Article XXIII — DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Sec. 2A.310. Department of Early Childhood.

Editor's Note:

This Article originally was designated as Chapter 2A, Article XIII, when enacted by Ord. 261-14. The Article was redesignated by the editor in order to avoid conflicting with previously existing material. Ord. 6-17 officially redesignated this Article as Chapter 2A, Article XXIII.

(a) Department of Early Childhood; Director. There is hereby established a Department of Early Childhood (the “Department”). The Mayor shall appoint a Director who shall serve as the Department head and appointing officer for the Department. The Mayor may consider, but is not required to accept, recommendations from the Children and Families First Commission (the “First Five Commission”) and the Early Childhood Community Oversight and Advisory Committee (“EC COAC”) for the position of Director. The Director shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. The Department shall include such officers and employees as are authorized pursuant to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter.

(b) Duties and Functions.

(1) The Department shall be responsible for aligning and coordinating the City’s efforts to provide early care and education for children ages zero to five in San Francisco and for promoting and supporting the development of early child supports and comprehensive programs, policies, and strategies to enhance services for children ages zero to five in San Francisco, including programs and funding streams from the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families, the First Five Commission, and the Human Services Agency to serve young children and their families.

(2) The Department shall improve and deliver access for children ages zero to five and their families to fulfill a unified vision and to meet goals, including, by way of example but not limitation:

(A) Establishing a universal system for high-quality early care and education, strengthening the early care and education workforce, and building early care and education system capacity.

(B) Establishing systems that serve children ages zero to five through programs and services that help their families in providing support for them, creating stability and evidence-based models for family success.

(C) Developing new policy partnerships that extend the reach, access, and impact of early childhood care and education programs and services to a broader and more diverse sector of families, with a particular focus on improving racial equity and outreach to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) children and their families.

(D) Ensuring that access to services and the implementation of policies achieves measurable success in the outcomes for all families.

(E) Complementing ongoing and future efforts on a statewide level that expand universal early care and education programs for children ages zero to five including community-based programs, preschool, and transitional kindergarten programs and supporting children for kindergarten readiness.

(F) Developing processes for ensuring broad community and stakeholder engagement in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services related to early childhood care and education.

(G) Considering and responding to the input, needs, and concerns of parents and caregivers of children ages zero to five by establishing easyto-use, culturally-appropriate forums and tools for these stakeholders to influence policies and practices that are accessible in the languages of the stakeholders; and building connections with existing accessible organizations or forums.

(3) The Department shall develop and maintain a strategic plan and proposal (“Department Strategic Plan”), to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors no later than January 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter, that addresses the expansion of quality universal early education in San Francisco. The Department shall also update the Department Strategic Plan, initially by January 1, 2024 and on an annual basis thereafter and such update shall include recommendations from the First Five Commission and the EC COAC as described in this subsection (b)(3) and the elements described in subsections (b)(3)(A) through (D). The Department may prepare the Department Strategic Plan in conjunction with the preparation of the County Strategic Plan required by Section 86.4 of the Administrative Code. Before initiating the annual update to the Department Strategic Plan, the Department shall consult with the First Five Commission and the EC COAC on the scope, metrics, and outreach for the plan and the joint process shall involve the First Five Commission and the EC COAC. The Department Strategic Plan shall:

(A) Include goals for early care and education programs that align with emerging developments in state or federal early care and education policy, and address professional development needs of center-based, family child care providers and to the extent resources allow, license-exempt care providers;

(B) Address neighborhood-specific needs, including school readiness, subsidy availability, children’s dual language development, facility development parent engagement and education, inclusion of children with special needs, and provider support for both family child care homes and early care and education centers;

(C) Include a set of equity metrics to be used to compare existing early care and education services and resources in low-income and disadvantaged communities with early care and education services and resources available in the City as a whole; and

(D) As part of the combined development of the Department and County Strategic Plans and to meet the minimum requirements of the County Strategic Plan, include an assessment and analysis of the unmet funding needs for family support services for those caring for children ages zero to five and how the Department plans to expand and leverage funding; and coordinate with other relevant City departments, including, by way of example but not limitation, the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families and Human Services Agency, to meet those unmet funding needs.

sment and analysis of the unmet funding needs for family support services for those caring for children ages zero to five and how the Department plans to expand and leverage funding; and coordinate with other relevant City departments, including, by way of example but not limitation, the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families and Human Services Agency, to meet those unmet funding needs.

(4) The Department’s Director or designee shall attend meetings of the Early Childhood Community Oversight and Advisory Committee, established by Chapter 5, Article XIII of the Administrative Code, and the Department shall provide staffing to EC COAC, including providing the EC COAC with the information it requests. The Department shall provide its proposed budget and accompanying documents to the EC COAC and the First Five Commission no later than two weeks prior to the public hearing required by Section 5.13-5(e) of Article XIII of Chapter 5 of the Administrative Code.

(5) The Department shall prepare an annual report on the Early Care and Education for All Initiative, as required in Section 20.17-3 of Article XVII of Chapter 20 of the Administrative Code.

(6) The Department shall have such other duties and functions as are assigned by the Charter, an ordinance, or the Mayor.

(c) Funding. The Department may be funded by appropriations from the Babies and Families First Fund established in Section 10.100-36 of the Administrative Code and including implementation of Section 2112(d)(2) of the Business and Tax Regulations Code, disbursements from the Public Education Enrichment Fund made pursuant to Section 16.123-4 of the Charter for preschool and early education programs, appropriations from the San Francisco Children and Families Trust Fund in Section 10.100-287 of the Administrative Code, and such other appropriations as the Board of Supervisors may direct by ordinance. The Department shall report the amount and percentage of its administrative costs that are funded by monies from the Babies and Families First Fund, the Public Education Enrichment Fund, and the Children and Families Trust Fund, respectively, as part of the

Department’s proposed budget and accompanying documents to the EC COAC and the First Five Commission prior to the public hearing required by Section 5.13-5 (e) of the Administrative Code.

(d) Transfer of Functions. All City and County of San Francisco programs, employees and other personnel assigned to the Children and Families First Department (also referred to in the City Charter and the Municipal Code as “First 5 San Francisco”) and the Office of Early Care and Education shall be transferred to the Department. The Director of the Office of Early Care and Education shall be the interim Director of the Department until the Mayor appoints a Director. The transfer of programs, staff, and assets shall be effective as of the effective date of Ordinance No. 189-22, establishing the Department of Early Childhood.

ation shall be transferred to the Department. The Director of the Office of Early Care and Education shall be the interim Director of the Department until the Mayor appoints a Director. The transfer of programs, staff, and assets shall be effective as of the effective date of Ordinance No. 189-22, establishing the Department of Early Childhood.

(Added by Ord. 261-14, File No. 141123, App. 12/19/2014, Eff. 1/18/2015; amended by Ord. 6-17, File No. 161081, App. 1/20/2017, Eff. 2/19/2017; Ord. 189-22, File No. 220808, App. 9/8/2022, Eff. 10/9/2022)