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Los Angeles County Faith Based Network

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The Los Angeles Faith Based Child Care Providers Network was a three-year collaboration, funded by First 5 LA. It was initiated by the California Council of Churches and later managed by the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture. The long-term objectives were to:
  • Improve the sustainability of faith-based childcare providers to deliver and support childcare services
  • Increase the quality and quantity of childcare, especially for the children of low-income working parents and those moving from welfare to work
  • Increase the voice of the faith-based community in childcare planning and policy-making
  • Increase communication among faith-based providers for mutual support and collaborative programming, on public and private funding opportunities, resource sharing, policy updates, and staff development
  • Provide technical assistance to congregations on issues of capacity and/or quality enhancement and accreditation

The Network established itself as a much-needed service for faith-based providers in the County, providing support for on-going communication within the community, as well as a resource for targeted training opportunities. Additionally, the Network was successful in supporting an increase in faith-based child care spaces, an increase in spaces specifically for low-income children, and an increase in NAEYC-accredited faith based centers. Ultimately, this project demonstrated the First 5 LA commitment to serving children and families in Los Angeles County within a significant and underrepresented population of child care providers.

The Reverend Kathy Ledesma-Cooper, as the project director, was successful in the efforts to maintain the project through many challenges to its successful achievements and conclusion. However, the results of this project are bittersweet. The project was successful in achieving many of its short term outcomes that addressed previously unmet needs within the community of faith-based child care providers. Unfortunately, it was unable to achieve sustainability by the time the grant closed. There remains hope that some of the funders approached will respond positively in the near future.