OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings
Fresno Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access Meeting - November 4, 2026
City Council & Commissions — Wednesday, November 4, 2026
BodyFresno, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, November 4, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Transcript — Verbatim
Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Child Care Services78%
Procedural22%
Summary of Proceedings
Fresno Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access Meeting - November 4, 2026
The Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access met on November 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM. Commissioners approved the agenda and minutes from the last meeting, received member reports and updates from three ad hoc subcommittees, and appointed an alternate commissioner and filled vacant subcommittee seats. All votes were 9-0 in favor.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the agenda (9-0).
- Approved the minutes from the last meeting (9-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the unscheduled and scheduled communication portion, nor on the items regarding alternate commissioner appointments or subcommittee vacancies.
Member Reports & Comments
- Commissioner Rabiotto reported that his CWPC (Child Welfare and Parent Committee) meeting secured funding and grants for developing new child care centers at Fresno Pacific University.
- Commissioner Cindy Hernandez had no comments.
- Commissioner Young had no comments.
- Commissioner Fabiola Gonzalez reported that First 5 is continuing to develop a scope of work for a child care pilot effort approved in the city's budget earlier this year.
- Commissioner LeVra Smith congratulated Commissioners Nelson, Espranza, and Anna Lisa Perea, and announced that Supportive Services will celebrate its 50th anniversary with over 200 families registered.
- Commissioner Ophelia Gonzalez expressed hope to bring the commission's affordable child care access plan to the city of Fresno and align efforts.
- Commissioner Cervantes Woods shared that the Child Care and Development Local Planning Council continues work on a countywide child care strategic plan.
- Chair Maxwell thanked commissioners for their dedication and noted that subcommittees have a one-year timeline with a six-month progress report. He requested that future subcommittee reports be submitted as written attachments to the agenda to allow discussion. The city clerk and city attorney confirmed this is permissible.
Subcommittee Reports & Comments
- Child Care Policy, Land Use, Funding, and Regulatory Solutions Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Chair: Fabiola Gonzalez): The subcommittee met twice since the last meeting and created a scope of work with deliverables and a timeline. Two major work areas: (1) review zoning and permitting standards for child care facilities to identify best practices and opportunities for change, and (2) examine potential funding resources (government, philanthropy, employers) to identify the best revenue model for the city. Members have research assignments and aim to present a report at the December meeting.
- Child Care Workforce Development and Sustainability Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Chair: Commissioner Cervantes Woods): The subcommittee met once and will meet monthly (second Thursday). Priorities include gathering data from the city on current child care providers and gaps, leveraging partnerships (e.g., Local Planning Council), hearing directly from families, and gathering input from employers and providers. A report is expected in December.
- Child Care Supply Capacity and Affordability Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Chair: LeVra Smith): The subcommittee will meet monthly (first Monday). Focus on maximizing existing resources, leveraging available data (including from the Local Planning Council's needs assessment), reviewing additional data (e.g., families awaiting child care assistance), and exploring the centralized eligibility list. The goal is to prepare a report in December and outline milestones to the six-month progress report.
Key Outcomes
- Appointment of Alternate Commissioner: Commissioner Rabiotto appointed Michael Balderas (EOC Head Start Director) as his alternate. The motion passed 9-0.
- Filling Subcommittee Vacancies:
- Item 8C: Commissioner Rabiotto was appointed to the Child Care Workforce Development and Sustainability Ad Hoc Subcommittee, bringing it to five members. Motion passed 9-0.
- Item 8B: Commissioner Cervantes Woods was appointed to the Child Care Policy, Land Use, Funding, and Regulatory Solutions Ad Hoc Subcommittee, bringing it to five members. Motion passed 9-0.
- Procedural Direction: Chair Maxwell will send a standardized template for written subcommittee reports to be included in future meeting packets. Future subcommittee updates will be agendized as discussion items to allow deliberation.
- Next Meeting: No specific date was set, but the next regular meeting is expected in December with a target of six-month progress reports.
Meeting Transcript
Position to the approval of today's agenda. Seeing none, motion passes nine zero. Okay, next we're gonna move on to approval of the last meeting's minutes. Um do we have any changes to the minutes from anybody up here on the dais? Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes of last meeting's agenda. So move. Have a motion. I'll second. And a second. Do we have any opposition to the motion on the table? Seeing none, the motion passes nine to zero. Okay, next we're gonna move on to member reports and comments. Again, um, this is for individual reports and comments. We'll have an opportunity later to go over the subcommittee's reports. Um, and we are gonna go ahead and take these in the order I have on my agenda. We will start with um commissioner Rabiotto. Uh so is this uh is this where I can appoint an alternate, or would that have to be the next? We do have that agenda, so we will have an opportunity uh to allow you to do that a little later on. Okay. Now would just be an opportunity to give any updates, remarks, comments, or reports that you have as an individual at this time. Okay, um, I mean, as of right now, the only one that I can really think about is yesterday. We just had our CWPC meeting for our parents involved in Head Start. Um, one of the big things that we just did was we secured some funding and grants for uh some development for opening some new centers uh in Fresno Pacific University. So we're in the process of seeing what we can do to kind of get that going. But it's gonna be one of our future center sites that we want to open up in the future. So it's just something, you know, I think it it goes in line with whatever you know what we got going on here on this commission. That's great. I know we do reports and comments, but if there's anything that you want to share hand out, that would be helpful too, just so everybody is on the same page. But I appreciate the update. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Maxwell. All right, next up, Commissioner Cindy Hernandez. I don't have any comments at this time. Thank you. Thank you very much. Commissioner Young. Good morning. I have no comment this morning. Thank you. Thank you very much. Commissioner Elizabeth Gonzalez. Fabiola Gonzalez, Commissioner. Hi. Um one quick update. Maybe first five is continuing to work in development development, developing a scope of work that we can present to the city of Fresno for the child care pilot effort that um was approved in the city's budget earlier this year.
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