December 7, 2009
Dear Friend of Child Care Law Center,
As you know, for the past 30 years Child Care Law Center (CCLC) has provided one-of-a-kind legal services to make high-quality child care accessible to every child, every family and every community in California. Despite its reputation for excellence and its unique role as the only legal organization in the country devoted exclusively to the complex issues that affect child care, the economic downturn has not been kind to CCLC.
Concerted and diverse efforts to fund CCLC have come up far short as foundation grants did not materialize, contracts were reduced, attorney’s fees were denied and sub-tenants were unable to pay their share of the rent. While our direct fundraising appeals have been successful, the private funds we have raised recently cannot fully replace the shortfall. With extreme reluctance and regret, the CCLC Board has determined that the only prudent course is to close our office and lay off our talented and dedicated staff effective December 18, 2009.
None of us want California’s children, families and communities to lose this important resource. While it is clear that our current structure isn’t viable, we are working hard to find a way for our knowledge, expertise and experience to survive. In addition to wrapping up or transitioning our current projects, over the next few weeks we are reaching out to faithful funders and exploring ways to continue our work in partnership with allied organizations.
We are extremely grateful for your support and welcome any suggestions you may have. Please keep our staff in mind if you hear about any employment opportunities for attorneys or administrative professionals. As you can imagine, we will be extremely occupied during the coming days, but feel free to contact us, the best method is via email at nstrohl@childcarelaw.org.
With warm regards,
Miye Goishi Nancy Strohl
Board President Executive Director
Contact Information after December 18, 2009:
Nancy Strohl, CCLC
c/o Bananas, Inc.
5232 Claremont Ave
Oakland, CA 94618
510-658-7353