Community Leaders & Business Professionals Coming Together for Childcare Solutions

Elected officials, community leaders, and business professionals gathered to attend Driving Innovative Solutions for Childcare: A San Mateo County Leaders' Forum on Friday, April 5th at Genentech in South San Francisco.

Thank you to our host, Genentech, along with their partner organizations, the San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA) and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), for bringing everyone together.

The event put a spotlight on the importance of childcare and how crucial it is for San Mateo County’s growth and prosperity.

Attendees were eager to learn more about the topic, explore opportunities for action, and hear from childcare advocates.

Genentech’s Director, State and Local Government Affairs and SAMCEDA’s Chair of the Board, Ariane Hogan, welcomed guests followed with opening remarks from SVCF’s CEO, Nicole Taylor, and County of San Mateo’s Hon. Supervisor Dave Pine.

SVCF’s Director, Early Childhood Initiative, Christine Thorsteinson, gave a primer of the current childcare landscape based off of their findings from their recent Choose Children survey*, San Mateo County Voter Attitudes Toward Early Childhood Policies (found on page 10).

Capita’s Senior Fellow and Crawling Behind’s author, Elliot Haspel’s keynote presentation, Reframing Child Care: A Community Value, discussed how principles & values play a key role in policy and encouraged us to “expand the narrative toolbox in order to expand the support.”

SAMCEDA’s President and CEO, Rosanne Foust, moderated the Collaborating in the Childcare Landscape Panel featuring:

Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC)’s President and CEO, Nicole Riehl’s Solving for X: How Business Leaders Can Take Action and Address Child Care Needs presentation emphasized the critical role employers have with shaping and advancing public policy solutions through partnerships, supporting a family-friendly work environment, quick approaches (e.g. working parent support and flexible scheduling) to internal investments (e.g. childcare vouchers, subsidies, onsite care), and more.

“This event was a great way to highlight the childcare needs while inspiring solutions through collaboration and action,” Rosanne Foust said.

Affordable childcare isn't just about nurturing our little ones, it's a cornerstone for economic success. From empowering parents to enter or re-enter the workforce to fostering the development of our future leaders, childcare plays a pivotal role in driving our economy forward.


[ From left to right: SAMCEDA’s Rosanne Foust, EPIC’s Nicole Riehl, Genentech’s Ariane Hogan, County of San Mateo’s Supervisor Dave Pine, Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s Nicole Taylor & Christine Thorsteinson, and Capita’s Elliot Haspel ]


[ From left to right: Bay Area Council’s Matt Regan, Low Income Investment Fund’s Angie Garling, First 5 San Mateo County’s Kitty Lopez, Palcare’s Lisa Kiesselbach Ph.D, and County of Santa Clara’s Sarah Duffy ]


 

*County-wide survey conducted by FM3 Research in January 2024