My work on the San Francisco Child Care Facilities Fund at the Low Income Investment Fund brings me into the homes of family child care providers, where my team and I coach and support providers in making necessary renovations to improve the health of child care spaces. My work is funded by the Department of Early Childhood and serves family child care providers in the Early Learning for All program who serve the city’s low-moderate income families.
Many people don’t realize that a large portion of the tuition subsidies San Francisco offers to families support care provided in home-based settings, where up to 12 children may spend their days learning together. For this reason, family child care homes are very important sites to focus on for electrification due to the environmental health hazards caused by gas appliances. Gas appliances in these homes often run all day as providers prepare food and wash laundry for children and frequently have aging furnaces and water heaters.
In partnership with San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, I created a program that replaces gas water heaters with heat pump water heaters and uses Child Care Facilities Fund money to support additional upgrades such as heat pump HVAC systems and induction stoves. So far, we have 15 projects underway, along with a strong list of other interested family child care providers. We recently held a ribbon cutting for two water heater replacements that were completed in less than a week after the original units failed unexpectedly. The project was featured in an article by Canary Media.
It has been exciting to see the response from the community, including how grantees are referring friends and family to the program.
“When we first began, I wasn’t sure how much interest there would be, but demand has exceeded what our initial grant can cover. As a result, we are exploring ways to extend the water heater program in future years.”
It’s also important to note that this program would not have been possible without the knowledgeable staff at the San Francisco Environment Department and the support of other Rewiring America coaches. Having experts to learn from and lean on was critical to getting this work off the ground and helps us to thrive going forward.
I can’t wait to see what we can achieve with these great partnerships.
Our Electric Coach Certification (ECC) program teaches participants of all ages and backgrounds about the basics of whole home electrification. As of Fall 2026, we have accepted more than 2,000 students into the program. Interested in applying? Check out our coaches hub.
