Our Partners

Alabama Child Care Alliance

The Alabama Child Care Alliance currently consists of more than thirty individuals and organizations collaboratively strategizing and addressing early care and education funding and policy issues. The membership includes a broad representation of parents, child care programs, child advocacy organizations, Head Start, and other community organizations. Members make various contributions to the Alliance, according to their strengths, for the benefit of Alliance members and in support of improving child care in Alabama.

The Alabama Child Care Alliance (ACCA) is evolving as a cohesive, self-directed, and powerful entity to improve the early care and education system in Alabama. Issues include:

• annual Department of Human Resources (DHR) budgets for funding child care;
• the legal process of exempting child care programs from licensure in Alabama;
• the support of unlicensed child care with state and federal child care dollars;
• changes in eligibility, fees, and requirements for parents on the child care subsidy program;
• fees paid to child care providers for serving children on the subsidy program; and
• various bills sponsored by legislators that affect child care in the state.

Community Media Organizing Project

The Community Media Organizing Project (CMOP) is a partnership of progressive, grassroots, community-based organizations in the Southeast who’ve joined forces to increase our capacity for using media coverage as an organizing tool. During the past six years, our combined efforts through CMOP have brought our members media training and ongoing strategic support, enabling us to improve our organizing efforts, influence public policy, develop leadership skills and strengthen our organizations.

CMOP Organizations

• 9to5 Atlanta Working Women (Georgia)
• Community Farm Alliance (Kentucky)
• Families & Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (Louisiana)
• Federation of Childcare Centers of Alabama (Alabama)
• Greater Birmingham Ministries (Alabama)
• Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (Kentucky)
• Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (Tennessee)

CMOP is an affiliate of the national organization Progressive Communicators Network.

Kids in Distressed Situations (KIDS)

FOCAL partners with Kids in Distressed Situations, located in New York City, to periodically distribute clothing to local organizations whose constituents are low-income families. The distribution items are primarily children’s clothing, although adult clothing and other items are sometimes included.

If you are an organization in the FOCAL network, serving low-income families, you may apply to be notified when FOCAL makes a distribution of goods. Please contact the FOCAL Office for more information.

Equal Voice for America’s Families

FOCAL partners with grassroots organizations across the country to promote policies and advance changes that collectively support the visions and needs of working families in the United States. Three years ago the Marguerite Casey Foundation launched the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign. The campaign was built on a foundation of engaging families in town hall meetings. Individuals spoke about their visions for their families and communities, the changes they sought, and their commitments to bringing them about. A National Family Platform emerged.

FOCAL advances the Equal Voice campaign by continuing the community meeting format, supporting the people and processes needed to achieve policy changes vital to working families, and working cooperatively with other organizations on issues of mutual concern. Read more about the Equal Voice Campaign here. Download a PDF explaining the Equal Voice Platform here.