Child Care Systems Lab

Where child care system-builders
grow.

Training, community, coaching, and certification for the people who build and sustain child care systems - taught by experts, grounded in collaborative communities of practice, and designed to grow with you.

Through the Child Care Systems Lab framework, expertise is built, deepened, and shared. It brings together training, peer community, resources, coaching, and certification in one place - organized around the real scope of the work, taught by people with deep experience in it, and designed so that members grow over time into the experts who teach others.

The goal is a ripple effect: every practitioner who grows through the Lab carries that knowledge into their community - and eventually into the next generation of system-builders.

Apply for the California Child Care Facilities Action Network

What the Lab Provides

Professional Peer Learning Community

Members who complete track requirements can earn certification in specific areas of expertise. Certified members can go on to teach and coach others - growing the field from within the Lab's community.

Resources and tools

Models, examples, templates, research, and data - curated from the best available sources and organized so members do not have to search for what they need. Good tools save time and improve outcomes.

Training And Live Coaching

Live, facilitated sessions structured as a community of practice - bringing together coordinators, consultants, planners, operators, and developers for real learning alongside peers. Tiered by audience and depth, and taught by people with deep experience in the work.

Certification tracks

Regular gatherings for same- and cross-role members - peer learning, resource sharing, and the kind of honest professional conversation that is hard to find anywhere else in this field

Active Offerings

  • Central Coast Child Care Facilities Action Network

    NOW ENROLLING

    A 9-month community of practice for advocates, coordinators, and community leaders across six California Central Coast counties - focused on child care land use policy and regional action.

    Registration: June 22 through July 31, 2026

    Sessions: September 2026 to May 2027

    Counties: Ventura · Santa Barbara · San Luis Obispo · Monterey · Santa Cruz · San Benito

    APPLY NOW

  • Interested in a cohort for your region?

    LET US KNOW!

    We are developing programs for other regions. If you are interested in bringing the Child Care Systems Lab to your community, county, or organization, we would love to hear from you.

    REACH OUT FOR MORE INFORMATION