As chair of the Family Economic Security Partnership, the collaboration that sponsors the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) campaign with United Way in Contra Costa, I find it unfortunate that some struggling families still pay to have their taxes prepared when they could have them done for free. Even worse, many of these families fall victim to predatory lenders who charge exorbitantly for early tax returns. These refund anticipation loans can end up costing an average of $250 extra – the equivalent of two week’s worth of groceries for a family of four!

But there are success stories such as Curtis and Gwen Daglow of Richmond. They just celebrated their first holiday season in their new home last month thanks to EKS. Through our program, they learned they were eligible for a sizeable refund and were able to take advantage of a financial education and first-time homebuyers program to purchase a 3-bedroom home for themselves and their two sons.

Unfortunately, millions of dollars in federal Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) go unclaimed in Contra Costa County every year. That’s money that could be going back in to the pockets of hardworking residents and also benefit the local economy.

Last tax season, EKS helped 2,100 families and individuals in Contra Costa receive more than a total of $2.4 million in tax refunds and credits. EITC can amount to as much as $4,700 per family, which can make a huge difference for a financially strapped family. To qualify for EKS, household incomes must have been less than $42,000 in 2007.

I urge people who qualify to take advantage of EKS, which runs through April 15 at locations throughout the Bay Area. Click here for site locations or call 1-800-358-8832.  

Please help spread the word about this important program. It helps our hardworking residents to keep more of their money now, as well as build up their financial futures.

- 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.
  

• First 5 Contra Costa is moving at the end of February. Our new address will be 1485 Enea Circle, Suite 1200 in Concord. Our phone number will stay the same: (925) 335-9991.

• REMINDER: Information about the TIGO recall can be found here.

• Family-Friendly Community Grants will be available soon. Please check here for more information.

Nearly 150 local elected officials, academics, child advocates and experts, came together for a half-day summit January 29th focused on the importance of a child's first years. “Children Summit 2008,” coordinated by over a dozen community organizations in Contra Costa and Solano counties, showcased recent research on children's brain development, the benefits of investing in early childhood programs, and the local and statewide policies needed to help young children develop into productive members of society.

The summit included a panel of experts on four core subjects: the science of early childhood development, early learning, health and mental health, and income and family support. Experts included:  

• Keynote Speaker Dr. David Kirp, Professor of Public Policy at UC-Berkley and author of the recently published book, The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics, who spoke about the larger economic forces at work in creating children’s policies.  

• Dr. Ross Thompson, Professor of Psychology, UC-Davis discussed the current knowledge about brain development in young children and how that affects our understanding of public policy.

• Dr. Neal Halfon, Director of the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities and Professor of Pediatrics, Health Studies and Life Sciences at UCLA addressed the many issues affecting the health of young children and the policies needed to make children and their families healthier

• Jean Ross, Executive Director, California Budget Project delineated the economic forces affecting families today in California and how state and local policies directly affect children and families.

The summit was modeled after the National Children's Summit, which took place in Washington D.C. last May and was cosponsored by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congressman George Miller. First 5 Contra Costa and First 5 Solano sponsored the summit. 

First 5 Contra Costa convened a two-day summit last month called “Children in the Homeless Continuum” that was attended by 90 individuals representing homeless agencies, family and child-centered service providers, policymakers, faith-based community, funders, law enforcement, and homeless families.

The purpose of the summit was to develop a shared framework of homelessness in Contra Costa County, with an emphasis on families with children age 0 to 5 years, and to identify short and long-term strategies to serve these families.

Participants first developed the following vision statement: “All children and families have a safe place to sleep, eat, live and learn.” They then determined outcomes for addressing the needs of homeless families, which included:

• Children are in preschool, quality child care, and school in a stable and safe environment.
• Services are centralized, integrated (into housing), and accessible (e.g., child care, counseling, transportation, referrals, preschool & school, etc) to meet specific clinical and developmental needs of children and families.
• Housing is affordable, available and supportive -- emergency, transitional and permanent.
• Parents have jobs with a living wage (training and work incentives exist).
• Resource “clearinghouse” and data systems are always up to date and accessible.

Participants identified long and short-term strategies for meeting these outcomes, as well as the need for adequate funding streams and increased community awareness and support. The Commission will discuss the results of the summit and next steps at its February 4th retreat.

People know to call 911 for emergencies, 411 for directory assistance, and 511 for traffic information. Now you can dial 211 to find out about all kinds of health and social services that exist in the community.

On February 11, 2008 - "2-1-1 Day" - United Way of the Bay Area will celebrate the region-wide expansion of 211 phone service in the Bay Area. 211 is a toll-free, easy-to-remember phone number that connects people in need with local community services, such as child care, youth programs, job training, senior services, immigration assistance, counseling, food, shelter and so much more.

This month, 211 will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in seven Bay Area Counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Solano.

Calls are answered live 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by trained information and referral specialists. In Contra Costa County, 211 service is provided by the Contra Costa Crisis Center with support from the Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Department and First 5 Contra Costa.

Click here for more information about 211 in Contra Costa County.

To help promote family literacy, First 5 Contra Costa recently selected 24 family child care programs to implement Raising a Reader, an award-winning program that promotes daily lap-sit reading between parents and young children.

First 5 Contra Costa is allocating $30,000 to expand the program countywide, particularly in at-risk communities. The 24 new RAR sites join 20 programs already funded by First 5 at 10 family child care homes, the First 5 Centers, and in school readiness programs.

The 24 new RAR sites were selected based on their location and providers’ participation in the Professional Development Program, a program to increase the training and education of child care providers. Selected programs will receive RAR materials for every child in their program, a teacher kit, and training.

In honor of February being Children’s Dental Health Month, First 5 Contra Costa offers the following tips to parents and caregivers on how they can help their children develop healthy oral health habits to protect their teeth for a lifetime:

• Prevent painful Baby Bottle Tooth Decay by not letting your baby fall asleep with, or walk around with a bottle.
• Don’t share your toothbrush or eating utensils with your baby. The bacteria in your mouth can cause tooth decay in your child.
• Wipe or brush your baby’s teeth daily, especially after eating, with a clean washcloth or a moist, soft child’s toothbrush, without toothpaste. When your child is about 2 years old, help her brush with a small amount of fluoride toothpaste twice a day.
• Check your baby’s teeth and gums for early tooth decay. Look for spots on the teeth, swelling, bleeding or pimples on the gums.
• Give your child water rather than juice when thirsty. After six months of age, one small serving of juice a day is sufficient.
• Stop bottle-feeding after 12 months. Use training cups instead.
• Once your baby is eating solid foods, limit the number of sweet and sticky foods that she eats. Instead, offer a variety of healthy foods from all of the food groups such as fruits, vegetables and cheeses.
• Bring your child to a dentist by one year of age to be checked.
• Ask your dentist about fluoridated drinking water and other ways to protect your child’s teeth.

For more information about oral health programs in Contra Costa County, visit www.cchealth.org.

In 2006-2007, First 5 Contra Costa invested $9.6 million in programs and services designed to improve the lives of young children and their families. Commissioners will receive a presentation from our evaluators on February 4th highlighting the impact of this investment on children, families, providers, and our community. Here’s a preview:

Demographic Snapshot of Families Served:

• 78% of children served were age three or younger.
• Over half of children served were Latino.
• Most children had health insurance and were up-to-date on immunizations.
• 17% of children had been diagnosed with a developmental delay or disability.
• 77% of families served lived in Antioch, Concord, Bay Point/Pittsburg, and Richmond.

Program Highlights:

• Home visitors served 1,490 families, averaging 6.5 visits per family. The majority of families reported improvements in parenting skills and caring for their children. Most families surveyed stated their home visitor helped them to better understand their child’s behavior, feel more connected to their child, and feel more comfortable working with public service agencies.

• Mental health specialists from Child Care Solutions assisted 279 children in child care struggling with mental health, social, emotional, and developmental problems. Over half of the children remained in their child care program, while 30% transitioned to a program more beneficial to their development. 20% of children were referred to a school district for further assessment.

• The Early Learning Demonstration Project worked with 32 child care sites, providing them with grants and intensive support to help these programs move toward or achieve national accreditation standards. All participating sites, which served 1,400 children, increased program quality to high levels. 12 became accredited and 11 more are expected to later this year.

• Literacy preschools served 224 children. Participating children increased their school readiness skills and were more prepared for kindergarten. Specifically, these children showed improvements in social-emotional competence, communication skills, and cognition and general knowledge.

• The five First 5 Centers served 1,326 families. Half of the families took multiple classes on topics such as positive parenting, child development, school readiness, and raising children in smoke-free environments. Nearly 90% of parents surveyed agreed that the classes helped them to improve their parenting skills, better understand their child, and connect with other parents.

The full evaluation report will be available on www.firstfivecc.org later this month.