About Us
Santa Barbara County Emergency Child Care Initiative
The Santa Barbara County Emergency Child Care Initiative (ECCI) is a collaboration of local organizations working together during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the availability, health, and safety of quality child care so families are supported, children are well cared for, programs are sustained, and providers help stem, not spread the virus.
The ECCI was established in March 2020 by United Way of Santa Barbara County, Jane and Paul Orfalea/the Audacious Foundation, and the Natalie Orfalea Foundation, with Lou Buglioli. The Santa Barbara Foundation has partnered in this work by providing funding to support these important efforts.
The ECCI was initially developed in response to the urgent need for safe child care for essential employees during the early COVID-19 Stay At Home orders, and eventually the general public’s need for child care. The ECCI is built upon a collaborative effort with Santa Barbara County’s local child care system leaders including the Santa Barbara County Education Office Child Care Planning Care Council, First 5 Santa Barbara County, and Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County along with Community Care Licensing and Santa Barbara County’s Public Health Department in order to respond to the ever-changing needs of the COVID-19 pandemic by offering critical support to child care providers and families, as well as community-wide planning and system improvements.
As child care programs have had to significantly modify how care is delivered in order to meet COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, working parents have had to grapple with weighing safety concerns regarding group care settings with needs for care so they could work. The ECCI responded to these challenges and developed a centralized platform that consolidates the most up-to-date guidance regarding child care health and safety regulations into tools for child care programs for children ages birth through 12 years and resources for parents.
Partners
Listed in Alphabetical Order
Children's Resource & Referral
Children's Resource & Referral (CRR) is a local nonprofit serving Santa Barbara County for over 50 years. With a commitment to develop strong and healthy families by providing education, care, and resource systems to children, their parents, and caregivers, with a special emphasis on low income and under-represented children and families. At CRR, we believe all children should have access to high-quality, safe, nurturing, and inclusive environments that build a foundation for life-long learning. CRR is able to serve the community through a variety of programs that directly support high quality education for young children, ensuring healthy meals, obtaining child care license, and professional development training for child care providers. All programs established within CRR support the mission and vision of the agency. CRR is dedicated to providing timely, accurate, and relevant resources, information, and emergency supplies to the Early Care and Education field and community partnerships in Santa Barbara County during this pandemic.
The Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council
The Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council (SBCCPC) operates under the authority of the County Board of Supervisors and the County Superintendent of Schools. The overarching responsibility of the Council is for planning and coordinating early care and education services in Santa Barbara County. Specific responsibilities include establishing local priorities for state funded early care and education expansion, completing a needs assessment of early care and education every 5 years and developing a countywide strategic plan for early care and education. SBCCPC’s mission is to lead and collaborate in planning, coordinating, and advocating for high quality, affordable, and accessible early care and education for all children in Santa Barbara County. SBCCPC advocates for our Early Care and Education professionals by providing the tools, information, and collaboration necessary to support the health and safety of children and families during this pandemic.
First 5 Santa Barbara County
First 5 Santa Barbara County (First 5) was established in 1999 after California voters passed Proposition 10, a state constitutional amendment. Proposition 10 imposed a fifty cent sales tax on tobacco products and directed that those revenues be used to support early childhood development focusing on prenatal through age five. A driving force behind the passage of Proposition 10 was decades of compelling scientific brain research proving that proper growth and development in the earliest years of life was the factor most affecting children's achievement in their health, education, and success in later life. First 5 is committed to ensuring that during this pandemic the families, children, and those who care for them have the resources, supplies, and support they need to weather these unprecedented times.
United Way
United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) has the unique and positive vision that in our community, everyone has a hopeful future. Since 1923, UWSBC has served Santa Barbara County community through funding, volunteer development, and by utilizing its own unique initiatives that involve dozens of local non-profit and public sector agencies. UWSBC’s mission is driven by Power of Partnership™ priorities to help children, families, and seniors with a focus on Education, Income, and Health. UWSBC in partnership with local districts, youth based organizations, and local philanthropists, continues to support early education during the pandemic with the establishment of the Learning and Enrichment Centers Collaborative (L&ECC). L&ECC support over 500 of the county’s most vulnerable students with scholarships to youth based organizations that provide all day academic support during distance learning.
Santa Barbara Foundation
Santa Barbara Foundation’s mission is to mobilize collective wisdom and philanthropic capital to build empathetic, inclusive and resilient communities. Since 1928, the Santa Barbara Foundation has championed the philanthropic efforts of the people of Santa Barbara County, identifying the areas of greatest need and bringing together generous donors with those who do standout work in the nonprofit community. As part of the Santa Barbara Foundation’s commitment to strengthening working and vulnerable families, we are engaging with our partners to address the challenges of providing quality care for our youngest residents, especially in response to COVID-19. We are working with private and social sector childcare providers to support increased access to affordable and accessible childcare opportunities.