Extended Child Care Coalition of Sonoma County was incorporated in August 1978 as a 501(c)(3). Our agency began as a program of Community Child Care Council (4Cs); another community based organization and in 1978 was incorporated to become a separate agency. Since 1978, Extended Child Care has grown from a small school age program on two school campuses to one of the largest after school programs in Sonoma County. Quality programming has been the agency’s guiding force.
During our over thirty years of operation, we have expanded programs to new school campuses, helped districts take over operation of programs that we originated, and worked with districts to modify the type of after school programs offered. This has meant that growth and transition is constant. Capacity development has been a necessity for our organization. It is a continual process of evaluating our strengths and weaknesses in an ever changing environment. Our Board and management have provided the agency with core practices, procedures and policies that have resulted in a resilient organization and sustainable business model. This process is on-going and allows us to keep up with changes especially given the challenges of the last few years.
Strong fiscal management has been a core value for our operations. Since 1978, the California Department of Education has provided grants to our agency to provide subsidized school age child care to families in need. While at one time these grants were substantial, it was decided that diversified funding sources were needed for financial stability. We have developed a large fee-for-service portion of our program as well as funding from other sources. Since our beginning, part of the culture and focus of Extended Child Care has been to minimize our administrative expenses so that as much of our funding as possible can go directly to children’s programming.
During our over thirty years of operation, we have expanded programs to new school campuses, helped districts take over operation of programs that we originated, and worked with districts to modify the type of after school programs offered. This has meant that growth and transition is constant. Capacity development has been a necessity for our organization. It is a continual process of evaluating our strengths and weaknesses in an ever changing environment. Our Board and management have provided the agency with core practices, procedures and policies that have resulted in a resilient organization and sustainable business model. This process is on-going and allows us to keep up with changes especially given the challenges of the last few years.
Strong fiscal management has been a core value for our operations. Since 1978, the California Department of Education has provided grants to our agency to provide subsidized school age child care to families in need. While at one time these grants were substantial, it was decided that diversified funding sources were needed for financial stability. We have developed a large fee-for-service portion of our program as well as funding from other sources. Since our beginning, part of the culture and focus of Extended Child Care has been to minimize our administrative expenses so that as much of our funding as possible can go directly to children’s programming.