Parents United for Child Care

In Boston, if children are on the agenda, Parents United for Child Care (PUCC) is at the table. Through PUCC, low- and moderate-income parents have joined together and joined forces with a range of public- and private-sector entities to improve the child care landscape in Boston.

PUCC is a member organization that aims to empower parents to effectively advocate for improvements in child care and family policy. Through community organizing and leadership training activities, PUCC helps parents to understand the policy arena, voice their concerns, set priorities, and advocate in a unified and strategic manner. In addition, PUCC provides start-up grants and technical assistance to parents and providers interested in establishing school-aged child care programs.

Partners

In all aspects of their work, PUCC has engaged in partnerships with key stakeholders to achieve their numerous goals. To move its out-of-school time agenda forward, PUCC works with many partners, including the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, the Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fund, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, Americorps, the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, Boston School Age Child Care Providers, Kids of All Learning Abilities (KOALA), the Child Care Careers Institute, Arts in Progress, the Museum of Science, and Read Boston.

In advocating to increase parents’ access to high-quality affordable child care, PUCC has partnered with more than 70 organizations, including neighborhood-based and citywide organizations, advocacy groups, and service providers. Some of these organizations are members of Parents United for Child Care and have regular and ongoing involvement with PUCC initiatives, while others partner with PUCC on specific initiatives.

In addition, PUCC is a key partner in Connecting the Dots for Boston Tots (DOTS), an initiative focused on policy reforms and program improvements aimed at children from birth to 3 years old. Partners on this project include the Mayor’s Office, the Carnegie Corporation, the Family Nurturing Center, Health Care for All, Dorchester Cares, Boston Medical Center, and the Boston Children’s Museum.

PUCC has also played a significant role as a partner in the Boston Early Childhood Quality Improvement Project (EQUIP). Through EQUIP, PUCC collaborated with Associated Day Care Services in Boston, the Families and Work Institute, and national and local foundations to develop an effective system of early care and education in Boston (see EQUIP Profile and Case Study for more details).

History and Development

PUCC was founded in 1987 by a small group of Boston parents concerned about the lack of affordable, quality child care. They focused on organizing and mobilizing parents to impact child care policy on the local and state level. As more parents became involved, the organization evolved and, in 1989, elected their first board of directors from the membership to establish priorities and policy.

One of PUCC’s early priority areas was out-of-school time child care. In 1989, PUCC joined forces with the National Institute on Out-of-School Time to formally assess the need for out-of-school time programs within Boston. A city-wide survey documented an overwhelming need for quality, affordable out-of-school time programs. The survey marked the beginning of a long and successful effort to raise awareness and advocate for increased resources and attention to out-of-school time care. In 1995, PUCC received funding from the Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fund to become one of their Making the Most of Out-of-School Time (MOST) sites. These funds allowed PUCC to significantly expand the scope of their out-of-school time activities.

Through the years, PUCC expanded organizing efforts to neighborhoods throughout Boston. Neighborhood residents established local chapters of PUCC to address local child care issues. Parent leadership activities were then designed to enable parents to become more effective advocates. In 1997, PUCC launched the Affordable Child Care for Everyone (ACE) campaign. This campaign is engaging large groups of parents in community-level advocacy to increase access to high-quality affordable care.

Current Activities

Grounded in its mission of building a vocal parent constituency around child care issues, PUCC works in several related program areas:

• Neighborhood-based organizing: Organizing parents in their communities is the core of PUCC’s work to increase the supply of quality and affordable child care in Boston. A PUCC chapter has recently been established north of Boston in Lynn, and efforts continue to establish PUCC chapters in neighborhoods throughout Boston. Once chapters are established, parents meet regularly throughout the year to create and implement local action plans and take leadership on local child care issues.
• Parent Leadership Training: PUCC provides opportunities for parents to develop advocacy skills through two leadership training courses. The 12-week Parents Growing, Learning and Leading course trains parents in public speaking, meeting facilitation, group dynamics, and public policy process and issues. Participants complete a project at the end of each training course, such as giving testimony at a public hearing, planning and implementing a meeting, or writing an editorial.

The second leadership training course, Building Parent Leadership in Quality Programs, trains teams of parents to be proactive and involved in the early care and education programs their children attend. The teams are responsible for designing a parent leadership plan for their child’s program.

• Advocacy: PUCC not only teaches leadership, but gives parents many opportunities to use their new skills. Through the ACE Campaign, large groups of parents have been mobilized to advocate for increased funding for affordable child care in Boston. Parents lobby state representatives by testimony at public hearings, phone calls, and post cards. Recently, PUCC partnered with the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts to conduct a statewide survey on child care utilization patterns, barriers, and needs. The data collected will shape continued advocacy efforts for affordable child care and will lend parents’ advocacy efforts increased credibility.

• The expansion of school-age services in Boston: Change happens school by school, driven by parent voices. Through their Boston School Age Child Care Project (BSACCP), PUCC awards grants and offers technical assistance to help parents, schools, and providers to start out-of-school time programs. PUCC also works on a systemic level to foster networks of out-of-school time programs, build public awareness, and offer professional development for providers through conferences, training, and college courses.

Resources

PUCC has a $2-million annual budget funded through a mix of foundation, city, and state dollars. Foundation funds come from the Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fund, the Carnegie Corporation, the Thyde Foundation, the Shot Foundation, and others. Membership dues from organizational members ($75) and individuals (depending on their ability to pay) also provide support for PUCC.

Results

PUCC has built an organized and effective constituency of parents who are succeeding in increasing attention to and resources for child care in Boston and other communities in Massachusetts. Highlights of PUCC’s accomplishments include:

• PUCC’s School-Age Child Care Project has created a citywide structure, within which individuals and organizations can continue to improve the quality, accessibility, and supply of school-age care. The project has generated millions of dollars in resources for school-age child care in Boston and has helped to make programs affordable for over 1500 children from low- and moderate-income families.

• Parent advocacy through the ACE campaign has resulted in the allocation of more than $49 million in new funding for child care subsidies.
• 50 parents have completed PUCC’s parent leadership training and 10 of those parents have gone on to serve on PUCC’s Board of Directors.

Sustaining and Replicating

The key to sustaining PUCC is continued success in organizing and mobilizing parents. The challenge is that funding for organizing activities is limited. PUCC’s continued visibility on a wide range of issues helps to keep funders engaged. In addition, PUCC’s technical assistance activities addressing out-of-school time care are well established and funded, and contribute to the overall stability of the organization.

PUCC’s success has interested organizations and communities from around the country in their model for engaging and mobilizing parents. While PUCC’s leaders are willing to share knowledge they have gained through experience, they emphasize that organizing is local work, and requires locally developed strategies. PUCC continues to expand their membership in the Boston area, and establish a strong presence in their new chapter areas, north and south of Boston.

Lessons Learned

Attempts to engage parents need to be substantive. Efforts to engage parents are often marginal—one or two parents sit on a governance entity and are expected to speak for all parents affected by the organization. Parents are much more comfortable and effective when they are in a leadership position. In the case of Parents United, the Board of Directors is comprised of parents elected from the membership.

Parent leadership efforts are more effective when they are issue driven. Engaging parents and providing leadership training is important, but it needs to be attached to an issue. Leadership for the sake of leadership is not effective in engaging busy parents. Parents are more willing to invest their time and resources in leadership training if the focus is on making progress toward specific priorities.

When you ask parents a question, you have to be prepared to really listen and act accordingly. Sometimes what you hear from parents may suggest a new way of doing business. If you are going to involve parents, you have to be prepared to let their priorities shape your work (even if their priorities are different from yours).

Contact Information

Maryellen Coffey
Executive Director
Parents United for Child Care
30 Winter Street, 7^th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 426-8288
Fax: (617) 542-1515

Last updated Dec. 14, 2001