This article originally appeared in the March-April 2006 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Use the Children's Advocate in your work! Feel free to reprint this article, as a handout or in your own publication -- just credit us (see above) and be sure to send us a copy.

The California Child Development CORPS

Early childhood teachers and providers organizing and advocating for better pay, benefits, job conditions, and professional respect.

Corps accomplishments as a statewide network, has:

• Waged successful campaigns of postcards and public testimony to renew funding for California’s CARES program in 2003 and again in 2005

• Drafted teacher and provider principles for Preschool for All

• Built our membership from 300 in 2002 to 3,900 in 2005

• Formed a coordinating council of teacher and provider representatives from 12 counties in California, which meets regularly by conference call to plan actions and decide on the Corps’ positions.

Thanks to the Trio Foundation for its support for this page.

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Member profile: Paulette Fox: “Just jump in!”

By Elisa Gahng and Jean Tepperman

When longtime family child care provider Paulette Fox got involved in planning for universal preschool in Butte County, she says, “My main issue was that it was important to have evening (planning) meetings so teachers and providers could participate.” And it’s happening—Butte County First 5 is holding a series of public forums on preschool—in the evening.

Fox hasn’t always taken a leadership role in her county. It all started, she says, in 2004, when she attended the first statewide conference of the California Child Development Corps. “I was impressed with how organized it was,” she says, “and it was really inspiring to see how active family child care workers were—they didn’t just see themselves as babysitters.” She also got tips on advocacy: “A woman came to talk about telling our own personal stories to legislators and the media,” to “give life” to the issues.

After that meeting, Fox says, “It took about a year when I spent most of my time just listening in on monthly conference calls.” For anything more, she says, “I felt like I didn’t know enough—that I might say the wrong thing.”

Then, after last fall’s state conference, she reports, “I feel so much more confident. Something just clicked.”

“I still don’t feel ready to act on the state level,” Fox adds. “My interest is community building.” But Corps support was important: “They gave me suggestions for talking points and lots of encouragement. I email back and forth with other members all the time.”

In addition, Fox made a presentation on the Corps to the county CARES participants, who, she says, want to start meeting more regularly: “The need for community among providers is very strong right now.”

She had never done any public speaking before, Fox says, but “one of the Corps members said to me, ‘Just jump in.’”

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Please join us!

A table at CAEYC: Stop by the California Child Development Corps table in the CSC Advocacy Center at the April 20 and 21 conference of the California Association for the Education of Young Children, which will be held in Anaheim April 20 and 21.

A voice in preschool planning: Join with others in the Corps voicing our questions and opinions about preschool for all. Contact your nearest Corps representative (information below) to learn how to get involved.

To find the Corps representative nearest you, to start a chapter in your county, or to get involved in the Corps, call Sara Hicks-Kilday, 415-808-7327, cares@caccwrc.org.

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Corps
accomplishments
as a statewide
network has:

Action Alliance
for Children
e-mail aac@4children.org
1201 Martin Luther
King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 444-7136