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First 5 California Fall 2011 - No. 1

Welcome!

This newsletter comes to you from First 5 California, the California Children and Families Commission. Since 1998, we have been dedicated to providing services and support to ensure that children in California are born healthy and reach their full potential.

We plan to provide regular updates and news about our Child, Parent and Teacher Signature Programs. We value your input and ideas! Please send your feedback to Susan Hyman.

Message from the
Executive Director

At our October 19 meeting, the First 5 California Commission approved funding to continue our Power of Preschool (PoP) program for three years, an investment that also will increase access and add quality enhancements.

PoP is a free, voluntary, part-day preschool for children ages 0 to 5 across eight California counties. The program actively helps to prevent the achievement gap and improves school readiness among disadvantaged and underserved communities. We serve 500 centers and close to 26,000 children each year.

A key element of First 5 California's developing Child Signature Program, PoP has an important role in supporting the success of California's federal grant application for Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge. The state is eligible to receive $100 million over four years for one-time system enhancement if this grant is approved.

At the same meeting, the Commission approved the extension of the parent education and outreach contract, known as the Parent Signature Program. Funding for the approved extension is 10 percent less than the current contract. Focus groups have shown First 5 California to be a trusted source for parents. The Parent Signature Program delivers parents and other caregivers research-based information easily accessed online or in the places they visit regularly, such as the grocery store or local bus shelter.

And crucial to supporting all of First 5 California's efforts, the Commission approved the continuation of contracts to collect valuable data for the Child, Parent and Teacher Signature Programs.

We are grateful for the opportunity to invest resources into these efforts to ensure that more California children are born healthy and can reach their full potential.

Kris Perry

New commissioner joins First 5 California

Kathryn Icenhower, Ph.D., (above) has been appointed to the First 5 California Commission. Assembly Speaker John Perez appointed Icenhower, who has a wealth of experience, commitment and leadership to the field of children, youth and families. She is the co-founder and executive director of SHIELDS for Families, the largest provider of family services in South Los Angeles, serving 5,000 annually through 30 programs and four collaborative networks.

Icenhower previously spent time as a social worker. That experience motivated her to create a model of drug treatment that has kept families together, letting children stay with their mothers at the treatment center and helping families heal through family therapy, parenting classes and other services. SHIELDS programs have been nationally recognized and used as best-practice treatment models at the local, state and federal levels.

She received her bachelor's degree in social work from Ohio State University, and a master's degree and doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California.

Save the date for conference, Feb. 8-9

First 5 California and the Water Cooler will hold their joint conference on February 8-9, 2012, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento. Speakers include nationally recognized philanthropists, political leaders and prominent experts in the field of early child care and education. For more information, click here.

COMMISSION MEMBERS

Jennifer Kent, Chair

Maria Minon, M.D., Vice Chair

Conway Collis

Patrick Duterte

Casey McKeever

Joyce Iseri

Kathryn Icenhower

Ex officio: Diana Dooley

Click here for bios.

CALENDAR

2012

Jan. 18 - Commission Meeting

Feb. 8-9 - Statewide Conference

April 18 - Commission Meeting

July 18 - Commission Meeting

Oct. 17 - Commission Meeting (Southern California)

(all meetings in Sacramento except when noted)

Hands-on-Health Express reaches thousands on its 2011 tour across California

The Hands-on-Health Express is a grassroots, traveling exhibit that teaches children and families about the importance of nutrition and physical activity through engaging activities. A part of First 5 California’s Parent Signature Program, the Express van also connects parents to important state and local health resources.

During its 2011 tour, the Express engaged more than 78,000 parents and kids at local events statewide, including stops at Orange, San Bernardino, San Benito, San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties. Venues included preschools, county fairs, libraries, farmer's markets and cultural festivals. Planning for 2012 is currently underway.

First 5 California's goal to inspire more California families to eat right and stay physically active couldn't be more urgent: A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that among California public school students, 23 percent were obese or severely obese.

PARENT

Kit for New Parents:
A First 5 California classic

Designed with a fresh new look this year, the Kit for New Parents provides advice, information and tips for first-time parents, grandparents and caregivers throughout California. Designed to reach underserved communities and available for free, the Kit is a key component of First 5 California’s Parent Signature Program.

Three million Kits have been distributed through local hospitals, physicians and community groups over the last decade. As mentioned, the Kit was redesigned with new, eye-catching packaging and streamlined content. This greener Kit uses less material, takes less energy to produce and is more cost-effective to ship.

The Kit includes important messages that are geared to our targeted audiences with availability in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese.

For more information about the Kit, contact Vernettia Syphax.

TEACHER

Unique program for early educators gains national attention

First 5 California officially launched its Teacher Signature Program, called Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES) Plus this Spring. The goal of CARES Plus is to improve child outcomes by improving the quality and stability of the early learning workforce.

The program has generated both state and national interest, as it is the only one of its kind in the nation. Private foundations have expressed interest in enhancing the evaluation of CARES Plus, perhaps through federal grant funding.

CARES Plus is a state-of-the art professional development program for early educators. Through an integrated system, CARES Plus features research-based training, higher education opportunities and a pilot coaching model. The program has been designed to evaluate the effects of professional development and coaching for early educators.

Currently, First 5 California supports 34 CARES Plus counties, which are creating and implementing local programs.

For more information about CARES Plus, contact Mary Anne Riehl-Campos.

CHILD

Educare – a renowned national model for early education – is coming to California

Educare, a researched-based program that prepares young, at-risk children for school, has plans to come to California. A public-private partnership that includes First 5 California has committed to establishing the state’s first Educare center in Silicon Valley.

In addition, a second site in Los Angeles is in the planning stages.

The Silicon Valley facility will be built near Santee Elementary School in San Jose, and will serve disadvantaged children and families. Most of the students in this school district are English learners and qualify for reduced-price lunches.

Educare's research-based model will be adapted for inclusion in First 5 California's Child Signature Program, along with an enhancement of the Power of Preschool (PoP) program. The Child Signature Program supports First 5 California’s overarching purpose to improve child health and early education outcomes.

Other public and private supporters of Educare Silicon Valley include First 5 Santa Clara County, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Franklin-McKinley School District and the Santa Clara County Offices of Education.

Educare is based on the best early education practices that ensure the school-readiness of children most at risk for academic failure.

The first Educare school opened in Chicago in 2000. Currently, there are 15 Educare sites in a total of 13 cities nationwide, with seven sites under development.

Harriet Meyer, a consultant and former president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, was on the team that founded Educare and considers it to be the culmination of her 25 years working in early childhood education. “What has evolved grew from years of work in the same community and represents the right direction for the field,” Meyer says.

At Educare schools, teachers work with children – beginning in infancy and through preschool – and their parents to develop pre-literacy and early math skills. Equal emphasis is given to developing social-emotional skills, such as persistence and impulse control.

What’s unique about Educare is that each child stays with the same team of teachers from birth to age three. Class sizes are kept small and teacher-child ratios low. Lead teachers hold bachelor’s degrees. One master-degreed teacher supervises every four classrooms and serves as a coach.

Full-time social workers and various consultants, such as speech pathologists and nurses, can provide additional support to each Educare family.

Donna Bryant, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the University of North Carolina, evaluates child development programs nationwide. “Educare is uniformly high quality in its program development,” Bryant says. “It provides the kind of classroom instruction that benefits every child.”

A distinguishing feature of the Educare national model is the commitment to serve as teaching and learning centers for policymakers and education experts. Click here for a complete list of Educare’s 12 core features.

But why start in Santa Clara County? “There was a community-wide willingness to focus on the impact of high quality early learning,” says Jolene Smith, executive director of First 5 Santa Clara County. “Especially with Silicon Valley businesses – they realize that the next generation of workers comes from our community.”

“Building an Educare site is not for the faint of heart,” says Diana Rauner, president of Ounce of Prevention. “It’s often the intangible that makes the real difference. Santa Clara County has that with its history of collaboration.”