About Us

San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council

The San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council (CPAC) is the state-mandated Local Planning Council (LPC), established to provide a forum for the identification of local priorities for child care and early education, and the development of policies to meet these needs.

CPAC members are appointed by the San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education, in accordance with state and local law. A maximum of 25 members are appointed to the body. The membership of CPAC is mandated to be composed of 20% consumers of child care services, 20% child care providers, 20% public agency representatives, 20% community representatives, and 20% discretionary members. Terms are for three years and members may be re-appointed for one additional consecutive term.

Created in 1991, CPAC has consistently worked hard to improve children's lives in group care settings throughout San Francisco. The body is led by four defining goals:

1. All child care and early education in the city is of the highest quality and meets the diverse needs of children and their families.
2. A full array of family-focused child care and early education options are available to families when and where they need it. 
3. All families can afford high-quality child care and early education for their children.
4. San Francisco has a stable and professional child care and early education workforce.

Local Planning Councils

Local Planning Councils (LPC's) were established in every county in California following AB 2141 legislation by Assembly Member Jackie Speier. Since then, Local Planning Councils have worked to determine local community child care needs through the development of needs assessments and county-wide child care plans. All of the county-level councils are encouraged to have diverse representation with child care providers, community representatives, consumers, and public agency representatives accounting for the majority of its members. For more on Local Planning Councils, please visit the state website.

What Does CPAC Do?

CPAC advocates for a broad system of quality, affordable and accessible child care and early education services throughout San Francisco, with a mandate from the state to focus on low-income and at-risk families.

CPAC has been involved in a variety of important activities in San Francisco.  Among them:

• Publication of a Strategic Plan for Child Care in San Francisco
• Publication of the San Francisco Child Care Needs Assessment
• Support for and coordination of the Week of the Young Child
• Advocacy for SF CARES, Wages Plus, and other important child care programs focused on improving child care worker compensation, benefits, and education
• Advocacy at the state and local levels for increased funding for child care subsidies, capacity and improving quality.
• Oversight of the San Francisco Centralized Eligibility List (SFCEL) for child care subsidies in San Francisco
• Collaborative projects with local agencies and organizations serving San Francisco’s children and families