We’re Celebrating 15 Years for Kids!

It’s been 15 years since California voters approved Proposition 10, the California Children and Families First Act, and created a guaranteed revenue stream to fund health and education programs for children birth to age five – the most important developmental years for children.

For the past 15 years, First 5 Commissions in every California County have strategically invested Prop 10 funds to help children grow up healthy, nurtured, and ready for school.

Proposition 10 was an innovative piece of legislation whose vision remains as relevant today as it was back in 1998:

(a) There is a compelling need in California to create and implement a comprehensive, collaborative, and integrated system of information and services to promote, support, and optimize early childhood development from the prenatal stage to five years of age.

(b) There is a further compelling need in California to ensure that early childhood development programs and services are universally and continuously available for children until the beginning of kindergarten. Proper parenting, nurturing, and health care during these early years will provide the means for California’s children to enter school in good health, ready and able to learn, and emotionally well developed.

(c) It has been determined that a child’s first three years are the most critical in brain development, yet these crucial years have inadvertently been neglected. Experiences that fill the child’s first three years have a direct and substantial impact not only on brain development but on subsequent intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of our colleagues, community partners, early childhood educators, and dedicated families who have worked with us to improve the lives of the infants, toddlers and preschoolers over the last 15 years!

As Congressman George Miller said, “First 5 has changed the landscape of services in California.  Their tireless work for California’s families will pay dividends for years to come in access to high-quality health and education for children.”

Together with our partners, we’ve accomplished a great deal for children and families.  We look forward to the next 15 years as we continue to invest in our youngest children and provide them with the futures they deserve.

For more information about the anniversary, please visit www.first5association.org/15years