As part of the state budget resolution, legislators approved redirecting $1.6 billion in Proposition 10 funds to the State General Fund and making changes to how Proposition 10 is implemented locally.

These changes are reflected in Proposition 1D, which is one of several measures on the May 19, 2009 special election ballot.

If passed, Prop 1D would redirect up to $340 million immediately from First 5 California and redirect $268 million annually from the state and county First 5 commissions for the next five years. Prop 1D would reduce our share of Prop.10 revenues in Contra Costa County by up to $26 million over the five-year period.

For more information, please click here.

- Sean Casey, Executive Director

• A new California Budget Project analysis provides a quick summary of the key provisions of the state Budget. Find the summary and more information at www.cbp.org.  

• Click here to view new job openings at First 5 Contra Costa.

• The Future of Children, a policy organization based at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, released a new study Media and Young Children’s Learning about the effects of electronic media, particularly television, on a young child’s development.

• Scientific America has a new article The Serious Need for Play about how important free, imaginative play is to a child’s social and emotional development.

• Click here to find classes and activities happening at the Antioch, Bay Point, Delta, Monument, and West County First 5 Centers this month.

The Commission held a strategic planning retreat last month to review the current landscape of services for children, trends in the early childhood field, and funding scenarios based on new projections. In addition, the Commission developed outcomes it wants to achieve for children in the areas of children’s health, early care and education, family support, financial security, and safe communities.

The Commission’s Program and Evaluation Committee (PEC) will meet on March 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the First 5 office to refine the outcomes developed at the retreat. Most of the work on the Strategic Plan will now take place at regular PEC and Commission meetings, which are open to the public. Find meeting information here.

Family-Friendly Community Grant workshops are underway. If you plan to apply for a grant, you must attend a workshop:

March 12, 2009: 6:30 PM
Church of Christ, 1020 East Tregallas Road, Antioch

March 18, 2009: 6:30 PM
West County First 5 Center, 2707 Dover Avenue, San Pablo

March 31, 2009: 1:00 p.m.
Make-up session
First 5 Contra Costa
1485 Enea Court, Suite 1200, Concord

April 2, 2009: 10:00 a.m.
Make-up session
First 5 Contra Costa
1485 Enea Court, Suite 1200, Concord

Funds will support neighborhood clean-ups, new or improved playgrounds, parent education and training, health fairs, and projects that promote healthy nutrition and improved physical activity for young children. Projects will be funded up to $10,000. Nonprofit organizations, small community groups, city agencies, public adult schools, and public libraries are eligible to apply.

View the application here.

Please RSVP for Workshops: (925) 771-7315 or 7311.

The last couple of weeks have brought tremendous attention to Congress's economic stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The inclusion of funding for early care and education (ECE) programs indicates a national recognition of the significant return on investment, and the potential job creation benefits that investments in ECE can provide.

The package, as signed by President Obama on February 17 includes the following ECE-related components:

• $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
• $1 billion for Head Start
• $1.1 billion for Early Head Start
• $500 million for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, reserved for children ages 2 and younger

Investing in programs for young children such as CCDBG and Head Start and Early Head Start not only develops the school readiness skills that children need to become productive workers of the future, but also creates jobs in early childhood education. ECE programs also allow parents to work outside of the home, financially support their families and contribute to the economy. In fact, the licensed child care sector allows parents to earn more than $100 billion annually.

In addition to hosting the weekly Childhood Matters radio program on
GREEN 960 AM, Nurse Rona is also airing "Rona's Community Forum” on 98.1 KISS-FM. Community Forum airs every Sunday from 6:00 to 6:30 a.m. and features community resource information for parents.

Each week, Rona packs the 30-minute program with local guests and First 5 representatives to talk about issues and resources important to kids and families in the Bay Area.

	Ann Geran thanks tax assistance volunteers for helping her to "keep her twins smiling."

Thirty free tax preparation sites are now open to help low-income working families and workers get their taxes done for free. Find more information about tax sites and hours of operation here.

Contra Costa’s annual Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Campaign has helped low income workers receive over $10.6 million in tax refunds since 2004.

Jo Ann Geran, a former 911 dispatcher with the Richmond Police Department, recently filed her tax return at the San Pablo East Bay Works site. With her refund, she was able to pay overdue rent and stay in the apartment she shares with her young twin daughters.

“I know my twins and I will be just fine. It’s my job to keep the smile on their faces. Thanks for helping me to do just that. I am so glad you are all there,” said Geran.

The Campaign is operated by the Community Housing Development Corporation and is a project of the Family Economic Security Partnership, a public, private, and nonprofit collaboration dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income families and individuals in Contra Costa County. First 5 Contra Costa is a member of FESP.

Help celebrate the Week of the Young Child by volunteering at First 5 Contra Costa’s annual Week of the Young Child Fair. This year’s event will take place on Saturday April 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Small World Park in Pittsburg.

Volunteers are needed to staff day-of activities such as setting up or break down, registration, face painting and other kids activities, or the raffle. Shifts are available from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.       

For more information or to sign up, contact Deanna Roberts (510) 654-5335 or droberts@robertsevent.com.

The Contra Costa Child Care Council’s 15th Annual Early Learning Conference will be held at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill on Saturday, April 25, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The keynote speaker is UC Davis developmental psychologist Dr. Ross Thompson, who will talk about healthy social-emotional growth for young children. Dr. Thompson's presentation from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. is free to the public and will be translated simultaneously into Spanish and Farsi. The full-day conference on child development will feature 36 workshops on topics including:

• Infant and toddler development
• Effective behavior management
• Healthy nutrition and movement ideas
• Preparing children for kindergarten

Workshops in Spanish and Farsi will also be presented throughout the day. The conference fee is $40 in advance and $50 at the door. For further information or to register, visit www.cocokids.org or call (925) 676-5442, ext. 3105.

Each year, about 91,000 children suffer from accidental poisonings. While the majority of these cases are not fatal, they are avoidable. Knowing basic types of household poisons, and where they can be found in your home, is the first step to poison prevention.

Start by becoming familiar with different products in your home, as poisons may be hard to detect and come in a variety of forms. Focus on child-proofing key places that contain toxic materials. It’s easier to do than you might think.

In observance of National Poison Prevention Week, March 15-21, First 5 Contra Costa provides the following information to raise awareness and to provide resources about this important issue.
Download flyers in English or Spanish with more information.

2008 was a challenging year for Reene Becerra, a Concord father of a four-year-old and seven-month-old taking parenting classes at the Monument First 5 Center. A fire in his apartment building destroyed much of his family’s belongings. Not long after, his car was stolen. And he began getting dialysis three times a week after being diagnosed with terminal kidney failure. Despite these challenges, Mr. Becerra never missed his parenting class at the Monument First 5 Center.

“Engaging fathers in parenting classes can be difficult, especially Latino dads,” said Ruth Rodriguez, the Center’s Director. “But Reene is the exception. Every week he went above and beyond to attend our program. He would work his shift as a custodian at Kaiser, go to dialysis, and then come to our class. When his car was stolen, he still attended. He took the bus.”

The class that Mr. Becerra never failed to miss was the Center’s eight-week “Parents Raising Kids in Safe Environments” class. The program covers topics such as child development, the effects of violence on children, anger management, problem-solving, positive discipline practices and reducing the influence of media on children.

“When my wife went to the first class, I waited outside. Then Ruth came outside and told me the class was for both of us so I ended up going inside,” said Mr. Becerra. “I’m so glad I did. Taking this class opened my eyes to so much. I learned ways to keep my children safer. As a parent, I’m now much more patient with my children and really changed how I disciplined my oldest child.”

After completing the parent education classes, Mr. Becerra and his family took several other classes at the Center including school readiness programs and a lead poisoning prevention workshop. “Even though I’ve had all of these things happen to me and am so tired at the end of the day, I keep going to the First 5 Center,” said Mr. Becerra. “I go because I see the changes the programs have made in my children and myself. I keep going for them. You have to look forward everyday. You can’t quit.”

Contract Ruth Rodriguez for more information about the Monument Community First 5 Center: (925) 671-3268.