All Our Kin’s Policy Advising technical assistance is an ongoing opportunity for small teams of state and local leaders to identify a challenge that impacts family child care educators
in their community, and work together to change systems, policy, and/or practice in a way that leads to better outcomes for educators and the children and families that rely on them. Policy
Advising is guided by the framework from All Our Kin’s Creating the Conditions report; the full report can be found here.
Past participants in All Our Kin’s Policy Advising have:
Implemented an Advocacy 101 training for educators
Formed a cross-sector group dedicated to family child care
Conducted a landscape scan of home-based care
Advocated for and achieved higher reimbursement rates
Connected with ECE stakeholders and champions
What is Policy Advising?
What will a team do?
When is Policy Advising available?
Who should apply?
Who should be on a team?
What are the responsibilities of the Team Lead?
What is the cost of participation?
How should my team pay the participation fee?
What is the time commitment?
How does my team apply?
How are we expected to compensate family child care educator participants? Is there a range you can provide?
What if I don't know what the exact challenge or issue is for family child care in my state/community?
What is the deadline to apply?
Houston, TX team, 2021-22
The Houston team, composed of cross-sector individuals and family child care educators committed to improving outcomes for all children, identified a shared goal of engaging the local family child care educator community in their policy and advocacy efforts. After identifying policy priorities that aligned with the goals of the Houston Infant Toddler Coalition, the team planned and carried out a virtual event to engage family child care educators in the greater Houston area. With support from All Our Kin, the team is set to intentionally and thoughtfully continue engagement with the family child care educator community in their efforts to increase supports for home-based care in Harris County.
“When you’re feeling blue about a chapter coming to a close, you know it’s been a good one! From cultivating genuine relationships with educators and advocates to discovering novel pathways for supporting child care in Houston, my experience with All Our Kin’s Creating the Conditions Cohort was undoubtedly meaningful. I couldn’t be more thankful to All Our Kin for opening my eyes a bit wider to the ecosystem of family child care and providing our collective group with the tools needed to expand our work with child care educators and the parents, caregivers, and children they serve.”
- Participant from team in Houston, TX
Tarrant & Dallas Counties, TX team, 2020-21
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tarrant & Dallas Counties team focused their efforts on elevating family child care educator voice in policy conversations in order to make sure that educators were being heard in decision-making conversations around COVID relief funding. As a part of this goal, the team worked with All Our Kin to develop and implement an Advocacy 101 training for family child care educators. Their teamwork resulted in many family child care educators feeling empowered to be involved in local policy, and local systems have since adapted to be inclusive of family child care.
“Our work with All Our Kin’s policy TA allowed us to put together advocacy 101 classes for family child care providers. As a result of the advocacy training, providers had the
opportunity to advocate at the local level to overturn a city ordinance that was prohibiting licensed home-based care. Family child care providers in this city are now able to be licensed,
permitting them to increase their income and capacity as business owners. The work with All Our Kin helped our team equip providers with the skills and resources necessary to make positive
policy change.
- Participant from team in Tarrant and Dallas Counties, TX
Links and Resources
Policy Advising Overview
Policy Advising Application
Creating the Conditions report
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