Activism

City Council Unanimously Approves Plan to Save Head Start, Prevent Layoffs

To ensure equitable sustainability and prosperity of Oakland’s Head Start/Early Head Start programming, these councilmembers applaud their colleagues’ support for their resolution which will require that, if Head Start/Early Head Start programs are restructured or reorganized before June 2022, all existing staff who represent decades of experience and expertise serving low-income communities of color in Oakland, are retained.

Published

2 years ago

December 12, 2021

Oakland Post

Councilmembers (left to right): Sheng Thao, Rebecca Kaplan, Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Carroll Fife. Photo courtesy of Oakland City Council.

By Kimberly Jones

The Oakland City Council this week unanimously approved a resolution by Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, Councilmember Carroll Fife, and President Pro Tem Sheng Thao directing the City Administrator to ensure Head Start/Early Head Start are adequately funded now and in the future — including preventing staffing layoffs.

The backbone of Early Head Start and Head Start membership is overwhelmingly Black women and people of color, who have historically and disproportionately borne the brunt of the economic difficulties our society experiences.

These communities are also disparately impacted when childcare is not available.

It is vital to engage front-line workers directly impacted by investments and center conversations around these workers in a transparent budget process, according to a media statement released by Kaplan’s office.

Stable funding ensures staff retention, and that existing Head Start/Early Head Start facilities are properly maintained.

Further, the City Administrator will be required to return to City Council with an amendment to the biennial budget for fiscal years 2021-2023 that fully funds all City of Oakland’s Head Start/Early Head Start programming no later than May 2022 when the fiscal year 2022-2023 midcycle budget amendments will be considered.

Finally, the resolution requires the Human Services Department to create a transparent, strategic planning process for the operation and management of the Head Start/Early Head Start programs.

“We must prioritize equity in our City’s COVID-19 recovery plan and allowing our most impacted communities to have vitally needed services is a high priority,” Vice Mayor and Councilmember At Large Rebecca Kaplan said. “Head Start is an important program which helps children with lifelong positive impacts on their future and ensures access to economic recovery for struggling working parents…I thank everyone who helped pass this important plan to save Head Start to support providing these services for all of Oakland’s communities.”

“Our most vulnerable children and families in Oakland must be supported,” Nikki Fortunato Bas, Council President and District 2 Representative, said. “The Franklin Head Start Center serves a diverse community in District 2, from the Chinatown to Eastlake to San Antonio neighborhoods, and I am fighting to protect the services for these families and the jobs for the workers caring for our children.”

“Robust investment in Head Start is investment in our future; it is long-term public safety planning; it is the right thing to do,” said Carroll Fife who represents District 3. “Our local government cannot allow Head Start to fail. To do so would be to continue the practice of state-sanctioned discrimination that creates new racialized disparities and perpetuates existing ones…As a working-class Black woman, like many of our Head Start providers, I have lived experience in needing access to affordable childcare. And as an elected official, I am committed to doing what it takes to keep our centers open, funded and accessible to the families who need them most.”

“Every parent knows the first five years of a child’s development have an enormous impact on the adult they will become,” Council President Pro Tempore and District 4 representative Sheng Thao said. “Head Start is a vital resource to the children and parents that need support. One of my top priorities is making sure every child in Oakland has a chance to succeed.”

Kimberly Jones is the chief of staff to Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Company Makes Offer to Black Job Applicant Who Filed “CROWN Act” Lawsuit

Don't Miss

Alameda County Supervisors Host Meeting on Community Oversight of Sheriff’s Dept.

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies

Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.  Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

Published

10 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

Shutterstock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.

“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.

“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.

Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.

Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”

Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.

Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.

Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.

Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.

Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.

Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.

Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.

Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.

Published

11 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Cecil Williams, civil rights activist and social justice leader was the head pastor of San Francisco’s non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church.

By California Black Media

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.

He was 94 years old.

The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.

Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).

Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.

“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.

Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.

Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.