Monday, September 12, 2005
Commission Meeting
 
6:00 p.m.
50 Douglas Drive, Martinez

Wednesday, September 14, 2005
First 5 Program and Evaluation Committee
 
12:00 p.m.
First 5 Conference Room
1340 Arnold Drive, Suite 125, Martinez

Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Preschool For All Planning: Governance Work Group
 
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Contra Costa Child Care Council
2280 Diamond Boulevard, Suite 500
Concord

Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Preschool For All Planning: Work Force Work Group
 
6:30- 8:30 pm
Contra Costa Child Care Council
2280 Diamond Boulevard, Suite 500
Concord

Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Program Standards Work Group
 
12:30 - 4:00 pm
Contra Costa Child Care Council
2280 Diamond Boulevard, Suite 500
Concord

Thursday, September 22, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Access/Facilities Work Group
 
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Contra Costa Child Care Council Learning Institute
1035 Detroit Avenue, Concord

Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Antioch Family Health Fair
 
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Fremont Elementary School
1413 F Street, Antioch
Free health screenings, activities for children, health and community information, raffle and prizes, health insurance enrollment, and reading with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Sponsored by the Antioch First 5 Center.

Thursday, September 29, 2005
Commission Retreat
 
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Concord Hilton
1970 Diamond Blvd., Concord

Saturday, October 8, 2005
Super Saturday Family Fest
 
11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Richmond Civic Center
2600 Barrett Avenue
First 5 Contra Costa’s West County Regional Group is hosting its fourth annual Super Saturday,
a free fun-filled event that offers valuable information for parents on health and safety, parenting, finding child care, nutrition and more. Free children’s activities include arts and crafts, a petting zoo, prizes, children’s entertainment, face painting, a jumpee structure, carnival games, and storytelling. Last year’s event drew nearly 2,000 attendees.

Saturday, October 8, 2005
Monument Community Health Fair
 
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Meadow Homes Park (Corner of Detroit Ave. and Sunshine Dr.)
Free health screenings and information booths. For information call Marla Parada at (925) 671-3327 or Raquel Diaz at (925) 671-3494.

Monday, November 7, 2005
3rd Annual Volunteer and Grantee Celebration
 
6:30 p.m.
Pleasant Hill Community Center
320 Civic Drive
Join First 5 us we celebrate our grantees and volunteers and thank them for their hard work to create a brighter future for Contra Costa’s youngest children.

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.

9/04/05:
Sickle Cell Disease, Hemophilia, and other genetic disorders

9/11/05:
What Motivates Misbehavior?

9/18/05:
Getting Parents Involved in Our Schools

9/25/05:
Eating Healthier at School and Home

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.

9/04/05:
La Depresión afecta a Nuestros Niños: Durante el Embarazo de la Madre, tras el Parto, y en la Niñez (Depression affects Nuestros Niños: During Mother’s Pregnancy, Post-Partum, and in Childhood)

9/11/05:
Identidad y Orgullo Latino: Herencia Valiosa para Nuestros Niños (Latino Identity and Pride: Valuable Inheritance for Nuestros Niños)

9/18/05:
Cuando Nuestros Niños son Intimidados o Intimidan: Defensa y Disciplina Efectivas (When Nuestros Niños are Bullied or are Bullies: Effective Defense and Discipline)

9/25/05:
La Salud de Nuestros Niños de Familias Inmigrantes: Seguros, Tratamientos y Medicamentos Accesibles (The Health of Nuestros Niños for Immigrant Families: Accessible Insurance, Treatments, and Medicines)

It is with both excitement and sadness that I inform you I’m leaving First 5 Contra Costa to relocate to Seattle. My last day of work with the Commission will be November 8, 2005. I have accepted a position with Talaris Research Institute, an agency working to improve the social, emotional and cognitive development of children from the prenatal period through age five by providing parents with tools to raise their children effectively.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the founding Executive Director of First 5 over the last six years. It has been a true honor to have had a hand in building such a strong public agency. A deep heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the Commission members, community partners, grantees, and the wonderfully talented staff I have had the pleasure of working with during this time. It has been an enriching journey to walk with you on this path and to do this important work.

Future e-newsletters will keep you posted on the Commission’s progress in recruiting a new Director. Feel free to call the Commission’s office should you have questions: (925) 335-9991.

-- Brenda Blasingame, Executive Director

• The First 5 Centers’ September calendar is now available! Click here to find programs and services happening at the Antioch, Far East and Bay Point First 5 Centers.
• Find out the latest on our Preschool for All strategic planning efforts by clicking here.
• The Delta First 5 Center is hiring a Program Coordinator.
• Earlyeducation.org has dedicated a Web page to the Preschool for All Initiative, proposed for the June 2006 statewide ballot. It includes text of the initiative and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office's analysis of the proposed measure.
• The East County Regional Group of First 5 Contra Costa is surveying East County parents about children’s eating and exercise habits to help plan their advocacy campaign on childhood obesity. If you would like to help distribute the survey to East County parents, click here.
• This year’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Contra Costa campaign helped low-income workers claim more than $2 million in tax credits and refunds, exceeding the program goal by half a million dollars. More than 100 volunteers participated in the program to provide free tax preparation for 1,700 low-income Contra Costa families and individuals. Volunteers are needed for the upcoming tax season. You do not need tax preparation experience to volunteer. For more information or to sign-up, click here.

The Monument Community First 5 Center has begun construction in Concord. The 2,600 square foot center, located at 1736 Clayton Road in Ellis Lake Park, is expected to be completed within the next three months.

The Monument Community Partnership (MCP) in collaboration with the City of Concord has received a grant from First 5 Contra Costa for $1,022,000 over a three-year period to make this endeavor possible.

For more than a year, programs have been held at a temporary location and provided by Mt. Diablo Adult Education, YMCA, Family Stress Center, the Monument Community Partnership Senior Neighborhood Action Team, Museum of Children’s Art, Lawrence Hall of Science and other organizations.

“From birth to age five is a critical time for a child’s learning and development,” said program director Ruth Rodriquez. “First 5 advocates that parents are a child’s first and most important teachers. Supporting this philosophy, the programs offered at the First 5 Center are not only for children, but are also for the parents.”

The Center offers English as a second language, parenting classes, programs that teach parents how to prepare their children for kindergarten, and art, music, science, and family literacy classes. For more information about the First 5 Center, contact Ruth Rodriguez at (925) 671-3267.

Child care providers from 200 different licensed child care programs in Contra Costa County went shopping on First 5 Contra Costa’s dime last month at the third Annual Ready, Set, Read Child Care Literacy Fair. Providers spent a total of $100,000 in “First 5 bucks” to purchase high quality children’s books and developmentally appropriate toys from a range of vendors. Providers received $500 for their purchases.

Before the shopping spree, providers attended one of five 90-minute workshops on topics such as developing literacy in infants and toddlers and engaging children with special needs in early literacy. Participants were selected using a lottery system.

First 5 Contra Costa recently approved $1.4 million in new programs and incentives designed to improve the quality of child care in Contra Costa by helping child care providers meet their educational and professional goals. Part of this funding includes a $75,000 grant to California State University, East Bay to create a minor in early childhood education.

Funds will be used to update existing courses and develop new ones focused on a child’s early years. Currently, there is not a public university in Contra Costa County with a four-year degree in early childhood education.

“Partnering with Cal State East Bay means providers will have access to obtaining a bachelor’s degree,” said Janice Townsend, professor of early childhood education at Los Medanos College. “While many providers don’t continue their education once they receive an Associate’s degree, this new program gives providers the support necessary to achieve their educational goals.”

New classes are expected to begin in Fall 2006.

Contra Costa child care providers will soon reap the benefits of First 5’s new and improved Professional Development Program (PDP).

Beginning this fall, providers can apply for mini-grants to be used for books and tuition. To be eligible, providers need to have worked in the same center or family child care home for at least nine months between July 2004 and June 2005 and must still be employed there. Providers also must care for children ages birth to five for at least 15 hours per week.

Look for the mini-grant application and a schedule of countywide information and technical assistance workshops on our Web site next month. Workshops will take place in October and November.

Paid, part-time leadership opportunities are also available for interested providers who have a BA or are at the Site Supervisor level of the Child Development Permit Matrix. Contact Debi Silverman for more information, (925) 335-9991 ext. 33.

The Antioch First 5 Center is starting a three-week workshop September 14, 2005 to teach parents about proper oral health care for their children. The remaining classes take place September 21st and 28th. Parents will learn about tooth structure, nutrition, first teeth, periodontal disease, fluoride, and the importance of going to the dentist. Call Mary Rocha for more information: (925) 757-5303.

Contra Costa Health Services’ Women Infants Children (WIC) program and First Baptist Head Start received a First 5 Family-Friendly Community Grant to produce a video that encourages families to engage in a healthy, active lifestyle. The video, called “Have Fun and Be Active,” depicts parents, grandparents and young children having fun being physically active inside and outside the house.

This award-winning video has been airing on CCTV in Spanish and English, reaching 350,000 homes and will continue airing this month. In addition, the video has been distributed to 10,000 low-income families at WIC classes, Head Start and licensed child care centers. Eighty four percent of WIC clients who received a copy of the video indicated that the video motivated them to be more physically active with their children. The video is part of a countywide campaign to encourage families to "Have Fun and Be Healthy," by eating more fruits and vegetables and being physically active every day.

The video will air on CCTV in English on September 12 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., September 13 at 5 p.m., September 26 at noon and September 28 at noon.

The Spanish version will air on September 9 at 4 p.m., September 16 at 4 p.m., September 28 at 1 p.m. and September 30 at 4 p.m.

CCTV is Comcast channel 27 and Astound channel 32.