Happy New Year!

Well the toys are now unwrapped and perhaps even assembled. Given all that has been in the news the last year about toy recalls, you may be wondering if your child’s new toys are safe. I want to share a great new online resource that identifies the toxin levels for more than 1,200 toys. This Web site – www.healthytoys.org – provides tools for parents and caregivers to easily search products by name, brand and toy type and find out how a product rates for harmful chemical content, such as lead, vinyl, mercury, bromine, tin and other harmful substances. Parents can even request information on toys not yet tested or listed on the site.

Unfortunately, we are experiencing the disappointment of a recall first-hand. Before the holidays, we asked the Center for Environmental Health to test both versions of our TIGO early learning kits for lead contaminants. While the contents of the kits were determined to be safe – including blocks, beads, crayons, books, Play-Doh and a puppet – test results from the independent laboratory revealed that our TIGO bags contain elevated levels of lead.

No known cases of lead poisoning have resulted from the use of the TIGO bags; however, we are asking parents and caregivers to stop using and safely dispose of the bags to eliminate any possible lead exposure to children.

Because TIGO distributors maintain contact information for all recipients, they are currently contacting these families directly. To assist with the safe disposal, kits are being collected at eight sites throughout Contra Costa County. Click here to download a flyer in English or Spanish.

- Sean Casey, Executive Director

• Click here to find programs and services happening at the Antioch, Bay Point, Delta, Monument, and West County First 5 Centers.
  

• Flyers listing free tax assistance services for low-income working families are now available. Click here to download flyers in English and Spanish.

• A new report, called Common Vision, Different Paths: Five States’ Journeys toward Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Five Systems, highlights how five states, including California, are building comprehensive, coordinated systems for children, prenatal to age five.

• Last month President Bush signed into law a five-year renewal of Head Start, the federal preschool program for poor children. The legislation raises the eligibility ceiling from 100 percent of the poverty level for a family of four, about $20,650, to 130 percent, or $26,845. It also sets a deadline of 2013 for half of all Head Start classroom teachers to have at least a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.

First 5 Contra Costa is moving in February. Our new address will be 1485 Enea Circle, Suite 1200 in Concord. Our phone number will stay the same: (925) 335-9991. Stay tuned for more information on the move.   

First 5 Contra Costa just completed a comprehensive review of two programs funded through our Early Childhood Education Strategy: the Professional Development Program (PDP) and the Early Learning Demonstration Project (ELDP). The review included qualitative and quantitative program data and recommendations based on a variety of sources such as participation records, surveys, interviews and focus groups.

Both programs are designed to improve the quality of child care throughout the county. The PDP offers child care providers networking opportunities, support, training resources and financial incentives to increase their education and professional training. The ELDP provides grants and support to help child care programs enhance the quality of their programs and move toward or achieve national accreditation standards.

Highlights of the report include: 

• In 2006-2007, the PDP served 600 providers who received stipends and incentives for going to school, increasing training and education requirements on the Child Development Permit matrix, and demonstrating increased program quality.

• More than 1,200 providers received academic tutoring, attended cohort math and English classes, and received one-on-one advising to assist them in setting professional and academic goals.   

• Half of providers who participated in the PDP between 2001 and 2007 participated for two or more years, even as tougher participation requirements were implemented.  

• Since 2004, the ELDP has assisted 29 family child care programs and 15 child care centers, serving more than 3,000 children. These sites created and carried out improvement plans that significantly increased program quality to levels considered "high" quality by national standards. Most of the programs achieved national accreditation standards.

• These programs are reaching more diverse providers. In 2006-2007:  
• 33% of PDP providers identified themselves as "white"   
• 24% as "Latino/Hispanic"  
• 21% as "African American"   
• 14% as "Asian/other Asian/Pacific Islander"  
• One-third of providers participating speak a language other than, or in addition to, English at work

• Participating providers work throughout the county, especially in at-risk communities and communities with a low supply of licensed child care sites. In 2006-2007:  
• 25% of participants served children in Central County
• 27% in East County
• 32% in West County
• 16% in the South County/LaMorinda

Healthy and Active Before 5, a collaborative of Contra Costa families and service providers, will unveil their action plan for preventing obesity in children ages 0-5 on January 11th at a special community summit. The summit will also be an opportunity for community partners to learn how they can get involved to help build a healthier Contra Costa.  

Contra Costa County has seen a dramatic increase in rates of childhood obesity over the last 30 years. The rising rates of obesity for toddlers, children and adolescents in Contra Costa present a tremendous challenge to the future health and prosperity of the county. The action plan includes various activities designed to motivate and support children and families to adopt healthy behaviors.

First 5 Contra Costa’s Family-Friendly Community Grants will be available soon. Sign up for our mailing list to receive a funding alert.

Family-Friendly Community Grants provide up to $5,000 to conduct health and safety projects, parent education classes or community festivals, and up to $10,000 to build safer playgrounds. These grants are for community groups and nonprofit organizations only. 

Groups who have not received a Family-Friendly Community Grant are required to attend information workshops in order to apply. Workshop dates and times will be posted on our Web site soon.

On December 17, 2007, the Assembly passed AB X1 1 (Núñez), which would expand health coverage to an estimated 3.7 million uninsured Californians. The vote was 46-31 along party lines. Senate President pro Tem Perata has indicated that the Senate will not consider the bill until January. If the Senate passes and the Governor signs the measure, voters would be asked to approve financing for the plan in November 2008.

Most provisions of the bill would be effective July 1, 2010, subject to available funding, although the expansion of children’s coverage would be effective July 1, 2009. Click here for a summary of the bill’s key provisions, pending legislative action during the upcoming days and weeks.

In Contra Costa County, licensed child care is available for 35 percent of the children who have working parents, according to the 2007 California Child Care Portfolio, a county-by-county report that looks at child-care supply, demand and costs.

The Portfolio combines data on licensed child care facilities, parents' request for child care and information on child care costs to better understand the struggles parents face finding child care.
Contra Costa parents pay an average of $8,386 per year for infant or toddler care in a family child care home and $12,318 in a licensed center. Preschool care averages $7,856 to $8,739.  

The report indicates that the supply of child care falls far short of demand, especially for infant care. Licensed care in California is available for only 27% of children with parents in the labor force. For infants and toddlers, the situation is even worse, with only 5% of total slots in licensed centers available.

For more information about the report, click here.

Melanie Novak is the chair of First 5 Contra Costa’s East County Regional Group (ECRG), a volunteer group of East County residents who implement projects to make East County a healthier, safer and more family friendly place to live. The Group has held successful parent resource fairs that draw thousands of families and is currently tackling the issue of childhood obesity.    
 
Why did you join the East County Regional Group?
I had spent five years teaching at La Paloma (the continuation high school) in Brentwood and had been home with our two boys for over a year. I still missed being involved with helping children and this was a great opportunity to help an age group I had little experience with.  

What are the Group’s greatest successes?
We have brought more parents and citizens into the group and raised awareness of the importance of children 0-5. Our latest success has been to get the City of Oakley Parks and Recreation to offer more affordable dance and sports classes for young children. We presented survey data to the City which showed parents are concerned about childhood obesity.

The City listened and incorporated our suggestions about making more affordable sports and dance classes for young children available. Oakley will now be offering these classes to benefit local families. Making this change is so exciting as we are in our infancy as child advocates. We have also begun partnerships with the Antioch and Pittsburg Recreation Departments to offer more sports programs for toddlers at affordable prices and convenient times.

Why is childhood obesity prevention so important to the Group?
We want the children of our county to grow up to be healthy & active adults. The rates of childhood obesity in Contra Costa County are rising at alarming rates.  Obesity in children can lead to multiple health issues including type II diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and fatty liver disease among other things.  The East County Regional Group believes that we can stop this epidemic in young children by focusing on prevention.

It's important for families to make healthy choices about what they eat and how active they are. But, it is equally important for our communities to be set up in a way that makes it easy to eat healthy and be active. We need safe and affordable places for kids to play and they need access to affordable healthy foods. As a teacher I know that healthy children are much easier to teach and they learn much easier. It's a win-win for everyone.

How has being in the group changed you?
I am much more relaxed speaking to adults instead of just children. I can drag 20 at-risk kids through Pride and Prejudice but I had a hard time speaking in front of adults. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and feel capable of taking on issues on a community level and have improved my personal goals of making sure everyone's voice, whether in class or our group, is heard. Everyone's opinion is valuable and I believe I've been able to make sure they're heard.

For more information about the ECRG, please contact Rhea Elina Laughlin: (925) 335-9991.