CHILDREN'S COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO

Founded in 1974, Children’s Council was one of the nation’s first Child Care Resource and Referral organizations. Today, we are at the heart of early care and education in San Francisco. We work to ensure that San Francisco’s children are cared for in environments where they can develop socially, emotionally and cognitively; and that their caregivers offer nurturing, developmentally appropriate care.

Our 130-person team helps families navigate their child care and preschool options and secure financial assistance to pay for it. We provide early educators and home-based child care businesses with training and resources to advance the health, well-being and development of the kids in their care. Through 200+ annual programs and workshops, we support parents and caregivers as they build child development skills. Our diverse staff delivers services in five languages to 20,000 families and nearly 2,000 early educators annually. We also educate the public and advocate for increased investment in early education at the local and state level.

Due in part to our work, San Francisco’s citizens have committed to fund services for children ages 0-5 at levels that few other U.S. cities even approach. We carry a strong social justice and equity lens as we approach our work, with an emphasis on sustaining and protecting low-income working families of color, vulnerable children, and women-owned child care businesses.