Friday, July 15, 2005
Domestic Violence Summit
 
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Pleasant Hill Community Center
320 Civic Drive
A day-long Summit to discuss how to help children exposed to domestic violence grow up safe, healthy, and nurtured. Featuring national experts. Pre-registration required. Contact (925) 335-9991 for more information.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Work Force Development Work Group
 
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Location tbd.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Governance Work Group
 
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Contra Costa Child Care Council Learning Institute
1035 Detroit Avenue, Concord

Thursday, July 28, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Access/Facilities Work Group
 
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church
1801 Lacassie, Walnut Creek

Friday, July 29, 2005
Program and Evaluation Committee
 
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Conference Room, 1340 Arnold Drive, Suite 125

Friday, July 29, 2005
Health Care Sign-Ups
 
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
New Faith Cathedral
830 MacDonald Avenue, Richmond
Children under 19 may be eligible for no-cost or low-cost health insurance. Programs cover medical, dental and vision from $0-$15 a month per child, maximum $45 a month per family. Parents do not need to be a permanent resident or citizen for their children to qualify. For information, call Odessa Stone: (800) 211-8040.l

Saturday, July 30, 2005
Health Care Sign-Ups
 
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
New Faith Cathedral
830 MacDonald Avenue, Richmond

The date for the August Commission meeting is pending. Please check here for the latest information

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.

7/17/05:
Media Matters: The Impact of Media on Children & Pre-Teens

7/24/05:
Reading Makes You Feel Good!

7/31/05:
All About Breastfeeding

8/07/05:
Get Your Kids Excited About Science

8/14/05:
Rona's Book Club: The Scientist in the Crib with Dr. Alison Gopnik

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.

7/17/05:
Avoiding Prejudice and Hate: How to Explain Sexual Diversity to Nuestros Niños

7/24/05:
Keeping Nuestros Niños in Good Health: Our Pediatrician Answers your Questions!

7/31/05:
Autism: What Is It and How to Support Nuestros Niños and Families

Goodbye Paula! At our last Commission meeting, our Chair Dr. Paula Moten-Tolson announced that she is moving to North Carolina. We are so grateful for all of the hard work she has contributed to our Commission over the last six years. We wish Paula and her family the best and thank her so much for her insight, compassion, and dedication to ensuring that Contra Costa’s young children (and our Commission!) get the best possible start. Thank you Paula! You will be missed.

-- Brenda Blasingame, Executive Director

• First 5 Contra Costa has selected 200 licensed child care programs to go on a shopping spree next month. The third annual Ready, Set, Read Literacy Fair will distribute $500 grants to child care providers to purchase books and developmentally appropriate toys. Providers first attend a 90-minute training on various literacy topics before shopping. The Fair is taking place August 20, 2005.
• Find out the latest on our Preschool for All strategic planning efforts by clicking here.

The community Emergency Family Shelter Task Force, a coalition of housing advocates and nonprofit homeless service providers, declared July “Save Our Shelters Month” in an effort to keep two family homeless shelters open through June 2006. The Task Force needs to raise $700,000 to keep the shelters, located in Martinez and Concord, open this year.

“Last year, we turned to the community to keep our shelters open and the community overwhelming responded, with more than 530 individuals, cities, and foundations contributing,” said Task Force Co-Chair and SHELTER, Inc.’s interim Executive Director, Vince Olson. “Given that Contra Costa’s homeless population now exceeds San Francisco’s, we hope the community will continue to join us in our efforts to provide critical services to homeless children and families in need.”

First 5 Contra Costa approved a challenge grant up to $335,000, which would provide about half of the money needed if the community can raise the remainder. First 5 will provide a one-dollar match for every dollar raised by the Task Force.

Last year, the two family shelters served 141 children and parents, providing shelter and meals along with job training, medical care, counseling services, school enrollment, tutoring, parenting classes and other needed services to help families secure permanent housing.

Individuals interested in making a donation should contact SHELTER, Inc., at 925-335-0698 ext.107.

Nearly 275 Contra Costa children will have an easier time starting kindergarten this fall thanks to their participation in new “Kinder Camp” programs held at 10 elementary school sites throughout the county. These free summer programs, made possible by First 5 Contra Costa in partnership with local schools and community organizations, provides 4- and 5-year-olds with classroom experiences to help prepare them for kindergarten.

“Kinder Camp” programs range from two-to-four weeks and are available to children who have never attended preschool and live in communities with low-performing elementary schools (located in Antioch, Pittsburg, Concord, and Richmond). Children who attend preschool are more likely to have an easy transition into kindergarten and acquire the skills necessary to succeed in school.

Kinder Camps provide children with an opportunity to meet their future teachers and take tours to familiarize themselves with the campus and with what to expect on the first day of school. Time in the classroom is spent on developmentally-appropriate preschool and kindergarten activities such as lining up, taking turns, singing, number, shape and color recognition, and storytime to provide children with the language development, pre-literacy, group participation, and social interaction skills necessary for kindergarten.

For more information about Kinder Camps, contact Debi Silverman: (925) 335-9991.

The United Way and the Ad Council have launched a new public awareness campaign to promote parents as their child’s first teacher, called “Born Learning.” Along with radio and TV ads, the Born Learning campaign also offers a comprehensive Web site with tips, practical information, and parenting advice. All content is available in English and Spanish.

Visit www.bornlearning.org for more information.

Did you know that the Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) has distributed more than 30,000 parenting kits to help parents care for their newborns? That’s like filling up the Chronicle Pavilion two times over.

The kit is currently available in English and Spanish and soon will be available in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. It contains six educational videos and eight brochures on child development, early literacy, quality child care, child safety, discipline, and health and nutrition.

According to the statewide evaluation of the kit, mothers who received it were more likely to read aloud to their baby every day, have a consistent health care provider for their child, and believe that comforting a crying three-month-old will not spoil the baby.

Over the last three years, CAPC has creatively partnered with a range of distributors including hospitals, child birth classes, home visiting programs, and many more. To become a distribution partner, contact (925) 755-4200.

There are children’s book clubs, science fiction book clubs, even mother-daughter book clubs. But how about a book club just for parents? That’s what Childhood Matters, the Bay Area’s weekly call-in radio show for parents and caregivers, launched in June.

Rona’s Book Club, moderated by Childhood Matters host Rona Renner, is designed to bring some of today’s most interesting parenting authors to Bay Area listeners – authors like Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. Dr. Brazelton, considered America’s favorite and certainly best-known pediatrician, joined Renner to kick off the first “on air meeting.” The two discussed his new book Understanding Sibling Rivalry: The Brazelton Way (Da Capo Press) in June. To listen to that show, click here.

“People get parenting information in many forms,” says Renner, known as KISS’ “Nurse Rona” and a well-known parent educator in her own right. “The radio show provides one format, books another, classes a third. In some ways, Rona’s Book Club combines the best parts of all of them.”

The next book club will tackle brain development with the best-selling book The Scientist in The Crib: Minds, Brains and How Children Learn (Perennial Currents), written by noted UC-Berkeley professor and child learning expert Alison Gopnik. The discussion with Gopnik is scheduled for August 14, 2005.