Invested in Young Children and Their Families at an Historic Rate

In our first year after merging First 5 San Francisco and the Office of Early Care and Education to become the Department of Early Childhood, we spent $263M expanding and enhancing an early childhood system that helps families thrive. This is a 63% increase in spending from the previous year when First 5 SF (CFC) and OECE’s combined total expenditures were $161M. This increase in our capacity to get funding out to the community demonstrates that DEC is truly greater than the sum of its parts.  

All of this was made possible by the passage of Baby Prop C in 2018. The revenue generated from the commercial rent tax is being directly invested in DEC’s groundbreaking support for children and families. Since 2018, that funding has made it possible for us to clear waitlists, expand eligibility for free early care and education, and develop our early childhood workforce. San Francisco voters made it clear that they want SF to be a place where children and families can thrive.

Three areas of investment, directly funded by Baby Prop C accounted for the majority of growth: workforce compensation, early care and education tuition, and new child care facilities development.