Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Program Standards Work Group
 
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
First 5 Contra Costa Conference Room
1340 Arnold Dr., Suite 125, Conference Room, Martinez.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Program and Evaluation Committee
 
12:00 p.m.
1340 Arnold Dr., Suite 125, Conference Room, Martinez.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005
School Readiness Math Workshop
 
11:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m.
Richmond Public Library Main Branch
325 Civic Center Plaza
The West Contra Costa School Readiness program is offering a free workshop on pre-math skills. Contact Gina Davenport for more information (510) 374-7226.

Saturday, December 10, 2005
Holiday Breakfast with Dora & Santa

Saturday, December 10
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm
Delta First 5 Center
760 First Street, Brentwood
For more information contact (925) 516-3880.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Workforce Development Work Group
 
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Contra Costa Child Care Council Learning Institute
1035 Detroit Avenue, Concord.

Monday, January 9, 2005
Preschool for All Planning:
Governance Work Group
 
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Contra Costa Child Care Council Learning Institute
1035 Detroit Avenue, Concord.

Monday, January 9, 2005
Commission Meeting
 
6:00 p.m.
50 Douglas Drive, Second Floor Conference Room

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.

12/11/05:
Avoiding Neglect: How To Give Children The Attention They Need

12/18/05:
Family Values During the Holidays

12/25/05:
Christmas Day-no show scheduled

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.

12/11/05:
Guidance and Support for Families of Nuestros Niños with Disabilities

12/18/05:
Grandparents: Resources for Nuestros Niños’ well-being and learning

12/25/05:
“Nuestros Niños” won’t be aired today. Enjoy seasonal music played by your radio station, and Happy Holidays to you and your family!

2005 has been a very productive year here at First 5 Contra Costa.

Although we did say goodbye to our founding executive director Brenda Blasingame, we also accomplished a great deal for kids. Our most recent evaluation revealed that outcomes for local children, families, and providers are improving. Parent child relationships have improved across our funded programs, mothers have recovered from drug dependency, children with special needs have received more support, and child care and social service providers have benefited from more education and training opportunities.

I am very proud of the hard work and commitment of our grantees and partners to accomplish these outcomes for Contra Costa's children. Look for our 2004-2005 evaluation soon on our Web site.

We are beginning the process of allocating approximately $3.5 million from our Special Reserve Fund to support perinatal substance abuse services, family homeless shelters, services for abused and neglected children, home visiting for medically fragile infants, and prenatal care services. The Commission’s Program and Evaluation Committee (PEC) will be working on developing these funding recommendations. Committee meeting dates are posted on the home page of our Web site and in this newsletter. I encourage you to attend, if you’re interested.

Again, I want to thank all of our grantees and community partners for their work in 2005. Because of their efforts, our children are becoming healthier and more prepared for success in school and life.

- Sean Casey, Acting Deputy Director

• Find out the latest on our Preschool for All strategic planning efforts by clicking here.
• Children Now’s California Report Card 2005 is now available. Click here to download the 24-page report that provides an overview of issues facing California's children, with letter grades assigned to each children's policy area.
• Free arts and sports classes for children ages two to five are being offered throughout the county. There’s still room for classes taking place in Martinez, Concord, and Danville. Please contact the YMCA at (925) 755-9622 to sign-up or for more information.

Linda Jackson, the State Preschool Director for West Contra Costa Unified School District, was honored for her work to prepare at-risk children for kindergarten. Ms. Jackson was an early champion of the School Readiness Initiative in West County. Because of her, and the incredible team assembled by the Community Services Department, our school readiness program is thriving in 18 at-risk neighborhoods in Richmond and San Pablo.

Cynthia Arenbart, Parent Volunteer, was recognized for her work implementing programs at the Monument Community First 5 Center. Ms. Arenbart has been a volunteer board member with the Center for the past three years.

Michele Mendoza, Josefina Ramón, and Lenore Dangerfield, all members of our Regional Community Groups, were honored for their work to make Contra Costa safer and more family-friendly. These volunteers put in hours of work last year to conduct very successful projects, from free family resource fairs to advocacy trainings. Regional Group activities attracted well over 3,000 participants last year.

First Baptist Head Start and Contra Costa Health Services’ WIC program were honored for their efforts to reduce childhood obesity through the production and distribution of an exercise video for children.

The Perinatal Council has secured a permanent site for the Antioch First 5 Center. The building is located in downtown Antioch at 512 West 5th Street. It is just a block away from the Family Stress Center, the temporary site the Center has used for more than a year.

Now that the building purchase is finalized, the Center will begin renovations and add-on to the building. Once finished, the Center will offer a drop-in playroom, child-friendly space, and a conference hall for classes and community gatherings. Classes will still take place at the Family Stress Center and the local library. For more information about the Antioch First 5 Center, contact Mary Rocha (925) 757-5303.

If you’ve driven down Clayton Avenue in Concord lately, then you may have seen a new building next to the Keller House. That’s the future home of the Monument Community First 5 Center.

The 2,600 square foot Center, located at 1736 Clayton Road in Ellis Lake Park, is on track to open in early 2006. The Center is planning a grand opening celebration on January 21, 2006 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. More information about the grand opening will be coming soon.

In the meantime, the Center is still offering classes and programs at its temporary location. Contact Ruth Rodriguez for more information (925) 671-3267.

In an effort to ensure high quality child care, First 5 Contra Costa awarded $31,500 in scholarships to help local child care providers enroll in college classes. 94 scholarships were awarded up to $350 each to providers taking classes this spring at Diablo Valley, Los Medanos, and Contra Costa Community Colleges. Scholarships can be used for books, tuition, parking, and educational materials.

Nearly all of the scholarships were awarded to family child care providers and to providers who work with low-income children. These providers are less likely to have higher levels of education, an important indicator of quality child care.

“I have not been able to attend community college since the rise in tuition,” said preschool teacher Cindy Brumfield. “This scholarship will really help me to achieve my goal of obtaining a college degree in the field of child development, which is my passion.”

To be eligible, providers had to sign-up for courses in liberal arts or Early Childhood Education that will lead to a degree in Early childhood Education or a related field. Providers also had to currently care for children from birth to age five at least 15 hour each week.

First 5 Contra Costa awarded $38,000 to 13 local community based organizations to support projects that promote reading to children five and younger. Organizations received grants up to $3,000 to purchase books for distribution, expand book-lending libraries at homeless shelters, and organize special family events promoting literacy.

Kaiser Permanente in Richmond will use its $3,000 grant to support its pediatric Reach Out and Read program. In this program, doctors give books to children ages 6 months to 5 years old at every well child check-up as they talk with parents about the importance of reading to their children. To read more about the funded projects, click here.

Volunteers are needed to help local working families and individuals file taxes, claim credits and build their assets! You do not need experience to volunteer. Training will be provided.

To volunteer or find out more, click here.

This program is part of the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Contra Costa campaign, which helps low-income workers claim tax credits and refunds. The campaign is sponsored by the Family Economic Security Partnership, which includes Contra Costa Health Services, Employment and Human Services, United Way of the Bay Area, First 5 Contra Costa, IRS and several foundations.

Four part-time AmeriCorps Outreach Workers begin working at the First 5 Centers this month to recruit families with young children to participate in First 5 Center activities and to provide general parent education information.

AmeriCorps provides trained, dedicated people to help nonprofit groups meet community needs. In exchange for a year of services, AmeriCorps members earn an education award that can be used to pay for college or pay back student loans. The First 5 Center AmeriCorps program is a joint project between First 5 Contra Costa and the Child Abuse Prevention Council.

The West County First 5 Center is still recruiting two part-time AmeriCorps members. One member must speak fluent Spanish. Contact Marilyn Davenport for more information (510) 559 3014.

The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and the Richmond Art Center are starting a new six-week session of free visual and performing arts classes for children five and younger. Classes start January 13, 2006 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and run every Friday for the next six weeks. Classes take place at the Coronado YMCA in Richmond.

Optional workshops for parents on fostering creative development in preschool-age children are also part of the program. To pre-register or find out more, contact Susie Carter 510-620-6776 at the Richmond Art Center.

More than 9 out of 10 kindergarten teachers in California say it is important for children to go to preschool before they start kindergarten, according to a new statewide poll of California public school kindergarten teachers. The poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for Preschool California, found near-unanimous support for quality preschool among kindergarten teachers, no matter where they teach or for how long they have been in the profession.

The poll surveyed a statewide sample of 521 public school kindergarten teachers from October 14 to 20, 2005. It shows that:

• 96% of kindergarten teachers believe it is important for children to go to preschool before they start kindergarten.
• 95% say children who attend preschool are better prepared to start kindergarten ready to learn and do their best.
• 9 out of 10 say children who attend preschool are better prepared to:
  • learn to read;
  • share and play well with other children;
  • count and show other early math skills;
  • follow instructions; and
  • recognize colors and shapes.
• 88% say they spend extra time working on basic skills with children who have not had the benefit of preschool, resulting in less time spent with better-prepared students.

Click here to read Preschool California’s report.