We have always told our contractors that we are a “highly engaged funder”, meaning that we work closely with the services and programs we fund to seek the highest level of performance and impact possible. The work pays off when we are seen as a model for other providers and counties and asked to present our work at state and national forums. I am pleased to report that two of the programs we fund, the Early Learning Demonstration Project and Mental Health Wraparound services, were featured at the annual California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC) conference last month.

The ELDP presentation, called “Program Quality Begins with Self Reflection”, featured our Early Childhood Education Program Officer Debi Silverman and Rossnina Ruggieri, Nancy Cuny, and Linda Luna from our contract agency the Contra Costa Child Care Council. Their presentation focused on the program’s successful formula for quality improvement, including self-reflection and objective self assessment, in-program learning communities and on-campus cohort enrollment, and opportunities for networking and peer mentor support. Over the past three years, 52 centers and family child care sites have improved quality, and half of these programs have met national accreditation standards. Their presentation was interesting not only for the intriguing methodology they have developed to promote change in child care settings but also for the possibility of applying their methods in other organizations as well.

The Wraparound presentation, called “Wrapping the Young Child: Wraparound with Birth to 6 Year Old Population,” featured Lyn Center Facilitator Kim Stokem and Family Partners Kathy Davison and Melinda Denhindger. Participants learned about how a Wraparound program can support their work with the birth to six-year-old population and the unique strategies used in Contra Costa County to integrate other systems to meet both the child's and caregiver's needs. We are trailblazers in the use of the evidence-based wraparound methodology with families with young children and will present a similar workshop at the annual First 5 Conference in Anaheim this month.

I want to congratulate the presenters for being selected in a very competitive field of over 550 proposals submitted. It is always an honor when our funded programs get recognized statewide as innovated promising practices.

- Sean Casey, Executive Director

• Contra Costa County is bracing for significant budget cuts to several programs this year, including a reduction in the number of home visits to first-time parents and reductions in children’s mental health services. More information about recommended budget cuts is available on http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us in the “what’s new” section. The Board of Supervisors is expected to finalize the initial round of cuts at their May 6th meeting.

• Multiple Job Openings at First 5: First 5 Contra Costa has several job openings for Program Assistants and a Mental Health/Substance Abuse Program Officer.

• The West County First 5 Center is celebrating its one-year anniversary on May 17th from 11-2 pm. Participants can learn more about First 5 Center programs and classes, enjoy fun, free activities with their children, and hear testimonials from parents about their experiences at the center. The Center is located at 2707 Dover Avenue in San Pablo.

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

	SRI preschools have helped boost children's readiness for school.

First 5 Contra Costa recently completed an extensive independent evaluation of our School Readiness program, which has provided programs in 35 Contra Costa communities with low-performing elementary schools (e.g., schools with low standardized test scores) since 2003.

Funded services have included outreach activities to connect families with services, parent education workshops and home visits, summer pre-kindergarten programs for children who have not been enrolled in preschool, family literacy and parent cooperative preschools, and planning and implementation of transition activities designed to ease children’s entry into kindergarten.

The evaluation describes results and makes recommendations for various program improvements. Information was gathered through interviews and focus groups, analysis of existing data, and comparison of results form other school readiness programs. Among the highlights:

• Thousands of families have been reached. 2,800 families have received the Tigo Early Learning Kit, 800 children have participated in family literacy and cooperative preschools, and 650 children have participated in summer preschool programs.

• Parents and kindergarten teachers praise many of the services, especially the Tigo kit and kindergarten backpacks.

• There is evidence of a changing schools system. 32 of the 35 targeted schools have developed plans to ease children’s transition into kindergarten. Since 2004, more parents are reporting that they participated in transition activities, such as opportunities to meet their child’s kindergarten teacher or they received information from the school on ways to help their child get ready for kindergarten. Children who attended schools that utilize a high number of best practices for kindergarten transition showed greater child development skills.

• Children who attend family literacy and cooperative preschools show improvements in development, with greater benefits for those who participate for longer periods of time.

Recommendations included expanding preschool services, enhancing focus on transition to kindergarten services, connecting school readiness services with other First 5-funded services, continuing to distribute Tigo to encourage parent-child involvement, increasing program consistency and implementation across districts, focusing on families who are not enrolling or staying enrolled in school readiness programs, and continuing to work with supportive school districts.

Click here to read the executive summary of the report.

Over 4,000 East County families descended on Pittsburg’s Small World Park last week to participate in our seventh annual Week of the Young Child Fair.

The fair’s focus was on making East County a healthier and more family-friendly place. Children participated in physical activities such as races and playing in a Bounce House, got their faces painted, visited a petting zoo, and enjoyed entertainment, children’s music and colorful vegetable-costumed characters. Over 40 local nonprofit agencies distributed helpful information on nutrition, school readiness and finding quality child care.

	Mona’s Child Care just earned national accreditation standards.

Five local child care programs just earned national accreditation standards, the highest mark of program quality for child care centers or family child care homes in the country. These sites join 26 other child care programs who have earned accreditation by participating in the Contra Costa Child Care Council’s Early Learning Demonstration Project.

The ELDP provides grants, one-on-one mentoring, consultation services, intensive training on effective teaching practices, and facilities improvements to help child care programs move toward or achieve national accreditation standards.

Congratulations to these newly accredited programs:

• Centers:
  Play & Learn Preschool, Pleasant Hill

• Family Child Care Homes:
  Sarah Kazmi, Little Munchkins Academy, Hercules
  Scellerstence Felt, Scellerstene’s Family Child Care, Richmond
  Mona Sadeghinedad, Mona’s Child Care, Concord
  Robyn King, Toybox Tots Family Day Care, Antioch

In just three years, the ELDP has helped double the number of accredited family child care homes and child care centers in Contra Costa County and has improved program quality in over 50 programs.

The Bay Point First 5 Center has appointed seven new members of its volunteer Community Advisory Council, a voluntary group of parents, caregivers, community members, and representatives from local agencies who work with the center on strategic planning, evaluation, and outreach and community engagement.

All five First 5 Centers have Advisory Councils, and a total of 35 community members participate on a CAC. First 5 Contra Costa provides training and support, such as an upcoming training this month on conducting surveys, focus groups, and other methods to obtain community input.

Congratulations to the new Bay Point Council members:

Tina Sanchez
Mina Mercado
Claudia Gomez
Susana Solache
Jenlyn Lemire
Dora Fidelus
Doris Hernandez

For more information on Community Advisory Councils, contact Lisa Morrell (925) 771-7318.

First 5 Contra Costa recently started sponsoring regional networking lunches for home visitors in an effort to build relationships among providers and better coordinate home visiting services for families with young children.

West County home visitors met on April 29th with over 35 attending. Lunches are planned for Central County home visitors on May 13th and East County visitors on May 27th.

The lunches are for home visitors working in one of the following programs: Black Infant Health, Fetal Infant Mortality Review, Hand to Hand, Lift Every Voice, Medically Vulnerable Infant Program, Newborn Connections, Prenatal Care Guidance, Public health Clinic Services, and Welcome Home Baby.

Contact Lisa Morrell for more information (925) 771-7318.

First 5 Contra Costa is pleased to welcome our new Evaluation Manager Lyn Paleo, MPA, DrPH, who comes to us with over 20 years experience in program evaluation, program design and implementation, and non-profit fiscal administration. She has worked in the areas of nutrition and health, HIV/AIDS, homeless, domestic violence, substance abuse, youth services, literacy, and occupational health. Research and consulting clients have included federal and local governments, private non-profit organizations, and foundations. She has taught the graduate-level course on evaluation at the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley for the last six years.

What was your favorite book as a child?
I was an avid reader! Whenever we moved to a new town, I would be such a pest until someone in the family took me to the library and signed me up for a card. The book that stole my imagination was Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, about a smart, clumsy, misfit of a girl who has a grand adventure.

What food did you refuse to eat when you were a child?
I was not an avid eater as a child. I would just sit at the table after everyone finished and play with the food until finally they’d give up and let me leave. It was such a joy to move to California as a young adult and find fresh fruits and more fruits, and to discover artichokes and asparagus. Now, I grow some vegetables and even planted a peach tree and a couple of blueberry bushes last year. I hope they thrive!

Who are your heroes?
Annie Sullivan was my hero. She was Helen Keller's teacher, interpreter, and life-long companion. It was through her that Helen Keller's brilliance was released into the world. I read the story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan as a girl, and learned to finger spell. My mother was severely hard of hearing, and she tried to learn Sign Language, but it didn't work out well for her. In my 20s I studied American Sign Language at the community college and then worked as an interpreter for many years until repetitive motion syndrome made me change profession. To this day, I think Annie Sullivan is a hero.

Where's your favorite place?
My heart is still in the rough Colorado Rocky Mountains where I lived for several years as a kid. Nowadays, I find peace and joy when I hike in the Marin Headlines hills overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean stretching out so far that it takes me beyond my everyday life. I love to travel. Three years ago I completed a 10 week voyage from South America to the Antarctic to South Africa on a three-masted sailing ship – working as “trainee crew”. The work was very had and the voyage very arduous, but we got to walk among wild penguin colonies, and that was great fun (but really stinky!).

What would make Contra Costa a better place for kids?
I’m still learning a great deal about child development but one way for sure is to decrease the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in the areas of health, housing, education, and economic opportunities.

	Carisa Moody of Antioch’s Knowledge Learning Corp

Three local child care providers are the first in the county to earn their bachelor’s degrees from a new program launched by California State University, East Bay’s Concord campus two years ago.

Congratulations to Lucienne Gouveia, who works at Los Medanos College’s Child Study Center, Susan Bonin, from a City of San Ramon-sponsored preschool, and Carisa Moody of Antioch’s Knowledge Learning Corp, for earning their bachelor’s degrees in Human Development with an Early Childhood emphasis and for their commitment to improving the quality of child care in Contra Costa County.

Cal State East Bay first launched its degrees for early care professionals in fall 2006, after receiving a $75,000 grant from First 5 Contra Costa to develop coursework within existing degrees that was more relevant for early childhood educators. Since then, approximately 40 providers have enrolled in the bachelor’s or masters' degree programs at CSUEB's Concord campus. First 5 Contra Costa provides scholarships, participation incentives, and tutoring and advising on campus.

“First 5 is working hard to enhance the early care and education workforce in Contra Costa County,” said Dr. Debi Silverman, First 5 Contra Costa Early Childhood Education Program Officer. “Through our collaboration with Cal State East Bay 's Concord campus and the local community colleges, we are making it easier than ever before for early care professionals to further their education and earn their bachelor’s degrees, which research tells us is an important indicator of high-quality child care.”

According to Silverman, of the nearly 660 child care professionals participating in our Professional Development Program last year, half did not have an associate degree. “We are pleased to be able to partner with First 5 and the community colleges to meet the educational and child care needs of the county,” said Dr. Emily Brizendine, Interim Executive Director of CSUEB’s Concord Campus.

“The new B.A. program seemed like a fantastic opportunity to pursue a degree I always wanted but didn't think was attainable,” said Carisa Moody. “As a preschool teacher for the last seventeen years, my income has always allowed us to just get by. There didn't seem to be money in the budget for a BA degree, but this scholarship program made it possible.”

It took Carisa 14 years to complete her associate degree and 16 months to earn her bachelor’s. She is currently pursing her master's degree in Early Childhood Education at Cal State East Bay, Concord Campus.

According to Lucienne Gouveia, who has worked in the child care field for the last fifteen years, “Earning my B.A. makes me feel more qualified as a teacher and I now have a much better understanding of child development.”

For more information, contact:

Dr. Jiansheng Guo,
CSUEB Human Development,
Early Childhood Development B.A. Program Coordinator
(510) 885-3599

Dr. Valerie Helgren-Lempesis,
CSUEB Early Childhood Education M.S. Program Coordinator
(510) 885-3006