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Alameda County Awards $4 Million in Grants for Licensed Early Care & Education Providers

“Childcare keeps Alameda County working, and these awards are one step to supporting equity and social justice in a field where the workforce is held predominantly by women of color,” said Ford. Since March 2020, the Alameda County Emergency Child Care Response Team (ECCRT), a cross-sector collaborative of eight county-wide stakeholder agencies, has convened and concentrated its efforts to plan and align its immediate County COVID-19 response to support the ECE field.

Published

3 years ago

July 18, 2022

Oakland Post

Women of color dominate the workforce providing childcare. iStock photo image.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the distribution of $4 million in one-time federal relief grants to support local Early Care and Education (ECE) system needs and infrastructure made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

“The COVID pandemic has highlighted the critical role of childcare in the United States and especially in Alameda County. Childcare is a key economic driver for families, employers, and communities to thrive,” said Supervisor Keith Carson, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

To apply for grants, licensed childcare providers will be required to complete a general County online application to verify they are currently active, licensed and providing care. Applications are available in the County’s threshold languages and can be found at this link.

The application portal for federal relief funds will be promoted by local resource and referral agencies like BANANAS, 4Cs and Hively, First 5 Alameda County, Emergency Child Care Response Team and the ECE Planning Council.

Large Family Child Care (FCC) and center-based licensed programs will qualify for a minimum award of $3,350 and small licensed FCC’s will qualify for a minimum award of $2,350.

“While the ECE field has shown tremendous creativity and resilience to keep their doors open to support children and families, they have also been severely impacted by the challenges of COVID-19 and struggle to keep their doors open,” said Andrea Ford, interim agency director for the Alameda County Social Services Agency.

“Childcare keeps Alameda County working, and these awards are one step to supporting equity and social justice in a field where the workforce is held predominantly by women of color,” said Ford.

Since March 2020, the Alameda County Emergency Child Care Response Team (ECCRT), a cross-sector collaborative of eight county-wide stakeholder agencies, has convened and concentrated its efforts to plan and align its immediate County COVID-19 response to support the ECE field.

Led by the Alameda County Social Services Agency, partner agencies include Alameda County Early Care & Education Planning Council, Alameda County Office of Education, Alameda County Public Health, BANANAS, Community Child Care Council (4Cs) of Alameda County, First 5 Alameda County (F5AC) and Hively. The goal is to ensure the grants funding reaches most if not all licensed ECE providers throughout the County.

The pandemic continues its impact on the ECE system. Nationally, nearly half of childcare providers closed at the beginning of the pandemic, and while many have reopened, data shows that, “86% are serving significantly fewer children than they were prior to the pandemic; on average, enrollment is down by 67%. Two out of five childcare providers are certain that they will close permanently without additional public assistance.”¹

^“Alameda County tremendously values the local ECE field and is honored to provide some relief as we collectively work towards the long road to recovery,” said Ford.

For more information, ssachildcaregrant@acgov.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.