History

When the State Building at 1515 Clay Street opened in 1998, it had a space set aside for a childcare center, but left the space undeveloped. A group of state employees in the building, mostly parents, decided to work together to create a childcare center.

This group of state employees, working within the California Department of General Services (DGS) guidelines, incorporated as the nonprofit: Oakland State Building Kids Corporation (OSBKC). The guidelines provided that space for a childcare center can only be opened and contracted for services by a group of parents, 50% of whom must be state employees. At the time, the fundamental responsibilities of the OSBKC were:

• Raising money for a childcare center;

• Negotiating with DGS for childcare center space and construction;

• Identifying and contracting with a childcare provider for services; and

With the assistance of then Attorney General Bill Lockyer, President Pro Tempore Don Perata, and then Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, the OSBKC successfully convinced DGS to finish the site in July 2006. During this time, the OSBKC developed a Request for Proposals for potential childcare providers and awarded the contract to administer the program to Community Child Care Council (4Cs) of Alameda County (www.4c-alameda.org). Services began in September 2006, eight long years after the OSBKC began its work, and 4Cs successfully managed Bright Future through June 2016. Effective July 1, 2017, OSBKC brought administration of the center in-house.