November 2, 2026 | Issue #44 | | Support of the Monday Morning Update | | For 2026 please consider a donation to help support delivery of the Monday Morning Update to your email every week by 5:30 am. Our distribution of this update is over 12,000 and growing. Your consideration is greatly appreciated. Thank you! | |
Our Vote Is a Testament to What We Value
By Rev. Gina Fromer, PhD., President, Thriving Families CA Foundation
Tomorrow, when we cast our ballots, we will be doing far more than participating in an election. We will be making a statement about who we are, what we value, what we are willing to uphold, and the future we envision for our children, families, and communities.
Voting is one of the most fundamental responsibilities we share in a democracy. It is our opportunity to have a voice in the decisions that shape our neighborhoods, our economy, our schools, and the opportunities available to the next generation.
For those of us who have dedicated our lives to strengthening families and supporting children, the importance of civic participation is especially meaningful.
Every day, across California, hundreds of thousands of working families depend on a network of child care providers, community-based organizations, and family support programs to help them navigate the challenges of raising children while earning a living.
These are families who get up before sunrise, work long hours, stretch every dollar, and make sacrifices to create better opportunities for their children. They are parents pursuing education, building careers, and contributing to the economic vitality of our communities.
Their needs are not abstract policy discussions. They are real, immediate, and deeply personal.
When a parent cannot find affordable child care, the consequences reach far beyond one household. A parent may be forced to reduce work hours, decline a promotion, interrupt an education, or leave the workforce entirely.
Employers lose valuable employees. Communities lose economic productivity. And children may miss opportunities for early learning and development.
Similarly, when families struggle with housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers, or limited access to health services, their ability to thrive becomes increasingly difficult.
These challenges remind us that supporting working families requires more than good intentions. It requires informed public dialogue, thoughtful leadership, community partnerships, and sustained attention to the systems families depend upon.
And that is why voting matters.
Our ballots provide an opportunity to consider the direction of our communities and the priorities of those entrusted with making decisions on our behalf.
We may not all agree on every issue, every candidate, or every proposed solution. Democracy does not require unanimity. It requires participation, respect for differing perspectives, and a shared commitment to understanding the consequences of public decisions.
What we can agree upon is that children deserve opportunities to succeed, families deserve to be heard, and the well-being of our communities is inseparable from the well-being of the people who live and work within them.
As President of Thriving Families CA Foundation & GLIDE Foundation, I have witnessed the extraordinary dedication of organizations and individuals who work tirelessly to connect families with the resources they need. Their work demonstrates what is possible when communities recognize that investments in families have lasting benefits.
But community organizations cannot carry this responsibility alone.
Public decisions influence the resources available, the systems we build, and the opportunities we create. Civic participation is one way we help shape those decisions and hold public institutions accountable.
Tomorrow is an opportunity to reflect on the values that guide us: opportunity, responsibility, dignity, fairness, and a commitment to future generations.
It is also an opportunity to remember that the families who depend on our collective efforts are not simply numbers in a budget or statistics in a report. They are our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and loved ones.
Our vote is a testament to what we value. It reflects what we are prepared to uphold and the importance we place on meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of working families and children.
The strength of our democracy rests not in everyone thinking alike, but in each of us taking seriously the responsibility to participate.
Tomorrow, let us honor that responsibility, recognize the importance of every voice, and remember that the future of our communities is shaped by the choices we make today.
Because strong families build strong communities. And strong communities build a stronger California.
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Know your Propositions!
CalMatters has a video series on this year's statewide ballot propositions.
Watch now to be informed.
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CA Election Races to Watch!
Read on NBC News.
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Key Dates!
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October 20-November 3: Same-day (aka Conditional Voter) registration available.
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November 3: Election Day. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by this date to be counted.
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November 10: All vote-by-mail ballots must be received
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December 11: The Secretary of State finalizes all election outcomes by releasing the Statement of the Vote.
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Voters Put Child Care Front and Center in the Affordability Conversation
11 state-level polls.
A national survey.
One clear message. No matter where they live, voters are struggling with the high cost of living and see child care costs as a major part of the affordability crisis.
And Congress needs to act.
Read this!
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TFC Facilitated Candidate Site Visits
Thank you to all the candidates who participated in the Thriving Families CA Foundation's Candidate Site Visits!
These visits created valuable opportunities for candidates to connect with community-based organizations, learn about the challenges facing children and working families, and better understand the essential services that help communities thrive.
We appreciate each candidate's willingness to listen, ask questions, and engage in meaningful conversations with the organizations serving California families every day.
Below are some words from Union City Councilmember Scott Sakakihara as he shares his thoughts following his site visit to 4Cs of Alameda County!
Candidate site visits facilitated by TFC Foundation are nonpartisan and do not constitute an endorsement of any candidate.
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"I really enjoyed meeting with the 4Cs and Thriving Families teams, hearing more about their work and priorities, and getting to see the 4Cs space firsthand. I was especially struck by how much they do to support both families and childcare providers, from helping connect families with food, clothing, and other essentials to providing training, resources, and hands-on support for providers. It's the kind of work that makes a real difference in people's day-to-day lives, and it's so important that these organizations have the support they need from state leaders to keep doing it. I look forward to finding ways we can work together on these issues to better serve our community."
~ Councilmember Scott Sakakihara
California Senate District 10 Candidate
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TFC sent a survey to each candidate registered with the Secretary of State to participate in the upcoming November election. The survey seeks to understand candidates’ priorities, their understanding of the challenges facing working families, and the policies they would advance to strengthen California’s child care and family-support systems.
This is our last week featuring candidate responses. We will feature candidates who have been elected to their position. Featuring a candidate’s response to the survey does not constitute an endorsement of, or support for, that candidate by Thriving Families CA (TFC) Foundation.
| | Question: Paying the True Cost of Providing Child Care — Do you support establishing and maintaining reimbursement rates that reflect the true cost of providing quality care, including adequate compensation for the child care workforce? What steps would you take to ensure these rates are financially sustainable over time? | | |
Candidate for: CA State Assembly District 69
(Long Beach and Carson)
Running Against: Josh Lowenthal (D)
"Standard Reimbursement Rates and Regional Market Rates have been used in California for decades, and the state has been able to repeatedly increase those rates when they failed to keep pace with the child care market. The state’s current transition toward a cost-based methodology is an opportunity to build a more rational system—one that pays enough to sustain quality providers while also protecting taxpayers through transparent budgeting, regular evaluation, and measurable outcomes.
California should also establish a transparent cost methodology, regularly update it to reflect regional labor and operating costs, and identify stable funding that can be maintained across economic cycles.
I would also require us to measure what those investments produce: provider retention, workforce compensation, available child care slots, family access, geographic availability, and the cost per child served. We should identify administrative barriers that prevent appropriated dollars from reaching providers and families efficiently and coordinate child care with other family-support programs whenever possible."
| Do you want to read the responses of each candidate who participated? | |
Thank You to Our Generous 2024-25 Thriving Families CA Foundation Champions!
Thank you to the following Champions who stepped up in 2024-25, with funding to enhance our ability to serve the field. These agencies have made it possible for TFC to support our field with more tailored support of individual organizations, ability to pay for legal, advocacy and social media supports, enhanced regional trainings, improving data collection, and more.
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