Agency MembershipAny contractor with the California Department of Education or the Department of Social Services or a subcontractor of either Department is qualified for Membership if there is a direct contractual relationship with the California Department of Education or the Department of Social Services or a subcontractor of either Department for the administration of an alternative payment program or CalWORKs. TFC membership fees are based on your total your MRA (fiscal year 2023-2024) from agency programs. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Welcome 2024-25! Looking ahead, there is a lot of uncertainty. However, there is also a tremendous amount of opportunity. As we enter FY 2024-25, we have shown our ability to be nimble and flexible in supporting our families, supporting provider businesses and implementing changes that come from Sacramento. This new normal has also created an opportunity for us to shine as strong community partners ready to collaborate and support all in this space that come together to serve the needs of California’s most fragile constituents. Once thought of as only addressing the child care needs of families, we now are moving into frontiers of strengthening families, home visiting, trauma informed care, mental health, food programs, immigration and so much more. In the last year, the strength of a unified membership was key to our agencies receiving $140 million to use in the last and upcoming fiscal year at the discretion of the agency in better meeting the needs of families and our ability to support them. We are picking up momentum within the halls of the State Legislature and within the Administration of the critical role we can serve when we meet face-to-face with families to provide them with information, access and connections to a menu of services that when successfully coordinated and delivered greatly increase the outcome of families realizing stability and self-sufficiency. Organizationally, our board of directors with buy-in from our membership has set us on the path of rebranding CAPPA to Thriving Families California (TFC). By the end of Summer, our goal is to have TFC fully launched with a new logo, governance structure and policy aspirations to better support and represent the work that our agencies are doing throughout California. We fully incorporated your feedback into this relaunch lifting up more of the services you provide to families and children in your community, as well as the critical function you have within the marketplace by ensuring employers are hiring workers who have longer-term stable access to child care. In addition to the above, we will continue to put out the CAPPA Monday Morning e-newsletter50 weeks per year. That circulation has grown to over 10,000 per week. We have developed an expansive website dedicated to supporting our field with up-to-date information on coalition advocacy partnership opportunities, budget and legislation, agency best practices, and more. We will continue to prioritize our weekly Tuesday conversations ensuring that all members are up-to-date on the myriad of changes happening daily. Given the number of programs in California and the numbers of families that are served by our programs, it is vitally important that we continue to strengthen our voice for our programs as they currently exist and expand into the conversations where we have the infrastructure to support more coordinated whole family supports. To help ensure our expansion and creation of opportunities for agencies renewal of your membership is key. Additionally, we will continue to support an annual conference with the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network as well as deliver more regional and issue focused trainings. On behalf of the TFC Board of Directors, we ask that you join us again to support with your membership, your voice and your participation. The real strength of our organization comes from a membership that is united and a strong voice that reflects our community realities and diversities. Thank you for all you do to lift up your communities!
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