Stay up to date on policy and advocacy topics affecting your work in Olympia, King County, and Seattle. 

At a Glance

2025 was a year of collaboration, advocacy, and growth for the Policy and Advocacy Department at Voices of Tomorrow. Our work centered on elevating the voices of parents and childcare providers, ensuring that policies and programs reflect the needs of immigrant and refugee families in King County. This year, we focused on building community engagement, understanding early learning policy systems, and working to achieve equity in childcare. We executed this by furthering our work in our Policy and Advocacy Councils, hosting community forums with local providers, and collaborating with key figures in the legislative childcare sector. Throughout this year, we made significant progress and are excited to share some of the highlights of this year.

Provider Advisory Council 

The Provider Advisory Council is made up of local King County Childcare providers that are passionate about making a difference in their childcare. These providers have a direct voice in learning about legislatives policies and regulations that impact their businesses, children, and families. The council is also a space to help strengthen VOT’s advocacy efforts by providers sharing any relevant concerns and questions with us.  

During meetings, we provide updates on current bills, discuss tips on family engagement in the classroom, and give DCYF agency updates. Our meeting schedule is 2 hours once a month, virtually on Zoom. Together, the Provider Advisory Council is a group of informed, dedicated providers who actively contribute to the betterment of childcare in King County. We are grateful for a successful year with the Provider Advisory Council and look forward to continuing this important work in the year ahead. 

If you are interested in joining the Provider Advisory Council, feel free to contact Asha at [email protected] or call: 206-360-9002. 

Parent Policy Council (PPC) 

The Parent Policy Council is a space for parents of our ECEAP programs to actively participate in decisions affecting their children’s education, development, and well-being. It strengthens advocacy & leadership and ensures that parent perspectives guide program decisions. The council convenes based on school year terms from September to June. All parents are invited to join, with each classroom having a minimum of 1 representative for a balance of perspectives in the council.  The council meets once a month on zoom or in person with different discussion-centered topics. The topics are decided by parents-based interests and program needs. Some of the topics discussed this year were Health and Nutrition, Extracurricular Activities, and Kindergarten Readiness. These topics were well received by parents and it gave them insight into the core of their child’s program. In addition, we provide advocacy 101 trainings for parents to gain a basic understanding of what it means to be a parent policy council member and how to amplify voices in the classroom.  

At VOT we are passionate about parent involvement and advocacy in early learning at any level. We believe that there is no better advocate for the needs of their child than their parents. Council members are also given the space to have real-time feedback and ideas that are implemented for the betterment of the program. We look forward to continuing the year with the Parent Policy Council and building the community of parent policy champions.  

Community Café 

Community Cafe was created in 2022 as a space intended for childcare providers to receive policy updates, ask questions, and share challenges related to licensing, compliance, and their overall business. This year, we continued its mission by hosting additional meetings that engaged providers through conversation-centered discussions. 

In 2025 we convened 2 meetings both with over 100 providers in attendance. Providers were given the opportunity to share their concerns and receive feedback and resources in real time with the policy specialist in PAD. Recently, the PAD department collaborated with DCYF to share some of their agency updates and policy changes. The DCYF team provided insights into new regulations, upcoming initiatives, and shared resources available to support providers. In addition, these meaningful discussions gave our department direct insight that assisted us in informing our childcare advocacy priorities. As we continue to host these spaces in real time, we also send surveys in multiple languages quarterly to ensure that all provider voices are received.  

Provider Circle 

In September 2025, Voices of Tomorrow introduced a new forum named Provider Circle. A space where local providers connect face to face with political candidates running in their district to have honest, solution-centered conversations about their experiences and challenges they are facing in their childcare programs. These conversations highlighted the realities of running childcare programs while also building relationships rooted in trust, listening, and collaboration. 

Two Provider Circles were convened in 2025, the first was with King County District 5 Councilmember Steffanie Fain. For this meeting, we brought together providers from cities that Steffanie serves in her district, Des Moines, Kent, Normandy Park, Renton, Sea-Tac, and Tukwila. Providers shared touching stories about staying open through the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages, and financial strain. Providers also highlighted the lack of investment in South King County and the current housing instability pushing families and providers out of their homes due to renting.  

The second Provider Circle brought Seattle-based providers together with Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, where conversations focused on workforce shortages, rising operational costs, the need for facility grants, and the uncertainty of operating family childcare programs in rental and public housing.  

Together, these conversations reinforced the urgent need for investment in childcare, stable affordable housing, and policies that reflect the lived realities of providers who continue to care for the children in their communities. 

External Advocacy & Advocacy Day 

This year, our goal with external advocacy was to champion early learning policies that support families, providers, and equitable access to childcare. We achieved this by collaborating with other organizations such as Washington State Association of Headstart and ECEAP (WSA), Early Learning Action Alliance (ELAA) and Child Care Aware Washington (CCA). Through these collaborations we participated in joining weekly update meetings, attending organization retreats and trainings and building strong connections with the current champions of childcare in Washington. These partnerships strengthened our department and provided us the necessary support and resources to amplify the voices of our community. 

In January, VOT participated in lobbying at Advocacy Day 2025 with Child Care Aware Washington. We invited staff, parents, and providers to join us on the steps of the capital to talk about early learning policies and advocate for the support that families and childcare providers need. Our team was able to talk directly with lawmakers to share their stories and changes they want to see on a legislative level. Overall, this experience was invaluable as we were able to amplify our voices to the attention of people who shape the polices in our lives.  

 Looking Ahead: Policy Priorities for 2026–2027 

As head into 2026–2027, the Policy and Advocacy Department will continue centering parent and provider voices by advancing these key VOT policy priorities: 

Policy Priorities: 

• Early Learning Facility Access (Childcare + Housing): New legislative initiatives to expand access 

• Protecting and Restoring Fair Start for Kids Act (FSKA) Funding 

• Early Learning Subcontracting Expansion – ECEAP: Support and advocacy 

• Mental Health & Behavioral Health Supports: Support and advocacy 

• Dual Language & Culturally Grounded Early Learning: Low priority 

• Culturally Responsive Workforce Pathways: Support and advocacy 

Our Policy Lens: 

• Equity for immigrant and refugee families 

• Culturally and linguistically responsive early learning systems 

• Stabilizing the childcare workforce and provider base 

• Community-driven solutions and ownership 

• Facilities access that expands childcare capacity 

This year has been phenomenal, and we will continue our monthly councils, community forums, and legislative engagement to ensure these priorities reflect the needs of families and providers.