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Local Revenue for Early Care & Education

The past five years have been a high-water mark for legislation and funding to address the divide in access to early care and education, healthcare, and social services in California. Both California and Alameda County are making significant investments in children and families. At the state level, California is implementing an unprecedented set of initiatives to redesign its social safety net, including Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI).  

In Alameda County there are two active ballot measures related to early care and education, the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health & Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C). For a detailed breakdown of the Measures, see First 5 Strategic Plan 2022-27, Appendix C.

The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County  

• About: The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), a countywide measure, was passed by voters in March 2020 and names First 5 Alameda County as the administrator of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education portion of the revenue. The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County is expected to raise approximately $150M annually for early care and education. It was upheld by the courts in 2024, and First 5 will begin implementation by establishing a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to advise on the development of a five-year program plan and budget for approval by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and First 5 Commission.

• Status: Measure C has been upheld and we will soon begin administering $150 million annually for Alameda County’s long-under-resourced early childhood system. This is a huge victory for Alameda County children, families, and caregivers!

• Geography: Alameda County.  

The Oakland Children’s Initiative  

• About: The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA), was passed in November 2018 and upheld by the courts in 2021. The Oakland Children’s Initiative is funded by a parcel tax projected to provide approximately $30 million annually in funding for early care and education and college preparedness programs for Oakland residents. In December 2022, First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative. 

• Status: In December 2022, First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative.  

• Geography: City of Oakland.

First 5 Alameda County commits to the responsible stewardship of these precious public resources, in partnership with the City of Oakland, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, community governance and advisory bodies, and other early care and education partners, particularly parents/caregivers and early care and education professionals.

First 5 & Alameda County’s Early Childhood System

First 5 Alameda County commits to the responsible stewardship of these precious public resources, in partnership with the City of Oakland, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, community governance and advisory bodies, and other early care and education partners, particularly parents/caregivers and early care and education professionals.  The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) will benefit Oakland and Alameda County’s early childhood system of care broadly and will impact First 5 Alameda County as the county’s only governmental agency solely dedicated to families/caregivers with children 0-5 by:

• Aligning new investment with our current investments and providing resources for backbone support to the early childhood system
• Allowing us to leverage our subject matter expertise, community partnerships, and infrastructure​
• Facilitating integration with our programming and fiscal leveraging of Proposition 10, Measure AA and Measure C, in addition to federal, state, local, and philanthropic funds
• Liberating the flexible Proposition 10 dollars to fund other components of the early childhood system (e.g., birth equity, neighborhood investments)
• Shifting our role, budget, operations, scale (i.e., staff and contracts), and community and public partnerships

For additional questions, please email Strategic Communications Officer, Itzel Diaz-Romo at itzel.diaz-romo@first5alameda.org.