Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Mother’s Day Celebration
 
12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Delta First 5 Center
760 First Street, Brentwood
Mom’s can celebrate Mother’s Day early at the Delta First 5 Center. Children will make arts and crafts for mom, including tiaras, followed by a special luncheon and tea. Contact (925) 516-3880 for more information.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Program and Evaluation Committee
 
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
1340 Arnold Dr., Suite 125, Conference Room, Martinez.

Monday, May 15, 2006
Executive Committee
 
9:00 a.m.
1340 Arnold Dr., Suite 125, Conference Room, Martinez

Saturday, May 20, 2006
Family Community Fair
 
Noon to 4:00 p.m.
2191 Kirker Pass Road
Concord
We Care Services for Children will introduce its new Autism Family Support Project at a free fair. Child safety information, games, face painting, and health screenings will be featured. Call (925) 671-0777 for more information.

Saturday, May 20, 2006
Water Safety Day
 
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
4246 Empire Avenue
Oakley
Come learn about water safety on the Delta for you and your family. The first 200 children five and younger will receive a free life jacket. The Coast Guard and Sheriff’s office will provide demonstrations. Funded by a First 5 Family-Friendly Grant.

Monday, June 5, 2006
Commission Meeting
 
6:00 p.m.
50 Douglas Drive, Second Floor Conference Room
Martinez
The Commission will hold a public hearing on our 2006 Strategic Plan.

Childhood Matters schedule
 
Tune in to Childhood Matters Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on 98.1 KISS-FM
for parenting information and advice. Visit
www.childhoodmatters.org
to learn more and listen to past shows.

5/7/06:
Fathers Connecting with their Kids

5/14/06:
A Mother’s Day Celebration of Stepmothers

5/21/06:
Love With Limits: Building Blocks of Discipline

5/28/06:
Summer Activities for Children and Families

Nuestros Niños Topics
 
Childhood Matters’ Spanish-language counterpart, Nuestros Niños, airs every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. on KLOK Cumbia 1170 AM and KBBF, La Nuestra 89.1 FM.

5/7/06:
Supporting Nuestros Niños and Families with Incarcerated Members

5/14/06:
Happy Mother’s Day! Learning from our Mothers and Godmothers: Valuable Lessons for Parenting Nuestros Niños

5/21/06:
Look Out! Protecting and Maintaining Nuestros Niños' Eyes

5/28/06:
Teen Pregnancy: Nuestros Niños as Young Parents of Nuestros Niños

I am pleased to report that representatives from three of our school readiness programs, along with staff member Debi Silverman, were selected to lead a workshop this month at the annual statewide First 5 conference. Their workshop will highlight successful parent engagement and kindergarten transition activities as well as how each program has engaged the school district in better preparing children for kindergarten.

Our School Readiness Initiative provides preschool, parent education, and outreach programs in 35 communities across four school districts. Each community is home to one of the lowest-performing elementary schools in the County. Across the participating districts, principals are planning activities to make sure their youngest students enter school equipped and ready to learn.

For example, every school has formed a transition team made up of the principal, parents, teachers, and early care providers who work together to ensure that a variety of school readiness opportunities are available for parents with children entering kindergarten. Through programs such as summer pre-kindergarten classes and enhanced kindergarten registration activities, parents and children are learning more about what to expect in school.

After three years of implementing school readiness programs, participating schools and districts are making significant efforts to reach out to children well before that first day of kindergarten. This is critical in helping our County’s most vulnerable children reach their greatest potential in school and life.

- Sean Casey, Acting Executive Director

• The May program calendars for the Bay Point, Concord, and Delta First 5 Centers are available online.
  
  
• Job opportunities are available for a bilingual Center Director for the West County First 5 Center and an Administrator for the new Home Visiting Database system. Click here for job descriptions.
  
  
• Bridget Robinson joins First 5 as our new Finance Manager, having spent 12 years in the for profit sector first as a financial consultant and then, for the last 8 years, CFO/General Manager of a successful start up company. With a BA in Psychology from Sonoma State and an MBA in Finance from the University of Washington, Bridget brings a unique blend of skills to First 5. Bridget enjoys music, films, the arts, exercising, and reading; and her favorite children's book is A Wrinkle in Time.
  
  
• Licensed child care programs can apply for $500 to purchase books at our fourth annual Ready, Set, Read Literacy Fair. The application will be available on www.firstfivecc.org starting May 5, 2006.

First 5 Contra Costa recently announced the approval of a $231,000 grant to SHELTER, Inc. to keep its Martinez family homeless shelter open. The grant, which covers 70 percent of the shelter’s total operating costs, will provide housing to approximately 30 families for one year.

“Stability is critical to a young child’s healthy development,” said First 5 Contra Costa Chair Joe Valentine. “Nearly 70 percent of the children served at this shelter are under the age of 5. This grant is a great opportunity for First 5 Contra Costa to help provide those children with a safe place to live.”

Since 2004, First 5 Contra Costa has provided funding to support shelter services for local homeless families with young children.

“This is definitely a huge step in the right direction,” said Interfaith Council of Contra Costa Director Rev. Brian Stein-Webber. “May First 5 Contra Costa’s efforts motivate our communities to come together to address how we can jointly improve the homeless situation in our county.”

For more information about the Martinez Family Homeless Shelter, please call (925) 957-7567.

First 5 Contra Costa’s DRAFT 2006 Strategic Plan is available for public review.

The Plan outlines our Commission’s funding priorities and objectives for improving the lives of children 0 to 5 in Contra Costa County over the next several years as well as how we will continue to support and strengthen our funded programs.

We will hold a public hearing on the Plan at our June 5, 2006 Commission meeting (6:00 p.m., 50 Douglas Drive, Martinez). To provide feedback on the Plan before the hearing, please send your comments to tirwin@firstfivecc.org by May 26, 2006.

With funding and support from First 5 Contra Costa, California State University, East Bay has developed two new four-year degrees for early childhood professionals – the first four-year degrees in Early Childhood Development to be offered in Contra Costa County.

The first is a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development featuring an Early Childhood Development option. The degree will focus on children birth to 8 years old, making it more relevant to the early care profession. Classes will start this fall at Cal State’s Concord campus and at Contra Costa College.

The second degree is a minor in Early Childhood Development to complement the Human Development major. First 5 Contra Costa awarded a $75,000 grant to Cal State East Bay to create the minor, which begins in summer 2007.

Contact a community college early education advisor for more information:

Contra Costa College:
Ray Landry
(510) 235-7800 ext. 4471

Diablo Valley College:
Sue Handy
(925) 685-1230 ext. 2162

Los Medanos College:
Melissa Jackson
(925) 439-2181 ext. 3183

The First 5 Centers are offering free activities on May 31st to celebrate World No Tobacco Day. Join them for children’s activities, arts and crafts, giveaways, and parent information booths on asthma and the dangers of second-hand smoke.

Antioch First 5 Center
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
512 West 5th Street
(925) 757-5303

Bay Point First 5 Center
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
1985 Willow Pass Rd.
(925) 709-2023

Monument Community First 5 Center
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
1736 Clayton Road
(925) 671-6237

West County
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A Solid Foundation, 1230 Bissell Avenue, Richmond
(510) 559-5550 ext. 3014

In California, the leading cause of injury-related deaths for children under the age of five is drowning. Drowning accidents often occur during the warm weather months of May through October.

Click here for prevention tips from the Drowning Prevention Foundation. Click here for the same tips in Spanish.

Cheri Molnar, representing District III, is a 3rd grade teacher at Rancho Romero Elementary in Alamo and an Adjunct Professor at JFK University in Pleasant Hill, where she teaches children’s writing workshops. Ms. Molnar is a published children’s author and educational speaker. She has given presentations on preventing bullying in schools, as well as literacy and writing workshops.

What was your favorite book as a child?
I LOVED anything by Roald Dahl, particularly “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “The BFG.” I was also a big fan Shel Silverstein’s poetry.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I think it's key to realize your own talents and utilize them to the best of your ability and in helping to serve others. (I do envy those American idols and their amazing voices, however!)

Who are your heroes in real life?
My parents - they set out from West Virginia when they were both young with very little money in their pockets, heading West to fulfill what they considered “the American dream.”

What is the trait you most admire in others?
Integrity. It encompasses so many synonymous traits I admire. Additionally, the meaning also translates to “unity/wholeness.”

What would make Contra Costa a better place for kids?
Any place can be a better place for a child when his or her basic needs are met through love and health. Sometimes, however, parents need support and assistance to enhance their child’s learning experiences and growth. We should see to it that all children have equal opportunity to access the services offered in Contra Costa County.

What is your motto?
Life is a journey, not a destination.

Several months ago, Children and Family Services (CFS) temporarily removed Anita’s four children due to neglect. It was not unusual, say neighbors, to see Anita’s six-year-old wandering the neighborhood. Sometimes the child’s four-year-old and two-year-old siblings were with her – all unattended by an adult.

Anita, a single mother struggling to find permanent housing for her family, was also dealing with a great deal of loss. She had recently given birth and put the baby up for adoption and a close relative had passed away. Two of her children were receiving mental health services at the Lynn Center for emotional problems. So when Anita’s CFS worker suggested she participate in Wraparound services, Anita was skeptical, but willing.

Wraparound services are an innovative approach to assisting young children with serious mental health problems and families with high needs. Most of the children served have experienced severe abuse or neglect or have exhibited symptoms of attachment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention difficulties, aggression, or emotional withdrawal.

Wraparound provides a team approach for identifying a family’s strengths and connecting them to services and support networks. Each family selects their team, made up of formal members, such as therapists and social workers, and informal members, such as extended relatives and friends.

Read more.