additional investments in the family childcare providers who educate our children and improved childcare quality. Patricia Lozano, Executive Director of Early Edge California, said, “AB 378 is a critical step towards investing in our family childcare providers by increasing their wages and their opportunities for training so they can provide the best care to our kids.”
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First 5 LA is an independent County agency in Los Angeles that advocates on behalf of parents with young children to help every child, prenatal to age 5, be healthier, safer and better prepared for kindergarten. Knowing 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed by age 5, First 5 LA partners with other county agencies, parents and organizations to help elected officials prioritize funding for early childhood education, health care and other programs that young children and their parents need.
Early Edge California is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to improving access to high quality Early Learning experiences for all California children so they can have a strong foundation for future success.