Last month I had the privilege of attending the Bay Area launch of 2-1-1, a non-emergency resource and referral line that helps individuals find the help they need for themselves and their families. Calls are answered live 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by trained information and referral specialists.

Contra Costa is one of seven Bay Area counties participating in 2-1-1, and First 5 Contra Costa is one of several local funders. I would like to congratulate our contractor, the Contra Costa Crisis Center and its executive director John Bateson for working tirelessly over the last several years to secure funding from numerous public and private funders for this important service. Getting 2-1-1 off the ground has been a huge undertaking. John and his staff are to be commended for their efforts to bring this vital service to Contra Costa.

Now, anyone can use this easy-to-remember phone number to find local community services, such as child care, youth programs, job training, parent education, immigration assistance, counseling, food, shelter and so much more.  

You can do your part, too. Get the word out and help promote 2-1-1 among your colleagues, friends, and family.   

- Sean Casey, Executive Director

• First 5 Contra Costa has moved! Our new address is
  1485 Enea Court, Suite 1200 in Concord, 94520.
  Our new phone number is (925) 771-7300 and new fax is (925) 771-6083. First 5 staff now have direct lines.

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

• Click here to review mid-year state budget cut reductions and fact sheets about their impact on health care, child care, and public education.

• 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’s 2006-2007 Annual Evaluation Report is available. The report highlights evaluation results and accomplishments for seven key First 5 funded strategies, including Early Childhood Education, Home Visiting, First 5 Centers, Mental Health, School Readiness, Substance Abuse Services, and Parent Education.

First 5 Contra Costa’s Annual Report to the Community highlighting our accomplishments over the last year and featuring local families benefiting from our funded programs is also available in English and Spanish.

First 5 Contra Costa is awarding $1.2 million to a collaborative of local agencies to provide health and education services to at-risk families in West County’s underserved neighborhoods over the next three years. The funds will be used to expand high-quality home visiting services to expectant parents and families with newborns. These services include in-home counseling, parenting and nutrition courses and prenatal services.

The First 5 Contra Costa grant comes on the heels of a report that concluded West County families were significantly underserved by existing home visiting services. The grant builds on First 5 Contra Costa’s countywide home visiting initiative, which last year alone served nearly 1,500 at-risk parents.

“We have seen first-hand how serving parents in their homes can improve parenting skills, connect families to needed services and identify children and families who may need more intense intervention,” said Sean Casey, Executive Director of First 5 Contra Costa. “It is critical that we build on this success and provide these valuable services to strengthen our county’s most vulnerable families.”

The funded agencies will hire home visitors and outreach workers from the targeted communities, provide incentives to participating families, visit families on more convenient days such as Saturdays, and recruit and train graduates from the programs to serve as peers for other parents. Outreach strategies will target hard-to-reach African-American and Asian families.

Funds are being awarded to a collaborative of agencies led by Moss Beach Homes/Welcome Home Baby including, Bay Area Community Resources, Lao Family Community Development and Neighborhood House of North Richmond. Services will be provided to West County families living in North Richmond, “Old” San Pablo, and Richmond’s Coronado and Iron Triangle Neighborhoods.

First 5 Contra Costa is offering Family-Friendly Community Grants up to $10,000 for local community improvement, health, and literacy projects that benefit children five and younger.

Funds support neighborhood clean-ups, new or improved playgrounds, parent education and training, community events and health fairs, and projects that promote healthy nutrition and improved physical activity for young children. Family-Friendly Community Grants are available for nonprofit organizations, small community groups, city agencies, public adult schools, and public libraries. A total of $200,000 is available.

Applicants must attend a mandatory Information Workshop in order to apply:

Thursday, March 27, 2008: 6:30 PM
Church of Christ, 1020 East Tregallas Road, Antioch

Wednesday, April 2, 2008: 6:30 PM
West County First 5 Center, 2707 Dover Avenue, San Pablo

Thursday, April 17, 2008:  6:30 PM
1485 Enea Court, Suite 1200, Concord

Make-Up Sessions: 1485 Enea Court, Suite 1200, Concord
Tuesday, April 22, 2008: 10:00 AM
Friday, May 2, 2008: 1:00 PM

Please RSVP for Workshops: (925) 335-9991.
 
Spanish translation and child care will be offered at all workshops. The application is available here. Please share information with groups you think may be interested. Click here for a flyer.

First 5 Contra Costa Commissioners recently voted to allocate a total of $1,000,500 over a three-year period to support families with young children living in shelters. Funding will be allocated from 2008-2009 through 2010-2011.

With this funding decision, the Commission will be allocating the remainder of our Special Reserve Fund, a short-term fund established in 2003 to respond to state and county budget cuts.

Only agencies currently providing shelter services to homeless families with young children in Contra Costa County will be invited to apply.
 
First 5 Contra Costa recently convened a summit with over seventy stakeholders including homeless agencies, family and child-centered service providers, policymakers, faith-based community, law enforcement, and homeless families to collectively develop strategies for meeting the needs of homeless families with young children.

First 5 Contra Costa plans to continue convening summit participants in order to better coordinate services for homeless families and develop long-term funding solutions for these services. First 5 will also work to link homeless families with our existing services, such as First 5 Centers and school readiness programs.

Gabriela Castañeda, a longtime member of First 5 Contra Costa’s Central County Regional Group, received the “Woman Making a Difference” award from the City of Concord’s Human Relations Commission on March 3rd.

Castañeda was honored for her leadership and involvement in providing activities and opportunities to children and families in the community. Much of this work has been accomplished as a member of the Regional Group, a volunteer group of parents, child care providers and concerned community members working to make Central County a safer, healthier and more family-friendly place.

During her two years as the Group’s chair, membership nearly doubled and attendance at their annual Healthy & Active Kids! Fair grew to over 2500 Monument residents. Castañeda also led a pilot project designed to prevent childhood obesity by providing 35 low-income children with free one-year memberships to community sports classes.

“Gaby is an extraordinary person, who demonstrates sophisticated leadership, a talent for community organizing and a unique compassion for children and the Monument community,” said Rhea Laughlin, First 5’s Community Engagement Specialist. “The City of Concord is fortunate to have such a hard-working, compassionate and giving person working on its behalf.” 

Want to eat healthier? Every boxed, canned and packaged food item contains nutrition facts that can help you make healthier choices for your family. Knowing how to read a nutrition label is important for choosing foods with healthy ingredients. Understanding food labels can also help you avoid selecting foods with hidden fats and sugar.

Words to Watch – To make healthy choices for your child, pay close attention to the following “tricky” words.

• Serving Size: Serving size is the amount of food to be eaten at one time by an adult. All information below the serving size is based on only the individual serving, not the entire box or can of food. Be sure to look at the servings per container to find thetotal number of servings in a food package.

• % Daily Value: The percent daily value tells you the percentage of each nutrient or ingredient that the food contains. However, like the serving size, it is important to notice that this number is calculated for adults. Each percentage is likely to be much higher for a child’s diet. Look for foods with high percentages (20 percent or more) of good nutrients, such as vitamins.

Does a Body Good – The below ingredients are important for your child’s healthy development.

• Protein: Your child needs protein to develop parts of his or her body, especially building muscles. The foods highest in protein are meat, poultry, fish and dairy foods.

• Vitamins: Vitamins help build strong bones, give your child energy and can help prevent illness. Ask your doctor for the recommended amount of each vitamin – including vitamin A and C, iron and calcium – for your child.

• Fiber (or Dietary Fiber): Fiber is important for keeping your child’s digestive system healthy. Doctors generally recommend that 1 to 3 year olds have at least 19 grams of fiber per day and 4 to 8 year olds have 25 grams per day. Some of the best sources of fiber are whole-grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts.

In Moderation – The ingredients below should be limited for a healthy diet for your child.

• Calories: Bodies use calories for energy. However, any calories your child does not use become stored as fat. Children who eat too many calories can become overweight. Look for foods that have a low or average amount of calories, between 40 and 100 calories per serving. Foods with more than 400 calories per serving are unhealthy for your child.

• Sodium: Sodium is another term for salt. Children should eat small amounts of sodium to prevent high blood pressure and heart problems later in life. Generally, a food with less than 5 percent sodium is considered healthier.

• Fat: Limit your child’s intake of foods high in saturated and trans fat. Eating too much saturated fat increases the risk of childhood obesity and can lead to heart disease. In particular, limit fried foods, whole-milk dairy products, fatty meats, vegetable oil and butter.

• Sugar: Eating too much sugar can also cause childhood obesity and increase your child’s risk of dental disease. Look for foods that are naturally low in sugar. However, be careful of some foods that are sugar-free. Often, these foods replace sugar with artificial sweeteners, which are not recommended for children under age 5.

More information about reading food labels is available here in English or in Spanish.

There has been a dramatic increase in rates of pediatric obesity locally and nationwide over the last 30 years. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, young children who are overweight during their early years are more likely to be obese later in life and more likely to experience Type 2 Diabetes, high-blood pressure, and other health problems.

First 5 Contra Costa is addressing the issue of childhood obesity through several of our funded programs and partnership efforts, including:

• Participating in the Healthy and Active Before 5 coalition, a countywide effort to promote healthy eating and active living for children birth to five years.  

• Supporting over seventy-five volunteers in our Regional Community Groups to conduct activities that address the issue of childhood obesity. The Groups conducted three large “Healthy and Active Kids” resource fairs last year, providing nutrition information to nearly 10,000 parents and worked to increase the availability of affordable dance and sports classes for toddlers.  

• Sponsoring playground improvement projects, nutrition education, and physical activity classes through our Family-Friendly Community Grants. This year’s application includes a specific funding category for projects that promote active lifestyles and healthy nutrition habits.   

• Offering arts enrichment programs, which include dance, music and movement classes, throughout the county. Our funded programs have served over 700 families since 2004.

• Providing home visiting services to nearly 1,500 families each year. Families receive nutrition education and support for pregnant mothers and babies, including breastfeeding support, referrals and resources.

• Providing a variety of classes and activities that address obesity prevention at the five First 5 Centers, including nutrition classes, healthy cooking, health fairs, Type 2 Diabetes prevention classes, and physical activity classes such as Tiny Tumblers, Family Olympics, and Family yoga.

Please contact us for more information about these efforts (925) 771-7300.