First 5 Commission Meeting Materials June, 20, 2024
FIRST 5 ALAMEDA COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, June 20, 2024
First 5 Alameda County 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM 1115 Atlantic Avenue Alameda, CA 94501
Members of the public may access the meeting Conference Room A via Zoom Meeting ID: 886 6578 8077 Passcode: 678578
Commissioners:
Chair: Renee Herzfeld, Vice Chair: Cecilia Oregón, Clarissa Doutherd, Andrea Ford, Tomás A. Magaña M.D., Karina Moreno, Lena Tam, Kimi Watkins-Tartt
Alternates: George Ayala, Anissa Basoco-Villarreal, Serena Chen
1. Call to Order Commission Chairperson Renee Herzfeld will call this meeting to order at 9:00 AM.
2. Public Comment
This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the Commission on any matter not on the agenda. Speakers are limited to three minutes except as otherwise ordered by the Chairperson.
3. Consent Calendar
The consent calendar may be voted on in one motion. Commissioners may pull any consent item for discussion or separate vote.
a. Approval of Commission Meeting Minutes from April 25, 2024
b. Approve the GASB 54 Fund Balance Commitment
c. Approve the Resolution to Fund the FY 2024-2025 ACERA 401(h) Account Authorization
4. Communication from Commissioners
5. Receive June 11, 2024 Executive Committee Report
6. Receive Staff Announcements
a. Receive General Staff Report
7. Approve Fiscal Year 2023-25 Contract Authorization
Recommended Action: Approve Fiscal Year 2023-25 Contract Authorization
8. Receive Measure C Update Presentation
Commission Meeting Agenda June 20, 2024
Information about access:
Please contact Julia Otani at julia.otani@first5alameda.org or (510) 227- 6987 three
advance if you need
assistance or translation/interpretation support so we can make reasonable arrangements
We will swiftly resolve any requests for accommodation to resolve any doubt whatsoever in favor of accessibility.
9. Approve First 5 Alameda County Revised Fiscal Year 2022-27 Strategic Plan, Fiscal Year 202425 Proposed Budget – Final Reading and Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan – Final Reading
Recommended Actions: Approve the following:
a. First 5 Alameda County Revised Fiscal Year 2022-27 Strategic Plan
b. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget – Final Reading
c. Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan – Final Reading
10. Approve Fiscal Year 2024-25 Contract Authorizations
Recommended Action: Approve the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Contract Authorizations
11. Receive First 5 California Commission and First 5 Association Updates
12. Receive Legislation and Public Policy Updates
13. Adjournment
Commission Meeting Agenda June 20, 2024
Information about access:
Please contact Julia Otani at julia.otani@first5alameda.org or (510) 227- 6987 three business days in advance if you need special assistance or translation/interpretation support so we can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility. We will swiftly resolve any requests for accommodation to resolve any doubt whatsoever in favor of accessibility.
First 5 Alameda County Commission Meeting April 25, 2024, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Alternates Present: George Ayala, Anissa Basoco-Villarreal, Serena Chen
Not present: Tomás A. Magaña M.D., Andrea Ford, Lena Tam, Kimi Watkins-Tartt
First 5 Staff Present: Kristin Spanos, Vanessa Cedeño Geisner, Cally Martin, Nick Zhou, Laura Schroeder, Kevin Bremond
Guest Presenters: Ben Gercever, Olson Remcho, LLC., Superintendent Alysse Castro, Alameda County Of Education, Leila Espinosa, University of California Los Angeles, and Arnold L. Chandler, Forward Change
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
Herzfeld
The Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Herzfeld who gaveled in at 9:09 AM.
Chair Herzfeld shared that the meeting was being recorded and conducted roll call.
Commissioners Herzfeld, Oregón, Moreno, Alternate Basoco-Villarreal and Alternate Chen stated their names to indicate that they were present for the meeting.
Herzfeld
There was no Public Comment.
Chair Herzfeld re-ordered the agenda to hear item 6 Staff Announcements next.
K. Spanos
Herzfeld
a. Receive General Staff Announcements
Ms. Spanos shared that agenda items 6. Staff Announcements are provided as a written update included in the meeting packet. Ms. Spanos introduced Ben Gercever, Senior Associate with Olson Remcho, LLC, to provide an update on the State Supreme Court decision on the Measure C litigation.
None
Chair Herzfeld asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve.
Chair Herzfeld facilitated the vote to approve the Commission Meeting Minutes from February 15, 2024.
Motion: Cecilia Oregón
Second: Anissa BasocoVillarreal
No abstentions. Motion passed.
None
4.
Herzfeld
There was no communication from Commissioners.
C. Oregón
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
Vice Chair Oregón reported that the Executive Committee met on April 18, 2024. The Committee received the CEO' general agency updates and a written update on two CEO Contract Authorizations; approved the Executive Committee's February 8, 2024 meeting minutes; reviewed and approved revisions to the Investment Policy and a Fiscal Year 2023-24 Contract Authorization; reviewed and recommended to the Commission approval of Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations; received the first reading of the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget and Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan, and finally, the Committee met in Closed Session to conduct the CEO's performance evaluation and approved a salary increase for the CEO, retroactive to February 18, 2024.
Commissioner Doutherd arrived at 9:21 AM.
Alternate Ayala arrived at 9:22 AM. None
Spanos
Espinosa
Spanos
Ms. Spanos, Ms. Castro, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Klinger, First 5 Evaluation Officer and Ms. Espinosa, Senior Public Administration Analyst at UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, presented the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool Decision-Making Series Presentation.
Ms. Spanos presented the Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations.
Motion: Cecilia Oregón
Second: Serena Chen No Abstentions.
Chair Herzfeld asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve. No Abstentions. Motion passed.
Chair Herzfeld facilitated the vote to approve the Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations.
[Attachment]
Mr. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget - First Reading.
[Attachment]
Mr. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan - First Reading.
Ms. Schroeder presented the First 5 California Fiscal Year 2022-23 Annual Report.
Chair Herzfeld asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve.
Motion: Karina Moreno
Second: Clarissa Doutherd No Abstentions. Motion passed. [Attachment]
Chair Herzfeld facilitated the vote to approve the First 5 California Fiscal Year 2022-23 Annual Report.
[Attachment]
Mr. Bremond introduced Mr. Chandler to present the Fatherhood 10-Year Evaluation Presentation.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
Spanos [Attachment]
Ms. Spanos noted that the First 5 California Commission and First 5 Association Updates were included in the meeting packet as written updates.
Ms. Spanos noted that the Legislation and Public Policy Updates were included in the meeting packet as written updates.
PURSUANT TO GOV. CODE §54957) TITLE: CEO
Chair Herzfeld recessed the Commission into Closed Session to complete the CEO Performance Evaluation at 11:11am. The Commissioners exited Conference Room A and moved to Closed Session in Conference Room E.
Chair Herzfeld reconvened the Commission in Open Session at 12:21pm. Chair Herzfeld reported out that the effective date for the CEO's retroactive pay increase was reported out incorrectly at the April 2024 Executive Committee meeting. Chair Herzfeld issued a correction for the record that the effective date for the CEO's retroactive pay increase should be February 5, 2024.
Chair Herzfeld gaveled out and adjourned the meeting at 12:22pm.
FIRST 5 ALAMEDA COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Members of the public may access the meeting Via Zoom Meeting ID: 846 0074 9552 Passcode: 803254
Commissioners:
Chair: Renee Herzfeld, Vice Chair: Cecilia Oregón, Tomás A. Magaña
1. Public Comment
First 5 Alameda County 1115 Atlantic Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501
Conference Room E
This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the Executive Committee on any matter not on the agenda. Speakers are limited to three minutes except as otherwise ordered by the Vice Chair.
2. Staff Announcements
a. General Staff Announcements
b. CEO Contract Authorizations
3. Approve Executive Committee Minutes from April 18, 2024
Recommended Action: Approve Minutes from April 18, 2024 Executive Committee meeting
4. Approve Annual Revisions to Governance Policies
Recommended Action: Approve revisions to the following existing policy:
a. Conflict of Interest Code
5. Review and Recommend Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget and Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan – Final Readings
Recommended Actions: Recommend that the Commission approve the following:
a. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget
b. Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan
6. Review and Recommend the GASB 54 Fund Balance Commitment
Recommended Action: Recommend that the Commission approve the GASB 54 Fund Balance Commitment.
7. Review and Recommend the Fiscal Year 2024-25 ACERA 401(h) Account Authorization
Recommended Action: Recommend that the Commission approve the Fiscal Year 2024-25 ACERA 401(h) Account Authorization.
Executive Committee Meeting Agenda June 11, 2024
Information about access:
Please contact Julia Otani at julia.otani@first5alameda.org or (510) 227- 6987 3 business days in advance if you need special assistance or translation/interpretation support so we can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility. We will swiftly resolve any requests for accommodation to resolve any doubt whatsoever in favor of accessibility.
8. Approve Revisions to Employee Handbook
Recommended Action: Approve the revisions to the Employee Handbook.
9. Adjournment
Executive Committee Meeting Agenda June 11, 2024
Information about access:
Please contact Julia Otani at julia.otani@first5alameda.org or (510) 227- 6987 3 business days in advance if you need special assistance or translation/interpretation support so we can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility. We will swiftly resolve any requests for accommodation to resolve any doubt whatsoever in favor of accessibility.
First 5 Alameda County Executive Committee Meeting
April 18, 2024, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Zoom Webinar Meeting ID: 845 0501 5554
First 5 Staff Present: Kristin Spanos, Cally Martin, Vanessa Cedeño Geisner, Nick Zhou, Christine Hom, Detra Teal, Maria Canteros, Jenna Murakami
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
There was no Public Comment.
[Attachment]
a. General Staff Announcements
b. CEO Contract Authorizations
Ms. Spanos presented the General Staff Announcements and the 2 CEO Contract Authorizations were provided as a written update.
The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Oregón who gaveled in at 11:08 AM and stated that the meeting was being recorded. Commissioners Herzfeld, Oregón and Magaña stated their names to indicate they were present for the meeting. 3. APPROVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 8, 2024
[Attachment]
Vice Chair Oregón asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve.
Vice Chair Oregón facilitated the vote to approve the February 8, 2024 Executive Committee Meeting minutes.
Motion: Renee Herzfeld
Second: Tomás Magaña No Abstentions.
Motion passed.
Motion: Tomás Magaña
i. Investment Policy
Mr. Zhou presented the revisions to the Investment Policy.
Vice Chair Oregón asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve.
Vice Chair Oregón facilitated the vote to approve the revisions to the Investment Policy.
Second: Renee Herzfeld No Abstentions.
Motion passed.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
Zhou
[Attachment]
Mr. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Contract Authroization.
Vice Chair Oregón asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to approve.
Vice Chair Oregón facilitated the vote to approve the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Contract Authroization.
Zhou
[Attachment]
N. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations. N. Zhou
Vice Chair Oregón asked if there was any public comment before taking a vote to recommend.
Vice Chair Oregón facilitated the vote to recommend that the Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations be brought to the Commission for approval.
Motion: Renee Herzfeld
Second: Tomás Magaña
No Abstentions.
Motion passed.
Motion: Tomás Magaña
Second: Renee Herzfeld
No Abstentions.
Motion passed.
None
The Fiscal Year 2023-27 Contract Authorizations will be brought to the Commission for approval.
Zhou
Mr. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Proposed Budget - First Reading.
[Attachment] None None
Mr. Zhou presented the Fiscal Year 2024-34 Proposed Long Range Financial Plan - First Reading.
Vice Chair Oregón recessed the Executive Committee into Closed Session for the CEO Performance Evaluation at 11:42 AM.
Vice Chair Oregón reconvened Open Session at 1:10 PM and reported that the Executive Committee conducted the CEO Performance Evaluation in Closed Session and took an action to increase the CEO salary to $308,672.06 per year, retroactive to February 18, 2024. The annual performance evaluation will be completed during Closed Session at the April 25, 2024 Commission Meeting.
Vice Chair Oregón asked if there were any items to be placed on the April 25, 2024 Commission Meeting Consent Calendar, gaveled out, and adjourned the meeting at 1:12 PM.
Commissioner Magaña left the meeting at the end of Closed Session at 1:09pm and was not present when the meeting reconvened at 1:10pm.
Add a Closed Session at the April 25, 2024 Commission agenda to complete the CEO Performance Evaluation.
Conflict of Interest Code of The First 5 Commission of Alameda County (F5AC First 5)
The Political Reform Act, Government Code sections 81000, et seq., requires state and local government agencies to adopt and promulgate Conflict-of-Interest Codes. The Fair Political Practices Commission has adopted a regulation, California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 18730, which contains the terms of a standard Conflict-of-Interest Code, which can be incorporated by reference, and which may be amended by the Fair Political Practices Commission to conform to amendments in the Political Reform Act after public notice and hearings.
Therefore, the terms of California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 18730, and any amendments to it duly adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission along with the attached Appendices in which officials and employees are designated and disclosure categories are set forth, are hereby incorporated by reference and constitute the Conflict-of-Interest Code of the First 5 Commission of Alameda County.
All designated employees shall file their statements of economic interests with the First 5 Commission of Alameda County. Upon receipt of the statements of the Board members and the Chief Executive Officer, the agency shall make and retain a copy and forward the originals to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, which shall be the filing officer. Alternatively, Board members and the Chief Executive Officer may elect to complete and submit the statement electronically in Alameda County’s eForm 700 filing system. Statements for all other designated employees shall be retained by the First 5 Commission of Alameda County, and shall be made available for public inspection and reproduction. (Gov. Code section 81008.)
Disclosure Categories
Category 1
All business positions, investments in, or income (including gifts and loans) received from any entities that provide the type of services which are eligible to receive Proposition 10 funding.
Category 2
All interests in real property within the jurisdiction. Real property shall be deemed to be within the jurisdiction if the property or any part of it is located within or not more than two miles outside the boundaries of the jurisdiction or within two miles of any land owned or used by the agencies.
Category 3
All business positions, investments in, or income (including gifts and loans) received from business entities that manufacture, provide or sell services or supplies of a type utilized by the agency and associated with the job assignment of designated position assigned to this disclosure category.
Category 4
Individuals who perform under contract the duties of any designated position shall be required to file Statements of Economic Interests disclosing reportable interest in the categories assigned to that designated position.
In addition, individuals who, under contract, participate in decisions which affect financial interests by providing information, advice, recommendations or counsel to the agency which could affect financial interest shall be required to file Statements of Economic Interests, unless they fall within the Political Reform Act’s exceptions to the definition of consultant. The level of disclosure shall be as determined by the Chief Executive Officer (or head) of the agency.
* The Chief Executive Officer may determine in writing that a particular consultant, although a “designated position” is hired to perform a range of duties that are limited in scope and thus is not required to comply with the disclosure requirements described in this section. Such determination shall include a description of the consultant’s duties and, based upon that description, a statement of the extent of disclosure requirements. A copy of the written determination is a public record and shall be retained by the agency and made available for public inspection in the same manner and location as this conflict-of-interest code
A list of the individuals required to file disclosures under this category and their respective levels of disclosure is on file in the Commission’s Chief Executive Officers’ office.
Designated Position
APPENDIX A
Assigned Disclosure Category
Board of Commissioners 1, 2, 3
Ex-Officio Representatives 1, 2, 3
Consultants* 4
Staff listed in Appendix B 1, 2, 3
CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE CATEGORIZATIONS CY 2022 2024
First 5 Alameda County Proposed Expenditure Budget by Expenditure Category
* Professional Services Contracts: Contracts with individuals or vendors for time limited services that support program work (e.g. consultants, web design, etc.) ** Program Operating Costs: Costs that support agency program implementation (e.g. supplies, travel, meeting costs, etc.)
Welcome to employment with First 5 Alameda County (F5AC) Through the efforts of our employees, F5AC has established itself as a leading organization in our community and we are excited to have you join our team.
Our vision and mission, along with our strategic plan, guide our work To ensure our continued success, all employees also need to understand, and comply with, our policies and procedures. This Handbook contains important F5AC information including a summary of our policies, benefits, and work expectations We encourage you to use it as a reference throughout your employment with us.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask either your supervisor or our Human Resources team
Sincerely,
Kristin Spanos, Chief Executive Officer
Our Vision
Every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development and well-being to reach their greatest potential.
Our Mission
In partnership with the community, we support a county-wide continuous prevention and an early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities and improves the lives of children aged 0 to 5 years and their families.
Part One: Introduction
This handbook is designed to help you familiarize yourself with important information about First 5 Alameda County (“F5AC”), and information regarding your own privileges and responsibilities as employees
It is not possible to anticipate every situation that may occur in the workplace or to provide information that answers every possible question. Also, future circumstances may require changes in the policies, practices, and benefits described in this handbook. Accordingly, except for the principle of At-Will Employment relationship with its employees, F5AC reserves the right to modify, rescind, supplement, or revise any provision in this handbook. While F5AC makes reasonable efforts to provide you with advance notice of any modifications or revisions to the handbook and distributes updated information as revisions are made, advance notice of policy changes may not always be possible. Changes to policies apply to F5AC employees on their effective date.
This handbook is not intended to be a contract. The policies and procedures in this handbook are intended to, and do, replace all previous employee handbook policies, practices, and guidelines.
All employees are expected to comply with all policies in this handbook. Employees who fail to comply with any policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including immediate termination.
Any questions regarding the contents of this handbook may be addressed to your supervisor or to Human Resources.
At-Will Employment
Employment with F5AC is “at will.” This means that the employment relationship is not for any specified period and can be terminated by either the employee or F5AC at any time with or without any particular reason and with or without cause Nothing contained in these policies is intended to, or should be construed to, alter the at-
will relationship between F5AC and its employees. Although other terms, conditions and benefits of employment with F5AC may change, the at-will relationship of employment is one aspect that cannot be changed except by an agreement in writing with F5AC, signed by the CEO and by the employee.
Equal Opportunity
F5AC affords equal opportunity in all aspects of employment to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion (including religious dress or grooming), creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), reproductive health decision-making, gender, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disabilities, color, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, medical condition, military or veteran status, exercise of rights under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law or the California Family Rights Act, or any other basis protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all employees and applicants for employment, and extends to all phases of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, discharge or layoff, rehiring, compensation, and any benefits.
Reasonable Accommodation for Protected Disabilities
F5AC complies with the reasonable accommodation requirements of applicable law, including the obligation to engage in the interactive process to identify possible reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities. Employees or applicants who wish to request a reasonable accommodation should make this request to Human Resources. Alternatively, employees may make their request to their direct supervisor, who will be responsible for communicating the request for accommodation to Human Resources.
Any complaints or concerns regarding reasonable accommodation should be directed promptly to Human Resources
Policy Prohibiting Harassment & Discrimination
Harassment and discrimination in employment on the basis of sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), reproductive health decision-making, gender, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, military or veteran status, marital status, registered domestic partner status, genetic information, or any other protected basis (collectively the “Protected Characteristics”) is unlawful under federal and state law.
Every individual is entitled to work free of discrimination or harassment based on any Protected Characteristic. The law prohibits all employees (including coworkers, supervisors, and managers), as well as third parties with whom the employee comes into contact, from engaging in this impermissible conduct. Accordingly, F5AC does not tolerate discrimination or harassment in the workplace or in a work-related situation. Unlawful discrimination and harassment violate F5AC’s rules of conduct.
Unlawful harassment in employment may take many different forms. Some examples are:
• Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory comments, slurs, or unwanted comments and jokes
• Visual conduct such as derogatory posters, cartoons, drawings, or gestures
• Physical conduct such as blocking normal movement, restraining, touching, or otherwise physically interfering with work of another individual
• Threatening or demanding that an individual submit to certain conduct or to perform certain actions in order to keep or get a job, to avoid some other loss, or as a condition of job benefits, security, or promotion
• Retaliation by any of the above means for having reported harassment or discrimination or having assisted another employee to report harassment or discrimination
Sexual harassment under these laws includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
• submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
• submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
• such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
Internal Complaint Procedure
Discrimination and harassment in employment are not tolerated. In addition, F5AC prohibits retaliation for having made a report, and/or otherwise participating in the reporting or investigative process, under this policy. Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up to, and including, immediate discharge.
Any individual who believes they are the object of harassment or discrimination on any prohibited basis, or who has observed such harassment or discrimination, or who believes they have been subjected to retaliation, should notify their supervisor, Human Resources, or any supervisor or manager. Supervisors who receive a complaint under this policy will report it to Human Resources. F5AC will conduct a fair, timely, and thorough investigation, and will do so in a confidential manner, to the extent possible. The investigation will be performed by an impartial and qualified individual and will be appropriately documented.
Following the investigation, F5AC will take such action as is warranted under the circumstances and will timely close the matter.
Agency Complaint Procedure
Both the state and federal governments have agencies whose purpose is to address unlawful discrimination in the workplace. If an individual who provides services to F5AC believes they have been harmed by an unlawful practice and is not satisfied with F5AC's response to the problem, they may file a written complaint with these agencies.
• For the State of California, the agency is called the Civil Rights Department (“CRD”). The local address for the CRD is 2218 Kausen Drive, #100, Elk Grove, California 95758, or www.dfeh.ca.gov
• For the federal government, the agency is called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). The local address for the EEOC is 1301 Clay Street, #1170, Oakland, California 94612, or www.eeoc.gov.
If, after an investigation and hearing, either of these agencies finds that unlawful discrimination has occurred, the injured employee may, depending on the circumstances, be entitled to reinstatement or promotion, with or without back pay.
Retaliation
Retaliation against any individual for making a report, or for participating in an investigation, under this policy is strictly prohibited. Individuals are protected by law and by F5AC policy from retaliation for opposing unlawful discriminatory practices, for filing an internal complaint under this policy or for filing a complaint with the DFEH or EEOC, or for otherwise participating in any proceedings conducted by F5AC under this policy and/or by either of these agencies.
Part Two: Employment and Hiring Policies
Work Eligibility
Employees whose job duties require them to work alone with children are required to be fingerprinted before employment. Employees whose job requires them to work directly, in-person with families are required to pass a TB test or risk assessment before employment, and periodically, at least every 4 years during employment.
California law requires that certain employees must report suspected child abuse or neglect to a child protective agency. Consistent with F5AC’s mission to improve the lives of children and their families, all F5AC
employees who interact in person or regularly by phone with families and children are considered mandated reporters. Applicable employees are provided with training in these reporting procedures during their introductory period.
Introductory Period
The introductory period is typically the first one hundred eighty (180) days following the start of employment at F5AC. During this period, performance is carefully evaluated and a determination is made regarding whether the employee's job performance is sufficient to pass the introductory period and become a “regular” employee. An employee’s successful completion of the introductory period does not alter the employee’s “at-will” status and does not guarantee continued employment for any period. Under certain circumstances and at its sole discretion, F5AC may extend an employee’s introductory period for up to an additional 90 days. The introductory period does not alter benefits or seniority. The introductory period is completed only when the employee is notified in writing and the introductory period is concluded.
Introductory Employees are employed “at-will” and employment may be terminated by you or by F5AC at any time, during your introductory period, for any reason or no reason, with or without cause, and with or without advance notice.
Employee Classifications
Employees are placed into classifications based on job description, job duties, and applicable wage/hour laws.
• Exempt Employee: An executive, administrative, or professional employee who is exempt from the overtime pay requirements of applicable law
• Non-exempt Employee: An employee (generally paid by the hour) who is eligible to receive overtime pay for overtime hours worked
• Regular Full-Time Employee: An employee who is regularly scheduled to work forty (40) hours or more per workweek, and who has successfully completed their introductory period
• Regular Part-Time Employee: An employee who is regularly scheduled to work fewer than forty (40) hours per workweek, and who has successfully completed their introductory period
• Introductory Employee: An employee who has not yet successfully completed their introductory period. (See Introductory Period policy, above.)
• Temporary Employee: An employee who is hired on a full- or part-time basis for a specified period, usually not to exceed twelve (12) months. This category includes interns.
• On-Call Employee: An employee who is not regularly scheduled to work a specified number of hours in any given workweek, but who is called to work on an as-needed basis.
All employees are classified as: 1) exempt or non-exempt; 2) as regular, introductory, temporary, or on-call; and 3) as part-time or full-time. These classifications determine, e.g., eligibility for benefits, compensatory time, and overtime.
Changes in employee classification may occur when a significant job change occurs (for example, a promotion or a change in work hours, etc.) that is intended to last for more than four (4) months
Job Postings
F5AC attempts to find the most qualified candidates to fill position vacancies. This is generally accomplished through a combination of internal and external recruiting. Consideration is given to the advancement of current employees. Employees are encouraged to apply for promotions or transfers for which they believe they are qualified.
Open F5AC positions are posted through the Human Resources system and typically announced by F5AC email. Internal postings may occur simultaneously with external postings. F5AC determines when to fill positions from within or to hire externally.
Only Human Resources and the CEO have the authority to extend job offers. All employment offers are made in writing.
Hiring Relatives
Employees’ or Commissioners’ relatives may apply for F5AC positions. To avoid conflicts of interest, or appearances of conflicts, F5AC established these guidelines:
• Employees & Commissioners may not conduct a job interview or make employment-related decisions involving relatives.
• Employees may not supervise relatives under any circumstances.
The definition of “relative” for purposes of this policy is the employee’s:
• Spouse/domestic partner
• Child, or spouse’s or domestic partner’s child (including natural child, legally adopted child, or a child for whom the employee, spouse, or domestic partner has been awarded court-appointed legal guardianship)
• Parent or spouse’s/domestic partner’s parent
• Sibling or sibling’s spouse/domestic partner
• Any other individual living in the same household as the employee
It is expected that all employees, regardless of any relationship status, will conduct themselves professionally in their interactions with all other employees working at F5AC
Part Three: Employee Development
Performance Management
Effective performance management is critical to our success. Employees need to know our expectations to carry out our strategic plan and achieve our mission. Supervisors are expected to provide ongoing, timely feedback and coaching to their team so that employees know how they are doing and to address any performance issues. Employees are expected to engage in dialogue with their supervisor to ensure a clear understanding of performance expectations and to identify any areas needing improvement.
Each employee's performance is formally reviewed at the end of the introductory period, and on an annual basis thereafter, to coincide with the approximate anniversary of the employee’s start date with F5AC (or the anniversary date of any subsequent change in position) Performance review guidelines are provided by Human Resources for supervisors and employees to follow during the process.
Completed performance reviews signed by the employee, supervisor and Human Resources are placed in the employment file. Employees are provided a copy of their review and may comment on the review in writing.
If an employee’s overall performance is rated as less than satisfactory, or if specific areas of performance are identified that need improvement, the supervisor may develop a written performance improvement plan for the employee. Performance improvement plans generally include specific goals for improvement along with strategies and timeline to improve performance. Supervisors are required to work with Human Resources when any performance issues are identified that may require a written improvement plan.
Professional Development
Staff Development and Training Program
F5AC encourages professional growth for all employees and has created the Staff Development and Training Program. The Development and Training team surveys staff on topics of interest and may engage local trainers to present trainings that support employees’ desired growth. Any such trainings are typically offered free to employees and require supervisor approval in advance to attend. Supervisors are encouraged to allow employees to attend appropriate such trainings as work requirements allow.
Individual Professional Development
In addition to trainings through the Staff Development & Training program, employees may request up to $500 per fiscal year for their own professional development. Employees may request to use these funds for trainings, seminars, courses, webinars and conferences that are approved in advance by their supervisor but are not necessarily required for their particular job. Professional development books, CDs, other materials, licenses or certifications may also be requested by an employee from professional development funds
Supervisor and Human Resources approval is required prior to payment or reimbursement of professional development funds Detailed information about submitting professional development requests can be found in F5AC’s Procedures Manual.
Part Four: Employee Benefits
Health Insurance
Employer Sponsored Health Insurance (medical, dental and vision insurance) is offered as part of the benefits package to regular and introductory full-time and part-time employees, who regularly work 20 hours or more per week. F5AC contributes to the cost of premiums for the eligible employee, as well as for spouse/domestic partner and/or eligible dependents, up to an amount determined annually by F5AC If an employee chooses health insurance that costs more than the employer contribution, the balance of the cost is paid by the employee on a pre-tax basis through authorized payroll deductions as applicable by law. The employer contribution is only used to offset the cost of the health premiums and is not used for other purposes, nor is it paid out to employees. F5AC’s share of benefit costs for part-time employees is pro-rated to the percent of time the employee is regularly scheduled to work.
Temporary employees with temporary assignments lasting more than 60 days who regularly work 30 or more hours per week and their eligible family members are offered health insurance. For these eligible temporary employees, F5AC covers the same amount of employer share of premiums as it does for eligible regular and introductory employees. Any balance of premium costs is paid by the eligible temporary employee on a pre-tax basis through authorized payroll deductions. Temporary employees who work fewer than 30 hours per week and have temporary assignments lasting fewer than 60 days are not eligible for F5AC health insurance.
F5AC reserves the right to change medical, dental and vision insurance plans and benefits under those plans, to change the employer share of premium payments for the plans or change the amount it pays employees who opt out of the plan(s) (see “Payment in Lieu” section), with or without notice, consistent with any legal obligations it may have. In general, the employer share of premiums is determined prior to each Open Enrollment period.
For the purposes of health insurance coverage, "eligible dependent" is defined as spouse or domestic partner and eligible dependent children up to age 26
A dependent child is covered for health insurance through the end of the month when they turn 26. Dependent Life Insurance covers full-time students up to age 24.
Flexible Spending Accounts
All regular employees may enroll in F5AC’s flexible spending account (“FSA”) program, which allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to be used for eligible medical or dependent care expenses. The IRS determines annual election limits and provides a comprehensive list of reimbursable expenses.
Carefully estimate your expenses when making an FSA election. FSA plans are “Use it or Lose it,” and they reset each calendar year. The Health Care FSA allows employees to carry over up to the IRS Limit from one plan year to the next. If the balance exceeds the IRS limit at the end of the plan year, the account balance above the limit will be forfeited.
COBRA Insurance Continuation
If employees and covered dependents lose health insurance coverage due to certain qualifying events (including termination or reduction in hours), they may have certain rights to remain on the insurance plan at their own expense through COBRA.
Employees who experience a “qualifying event” (e.g., marriage, divorce, adoption) must provide written notice to Human Resources within 60 days after the qualifying event occurs.
Payment in Lieu
Regular employees may choose not to enroll in employer sponsored health insurance if they have proof of medical insurance through another source. Regular employees who confirm that they have coverage elsewhere will receive a “Payment in Lieu” of benefits at a set rate each pay period (pro-rated for part-time employees to the percent of time regularly scheduled to work). This amount is reviewed annually, generally before each Open Enrollment period, and F5AC reserves the right to change the amount. Payment in Lieu is subject to state and federal taxes.
Temporary employees who are offered health insurance and choose not to enroll are not eligible to receive a payment in lieu.
Flexible Benefit Credit
All regular and introductory, full-time employees receive an annual Flexible Benefit Credit (“Flex Credit”) per calendar year. This amount is reviewed annually, generally prior to each Open Enrollment period, and F5AC reserves the right to change the amount of the Flex Credit. Part-time, regular employees’ Flex Credit is prorated based on the percent of time regularly scheduled to work. The Flex Credit may only be applied to the cost of pre-tax plans.
After applying the Flex Credit to pre-tax plans, the remaining balance is paid to employees as a taxable earning.
Life Insurance
Regular employees who work 20 or more hours per week are eligible to apply for employer-paid $25,000 basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance benefits. Employees may also elect supplemental coverage at their own expense, with premium payments made on a pre-tax basis through authorized payroll deductions under F5AC’s Cafeteria (Section 125) Plan. Additionally, employees may elect supplemental life insurance for their spouse/domestic partner and/or dependent children at their own expense. These premiums are paid on an after-tax basis through payroll deduction.
Alameda County Employees Retirement Association (ACERA) Pension Plan
Regular and introductory, full-time employees are required to become members of ACERA, a defined benefit retirement pension plan for public employees in Alameda County.
• Participating employees are required to make a pre-tax retirement contribution to ACERA through payroll deduction. Contribution rates are set by ACERA and are subject to change each year.
• Part-time or temporary employees are not eligible to become members of ACERA.
• Full-time employees who convert to part-time or temporary status are required to continue ACERA membership.
457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan
Regular and introductory full-time and part-time employees may participate in the Alameda County Deferred Compensation Plan. Pre-tax or Roth (after-tax) contributions are made through authorized paycheck deduction. The plan offers a variety of investment options employees can select. Employees may enroll or change their deferred compensation election at any time during the year; however, any requested changes will not be effective until the month following receipt of the requested change.
Workers' Compensation
As required by law, F5AC pays for workers' compensation insurance to protect employees who are injured on the job. This insurance provides medical, surgical, and hospital treatment to qualifying employees, in addition to compensation for a percentage of loss of pay resulting from work-related injuries or illness.
You must immediately report any work-related injury to your supervisor, regardless of how minor the injury may seem.
Additional Benefits
F5AC offers additional benefits to all regular employees working 20 or more hours per week including LongTerm Disability, Employee Assistance Program, Commuter Benefits and an Employee Discount Program
Enrollment and eligibility information for all benefits is available from Human Resources.
Part Five: Paid Time Off
Vacations
F5AC provides paid vacation time to certain eligible employees so that they may take time off to relax, recuperate and recharge. Regular and introductory full-time employees earn paid vacation time on the following schedule, beginning on their hire date:
Service Year
1–3 years: Total Possible Annual Accrual
10 days each calendar year (80 hours)
4–10 years: 15 days each calendar year (120 hours)
11-20 years: 20 days each calendar year (160 hours)
21+ years 25 days each calendar year (200 hours)
The CEO, in consultation with Human Resources, may approve a higher vacation accrual as part of the hiring process or retention efforts. Any additional time must be documented in the employee’s file.
Regular and introductory part-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work twenty (20) or more hours per week earn paid vacation time on a pro-rated basis based on the number of hours worked per week. Certain long-term temporary employees may be eligible to accrue vacation if approved in writing by the CEO. No other employee classifications are eligible for this benefit.
Accrued vacation time cannot be taken until three months after your first day of employment.
Employees may accrue vacation time up to a maximum of two (2) times their annual accrual. For example, an employee with five years of service may accrue up to a maximum of 30 days of accrued vacation time. Upon reaching this accrual cap, the accrual stops until vacation time is taken or vacation pay-out is used to reduce the employee’s balance to below the cap. Any unused vacation time is rolled over into the following year, up to the cap
All vacation time must be requested through the Human Resources system, typically 4 weeks in advance, and is subject to advance approval from your direct supervisor. Please note that F5AC may not be able to approve all time off requests due to organizational needs.
F5AC encourages employees to use their accrued vacation time. Employees may, however, request to receive a vacation pay-out for some of their accrued, unused vacation in lieu of taking paid time off work. Vacation payout is limited to the number of hours that an employee accrues in one calendar year under this policy, and employees who request a vacation pay-out are required to have a minimum of one year’s accrual remaining after the pay-out
When ending employment for any reason, employees are paid for any accrued, unused vacation.
F5AC does not pay employees for vacation time before it is accrued.
Holidays
F5AC generally observes the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Lincoln’s Birthday Washington’s Birthday
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Veterans’ Day
Presidential General Election Day (every 4 years)
Thanksgiving Day
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day through New Year’s Day (included)
Full-time regular and introductory employees are provided a paid day off for each F5AC-recognized holiday. Part-time regular and introductory employees who are regularly scheduled to work on the above-identified holidays are paid for that holiday up to the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work not to exceed a total of 8 hours per holiday. No other employee classifications are eligible for this benefit unless preapproved by the CEO.
If an observed holiday falls on a Saturday, said holiday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. If an observed holiday falls on a Sunday, said holiday shall be observed on the following Monday.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
All regular and introductory full-time employees receive 56 hours (7 days) of paid time off (PTO) each year in addition to vacation and paid sick leave and F5AC’s regular holidays. PTO allows employees to have additional paid leave to cover absences for personal reasons such as religious observances Eligible employees receive 56 hours of PTO on January 1 each year; eligible employees hired later in the year receive a PTO allocation at the time of hire that is prorated based on the hire date. Eligible employees may request to use PTO on or following the day that it is received, including new employees, who may request to use PTO during their introductory period. Requests to use PTO should be submitted as soon as possible. Please note that F5AC may not be able to approve all PTO requests due to organizational needs.
Part-time employees are granted pro-rated PTO hours based on their regular part-time schedule
No other classification of employees receives PTO.
The total amount of PTO an employee may have in their account at any time is 56 hours (or the pro-rated amount described above for part-time employees) If an employee has the maximum amount of PTO remaining in their account on next January 1, no additional PTO will be granted for that year.
When the employment relationship ends, employees will be paid for any unused PTO in their final paycheck.
Paid Sick Time
Paid sick time provides employees with some paid time off to recover from illness or injury, to care for medical needs of family members, or for any other reason permitted by law, including for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking to obtain relief, such as medical attention and psychological counseling.
For purposes of this section “family member" means parent or stepparent, spouse, domestic partner, child or stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, foster parent, foster child, parent-in-law, any other person sharing the relationship of in loco parentis; and, when living in the household of the employee, a sibling-in-law, or “designated person”. A “designated person” is defined as a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests to use paid sick time. Employees are permitted one “designated person” per 12-month period for paid sick leave usage.
Sick time may also be used for health care appointments for the employee or an employee’s family member.
Eligible regular and introductory full-time employees may accrue sick time at the rate of 4 hours per pay period for a total possible accrual of thirteen (13) paid sick days per year. Regular and introductory part-time employees accrue sick time on a pro-rated basis, based on the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work, and accruing at a rate of at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employees may use accrued sick time during their introductory period, beginning on their hire date, and may use paid sick time as soon as it accrues.
Temporary employees, whether full-time or part-time, are provided with five days (40 hours) of paid sick time at the time of hire. Temporary employees may not use sick time until their ninetieth (90th) day of employment.
Regular and introductory full-time and part-time employees’ accrued, unused sick time may be carried over from one year to the next, and there is no limit to their sick time accrual. Paid sick time balances for temporary employees may not be carried over to the next year. Instead, temporary employees receive a new grant of five days (40 hours) of paid sick time every January 1.
No payment is made for accrued, unused sick time at termination or at any other time. However, regular employees who separate, and then are rehired within twelve (12) months, will have their sick leave balance at the time of separation reinstated.
Temporary employees who are rehired within 12 months from their date of separation will also have their sick leave balance reinstated and will also be provided with five days (40 hours) of sick time upon rehire, as described above, up to a combined maximum of ten (10) days of sick time.
Employees are responsible for directly notifying their supervisor before the start of the workday (or no later than one hour following their regularly scheduled start time) when prevented from starting or continuing a workday due to illness or injury. Employees must also keep their supervisor informed about the expected duration of the time away from work.
In most circumstances, a doctor's statement is required when an employee is absent for more than five (5) consecutive days of sick time (either for themselves or to care for an ill family member) or when an accumulation of absences seems to establish (in the supervisor's judgment) a problematic use of sick time. However, F5AC may request medical verification of the need for any use of sick time, regardless of duration.
If paid sick time is exhausted and additional time off for medical reasons is needed, employees may request a medical leave of absence.
F5AC does not make any advance payments of sick time (i.e., employees may not use sick time before it is accrued). F5AC may provide time off without pay to an employee who requests time off due to personal or family illness or injury as allowed above and who has exhausted their accrued paid time off.
Catastrophic Sick Leave
An employee may be eligible to receive voluntary donations of accrued vacation hours from other employees if they have suffered a catastrophic illness or injury, or if they must care for an immediate family member (as defined in the Paid Sick Time policy in this Handbook) who has suffered a catastrophic illness or injury. Catastrophic illness or injury is a critical, terminal medical condition or a long-term major physical impairment or disability that temporarily prevents the employee from working their usual hours, or from working at all.
The Catastrophic Sick Leave (“CSL”) Program is designed to be as confidential as possible and is strictly voluntary. Employees who donate accrued vacation hours to the CSL Bank will be made aware of the dollar value of their donation to the Bank. The recipient of CSL benefits will be made aware of the value of their benefits received from the CSL Bank. Individual donations, and the identities of donors and recipients of benefits, are confidential, will not be disclosed except on a need-to-know basis for administrative purposes.
Any regular full or part-time F5AC employee is eligible to participate in the CSL Bank, either by donating paid vacation leave, or by requesting a donation. The donor employee may donate accrued paid vacation time only. No other paid time off may be donated to the CSL Bank. The donor’s hourly value of paid vacation time
donated will be converted into a dollar value and deposited into the bank. After F5AC approval, CSL leave is withdrawn from the CSL Bank and granted as sick hours to the eligible requesting employee.
To be considered for a CSL Bank donation, the requesting employee, family member of the requesting employee, or another person designated in writing by the requesting employee must submit a request for donation to Human Resources. Human Resources administers the CSL Program and Bank.
The requesting employee must provide a medical verification of the employee’s qualification for this CSL program, including an explanation of the employee’s work limitations and estimated date of return to work, if applicable. If the employee requesting CSL benefits has left work to care for a critically ill family member, they must provide medical documentation confirming the critical illness/injury of the family member, the need for the employee’s care, and the expected duration of the care period is required for the family member.
The determination of whether to award donations from the CSL bank will be at F5AC’s sole discretion and will be final (e.g., not subject to challenge).
While the CSL bank donation request may be initiated prior to the anticipated date of the exhaustion of paid leave balances, the requesting employee is not eligible to receive and use donations when they have accrued hours available. No retroactive requests will be permitted (e.g., employees will not be granted donations for time off already treated as unpaid leave). Exhaustion of accrued hours alone is not justification for requesting a donation from the CSL Bank.
A requesting employee may be eligible to receive up to a total of 320 hours of donated CSL time throughout their employment. Donations are considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Donations from the CSL Bank may be approved only if there are funds available in the bank.
Periodically, F5AC may notify all employees that they may choose to donate to the bank.
Donations are made in 4-hour increments. Once the donation is made, and deposited in the CSL Bank, it is a final transaction and cannot be retrieved by the donating employee. The maximum donation in a calendar year is 80 hours per employee, except spouses or registered domestic partners, both employed by F5AC, may donate unlimited amounts of paid vacation time between one another. In any case, donations that would result in vacation balances falling below 40 hours are not permitted.
Jury or Witness Duty
Leave is granted for an employee to serve jury duty or witness duty in response to a summons or subpoena Regular and introductory full-time and part-time employees receive paid time off for a maximum of two weeks when required to serve jury or witness duty (part-time employees’ Jury or Witness Duty pay is pro-rated based on the percent of time regularly scheduled to work). If additional leave is required beyond the two-week period, or if the employee is not eligible to receive paid jury duty time, leave for this purpose will be provided as unpaid time off. The employee serving unpaid jury/witness duty may use accrued vacation and/or PTO time during the unpaid portion of the leave
Proof of attendance from the court is required to receive jury/witness duty pay. When an employee is excused from jury or witness duty in time to work for half or more of the normal workday, the employee is required to work the rest of that day.
Bereavement Leave
All employees may take up to 5 days, consecutive or non-consecutive, for bereavement leave for a death in their immediate family. Any bereavement leave must be taken within three months of the death of the family member. F5AC may require documentation of the family member’s death.
For purposes of this policy, "immediate family" means parent, step or foster parent or parent-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, child, step or foster child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or sibling-in-law, or any other person sharing the relationship of “in loco parentis” with the employee.
Reproductive Loss Leave
An employee may take up to 5 days, consecutive or non-consecutive, for reproductive loss Employees may take leave for themselves or their spouse/partner. Reproductive loss includes miscarriage, failed adoption or surrogacy, stillbirth, and unsuccessful assisted reproduction.
Time off with pay for a regular or introductory full-time employee may be granted for this leave. Regular and introductory part-time employees may be granted time off with pay pro-rated based on the percentage of time regularly scheduled to work; the remainder of the five-day bereavement entitlement would be without pay. Employees may request to use their applicable accrued paid time off during any otherwise unpaid leave for this policy or the bereavement leave policy.
State Disability Insurance (SDI)
F5AC employees who are unable to work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy disability may be eligible for, and are encouraged to apply for, disability benefits through State Disability Insurance (SDI) for the time they are unable to work. SDI is an employee-paid state-administered benefit that provides to employees deemed eligible by the state partial replacement of wages lost because of a disability not caused by work. The determination of benefits is up to the state Employee Development Department (EDD). The first seven calendar days of an employee’s absence are generally considered a “waiting period,” and SDI benefits are not paid during that period. Information and claim forms are available from the local EDD office or the EDD website.
Paid Family Leave (PFL)
The state-administered Paid Family Leave (PFL) insurance program is an employee-paid benefit that provides to employees deemed eligible by the state partial wage replacement when an employee is taking approved time off work to care for a seriously ill family member (as defined by the state), or to bond with a newborn or newly placed child.
The state Employee Development Department (EDD) determines your benefits. Information and claim forms are available from the local EDD office or the EDD website.
Paid Parental Leave
As a special benefit to regular and introductory employees, F5AC offers additional parental leave compensation. When a regular and introductory employee is taking an approved leave to bond with their newborn, an adopted child or a child placed in foster care, the employee is eligible to receive additional compensation from F5AC up to 100% of their regular pay in combination with PFL benefits received Employees requesting this special additional compensation must provide the PFL Notice of Computation from the EDD to Human Resources.
Coordination of Benefits
If an employee is receiving State Disability Insurance (“SDI”), Paid Family Leave (“PFL”) or Workers’ Compensation benefits, and the employee has not exhausted their accrued paid benefits from the employer, F5AC will coordinate the outside paid benefit with the employee’s accrued paid benefit (to the extent permitted by law) so that total compensation does not exceed the employee’s regular wages for that pay period. Employees must communicate to Human Resources the outside benefit amounts and dates paid.
Part Six: Leaves of Absence
F5AC provides unpaid leaves of absence to eligible employees in a variety of circumstances. Information concerning legal requirements applicable to leaves of absence is posted in the workroom and on the intranet Employees who are considering requesting a leave of absence are encouraged to meet with Human Resources as early as possible to discuss the details of the leave and to coordinate the integration of benefits and payroll.
Employees may request a leave of absence without pay for reasons including, but not limited to: personal or family illness, qualifying exigency arising from a call to active duty, or justifiable personal or other reasons. “Without pay” means that F5AC does not pay for time on leave, although F5AC may permit, or require, the employee exhaust accrued, unused vacation, PTO, and/or paid sick hours during the otherwise unpaid leave, consistent with F5AC policies and applicable law Generally, no benefits or seniority will accrue during any unpaid portion of the leave. Human Resources will explain to employees requesting unpaid leave how to continue health plan coverage while on a leave of absence.
General information Leave Requests
As soon as an employee learns of the need for a leave of absence, the employee should submit a written leave request to Human Resources. Request forms are available from Human Resources and on the F5AC intranet. If the need for the leave is foreseeable, employees are required to provide at least 30 days’ advance notice. Approval of the leave may be delayed if timely notice is not provided. If the employee learns of the need for leave fewer than 30 days before the leave is needed, the request must be made as soon as possible.
Medical Certification
Human Resources will notify the employee if medical certification is required for a requested leave to be approved. If the reason for leave is the employee’s own injury or illness, medical certification of the employee’s ability to return to work, with or without any work restrictions, at the conclusion of the leave is required before the employee will be permitted to return.
Concurrent Leaves
If an employee is on a leave that qualifies under more than one law (e.g., leave for a serious health condition under the FMLA/CFRA that is also a Workers’ Compensation injury), the leave time will run concurrently to the extent permitted by law
Unpaid Leaves
The most common types of unpaid leaves are described below. Please see Human Resources for additional information about any leaves, or if you wish to request leave that is not covered by the descriptions below.
In addition to the leaves outlined below, F5AC may grant time off without pay to an eligible employee who requests time off for personal reasons and who has exhausted their accrued paid vacation and PTO leave. Time off granted in this circumstance, if any, is limited to a maximum of three (3) days. If an employee needs additional time away from work, the employee should request a Personal Leave of Absence.
Family/Medical
Leave under the Family Medical Leave Act and California Family Rights Act (“FMLA”/“CFRA”) Eligible employees may request an unpaid leave of up to 12 workweeks in a rolling 12-month period for any of the following reasons:
• For the employee’s serious health condition
• To care for the serious health condition of the spouse, registered domestic partner, child, or parent of an employee; and additionally, under CFRA, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent-in-law or “designated person”
• To care for the employee’s child after birth, or following placement for adoption or foster care (“baby bonding”)
• To handle “qualifying exigencies” arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, registered domestic partner, child, or parent is on active duty, or is called to active duty, in support of contingency operations as a member of the National Guard or Reserves.
A “designated person” is any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The designated person is identified by the employee at the time they request the leave. Employees are limited to one designated person per 12-month period for CFRA leave.
In addition, eligible employees may be entitled to take a leave of up to 26 weeks in a 12-month period to care for a spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, child, or next-of-kin who has sustained serious illness/injury in the line of military duty.
Eligible employees are those who have at least one year of service with F5AC, and who have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period before the date the requested leave will begin.
Generally, employees taking FMLA/CFRA leave must use accrued paid sick (if applicable), PTO, and vacation time during the leave. The exceptions to this are:
• Employees on FMLA/CFRA leave for their own serious health condition and who are receiving temporary disability benefits (e.g., SDI) or workers’ compensation benefits may elect to use their paid leave to supplement their disability benefits up to an amount that, when combined with the disability benefit, does not exceed their regular pay for the pay period.
• Employees taking leave to care for a family member or for baby bonding are generally required to use accrued vacation, PTO or paid sick hours.
• Employees on leave for pregnancy disability are generally required to use paid sick time and may elect to use PTO or vacation time during the leave.
Employees on approved FMLA/CFRA leave retain their employer-paid health insurance under the same terms and conditions as if they remained actively working
When an authorized FMLA/CFRA leave expires, employees will be returned to the same or comparable position to the extent required by law.
Non-FMLA/CFRA Medical or Family Leave
Employees who are not eligible for leave under the FMLA/CFRA may nonetheless request a leave for any of the reasons allowed for FMLA/CFRA leaves. The employee must provide evidence of one of the reasons for leave as stated in the FMLA/CFRA and provide 30 days’ notice if the need for the leave is foreseeable.
If approved, in most cases, leaves of this type will not exceed a maximum duration of eight (8) work weeks within a rolling 12-month period. Generally, employees must exhaust all accrued sick leave (if applicable), PTO, and vacation time during the leave
An employee whose medical condition temporarily precludes them from working may request an unpaid medical leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation
F5AC will generally require the employee to provide reasonable medical documentation from a health care provider verifying the employee’s temporary inability to work. The duration of leave will depend on the circumstances involved, which F5AC will evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Employees on leave must exhaust accrued paid sick, PTO, and vacation time during the leave.
Employees who have active health insurance with F5AC at the time they request this leave, will continue to be covered by health insurance through the end of the month when the unpaid portion of their leave begins. Afterwards, employees may continue coverage under F5AC’s group insurance plans at their own expense pursuant to COBRA.
When an authorized leave ends under this section, employees will generally be returned to the same or comparable position to the extent required by law.
Pregnancy Disability Leave (“PDL”)
Employees who are disabled and unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition are eligible to request a leave up to four months per pregnancy. PDL does not need to be taken all at once but can be taken on an as-needed basis as certified by the employee’s health care provider.
Employees requesting foreseeable PDL leave should ordinarily provide thirty days’ notice in advance of the date the leave is to begin. When requesting PDL, an employee must provide certification of the need for leave from the treating health care provider, who must certify the date the leave is to begin as well as the anticipated return-to-work date. When returning from PDL leave, the employee must provide a release to return from the health care provider, including any work restrictions and the duration of any such restrictions.
Employees taking PDL leave must generally use accrued paid sick time during the leave but may elect whether to not to use accrued vacation or PTO.
Employees taking PDL retain their employer-paid health insurance during their approved leave (up to a maximum of four months) under the same terms and conditions as if they remained actively working.
Employees returning from approved PDL will be returned to the same or comparable position to the extent required by law.
Workers’ Compensation Leave
Employees who are temporarily unable to work due to a job-related illness or injury may be eligible for a leave of absence until the earlier of the following:
• The employee is released to return to work
• The employee is determined to be unable to return to their usual duties permanently
Employees must exhaust all accrued sick, vacation, and PTO during this leave. The exception to this is that employees receiving workers’ compensation benefits whose leave runs concurrent with FMLA/CFRA leave are not required to use their paid leave but may elect to do so.
Employees who are covered by F5AC health insurance at the time their leave commences, and who do not have FMLA/CFRA leave running concurrently, will remain covered by F5AC health insurance coverage through the end of the month when the unpaid portion of their leave begins Thereafter, employees may generally elect to continue coverage under F5AC’s group insurance plans at their own expense pursuant to COBRA
Employees returning from workers’ compensation leave will be returned to the same or comparable position to the extent required by law.
Personal Leave of Absence
F5AC may consider granting a personal leave of absence without pay. Personal leaves are limited to a maximum of two months in any two-year period (measured in a rolling 24-month period). Personal leaves may generally not be added to any of the previously described leaves. Any regular F5AC employee may request an unpaid personal leave of absence. Job performance, attendance, and work/program requirements are all taken into consideration before a request is approved. Requests for unpaid personal leave may be denied or granted by F5AC within the sole discretion of the Agency
Personal leaves of absence must be requested in writing, and 30 days’ advance notice is required if the need for leave is foreseeable. All requests must first be reviewed and recommended by the supervisor, Human Resources and approved by the director.
Employees are required to exhaust all accrued paid sick (if applicable), vacation, and PTO hours prior to requesting an unpaid personal leave of absence.
Employees who have active health insurance with F5AC at the time of their unpaid personal leave will have paid health insurance coverage through the end of the month when the unpaid portion of their leave begins. Thereafter, employees may continue coverage under F5AC’s group insurance plans at their own expense pursuant to COBRA.
An employee is required to return from the personal leave on the originally scheduled return date. If the employee is unable to return, they must request an extension of the leave in writing within five (5) business days before expiration of the leave, explaining the reason for and requested duration of the additional leave sought. If the requested leave extension is not approved, the employee must return to work on the originally scheduled return date. Failure to return at the conclusion of the approved personal leave will generally be considered a voluntary resignation from employment. Extensions of leave are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Upon expiration of an approved personal leave, the employee will generally be returned to the same or comparable position, but there is no guarantee of reinstatement following a personal leave.
Part Seven: Work Hours & Pay
Pay Periods
For all employees, the standard pay period is biweekly. Employees are paid every other Friday. If the payday falls on a holiday, employees generally receive pay on the prior workday
Work Schedules
The regular work schedule is from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday including a half hour unpaid rest period Some employees may have different work hours and/or an alternative work schedule if the alternative schedule is agreed in advance in writing by the employee and the supervisor and reviewed/approved by Human Resources. Any alternate work schedule is subject to the demands and limitations of the job and department.
Alternative Work Schedules
4/10 Schedule
A 4/10 schedule allows an employee to work 4 days, instead of 5 days per week. An employee works 10 hours per workday, 4 days per week, rather than 5 eight-hour days per week
Half-Flex Day Schedule
The Half-Flex Day Schedule allows an employee to work 4.5 days per work week. An employee works 9 hours per day, 4 days per week and 4 hours one day per week, rather than 5 eight-hour days per week.
9/80 Schedule
Any regular, exempt full-time employee is eligible to request a 9/80 schedule. A 9/80 schedule allows an employee to work 9 days, instead of 10 days, in a 2-week pay period. This schedule consists of eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day, with every other Friday off (or other designated weekday as approved by F5AC, also known as a flex day off) in a single 80-hour pay period.
Employees must have supervisor approval and work set workdays each week for their Alternative Work Schedule Employees may need to occasionally adjust their workdays due to organizational needs or their manager’s request. Employees approved for an Alternative Work Schedule will sign a written agreement and cannot accumulate hours or days off.
F5AC holidays are paid at a rate of 8-hours per day. Employees who are scheduled to work a 9-hour or 10hour day and are off on a holiday must request 1-or 2-hours accrued vacation or PTO to receive full pay for the day off.
If a holiday falls on the day an employee is scheduled for their flex day off, the employee will be allowed to take 8-hours of leave on another day in the pay period the holiday falls, upon supervisor approval. The 8-hours may be combined with 1- or 2-hours vacation or PTO to be paid a full 9- or 10-hour day.
Meal Periods
Non-exempt employees who work five (5) hours or more should take an unpaid lunch break of a minimum of thirty (30) minutes (or up to one (1) hour if working a 9-hour day) towards the middle of their workday. No work for F5AC should be performed during the unpaid meal period. On the rare occasion when F5AC work requirements make it impossible for the employee to be completely relieved of all duties during their lunch break, the employee must note this on the timecard, and inform their supervisor, and they will be paid for their meal period. Employees may not skip meal breaks without prior approval from their supervisor
Timekeeping Requirements
Non-exempt employees must accurately complete and submit time sheets to be approved by their supervisor or manager for each pay period. Non-exempt employees record actual hours worked and any paid or unpaid
leave taken during the period; non-exempt employees must report all hours worked and are prohibited from performing any work “off the clock. ”
Exempt employees should accurately complete a time sheet for each pay period showing their regular work schedule and any paid or unpaid leave taken.
Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time Off
F5AC provides overtime compensation to non-exempt employees for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek. All overtime must be approved in advance by the supervisor and the Division Chief.
As an employee option, F5AC offers compensatory time off (CTO) as a substitute for overtime pay. For all hours worked in excess of 40 in the workweek, the employee may elect to receive CTO at the rate of one and one-half hours of paid time off for each hour of overtime worked, up to a maximum of 240 CTO hours. Any employee wishing to receive CTO instead of overtime compensation must have a written CTO agreement on file with Human Resources in advance of performing the overtime work.
Taking paid time off work, such as vacation, PTO, holiday, and sick time, does not constitute hours worked for the purposes of computing overtime.
Multilanguage Pay
If an employee is required by their job duties to use a second or third language at least 20% of the time on the job (in the sole determination of F5AC), the employee or the employee’s supervisor may make a request to human Resources that the employee be provided bilingual or trilingual pay
Prior to any recommendation or approval for this special pay, the employee must first pass a language proficiency exam administered through F5AC’s designated testing agency A passing score is 70%. If the eligible employee passes the test, and F5AC approves, an additional taxable earning will be added to the employee’s paycheck each pay period in an amount consistent with the Alameda County bilingual or trilingual pay rate
Supervisors must contact Human Resources to schedule testing for eligible employees. Supervisors must also confirm, on an annual basis, that the employee is continuing to use the second/third language at least 20% of the time and must annually reauthorize bilingual/trilingual pay, if appropriate
Part Eight: Workplace Health & Safety
Drug-Free Workplace
As part of F5AC’s ongoing commitment to a safe and healthy workplace, we maintain a drug-free workplace. Any employee who reports to work while under the influence of drugs or alcohol runs the risks of endangering their safety and the safety of others, destruction of or damage to personal property or F5AC property, and a loss of productivity and workplace morale.
All employees of F5AC are required to understand and comply with F5AC’s drug-free workplace policy Employees either in our offices, or conducting business on behalf of F5AC regardless of location, are prohibited from the following:
• Use, possession, purchase, sale, manufacture, distribution, transportation, or dispensation of alcohol or drugs. (The sole exception to this is the appropriate use or possession of prescription or over-the-counter medication that does not impair the ability to work safely and effectively.)
• Reporting to work, or working, while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
If an employee is taking prescription or over-the-counter medications that may impair their ability to work safely or effectively, the employee should inform the supervisor of that fact prior to commencing work.
Smoking
Smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes, is prohibited in all F5AC offices, and while conducting F5AC business, regardless of location
Part Nine: Work Practices and Environment
Punctuality & Attendance
If employees are unable to work as scheduled, they must inform their immediate supervisor prior to the start of the workday or, in any event, no later than one hour following their regularly scheduled start time. Employees must also keep their supervisor informed about the expected length of time away from work.
Employees are expected to be responsible and demonstrate respect for fellow employees by establishing a record of punctuality and regular attendance. These are factors considered in evaluating overall job performance.
Unexcused or frequent lateness or absenteeism is not permitted
Facilities & Property Use
Employees are expected to treat F5AC facilities and property with respect and to keep their work area and common areas clean and well-maintained F5AC equipment use is limited to work-related purposes. Employees must have written supervisory approval prior to removing any F5AC property from the premises. Employees may decorate their own workspaces, as long as decorations are consistent with F5AC policies and project a professional image appropriate to our work. Employees must have Office Manager approval before making any changes to public spaces or common areas
Visitors
All visitors must sign in and out at the front desk and receive a visitor badge to wear in the office. Visitors should stay in the reception area until escorted by an employee. Please keep non-work-related visitors to a minimum to avoid interruptions to coworkers.
Security
F5AC strives to provide a secure work environment for our employees, volunteers, clients, and visitors. Our building is equipped with an alarm system that is activated during non-business hours, and exterior doors are always locked (except the front entrance and conference center entrance which are unlocked during business hours) Employees are required to comply with all F5AC security procedures and immediately report any security breach to your supervisor
We encourage employees to be prudent about bringing personal items to work. F5AC is not responsible for losses resulting from property theft
Immediately report lost or stolen keys/fobs or other missing F5AC property to your supervisor. Copying or giving F5AC keys/fobs, alarm codes, or lock combinations to an unauthorized individual is strictly prohibited
Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace
F5AC recognizes that breastmilk is the optimal food for infants’ growth and development, and encourages all employees to have a positive, accepting attitude toward breastfeeding employees F5AC promotes and supports breastfeeding and the expression of breastmilk by breastfeeding employees and recognizes that employees have the right to request lactation accommodation
F5AC provides:
• Information about breastfeeding support when hired and prior to employees’ leave for pregnancy disability or related condition or baby-bonding leave.
• Reasonable time to express milk or breastfeed. Supervisors are encouraged to consider flexible break times, schedules, or other reasonable accommodation to meet employees’ needs. Employees may request this accommodation either verbally or in writing to their supervisor or Human Resources.
• A designated Lactation Room, furnished with an electrical outlet, refrigerator for breastmilk storage, comfortable seating, a table, and appropriate furnishings/signage to ensure privacy.
Employees who believe they have not been accorded their rights in connection with this policy have the right to file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner.
Children in the Workplace
F5AC values family and work-life balance and strives to create an employee-friendly workplace. Our employment policies and benefits reflect our beliefs. F5AC also believes in creating an environment that is conducive to work and generally should not be used in lieu of child care.
While we are sensitive to our employee’s child care needs, it is not appropriate for minor children and other minor relatives of employees to be in the workplace during working hours, except for brief visits. This policy has been adopted to minimize potential liability to F5AC, the risk of harm to children, and decreased employee productivity due to distractions and disruptions.
F5AC recognizes there may be occasions when child care is not available and employees need to be available for work. In those situations, the employee may request to work remotely on a temporary basis, or, if the work must be done in the office, may request to bring in their child(ren) for a short period of time. In those rare cases where children are in the workplace, they must always be directly supervised by the parent. In the interest of maintaining the health and well-being of all F5AC employees, children who are ill must not be brought to the workplace. Employees may consult F5AC’s Employee Assistance Program for assistance with finding emergency care providers to care for sick children.
Remote Work
F5AC considers remote work to be a viable, flexible work option when both the employee and the job are suited to the arrangement. Employees may work at home, or in an alternate location, with supervisory approval. Remote work may be appropriate for some employees and jobs but not for others. It is not an entitlement, companywide benefit, and it in no way changes the employment terms and conditions.
Remote work arrangements will be reviewed annually during the performance review period. An employees’ work must be reasonably carried out remotely without impacting productivity. Request to terminate remote work arrangements by an employee will be reviewed and considered for feasibility by Supervisor in consultation with the Operations and HR teams.
Additionally, employees are responsible for:
• Maintaining a safe workspace;
• Safeguarding all confidential information;
• Reporting hours worked the same way as working onsite.
Generally, employees with an approved remote work schedule must come onsite for a minimum of 2 days per week and as requested by your supervisor/manager. Some positions may require less days in the office as noted in the job description.
All employees must reside and perform their duties in California. Short-term accommodation may be made for temporarily working outside California, but employees must contact Human Resources prior to starting work in any location outside California.
Personal Automobile Use
Prior to using a personal vehicle for work, employees must have supervisory approval and provide a copy of their driver license and proof of personal automobile insurance (with required minimum coverage for property damage and public liability) Employees who use their own automobiles for travel on authorized F5AC work will be reimbursed for mileage at the rate established by the Internal Revenue Service.
Use of the personal vehicle for work does not include the normal commute between work and the employee’s home.
Attire
Attire should enable employees to be comfortable in the workplace, while also projecting a professional image to co-workers, clients, partners, volunteers, and the public
The following guidelines provide general parameters for appropriate work attire and help employees exercise good judgment about items not specifically addressed. A clean and neat appearance should be always maintained. In all situations, clothing should be comfortable and practical for work, but not distracting, revealing or offensive to others. Torn, frayed, ripped, messy or overly casual clothing are not considered appropriate for the office.
Employees may observe dress and/or grooming practices consistent with their religious beliefs, and employees requiring special clothing accommodation for any reason should advise their supervisor or Human Resources in advance. Supervisors, in collaboration with HR, are responsible for interpreting and monitoring attire and grooming standards, including counseling employees whose attire is inappropriate.
Expense Reimbursement
Reasonable and customary work-related expenses incurred in the performance of one’s job will generally be reimbursed. Reimbursement requires prior written authorization by the employee’s immediate supervisor, itemized actual expenses, and the employee’s signed expense reimbursement form with all required documentation/receipts attached. Reimbursements submitted after 120 days will be subject to income tax. Employees should consult the Finance team or the F5AC Procedures Manual for specific instructions.
References
F5AC provides only limited reference information about current and former employees to prospective employers. i.e.: only employment dates and job titles After receiving a written request and authorization signed by the employee, F5AC will also disclose requested earnings. References may only be provided by Human Resources Any employee who receives a reference request for references or information about any current or former employee must refer this request to Human Resources.
Part Ten: Communication & Technology
Technology, Voicemail and Email
F5AC employees are permitted to use F5AC’s voice mail, electronic mail, computers, networking sites and internet access (collectively “Technology Systems”) to communicate with others for work purposes and otherwise to perform their job duties. The Technology Systems are primarily used for F5AC work, and not for personal purposes. Minimal personal use may be permitted, provided any use is during non-working time only, and that it does not interfere with the employee’s work responsibilities.
Employees are not permitted to use F5AC’s Technology Systems to send jokes, solicitations, comments or information to others that may be perceived as discriminatory, harassing, offensive, or disruptive, or otherwise in violation of any F5AC policy Technology Systems must not be used to send material that disparages an individual, company, or business entity, or to disclose personal or confidential information without authorization.
Employees may not install, copy, stream, or download software or personal files onto the Technology Systems unless authorized by the IT team
Employees do not have any right or expectation of privacy in the Technology Systems, including email or documents created, maintained, sent, or received by the Technology Systems. F5AC may monitor and/or search the contents of all voicemail, computer files, and electronic communications
Social Media
F5AC has a social media presence and encourages employees to connect to help spread the word about F5AC’s great work and the services and support that are available to children and families in Alameda County. Use of social media presents certain risks and carries responsibilities.
Social Media includes all means of communicating or posting information or content of any sort on the Internet whether or not associated or affiliated with F5AC. The same principles and guidelines found in F5AC’s policies apply to your activities online that may relate to F5AC. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for what you post online. Keep in mind that any conduct on social media or otherwise that adversely affects your job performance, the performance of fellow employees, or otherwise adversely affects staff, volunteers, contractors/grantees, vendors, or any other people who work on behalf of or receive services from F5AC is not permitted.
Employees are expected to ensure their social media postings that may relate to F5AC are consistent with these and all other F5AC policies.
Always be respectful
Always be fair and courteous to fellow employees, volunteers, contractors/grantees, vendors, or other people who work on behalf of or receive services from F5AC. Remember that colleagues, supervisors, and agency partners often have access to the online content you post. Keep in mind that you are more likely to resolve any work-related complaints by speaking directly with your co-workers or by using our Open-Door Policy than by posting complaints to a social media outlet. Nevertheless, if you decide to post complaints or criticism that may relate to F5AC, avoid any content that could reasonably be viewed as unlawful, malicious, obscene, threatening or intimidating, that disparages employees, volunteers, clients, contractors/grantees or vendors, or that might constitute harassment or bullying. Examples of such conduct might include offensive posts meant intentionally to harm someone’s reputation or posts that could contribute to a hostile work environment.
Be honest and accurate
Make sure you are always honest and accurate when posting information or news that may relate to F5AC, and if you make a mistake, correct it quickly. Be open about any previous posts you have altered. Remember that the Internet archives almost everything; therefore, even deleted postings can be searched. Never post any information or rumors that you know to be false
Be conscious about mixing your personal and professional lives
• Maintain the confidentiality of F5AC’s confidential, private, or sensitive information (see the Confidentiality policy contained in Part Eleven of this Handbook for examples). Do not post internal reports or memos, policies, procedures or other internal business-related confidential or sensitive communications.
• Do not create a link from your blog, website, or other social networking site to a F5AC website without identifying yourself as a F5AC employee.
• Express only your personal opinions, and never represent yourself as a spokesperson for F5AC. If F5AC is a subject of the content you are creating, be clear and open about the fact that you are an employee of F5AC; make it clear that your views do not represent those of F5AC, and you are not speaking on behalf of F5AC. It is best to include a disclaimer such as “The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of F5AC.”
• Do not use your F5AC email address to register on social networks, blogs, or other online tools utilized primarily for personal/social purposes.
• Do not use social media while on work time or on F5AC’s Technology Systems unless it is work-related as authorized by your supervisor or consistent with F5AC’s Technology Use Agreement.
F5AC’s social media presence
The Communications team is primarily responsible for F5AC’s Social Media presence. Only designated staff may post content on F5AC-affiliated social media sites Employees who have ideas, suggestions, or resources for posts are encouraged to share them with the Communications team.
Employee Information & Records Inspection
It is important that employment files are current. Employees should update their information in the Human Resources system (address, phone, emergency contacts, etc.) and inform Human Resources when there are changes, such as marital or domestic partnership status, and dependents, that may affect pay or benefits
Employees have the right to inspect employment records relating to their performance or to any grievance concerning them, or otherwise as permitted by law. Employees wishing to inspect employment records may do so during regular office hours, after a written request is made to Human Resources An inspection request form is available from Human Resources and also on the F5AC intranet that employees may use to make their request. Records will be made available for inspection within 30 days of receipt of the written request. An appointment to inspect the file is made with the Human Resources team, who is present with the employee while inspecting the file. Employees may receive copies, at their own cost, of any document in the employment file to the extent required by law. Employee records are the property of F5AC and are not allowed to be taken from Human Resources without prior written authorization.
Internal Communication
F5AC uses bulletin boards, mailboxes, meetings, intranet, and email to communicate important F5AC information. Each employee is responsible for reading posted or distributed information.
Media Relations
Employees should not respond to any inquiries or requests received from the media for comments or statements on behalf of F5AC. Instead, employees should refer requests to the Strategic Communications Officer CEO or, if the CEO is unavailable, to the Communications Specialist. The Strategic Communications Officer will coordinate with the CEO who will respond directly or designate another staff member to serve as the F5AC spokesperson.
Governmental, Legislative, and External Relations
Employees should refer legislative requests or inquires to the Government Affairs and Policy Officer. Legislative requests may include requests to provide public comment or testimony on a legislative or budget proposal, requests to sign a coalition letter, or requests to submit legislative position letters. Employees should route any requests for organizational letters of support through their department’s Executive Team member.
Part Eleven: Conduct
Workplace Conduct
F5AC requires employees’ cooperation, efficiency, productivity, and compliance with all policies and procedures Employees must always treat each other with dignity and respect at work and in work-related situations
Some examples of conduct that may result in disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination, include, but are not limited to:
• Substandard job performance
• Unauthorized or excessive tardiness or absenteeism, unrelated to a protected leave
• Rudeness or discourtesy or disrespect toward a fellow employee, supervisor, volunteer, supporter, or member of the public
• Fighting, roughhousing, bullying, or engaging in violent or threatening language or gestures, or conduct that is abusive, hostile, or disrespectful (such as slandering or ridiculing others, making false accusations, humiliating others in public, or shunning/ostracizing others, etc.)
• Theft of or unauthorized use of F5AC or a coworker’s property
• Disregarding established safety or security procedures, or creating an unsafe work situation for anyone
• Refusing to perform a work-related task when directly instructed to do so by a supervisor or member of management
• Possessing a weapon or firearm on F5AC’s property
• Violating F5AC policy prohibiting workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, or violating any other F5AC policy
Open Door Policy
F5AC has an open-door policy that encourages employee participation in decisions affecting them and their daily professional responsibilities. Employees who have a different opinion, misunderstanding or conflict with another F5AC employee are encouraged to address the situation directly with the employee(s) involved, if it is appropriate and safe to do so. We also encourage employees who have job-related problems or complaints to talk them over with their supervisor or a manager at any level of management. We believe that employee concerns are best addressed through informal and open communication.
To the extent possible, F5AC maintains confidentiality in addressing and resolving concerns brought to its attention. However, while investigating and resolving concerns, some information will likely be shared on a need-to-know basis.
No employee will be retaliated against for raising a concern in good faith.
Disciplinary Procedures
While F5AC may use any disciplinary step it concludes is appropriate given the circumstances, including immediate termination, any, all, or none of the following disciplinary steps may be taken, as appropriate:
• Record of Counseling: The supervisor counsels the employee, generally following a relatively minor offense to communicate or clarify acceptable conduct or performance. Counseling records are documented by the supervisor, signed by the employee to acknowledge receipt and placed in the employment file.
• Written Warning: The supervisor presents the written notice of corrective action, or written warning, to the employee in person if possible. A written warning includes a description of the misconduct or performance problem, the expectations going forward and the consequences if the problem is not corrected. Written warnings are signed by the employee to acknowledge receipt and placed in the employment file
• Suspension: Employees may be suspended without pay for a period for relatively serious offenses at the sole discretion of F5AC.
• Discharge: Termination can result from a single, serious offense, or it can be the final step in a process designed to correct offenses or performance problems. It can also occur as the result of conduct inconsistent with F5AC policy.
Other disciplinary steps not described above may or may not be taken, depending on the circumstances. Supervisors are required to consult with Human Resources prior to taking or recommending any disciplinary action, including discharge.
The use of any of the above disciplinary procedures in no way alters the at-will employment relationship.
Right to Respond to Notice of Serious Discipline
Public agencies must comply with certain minimal due process procedures before taking Serious Disciplinary actions, defined for this policy to include pay reduction, suspension of more than five days, demotion, or dismissal, against regular employees.
After receiving a notice of intent to impose Serious Discipline, the regular employee has ten days to respond to the proposed discipline, either in writing or verbally. If an employee timely exercises this right to respond to the notice of discipline, a “Skelly” meeting is conducted.
A “Skelly” meeting provides an informal opportunity for an employee to respond to the proposed Serious Discipline. That is, the employee can refute charges, explain circumstances, or generally present their version of events. The employee is not entitled to a full evidentiary hearing or to call witnesses to testify. The employee may have a representative of their choice present at the meeting. The employee and/or the employee’s representative may present the employee’s response at the meeting.
A “Skelly” officer leads the meeting. The “Skelly” officer should generally be an impartial authority who was not involved in the investigation or events leading to the decision to issue proposed Serious Disciplinary action, and who is authorized to make an effective recommendation concerning the proposed action to the final decision maker.
After the “Skelly” meeting is conducted, the “Skelly” officer will provide a recommendation to the CEO either to uphold, modify, or revoke the proposed Serious Discipline. The CEO has the final authority over the proposed disciplinary action.
Conflict of Interest & Incompatible Activities
It is important that employees avoid conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest is a situation where an employee’s personal or economic interest interferes or may interfere with, influence, appear to interfere or influence, the employee’s job duties, or is, in the judgment of F5AC, otherwise incompatible with the employee’s duties and responsibilities at F5AC or with F5AC’s general activities. A conflict may exist even if the conflict or incompatibility has no adverse impact on job performance.
All employees are required to adhere to the F5AC Conflict of Interest Policy.
In compliance with the First 5 Alameda County Incompatible Activities Policy, all employees must complete an Incompatible Activities Statement Certification.
If employees have outside employment, they must advise their supervisor and the Finance Officer.
Any employee needing advice about a potential conflict of interest should contact the Finance Officer or Human Resources Outside employment that may or does create a conflict of interest with the employee’s employment at F5AC will not be permitted.
Confidentiality
Careful custody and handling of F5AC files, documents or materials (in hard copy or electronic format), and especially those files and documents containing confidential information, is critically important to the well-being and success of F5AC and our clients. Each employee is responsible for safeguarding against the theft, loss, and unauthorized use or disclosure of this information and for following F5AC’s best practice policies and procedures addressing confidentiality including, but not limited to, HIPAA compliance. Further, employees must not, directly or indirectly, disclose any F5AC-related confidential information to any other person except as necessary to perform their job responsibilities Employees who have access to confidential information must take all steps necessary to ensure F5AC confidential information is handled, stored, transmitted or destroyed, if appropriate, in a way that protects against loss or misuse, as outlined in F5AC’s Confidentiality Procedures Manual.
Confidential and/or private matters include, but are not limited to:
• Employee or client names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and medical/health information
• Information contained in employment or benefits files, including but not limited to disciplinary action records, performance evaluations, benefit applications, beneficiary information, etc.
• Anything marked “Confidential” or “Personal,” such as incoming mail, internal documents marked with these terms, etc.
• Private/Confidential data in F5AC web-based applications
Private and confidential information should not be disclosed except to those who have both the need and authority to know about the information to properly perform their job duties.
Employees are expected to maintain F5AC confidential information as confidential even after separation from F5AC. Employees will, at F5AC’s request at any time and/or when employment terminates, return all documents, papers, computer files or storage devices, web application passwords, or any other material in their possession that may contain or be derived from F5AC confidential information.
External requests for documents or information, including those that may be governed by the Public Records Act, must be referred immediately to the CEO, Public Information and Communications Officer or Chief of Staff
Part Twelve: Ending Employment
Voluntary Termination
In all cases of voluntary resignation (e.g., separation of employment that is voluntarily initiated by the employee), employees are asked to provide a written notice to their supervisor at least 10 working days in advance of their expected last day of work. If F5AC asks an employee who has given notice of voluntary resignation to leave our employ before the end of the notice period (for example, if a replacement is to begin immediately), the employee will be paid for the entire notice period, up to a maximum of two weeks
Employees may use available accrued vacation and PTO to extend their employment for up to 4 weeks following their final day in office.
Human Resources will coordinate and/or conduct an exit interview with each employee who voluntarily terminates employment prior to the employee’s exit from F5AC. These conversations enable F5AC to gather important information about the employee’s experience at F5AC, and the work environment, that may benefit other employees. Although exit interviews are not mandatory, employees are encouraged to participate in them and to speak frankly about their employment experience with F5AC.
Payroll and Returning F5AC Property
All employees separating from F5AC receive their final paycheck on the next regularly scheduled payroll date. Employees are required to return all F5AC property or equipment to Human Resources or the Office Manager before leaving on their last day of work.
Reduction in Workforce
In the event F5AC requires a reduction in workforce, the below guidelines may be followed.
In its sole discretion, F5AC determines when and whether it is necessary to implement a reduction in force (RIF); which employees are affected by the RIF; and the implementation method. Generally, we give primary consideration to the program and F5AC’s needs and circumstances.
• To reduce the need for a potential RIF, employees may be hired for temporary positions, with the duration of the position dependent on funding. Employees hired for temporary positions are not eligible for severance pay but may be eligible to receive outplacement services at the conclusion of the temporary position
• F5AC may reduce positions through attrition instead of RIF
• F5AC may require a furlough instead of a RIF (e.g., require employees to work fewer hours per week or take a specified period off work without pay). During the period of furlough, F5AC will attempt to maintain employees’ health and dental insurance benefits at the same level as they were prior to the furlough for a period not to exceed eighteen (18) months
• F5AC may reduce positions from full-time to part-time depending on program needs and funding availability. If F5AC reduces a position to part-time, F5AC will attempt to maintain the employee’s health and dental benefits at the same level immediately prior to the hours reduction for a period not to exceed eighteen (18) months, and subject to any future changes in the F5AC’s benefit package. Employees who voluntarily request a part-time schedule are not eligible for this benefit.
• F5AC may eliminate positions and will determine if the RIF will occur on an agency-wide basis or in one or more programs, departments, and/or classifications.
Length of Service: An employee’s length of service is measured from the original employment date with F5AC (including time as a County employee, Tri-Net employee, or Diversified employee) if there has not been a break in service greater than 30 days (not including leave protected by law. Approved legally protected leaves do not constitute a break in service).
Notice: Employees selected for RIF through position elimination will be given at least 10 business days’ notice of the proposed final employment date.
Severance Pay: If positions are eliminated due to RIF, F5AC may authorize severance pay of two weeks’ regular base salary or pay less applicable tax and other withholdings, for every year of continuous service (according to the above length of service definition), not to exceed eighteen (18) weeks of pay If severance pay is authorized, it will be paid in one lump sum on or after the termination date, and, according to ACERA, is not pensionable.
To receive severance pay, if payment is authorized, employees must first sign a waiver releasing F5AC from any and all liability related to their employment with F5AC and their separation from employment. Refusal to sign the waiver within the allowed period and/or lawful revocation of the waiver renders an employee ineligible to receive severance pay.
In addition to severance pay, if any, F5AC may also make a payment equivalent to $500 per year of service (as defined above in the length of service definition), but not to exceed $3,000 total, to help with the cost of health insurance. This payment, if authorized by F5AC, will be made in one lump sum, and will be issued at the same as severance pay. To receive the payment described in this paragraph, if authorized, employees must first sign a waiver releasing F5AC from all liability from their employment with F5AC and their separation from employment. Refusal to sign the waiver within the allowed period and/or lawful revocation of the waiver renders an employee ineligible to receive severance pay.
If an employee who was previously part of a RIF and received any severance pay is rehired and then subsequently laid off, that employee may be eligible for severance only up to a maximum of eighteen (18) weeks of pay when all severance payments (e.g., from the first and second RIFs) are combined.
Outplacement Services: Employees whose positions are eliminated in a RIF, or who were hired for temporary positions in connection with a RIF, may be eligible for F5AC outplacement services. These services are designed to help F5AC employees find positions in Alameda County where they can continue to use their skills and expertise on behalf of children aged 0 to 5 years Outplacement services, if provided, will not exceed three months following the date of separation. F5AC makes no guarantee that utilizing its outplacement services will result in an employment offer
Acknowledgment
I acknowledge that I have received a copy of the First 5 Alameda County (“F5AC”) Employee Handbook. I understand that the Handbook contains important information on the general employment policies of F5AC and on my privileges and obligations as an employee. I acknowledge that I am expected to read, understand, and adhere to F5AC’s policies, and I understand I am governed by the contents of this Handbook. I further understand that F5AC may change, rescind, or add to any policies, benefits, or practices described in the Handbook, other than the concept of at-will employment. By my signature below, I also acknowledge and understand that employment at F5AC is at-will employment. That is, either I or F5AC may terminate my employment at any time, for any reason or no reason, with or without cause.
Employee Name
Employee Signature Date
Change Log
Item Date
Original adoption of Employee policies adopted by Commission 5/21/2004 Handbook Update – Approved by Commission
Includes addition of fingerprinting under “Work Eligibility”, “Tools and Technology”; and “Bilingual Pay” Medical and Dental Insurance sections rewritten to reflect current benefit structure; “Floating Personal Days” and “Personal Use Time” merged under “Paid Time Off (PTO)”; “Unpaid Time Off and Leaves of Absence” section reformatted to include matrix of leaves 5/26/2005
Addition of Catastrophic Leave Bank – approved by Commission 9/29/2005
Year End Manual Clean-up – reviewed by Executive Committee 6/19/2006
Year End Manual Clean-up – reviewed by Executive Committee
Includes Addition of Professional Development, Payment in Lieu Long Term Disability, Children in the Workplace, Telecommuting, & References sections; Change in Full Time Status definition, Remove Position Description section
Year End Manual Clean-up – reviewed by Executive Committee Includes addition of Paid Family Leave, Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace section Addition of Reduction in Workforce section – approved by Commission 12/11/08, with addition of severance pay cap 3/26/09
Year End Manual Clean-up – reviewed by Executive Committee
Includes Addition of Personal Leave of Absence modifications to sick leave policy – approved by Commission on 12/10/09; Deleted Tools and Technology benefit – approved by Commission on 12/10/09
Year End Manual Clean-up – Reviewed by Executive Committee
2/25/2009
5/22/2008 Formatting Update
6/25/2009
6/24/2010
Addition of Child Abuse Reporting, Confidentiality policies & Temporary Military Duty Leave; Removed Lent to Other Government or Educational Institution Leave 12/8/2011
Deleted ACERA offset benefit – approved by Commission on 12/13/12 12/13/2012
Year End Manual Clean-up – Reviewed by Executive Committee
Revisions to Unpaid Leave section, including deletion of the Matrix format, Separation of Pay Periods into Pay Periods and Work Schedules, addition of Reasonable Accommodation Leave, Social Media, Media Relations; Removed Educational, Temporary Military Duty and Military Leaves
Year End Handbook Clean-up – Reviewed by Executive Committee
Consolidation of Medical and Dental Insurance sections, deletion of Wage Garnishments and Appeal of Serious Discipline sections
Year End Handbook Clean-up – Reviewed by Executive Committee, including modifications to Sick Time to reflect provisions in the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act, and to Health and Dental Insurance to reflect provisions in the Affordable Care Act
Year End Handbook Clean-up – Approved by Commission on 6/16/16 Title change from “Employee Policies and Procedures Handbook” to “Employee Handbook”
Addition of “Paid Time Off” usage during Introductory Period Addition to Eligibility of Dependent Children of Temporary Employees; Employer Share of Health and Dental Premiums for Temporary Employees and Their Eligible Dependents; Definition for Eligible Dependents; Vacation Time off Requests; Modification to “Workplace Conduct”
Addition of $500 per Fiscal Year for Professional Development, to Be Reimbursed After Completion of Course(s) – Any Unused Funds Will not Carryover
5/23/2013
6/26/2014
6/18/2015
6/16/2016
7/20/2016
Addition to Leaves of Absence – Paid Leave, Work Hours and pay – Flex schedule 8/18/2016
Modify Leaves of Absence – Paid Leave 6/15/2017
Week of Christmas Off & 3% Cola Eff. 01/26/18; In Lieu update from $125 per month to $137.50 per month – Approved by Commission 12/14/2017
Year End Handbook Clean-up – Approved by Commission 6/21/2018
Includes Extension of Employee’s Introductory period, modify Leaves of Absence –Unpaid, Paid Sick Time, Workplace Conduct
Modify Benefits & CA Paid Family Leave – Approved by Commission
12/13/2018 Handbook Clean-up – Approved by Commission, including updates to approval levels and titles, Reasonable Accommodation, Replaced Policy Prohibiting Harassment & Discrimination, Benefits, Added “additional benefits” section, Vacations, Jury Duty, Pay Periods, 9/80 Schedule, Bereavement, Leave Policies and Catastrophic Leave Bank, Paid Parental Leave, Children in workplace, Telecommuting has been renamed Remote Work, Attire, Technology-Voicemail & Email, Social Media, Workplace Conduct, Opendoor Policy, Conflict of Interest, Voluntary Employment Terminations, Reduction in Workforce. The following have been removed: References to preemployment/onboarding processes, sections on Employing Commissioners, Executive Benefits Package, Long-Term Disability, Payroll Deductions, and Parking.
Update approved by the Commission – At-Will Employment, Policy Prohibiting Harassment & Discrimination, Adding Presidential General Election Holiday and COVID 19 Temporary Remote Work Policy
Update approved by the Executive Committee – Handbook Clean-up – approved by the Commission Executive Committee, including updates to approval levels and titles, clarification on introductory employees, At Will Employment, Policy Prohibiting Harassment & Discrimination, Work Eligibility, Introductory Period, Employee Classifications, Professional Development, Benefits, Vacations, Paid Time Off, Paid Sick Time, Bereavement Leave, Paid Parental Leave, Leaves of Absences , Work Schedules, Bilingual and Multilanguage Pay, Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace, Expense Reimbursement, References, Communication & Technology, Conflict of Interest & Incompatible Activities, Confidentiality, Reduction in Force Additions: Juneteenth & Indigenous People’s Day Holidays; Additional Eligible Family Members under CFRA, 4-10 Schedule; COVID-19 Workforce Vaccination Policy, Right to Respond to Notice of Serious Discipline
Updates for legislative compliance to add “designated person” to Paid Sick Time and Unpaid Leaves, to include 5 days of bereavement leave for part-time employees (paid leave prorated), to update name of Civil Rights Department (from Fair Employment and Housing).
Updates to TB test in Work Eligibility section, added Alternative Work Schedule, Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time Off, Remote Work Policy, Removed COVID-19 Workplace Vaccination Policy
Updates to Equal Opportunity and Policy Prohibiting Harassment and Discrimination, temporary employee sick leave allotment, Reproductive Loss Leave, Alternative Work Schedule, and Technology, Voicemail and Email Policy
Update Media Policy and add Governmental, Legislative, and External Relations Policy
10/17/2019
10/15/2020
05/26/2022
12/08/2022
10/5/2023
2/15/2024
06/11/2024
Staff Announcements
June 20, 2024
GENERAL AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Measure C
• Community Advisory Council (CAC) established! On June 4th, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors established the CAC. The Board of Supervisors and the Alameda County Early Care & Education Planning Council can now begin the appointment process for the CAC’s 11 members.
• Measure C planning and implementation begin. Developing our planning approach to inform the development of a program plan.
• Communications Educational Campaign and Engagement. Implementing the initial phase of our Measure C Educational Campaign and engagement efforts, e.g., hosting informational webinars for providers and partners.
GENERAL AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENTS
New First 5 Website
• Building a new website to successfully communicate who we are and our approach, as well as to better support partners, providers, and families. The new website will also enhance our ability to advance early childhood system building efforts, narrative change, and accountability to the public.
Fund Development
• Awarded $75,000 grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation to support our agency’s strategic communications work.
• Invited to second round interviews for the Start Early Consulting Impact Initiative, which aims to accelerate early childhood systems' capacity to address equity issues by providing high-quality consulting services.
PLACE
We partner with communities to build relationships, services, and infrastructure that support neighborhood conditions for family and child well-being.
PLACE
Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI)
• Kaiser Early Childhood Center Playground Ribbon Cutting. Joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new playground at the Kaiser Early Childhood Center—the largest capital improvement project funded by OCI in FY23.
• May Oversight Commission Presentation. Provided an overview of the accomplishments and challenges related to the Early Education Fund’s OCI Result Based Accountability (RBA) data collection and infrastructure building efforts.
PEOPLE
We partner with stakeholders to support parents, caregivers, and children and ensure that families and providers have the resources they need for children to thrive.
2024 Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony and Luncheon
• Hosted a table at the 2024 Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame Luncheon and Inductee Ceremony. Two First 5 partners were inducted at the ceremony in recognition of their leadership and contributions to Alameda County.
o Roots Community Health CEO Dr. Noha Aboelata
o OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla JohnsonTrammell
Pediatric Care Coordination
PEOPLE
• Help Me Grow. Working with the Alliance to finalize FY 24/25 budget proposal to sustain and expand access to pediatric care coordination, outreach, and navigation through our partnership with Alameda Alliance for Health so that all Medi-Cal insured families with children ages 0-5 are supported.
• Project DULCE. Working with Alameda Health System leaders to support their pediatrics expansion efforts as well as identify sustainability strategies for Project DULCE in the short and long term.
POLICY
We advocate for policy and systems change that centers the needs of families, young children, and caregivers and supports community and family conditions for children and families to thrive. We also support community-led efforts, including parent leadership.
Early Educator Apprenticeship Program (EEAP)
• EEAP Evaluation. Completed Phase 1 of the evaluation, shared deliverables with the Evaluation Leadership Table, and are now completing Phase 2 (June –August) deliverables with a final report anticipated by late fall.
• Regional Conversation on ECE Workforce Policy and Planning. Met with our Santa Clara County Office of Education and First 5 Santa Clara colleagues to share insights from our EEAP program and evaluation, as well as learn about their apprenticeship initiative and sustainability plans.
First 5 Association Sustainability Efforts
• Supporting the First 5 Association’s advocacy efforts to promote both the short- and longterm sustainability of First 5s.
Presentation to the First 5 Alameda County Commission
AGENDA
❖ Evolving our Early Childhood System
❖ Local Early Care & Education
(ECE) Ballot Measures
❖ Measure C Readying-to-Date
❖ Multi-Level Planning
❖ Questions & Discussion
Cally Martin Deputy CEO
Ayano Ogawa Chief of Programs Kristin Spanos Chief Executive Officer
Vanessa Cedeño Geisner Chief of Staff
Purpose and Intent of First 5 Commissions
As outlined in section 130100 of the Proposition 10 statute:
(a) It is the intent of this act to facilitate the creation and implementation of an integrated, comprehensive, and collaborative system of information and services to enhance optimal early childhood development and to ensure that children are ready to enter school. This system should function as a network that promotes accessibility to all information and services from any entry point into the system.
It is further the intent of this act to emphasize local decision making, to provide for greater local flexibility in designing delivery systems, and to eliminate duplicate administrative systems.
OUR NORTH STAR
Our “North Star,” the population result that guides our work, is that all Children Are Ready for Kindergarten; our work is to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools support families and children by creating the conditions that position all for success.
Evolving our Early Childhood System
Our Role
Within the Early Childhood System, our role is to:
● FUND organizations and initiatives that are mission- and vision-aligned, and part of a community-based, family-informed early childhood system
● PARTNER with parents, caregivers, communities, early childhood providers, organizations, and public agencies in service to an accessible, effective, and responsive early childhood system
● ADMINISTER programs for young children and families that offer services, navigation, and care coordination; support and connections to resources; and training and capacity building for providers
● ADVOCATE to scale and sustain effective programs and for public policies grounded in equity and justice
Thriving Neighborhoods
● Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS)
○ Four NRFS grantee partners and sites: San Antonio Family Resource Center (Central Oakland), Lincoln (West Oakland), Roots Community Health (East Oakland), and Union City Family Center (Union City).
○ Cities & People Advisors facilitated a year-long strategic planning process with our NRFS grantee partners to guide the next phase of NRFS investments, which included the creation of new videos, strategic work plans, and data profiles for each of the NRFS sites.
● First 5 Investments and Impact
○ Over the last six years, First 5 Alameda has invested over $20 million in NRFS and has helped bring about impactful interventions in community infrastructure.
○ In Fiscal Year 2022-23, NRFS sites:
○ Connected 2,897 families to services through their family navigators
○ Provided 1,624 families regular basic needs supplies like diapers, food, and clothing
○ Engaged 925 families in playgroups and story times
○ Engaged 172 partners in collaboratives/coalitions
○ Hosted 644 parents and providers in trainings
Health & Well-Being
● Pediatric Care Coordination
○ Deepened partnership with the Alameda Alliance for Health (AAH) on pediatric outreach and care coordination through Help Me Grow. AAH's contribution increased from no contribution in FY20 to $1.6M in FY24
○ Created a new Pediatric Care Coordination division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing by 9 FTEs adding capacity to reach even more Alameda County children and families in the coming years.
● First 5 Investments and Impact
○ In Fiscal Year 2022-23, 3,589 children and families served through our Help Me Grow program and 162 families from Highland Hospital's family birthing center enrolled and received enhanced support through Project DULCE.
Family
● Family Supports and Parent Partnership
○ The Fathers Corps program celebrated its 10th anniversary, hosted a Fatherhood Summit event for over 400 fathers and father figures, rolled out a new set of Healthy Relationship Principles, and completed an evaluation to inform the evolution of the program.
○ As part of our Birth Equity agenda, 1,323 children and 1,451 parents benefitted from investments in lactation supports for African American mothers and birthing people, with leadership from Alameda County Public Health Department,
○ In FY23, we provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field.
● First 5 Investments and Impact
○ Providing $371,000 in funding for diaper distributions to community partners and sites and continuing policy advocacy to the State and County for deeper investments that address families' concrete diaper need as COVID funding expires and the state budget cuts available funds. In FY 22-23 10,097 diaper kits were distributed in collaboration with community partners.
○ Launched a partnership with Oakland Feather River Family Camp to provide FREE Family Camp experiences to parents and caregivers and their children to enjoy time outdoors with each other and with other community members. 220 campers and 51 families have been assigned to OFRC camp sessions this summer.
Learning & Care
● Early Care and Education System Building
o Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund implementation and Measure C readying.
o Evaluating the Early Education Apprentice Program administered by the YMCA East Bay, paid for tuition and permit fees for early care educators. The average apprentice wage of $19.13 per hour increased to $28.00 per hour upon completion of 12 units and receipt of their Associate Teacher Permit. 50 of the 53 Early Education Apprentice Program graduates secured positions in ECE programs or are in the process of being hired.
o This year, Quality Counts had the largest cohort of sites participating in the CA Teaching Pyramid series (CSEFEL - Center for the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning). This included 18 Quality Counts centers and over 160 educators.
● First 5 Investments and Impact
o Distributed $497,003 in professional stipends to ECE professionals.
New Local Early Care and Education Funding
Local Child Care Ballot Measures
Oakland Children’s Initiative
First 5 is the contracted Early Education Implementation Partner
● 30-year annual parcel tax on single-family homes and multi-unit residences
● Revenues support early child care and preschool programs, and fund college readiness programs, tuition assistance, and efforts to address inequities in access to higher education
● Raise approximately $25-$30million annually with funds divided into three subaccounts:
o 62% to Early Education Fund
o 31% to the Oakland Promise Fund
o 7% for oversight and accountability
● Implementation of Early Education Program began Jan. 2023
Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
First 5 is the named Administrator in the ordinance
● A 20-year half-percent (0.5%) sales tax that would raise an estimated $150 million annually to provide support and enhancements for child care, preschool, early education, and pediatric health care in Alameda County
● The funds will be divided 80/20 into two subaccounts:
o a Pediatric Health Care Account (20%), overseen by a citizen oversight committee
o a Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account (80%), administered by First 5
● The State Supreme Court upheld Measure C in its entirety on April 24, 2024.
Agency Readying To Date
Oakland Children's Initiative FY22-23 Highlights
1,943 Children served by OUSD and the City of Oakland Head Start sites funded by Oakland Children's Initiative funds (January – June 2023)
Oakland Children's Initiative FY23-24 Highlights
In the current fiscal year (FY 2023-2024), investments supported the following outcomes to benefit an estimated 1,930 children:
1. Infrastructure: Built quality spaces for children and child-centered environments, including major renovations of all spaces at Kaiser Early Childhood Center in OUSD ($4.8 million total)
2. Service Expansion and Capacity Building: Increased volume of direct services staff to provide early care and education; expanded professional development opportunities and supports in equity, curriculum, parent engagement, and nutrition
3. Family Supports: Hired family navigators and staff to improve community engagement, family access to care, and provision of basic needs
Measure C: Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account
Children's Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County
Key Components
● Increases access to quality care for Measure C funded providers through new enrollments & rate enhancements
● Ensures teachers paid by Measure C funds earn at least minimum wage and adjusted annually based on revenue
● Allows services to 0–12-year-olds, but defines a focus on 0–5-year-olds
● Targets low-income families and those children/families with the greatest needs
First 5’s Role as Administrator of Funds
As outlined in section 2.08.305.B of the Measure:
• Develop Five-Year Program Plan and Annual Expenditure Plan
• Allocate funds based on Annual Expenditure Plan
• Develop, implement, administer, and oversee all programs and services paid for by the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account
• Staff the Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Develop the Program Plan Evaluation and oversee external evaluations with input from CAC for presentations to BOS, on a five-year cycle
• Operate with transparency and public accountability, good fiscal stewardship of public resources; annual audit to ensure compliance
• Award funds pursuant to our contracting policies and the Measure requirements
Community Advisory Council
11 Member Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Advisory Body
• Staffed by First 5 Alameda County
• Develops policy and programmatic recommendations to First 5 related to the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account
• Informs the Five-Year Program Plan and Budget and Annual Expenditure Plan developed by First 5 for approval by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and Board of Supervisors
• The Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS) established the CAC on June 4, 2024
• CAC members will need to be appointed by the BOS and Local Planning Council by August 22, 2024
• CAC members serve 4-year terms (max. of 12 consecutive years), with exception of the first class, five will serve 2-year terms as determined by lottery at the first CAC meeting
Measure C Bodies: Roles & Responsibilities
Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Created by Alameda County's Measure C (2020)
• Advisory Body
• Informs First 5 on the development of the Five-Year Program Plan and Budget and Annual Expenditure Plan
First 5 Alameda County Commission
• Created by Proposition 10 (1998)
• Approves Five-Year Program and Budget Plans
• Approves Annual Expenditure Plans
Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS)
• Establishes the Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Appoints 5 members to the CAC
• Conducts the annual independent financial audit of Measure C revenues and expenditures
• Approves Five-Year Program and Budget Plans
• Annually appropriates funds necessary to carry out the Plan’s annual budget.
Agency Readying To Date
Agency Infrastructure and Administration
• Hiring and agency restructuring to manage growth and build capacity
• Conducting finance activities i.e., cost allocation, drafting county contract, program budget, request for pay back of Prop 10 loan
• Building technology tools; released an RFP for tech liaison for Child Care Pathways eligibility and enrollment system and data warehouse
• Informal partnering with local leaders i.e. the Local Planning Council, Parent Voices Oakland, Alternative Payment Agencies
• Coordinating national & state consultant experts to advise & support system-building work
Agency Readying To Date
Agency Readying To Date
Programs
Engagement: Designing a community and provider outreach engagement approach to support program design and implementation, and promote the participation of families and providers.
Facilities: Procuring a facilities intermediary and identifying short and term investments
Workforce: Planning and funding workforce development strategies, including apprenticeship programs
Partners: Designing planning grants for partners
Compensation: Planning for increased compensation for providers
Agency Readying To Date
Data & Evaluation
existing work:
Needs assessments, data profiles, mapping, dashboards
Kindergarten Readiness studies
Early Educator Apprenticeship Program Evaluation
OCI RBA data reporting and evaluation
Identifying data needs, gaps, and developing a plan to get it
Conducting data analysis to inform decision making and planning
Planning for Measure C evaluation and implementation of Early Development Instrument (EDI)
Agency Readying To Date
Agency Readying To Date
Government Affairs
Meetings with State & County leaders on funding, data, and technology support (CDSS, CDE, Alameda County BOS, ACOE)
Setting up CAC structure, hiring staff and facilitator, drafting by-laws, legal summary of legislation
Communications
• Regular updates to community partners and staff, e.g., emails, newsletters, meetings, webinars, website updates, etc.
• Developing a strategic Measure C communications plan in collaboration, including initial messaging and resources such as a webpage, one-pager, FAQ, etc.
Multi-Level Planning
Measure C Planning
Dates are tentative
• First Steps (FY24-25) – Developing a plan for initial investments to support the field, build infrastructure. Anticipating:
1. CAC for review - September
2. Commission for approval - October
3. Board of Supervisors for approval – October
• 5-Year Plan (FY25-30) – Develop a 5-year plan to meet the ordinance mandates. Anticipating:
1. Working with CAC to inform – Oct - Mar
2. Commission for approval - April
3. Board of Supervisors for approval – April-June
Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI) Planning
With public system partners Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Head Start, and the City of Oakland, conduct OCI-specific planning and connect to Measure C and broader systems-work.
✓ Engaging in Multi-Year Contracts – Spring 2024
• Visioning – Summer 2024
o Ensuring access, scale
o Improving experiences for children and families
o Coordinating across systems and investments
• Develop Updated Program Plan & Budgets – Fall/Winter 2025
• Amend Multi-Year Contracts – Spring 2025
First 5’s Long Term Planning
Strategic Plan
• FY 25-26 Strategic Plan annual update and completion of the Measure C 5-Yr (FY25-30) Program Plan
• In early 2025, secure a consultant for a facilitated process to develop a new plan for FY26-27
Iterative FY24-25 Budget
• Anticipating revisions as Measure C budget for FY24-25 (Year 0) is developed and brought for approval.
Program Plan
- FY24-25 initial investments recommendations shared with CAC for review and feedback
First 5’s Long Term Planning
- First 5 Commission reviews and approves recommended FY24-25 initial investments
- Final FY24-25 initial investments recommendation submitted to the Board for approval and appropriation of FY24-25 funds
Five-Year (FY25-30) Program Plan component recommendations shared with CAC for review and feedback
Children’s Initiative Visioning retreats with City of Oakland, OUSD & COOHS systems leaders
- Proposed Five-Year (FY25-30) Budget submitted for Board consideration
- Proposed FY 25-26 Annual Expenditure Plan submitted for Board consideration
Proposed Five-Year (FY25-30) Program Plan & Budget shared with CAC for review and feedback Five-Year Program Plan submitted for Commission and Board of Supervisors consideration
FY25-26 Program Plan and Budget development
Updated FY23-27 Contracts submitted to Commission for review and approval
Proposed FY26-27
Annual Expenditure Plan submitted for Commission and Board review and approval
Proposed FY27-28
Annual Expenditure Plan submitted for Commission and Board review and approval
First 5’s research consistently shows that factors predicting kindergarten readiness are closely associated with socioeconomic conditions rooted in structural racism, classism, and public disinvestment in neighborhoods with primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residents. Building an equity-centered early childhood system that centers a "whole community, whole family, whole child" approach to improve kindergarten readiness is essential to the current and future overall health of Alameda County.
First 5 Alameda County’s work is to fund, partner, administer, and advocate to ensure families have what they need every step of the way along the “Road to Kindergarten Readiness.” With the influx of new local resources and the leveraging of federal and state resources, this moment represents a rare and invaluable opportunity for our agency to evolve our local early childhood system that is responsive to the county’s children, families, and communities.
Sections Overview
"There is no going back to a normal that did not work for so many. We do not need a recovery but a reimagination, restructuring, and renewal that challenges inequality and lifts up commonality."
- Dr. Manuel Pastor, speaking to First 5 Alameda County All-Staff meeting, March 9, 2023
Working to expand community and family-centered programming through increased investments, we are proud of what First 5 Alameda County accomplished in its second year of the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan implementation. Our investments continue to deliver high-quality results, reaching 25,000 people last year alone, including 19,000+ children, 11,000+ parents/caregivers, and 4,500+ providers.
We are operating at a time when the challenges, complexities, demands, and opportunities for systems change are immense. We are on the heels of a global pandemic; people are still struggling, while state and federal relief is expiring.
California is facing a budget deficit threatening planned investments in a set of initiatives to redesign its social safety net, including Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health InitiativeCalifornia Health and Human Services (CYBHI).
“Children are not innately ready or not ready for kindergarten. They thrive when they grow and develop in environments that support and nurture them and their families. This requires community conditions that position families for success—wellpaying jobs, access to quality, affordable early care and education, transportation, health care, and safe, inviting places to live, play, and connect. It also requires freedom from discrimination rooted in racism and classism.”
- First 5 Alameda County Kindergarten Readiness Assessment 21-22
Locally, Alameda County residents made significant investments in children and families that are now coming to fruition. First 5’s roles in two local ballot measures— as contracted implementation partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and named administrator of The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C, currently in litigation)—will grow our agency's annual revenue from $24 million to approximately $200 million annually, an eight-fold increase.
This funding is coming to First 5 to leverage our expertise, infrastructure, and investments in Place, People, and Policy, allowing us to scale the past 25 years of our work to build and evolve the early childhood system. Given this, the drivers of our accomplishments and agency growth in this strategic plan update are:
1. INVESTING IN TRANSFORMATIVE SYSTEM BUILDING
Continued to build and scale the local early childhood system with new revenue. Our fiscal outlook is strong given new funds, coupled with a clean audit and a balanced budget. While First 5 Alameda County will be experiencing significant growth in the coming year, all other First 5 agencies around the state have declining revenues and are facing layoffs and program cuts. Our colleagues throughout California, and beyond, are looking to us as a model for leveraging funding, policy advocacy, and equitycentered systems building as they manage challenging local circumstances.
At the local, state, and federal level in FY 2023-2024, we received:
Adopted the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as the new Kindergarten Readiness Community Study tool. The EDI is a comprehensive tool that provides valuable insights into the conditions that support family well-being and child development. The information collected through parents/caregivers and educators will provide data down to the census tract on community conditions and will inform policy decisions and investments. The adoption of the EDI was a collaborative decision made by all school districts involved in the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool DecisionMaking Series, a sequence of meetings that was co-chaired by Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro and First 5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos and included school districts representatives and labor representation. The series culminated in the unanimous decision to adopt the EDI as the tool for future Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies. We believe that the EDI will serve as a critical component in our efforts to improve local systems and conditions that support children 0-5 and their families.
Created a Pediatric Care Coordination Division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing and capacity to reach more Alameda County children and families. We renewed funding for our Help Me Grow and DULCE programs and collaborated with local partners, including our local Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan (Alameda Alliance for Health), Alameda Health System, and the Stupski Foundation to identify additional funding sources to sustain and scale these vital programs. This work successfully increased our Alameda Alliance for Health grant award from $572,473 in fiscal year 20212022 to $1.59 million in fiscal year 2023-2024, an increase of $1 million.
Continued to expand and began evaluation of the Early Education Apprentice Program. This program is an “earn and learn model” that covers tuition and permit fees for early care educators, while providing on-the-job training, as well as stipends and additional supports like tutoring and child care. It is an exemplary model of a publicprivate partnership as the program is jointly funded by the Alameda County Social Services Agency, First 5 Alameda County, and Tipping Point Community, and the type of public policy infrastructure necessary to support the continued growth in our local early care and education delivery system.
Continued to offer training to providers. First 5 disseminates best practices to professionals working with young children in mental health, early education, health, family support, and administration. In FY 2022-2023, we provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field, and we distributed $288,430 in professional development and training stipends to ECE professionals and caregivers participating in First 5's Quality Counts program.
Continued to fund Project DULCE at Highland Hospital. Families enrolled in the program receive enhanced support in which a family specialist in the pediatric setting supports connection of the families to needed resources, including legal support. More than 160 families were enrolled and received support in FY 2022-2023
2. OPERATIONALIZING EQUITY: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CAPACITY
Restructured the agency and conducted hiring to build the staff capacity and infrastructure needed to administer substantial new public funds. Spurred by the Oakland Children's Initiative and Measure C, we have been proactively building an organization prepared to manage the significant system-building legislatively mandated by these new public resources. Since fiscal year 2022-2023, we added 34 new positions in various areas throughout the agency, including programs, operations, finance, compliance, technology, data and evaluation, planning, communications, and government affairs and policy. The hiring and structural changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we enter a 3-to-5-year building phase. We seek to retain and recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity and cultural fabric of Alameda County, support staff development and professional growth, ensure regulatory compliance, and effectively implement existing and new initiatives.
Continued centering equity in our programming, investments, advocacy and intentionally engaging in dialogue regarding organizational culture. First 5 has used equity to inform our work since our founding in 1998. Over the years, we have intentionally built upon and strengthened this commitment, including in our 2017-2022 and 2022-2027 strategic plans. As part of our evolution, in fiscal year 2022-2023, we engaged in a participatory agencywide learning and development process to update our equity statement to encompass our current work, intentions for continuous learning and improvement, and commitment to accountability. In fiscal year 2023-2024, our agency took an important step in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by engaging in all-staff trainings on unconscious bias. The trainings, led by Dr. Sacha Joseph-Mathews, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Stanislaus State University, equipped employees with fundamental knowledge, tools, and resources to identify, address, and minimize unconscious bias in their dealings with fellow team members and stakeholders.
Ensuring that our governing body represents our commitment to communitydirected investments by appointing a representative of a parent/community-based building group as a First 5 Commissioner.
3. EVOLVING TO MORE COMMUNITY-CENTERED PROGRAMMING
These and other achievements, plus additional contributing factors over the past year, set the stage for the next phase of First 5’s 2022-27 strategic plan implementation. The new local revenue and scaling of programs, by tapping into federal and state allocations, afford an opportunity to reimagine a more equitable early childhood system. In doing so, our lessons learned and local success could very well serve as a model and an example for state and federal policies that recognize and invest in child care and the labor of providers as the public good that they are; and they will be the subject of a forthcoming case study by Stanford University’s Center on Early Childhood.
First 5 Alameda County is well positioned to serve as the steward of public funds, leveraging diverse funding streams, partnership with community, parents, and providers, and our central role to help create a more cohesive and equity-centered "whole community, whole family, whole child" early childhood system.
Kindergarten Readiness Requires Systems Change
The 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) findings illustrate the need for investment in the early childhood system and policy advocacy for structural changes. For more on the conditions facing communities, families, and children, see Alameda County’s Context: Data for Action in the full Strategic Plan (page 11) or our Data for Action tool, and First 5’s investments in Appendix A, page 45 of the full Strategic Plan.
According to parents/ caregivers, 33% of children were fully ready for kindergarten compared to 44% in 2019. Structural inequities compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted children, families, and communities.
First 5 Alameda County is committed to being an equity-centered, anti-racist, and anti-classist organization. We recognize that we operate in a racialized economic system characterized by extractive and exploitative labor practices and public policies perpetuating long-standing disparate life outcomes. To this end, we use anti-racist and equity-based practices to invest in and support children, families, and neighborhoods. Our Place, People, Policy framework intentionally prioritizes our investments in communities that have experienced historic and systemic racism and disinvestment.
As a part of this commitment, we use our resources to redress (to set right) these injustices by:
Celebrating Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cultures and honoring their assets, values, and needs by ensuring investments, programs, data, and policy work is directed by and reflects the richness and needs of these communities. Prioritizing the needs of low-to-moderate-income families and neighborhoods with historical disinvestment.
Addressing root causes through the administration of public funds, advocacy, and operationalization of public policy.
Interrupting inequities that impact the conditions needed for kindergarten readiness.
Ensuring that our investments, policies, practices, and agency culture are aligned with our equity principles
We acknowledge that our unconscious and conscious bias impacts our practices. Therefore, we are committed to deepening our understanding of how power, wealth, and opportunity imbalances appear in policies, communities, organizations, and interpersonal relationships. We can only do this as lifelong learners with a growth mindset focused on transformative change.
We commit to continuous improvement and to hold ourselves accountable to operationalize this statement and our principles.
First 5 Alameda County Strategic Plan 2022–2027
Acknowledgments
First 5 wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the many people who made this plan possible. This plan was developed in a challenging time two years into the pandemic, when families, communities, organizations, and public systems were stretched beyond limit. Our deepest respect and gratitude to our community for their fortitude, and appreciation to those who were able to take time to think about how to best use First 5’s public resources and to envision an early childhood system where children and families can thrive. Special thanks to:
• Parents and caregivers for their leadership and sharing of their experiences
• Early childhood providers and community-serving organizations for their insight
• Community leaders for their vision and commitment
• First 5 staff for thoughtful participation, dialogue, and decision-making
• Our consul tant Hickman Strategies for their backbone support of our strategic planning process
• First 5 Alameda County Commissioners for their guidance and support. Our work continues the legacy of Alameda County Supervisor and First 5 Founding Commissioner Wilma Chan.
• Alameda County and Oakland voters for championing local investments in early care and education through the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health & Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C). For a detailed breakdown of the Measures, see Appendix C.
Our work is a continuation of the legacy of Alameda County Supervisor and First 5 founding Commissioner Wilma Chan.
A MOMENT OF URGENCY & POSSIBILITY
Ensuring
Alameda County’s children grow into healthy, productive adults is fundamental to our community’s prosperity, health, and well-being.
Decades of research have demonstrated that the period from birth to age 5 is the most critical window of opportunity to positively impact a child’s future. The correlation between early childhood development, community and family conditions, and lifelong health have also been established and are undeniably intertwined.
The research makes clear that disparate life outcomes of children related to health, education, and employment are the result of historic and ongoing racist, classist policies that extract resources (i.e., poorly paid labor) and harm some communities, families, and children while benefiting others. Despite these forces, there are systemic interventions that can positively change the lives of children and their families. These findings have profound implications for public policy and the role of public systems.
It is evident that President Biden’s proposals in support of families with young children and Governor Newsom’s investments in early childhood and the safety net are informed by the growing recognition of both the conditions necessary to support family and child well-being and the need for public policy to address the increasing inequality.
Locally, Alameda County voters made significant investments in children and families that are coming closer to fruition. First 5’s role in two local ballot measures—as contracted implementation partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and named administrator of The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)—will grow our agency’s annual revenue from $24 million to approximately $200 million annually, an eight-fold increase. A major focus of this strategic plan is to ready our infrastructure and capacity to support the effective use of these precious public dollars as First 5 Alameda County adapts to these new local and state historic investments in children and families.
This is a moment to invest in a better future through long-term, systemic solutions for children and families.
WHO WE ARE
First 5 was established in 1998 by California’s Proposition 10.
Our role is to improve life outcomes for Alameda County’s youngest children. We support, inform, and partner with public systems (i.e., health, early care and education, economic, and family supports) and community resources to create an early childhood system of care that is responsive to the needs of caregivers and families with young children.
Our “North Star,” the population result that guides our work, is that all Children Are Ready for Kindergarten; our work is to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools support families and children by creating the conditions that position all for success.
We are guided by a “whole community, whole family, whole child” policy and programming approach to our work. First 5 uses lessons learned from our investments, research and data, and partnerships to inform policy positions and influence local, state, and national decision-making.
We recognize that the context of lived experience is essential to impactful investment, program design, and policy advocacy, and we support the efforts of families, caregivers, and communitybased organizations to that end. We have a multi-year investment in place-based initiatives, and we have funded community engagement work, including summer pre-kindergarten programs, alongside Alameda County’s school districts. We have partnered with community providers and pediatricians to support families’ concerns about their child’s development and access to resources. We provide technical assistance and infrastructure support to the early childhood education field and community-based providers. We invest in father-friendly programming and systems so men and dads are not excluded from conversations affecting their children.
“First 5 policy efforts focus on systems change, particularly across sectors, with an intention to shift the conditions that hold problems in place, in order to achieve meaningful and lasting social change.”
-First 5 Association 2022-24 Strategic Plan
We routinely assess and evaluate our efforts to identify areas for improvement, capacity building, and where there are gaps in the early childhood system, we strive to fund and scale promising programs and proven interventions. Where possible, we integrate and align our activities to improve equitable access to better serve the needs of Alameda County families.
Since 2008, First 5 has benchmarked results for our county’s children by conducting a biannual Kindergarten Readiness Community Study. Results have shown very little improvement over time and consistently point to the countervailing impact of systemic inequities—socioeconomics, community conditions, and limited enrollment in early education as barriers to kindergarten readiness.
Since 1998, First 5 Alameda County has:
• Raised $43.6 million from philanthropic and other funding sources
• Earned $24 million from federal fiscal leveraging
• Awarded $295.5 million to community partners and agencies
The findings and recommendations in the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Community Study indicate a drop in readiness since the pandemic from 44% to 33%, according to parents, and reinforce a systems-based approach to early childhood that centers on equity and basic needs. First 5’s programming, investments, and policy agenda are multipronged and cross Place, People, and Policy to improve conditions in the areas we support— Neighborhoods, Health & Well-Being, Learning & Care, and Family.
Defining Systems Building
Systems initiatives are organized efforts to improve a system and its impacts. They can be publicly or privately funded or a combination of the two. Systems initiatives in the early childhood field may have different labels, such as systems building, systems change, or systems reform. Yet systems initiatives are best understood by their focus or by the areas of the system they are trying to improve. Specifically, an early childhood systems initiative might focus on one or more of the following five areas: From the Early Childhood Systems
Context:
Improving the political context that surrounds the system so it produces the policy and funding changes needed to create and sustain it
Components:
Establishing high-performance programs and services that produce results for children and families
Connections:
Creating strong linkages across system components that further improve results for children and families
Infrastructure: Developing the support systems needed to function effectively and with quality
Scale: Ensuring a comprehensive system is available to as many people as possible
EVOLVING THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEM OF CARE
Within the Early Childhood System, our role is to:
FUND organizations and initiatives that are mission- and vision-aligned, and part of a community-based, family-informed early childhood system.
PARTNER with parents, caregivers, communities, early childhood providers, organizations, and public agencies in service to an accessible, effective, and responsive early childhood system.
ADMINISTER programs for young children and families that offer services, navigation, and care coordination; support and connections to resources; and training and capacity building for providers.
ADVOCATE to scale and sustain effective programs and for public policies grounded in equity and justice.
Figure 1. An early childhood system of care cultivates community and family conditions for children’s kindergarten readiness.
After taking inventory of our impact, local system opportunities, and the needs of families and children in the 2017–2022 strategic plan, First 5:
• Integrated signature programs into larger systems when applicable and sunset programs when appropriate
• Launched substantial investments in community-directed, place-based efforts
• Increased the agency’s focus and capacity in policy advocacy, research, and data for action
• Identified public system partners to scale proven strategies, including Early Care and Education (ECE), Pediatric Care Coordination, Fatherhood, and ECE CalWORKs Apprenticeship
Alameda County’s context and our analysis of the public policy levers by which conditions for families can be improved have informed our embrace of equity as the center of our work. Coupled with a decline in Proposition 10 tobacco revenues, First 5 has adopted a systems change approach strategy—acting as a funder and a policy advocate—to address the underlying structural issues (the root causes) that face communities, families, and children.
Since the adoption of the 2022-2027 strategic plan in June 2022, we have continued to leverage our expertise, infrastructure, and investments in Place, People, and Policy, allowing us to scale the past 25 years of our work to build and evolve the early childhood system. Given this, the drivers of our accomplishments and agency growth in this strategic plan update are:
1. INVESTING IN TRANSFORMATIVE SYSTEM BUILDING
• Continued to build and scale the local early childhood system with new revenue. Our fiscal outlook is strong given new funds, coupled with a clean audit and a balanced budget. While First 5 Alameda County will be experiencing significant growth in the coming year, all other First 5 agencies around the state have declining revenues and are facing layoffs and program cuts. Our colleagues throughout California, and beyond, are looking to us as a model for leveraging funding, policy advocacy, and equitycentered systems building as they manage challenging local circumstances.
At the local, state, and federal level in FY 2023-2024, we received:
$2.2M from multi-year grants from philanthropy and Child Family & Community Services (CFCS)
$1.6M from the Alameda County Social Services Agency (ACSSA) $1.6M annual allocation from Alameda Alliance for Health (AAH) $2.5M annual allocation for Medi-Cal Administrative Activities (MAA) $9.6M from California Proposition 10 (75% reduction from its inception in 1998)
$24.5M from the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund
• Adopted the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as the new Kindergarten Readiness Community Study tool. The EDI is a comprehensive tool that provides valuable insights into the conditions that support family well-being and child development. The information collected through parents/caregivers and educators will provide data down to the census tract on the conditions and will inform policy decisions and investments. The adoption of this new tool to be used in FY 2025-2026 was a collaborative decision made by all school districts involved in the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool DecisionMaking Series, a sequence of meetings that was co-chaired by Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro and First 5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos and included school district representatives and labor representation. The series culminated in the unanimous decision to adopt the EDI as the tool for future Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies. We believe the EDI will serve as a critical component in our efforts to improve local systems and conditions that support children 0-5 and their families.
• Created a Pediatric Care Coordination Division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing and capacity to reach more Alameda County children and families. We renewed funding for our Help Me Grow and DULCE programs and collaborated with local partners, including our local Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan (Alameda Alliance for Health), Alameda Health System, and the Stupski Foundation to identify additional funding sources to sustain and scale these vital programs. This work successfully increased our Alameda Alliance for Health grant award from $572,473 in fiscal year 2021-2022 to $1.59 million in fiscal year 2023-2024, an increase of $1 million.
• Continued to expand and began evaluation of the Early Education Apprentice Program. This program is an “earn and learn model” that covers tuition and permit fees for early care educators, while providing on-the-job training, as well as stipends and additional supports like tutoring and child care. It is an exemplary model of a public-private partnership as the program is jointly funded by the Alameda County Social Services Agency, First 5 Alameda County, and Tipping Point Community. This is the type of public policy infrastructure necessary to support continued growth in our local early care and education delivery system.
• Continued to offer training to providers. First 5 disseminates best practices to professionals working with young children in mental health, early education, health, family support, and administration. In FY 2022-2023, we provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field, and we distributed $288,430 in professional development and training stipends to ECE professionals and caregivers participating in First 5’s Quality Counts program.
• Continued to fund Project DULCE at Highland Hospital. Families enrolled in the program receive enhanced support in which a family specialist in the pediatric setting supports connection of the families to needed resources, including legal support. More than 160 families were enrolled and received support in FY 2022-2023.
• Restructured the agency and conducted hiring to build the staff capacity and infrastructure needed to administer substantial new public funds. Spurred by the Oakland Children’s Initiative and Measure C, we have been proactively building an organization prepared to manage the significant system building legislatively mandated by these new public resources. Since fiscal year 2022-2023, we added 34 new positions in various areas throughout the agency, including programs, operations, finance, compliance, technology, data and evaluation, planning, communications, and government affairs and policy. The hiring and structural changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we enter a 3-to-5-year building phase. We seek to retain and recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity and cultural fabric of Alameda County, support staff development and professional growth, ensure regulatory compliance, and effectively implement existing and new initiatives.
• Continued centering equity in our programming, investments, and advocacy and intentionally engaging in dialogue regarding organizational culture. First 5 has used equity to inform our work since our founding in 1998. Over the years, we have intentionally built upon and strengthened this commitment, including in our 2017-2022 and 2022-2027 strategic plans. As part of our evolution in fiscal year 2022-2023, we engaged in a participatory agencywide learning and development process to
update our equity statement to encompass our current work, intentions for continuous learning and improvement, and commitment to accountability (see page 21). In fiscal year 2023-2024, our agency took an important step in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by engaging in all-staff trainings on unconscious bias. The trainings, led by Dr. Sacha Joseph-Mathews, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Stanislaus State University, equipped employees with fundamental knowledge, tools, and resources to identify, address, and minimize unconscious bias in their dealings with fellow team members and stakeholders.
• Ensuring that our governing body represents our commitment to community-directed investments by appointing a representative of a parent/community-based building group as a First 5 Commissioner.
3. EVOLVING TO MORE COMMUNITY-CENTERED PROGRAMMING
Launched key programmatic and community investments, including:
• A new division of Pediatric Care Coordination encompassing our existing family serving programs out of pediatric health settings, including Help Me Grow’s developmental screening, outreach, referral, and navigation and the DULCE’s model health, resource, and legal supports.
• A strategic parent partnership program focused on supporting Black mothers and birthing people and on investing in community-based strategies to disrupt inequities and disparities in birth outcomes with a focus on lactation supports for Black birthing people.
Reached key programmatic and community investment milestones, including:
• Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) initiative grantees engaged in a yearlong facilitated strategic planning process with Cities and People Advisors to identify each site’s community-directed multi-year priorities and develop strategic work plans and data profiles to implement their priorities. This process also fostered alignment with Oakland Thrives’ Rise East Initiative, a placed-based investment that is on the precipice of receiving more than $100 million from philanthropic partners. Proudly, First 5’s NRFS investment was part of the foundation that made the Rise East investment by philanthropy possible.
• Alameda County Father Corps 10-Year Evaluation. The evaluation details the history and evolution of the program since its inception in 2013, the impacts on fathers and father figures, service providers, and system leaders who are connected to the Fathers Corps, and recommendations and innovation opportunities for each of the target audiences to improve access, outcomes, and systems change. The evaluation will help the agency continue improving and evolving the program to better serve fathers and father figures and share lessons learned with other agencies who wish to implement fatherhood initiatives.
• Fatherhood Summit. Hosted more than 400 fathers and father figures in a free all-day event, where attendees engaged in workshops, activities, and trainings and connected to community resources and employment opportunities.
Alameda County’s Context: Data for Action
Alameda County’s context and our analysis of the public policy levers by which conditions for families can be improved have informed our embrace of equity as the center of our work.
Coupled with a decline in Proposition 10 tobacco revenues, First 5 has adopted a systems change approach strategy—acting as a funder and a policy advocate—to address the underlying structural issues (the root causes) that face communities, families, and children.
Alameda County Family Demographics
Approximately 71,000
households with children under age 6 (2019)1
More than 16,900 births (2021)4
1/2
More than 108,264 children under age 6 (2021)2,3
Approximately 6.4% of total population under age 6 (2021)2,3
3 out of 4
children born to mothers of color (2019)4
Nearly half of children live in households that speak a language other than English at home. (2022)6
1/2
7thmost diverse county in the United States (2020)5
Half of children under age 6 live with at least one parent who was born outside of the US. (2022)7
Realities of Families in Alameda County
Children 0-6 Enrolled in Public Benefits in Alameda County (2021)14
Medi-Cal 32,008 (28% of total children 0-6)
CalFresh 12,182 (11% of total children 0-6)
Children and women, especially those who identify as people of color, bear the brunt of structural inequities.
Approximately 1 in 10
children under 6 lives below the Federal Poverty Level. (2021)15
In Alameda County and the Bay Area, more than 1 in 3 women are caught in financial precarity.13
3 out of 4 households struggling to meet their basic needs in Alameda County have a head of household that identifies as a person of color.13
1 in 3 families struggled to afford diapers prior to the pandemic.16
increase in child care cost (2014–2021)8 $
increase in median family income (2000–2021)17 $ 68%
The cost of living continues to rise at an unsustainable rate. 48% of renters pay more than 30% of their income for rent. (2021)18 $ 30%
Structural
Inequities Lead to Racial Disparities
Maternal and Newborn Health19
Black women and birthing people are 3x more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth and to experience more maternal health complications.
Black women are 2x as likely to live in poverty during pregnancy
Access to Child Care
Black babies are 3-4x more likely to be born too early, too small, or to die before their first birthday.
Alameda County is the second most disparate county in California for children enrolled in licensed early care and education—a key driver for kindergarten readiness.20
Infant/Toddler Unmet Need for Subsidized Care (2021)21
8.8% (2,257)
Number of Eligible Children Accessing Subsidized Care
91.2%
Preschool Unmet Need for Subsidized Care (2021)21
53.7% (9,465) Number of Eligible Children Accessing Subsidized Care
46.3%
Child Care Professionals Work in a Critical and Fragile System
There is a significant need for investment and expansion in ECE licensed facilities. We estimate that the facilities cost to meet demand for licensed ECE child care in Alameda is likely in the range of $2 billion to $4 billion.22
96% of Alameda County ECE educators identify as women. (2020)13
82% of ECE educators are considered very low income for Alameda County. (2022)24
52% of ECE educators are over 50 years old.24
79% of Alameda County ECE educators identify as women of color. (2020)24
20% of providers at child care centers reported earning less than $15 per hour. (2020)23
Between March 2020 and January 2021, 153 (7%) of licensed child care facilities in Alameda County closed permanently.25 From 2019 to 2021, there were 21 fewer licensed care centers and 270 fewer family child care (FCC) sites in Alameda County.25
Child Outcomes
First 5’s 2018 longitudinal study found that four in five children who are behind in kindergarten are still behind in third grade, a predictor of high school graduation and later health and career success.26
We find that differences in kindergarten readiness are largely attributable to inequities in access to resources. The greatest movable factor continues to be child health and well-being, which is tied to socioeconomics, housing stability, and stress among parents/caregivers.27
Kindergarten Readiness (2019)27
*Zip codes with fewer than 5 participants are not shown.
**Readiness scores represent individuals living in the zip code and do not represent the overall readiness of children in that zip code.
Kindergarten Readiness 2015–201927
Since 2015, only 44% of children were found to be fully ready for school, a stubborn trend that points to the underlying structural inequities affecting children, families, and communities.
Kindergarten Readiness Zip Codes
Neighborhoods Ready for School Service Areas Alameda County COVID-19 Priority Neighborhoods
Learn more about how kindergarten readiness is assessed on our website.
Achievement gaps persist for children who are not ready for kindergarten.
4 in 5
children who are not ready for kindergarten continue to struggle academically in third grade. (2018)26
MEETING THIS MOMENT IN TIME
Kindergarten readiness studies have consistently indicated that factors predicting readiness are closely associated with socioeconomic conditions rooted in structural racism, classism, and public disinvestment in neighborhoods with primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residents.
The pandemic exacerbated persistent health and economic inequities that disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities, creating increased risks for families’ economic security, emotional well-being, educational progress, health, and safety. The long-term effects on kindergarten readiness are not yet fully understood, but in Alameda County we saw a drop in readiness from 44% to 33% in two years.
First 5 Alameda County’s 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) findings and recommendations point to systemic inequities and show how our county can reassess policies, programming, and investment in communities, families, and schools to increase kindergarten readiness. First 5 Alameda County is focused on building and evolving an equity-centered early childhood system that matches the priority areas identified in the KRA study, and the “Roadmap to Kindergarten Readiness” (see figure on page 16).
According to parents/caregivers, 33% of children were fully ready for kindergarten compared to 44% in 2019.
Structural inequities compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted children, families, and communities.
Building an equity-centered early childhood system that centers a whole community, whole family, whole child approach to improve kindergarten readiness is essential to the current and future overall health of Alameda County.
It will require the prioritization, commitment, and investment of a cross-section of partners, including public systems, community-based organizations, parent advocates and leaders, and philanthropic organizations. T-o this end, First 5 funds, partners, administers, and advocates to ensure that families have what they need at every stop along the “Road to Kindergarten Readiness” and that systems are prepared to meet the needs of children, families, and communities.
SUMMARY
OF STRATEGIC PLAN PARTNER FEEDBACK
We are building on the partner feedback from our 2021-22 planning process (see Appendix B), which highlighted priorities for supporting families and providers, and for First 5 and public systems, including:
• Build/evolve the early childhood system.
• Families and communities have strengths to build upon and should be valued, listened to, and leveraged.
• Underlying structural inequities by race and class are impacting families, providers, and communities.
Our system partner, Oakland Thrives, encapsulated our partner feedback succinctly at a November 2022 in-person gathering with this statement:
“We are “program rich and systems poor.” We have a wealth of programs and opportunities for children, youth, and families in Oakland, but realizing the promise of those programs at neighborhood or citywide scale relies on collaboration, innovation, and alignment of public and private sector leaders, systems, and resources.
We have hosted local, state, and national leaders to support our learning journey, including in March 2023 an all-staff presentation by Dr. Manuel Pastor, who was also the keynote speaker at the 2023 First 5 Association state annual summit focused on systems change.
““There is no going back to a normal that did not work for so many. We do not need a recovery but a reimagination, restructuring, and renewal that challenges inequality and lifts commonality.”
- Dr. Manuel Pastor, speaking to First 5 Alameda County All-Staff meeting, March 9, 2023
First 5 is guided by a “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach to our work. With our role as administrators of Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) ballot measures, new sources of revenue are available for critical early childhood programming and system building. With these new investments, First 5 can reallocate Proposition 10 funds to return to source resources for BIPOC communities, lowincome communities, and neighborhoods that have experienced historic and ongoing disinvestment and wealth extraction.
Looking ahead for fiscal year 2024-25, First 5 Alameda County will continue making progress on:
1. Implementing the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative (Measure C) and continuing our administration of the Oakland Children’s Initiative.
2. Updating and operationalizing the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan according to the agency’s expansion and system building efforts for a whole community, whole family, whole child approach
OUR APPROACH
We will be successful when all children in Alameda County are ready for kindergarten.
Our work is to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools are ready to support families and children to position them for life-long educational success, health, and well-being.
We have learned a lot over the last 25 years about the connection between community conditions and children’s outcomes, and our learning was reinforced again this past year with the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Given our mission, the consistent KRA findings, and our analysis of opportunities for impact, we have adopted a Place, People, Policy framework to guide our investment in children and families toward building an equity-centered early childhood system:
PLACE
We believe that the health and well-being of children and their families are strongly influenced by the social and economic conditions of their neighborhoods. Strong, supportive communities help children and families thrive. We invest in programs and policies that promote economically prosperous and vibrant environments that afford access to opportunities and promote well-being by:
• Building on Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) place-based investments
• Integrating services across First 5’s targeted neighborhoods, in alignment with Alameda County’s priority zip codes
• Strengthening place-based systems change and care coordination for families in NRFS sites
“What really matters is childhood environment, rather than where you live as an adult. Every extra year of exposure to a positive childhood environment makes a significant impact on long-term outcomes.”
– Dr. Raj Chetty
From Dr. Chetty’s presentation as part of the 2021 First 5 Alameda County Commission Speaker Series
PEOPLE
We believe caregivers are the experts on their needs and the needs of their children and families. We work with them to identify their strengths, resources, and needs. We partner with them to reinforce their family and community supports and improve the effectiveness of our investments by:
• Investing in parent partnership and leadership
• Connecting families to basic needs and resources
• Increasing access to affordable, quality child care options that meet the needs of low-to-moderate-income families in Oakland and Alameda County as mandated by the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
• Supporting educators and education systems to promote success for children by providing educators with wages, facilities resources, workforce development, coaching, and technical assistance
• Promoting early screening and care coordination to address social-emotional, trauma, or developmental concerns
“The financial and material hardships households are experiencing are negatively impacting children because they are disrupting the well-being of caregivers.”
– Dr. Philip Fisher, RAPID-EC
“We would want anyone working with children to be healthy and supported and as present with children as they possibly can be. We have to provide the conditions for them to do so.”
– Dr. Lea Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley
• Fostering family well-being through innovative parent-centered programming
• Maintaining comprehensive, quality early childhood training content to providers, parents/caregivers, and community in line with our commitment to equity
POLICY
We believe that our policy work should address structural racism and childhood poverty and their impact on child development and family well-being. Furthermore, our policy work is most effective when families are engaged in its development and active in a leadership role. We believe that data, research, and evaluation should be conducted in partnership with the community, informing an action agenda for advocacy and organizing. We believe that public systems should be accessible, effective, and responsive to families’ needs. We take a systems change approach by advancing solutions that move the early childhood system from a patchwork of services to an integrated ecosystem. We build an equity-centered early childhood system of care by:
• Measuring continuous improvement in service to equity
• Evolving quality early care and education and capacity-building for the field
• Expanding local pediatric strategies and systems care coordination capabilities (through Help Me Grow and DULCE)
Using data and policy advocacy to advance local, state, and national investments in people, place, and systems
• Preparing the agency to administer The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) and other local, state, and federal funding initiatives
• Advancing policies and supports for early childcare workers’ professional development, workforce diversification, and equitable compensation and working conditions that support providers and quality care
With this scaffolding in place, First 5 Alameda County is well-positioned to build out an equitycentered early childhood system. We will continue this transformation by partnering with parents, caregivers, community, providers, and public systems to address the underlying inequities. We will leverage the assets in Alameda County and seize the opportunity of once-in-a-generation federal, state, and local investments to build a more integrated early childhood system.
COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
First 5 is committed to being an anti-racist organization.
Our 2017–2022 strategic plan explicitly named equity as a central component of our work. Inequity negatively impacts the health and well-being of children and families. We promote equity in our organization and within the community broadly. Equity informs our hiring, staff development, investments, training, community partnerships, program design, approach to data, research, and evaluation, and policy advocacy.
Our equity work is an ongoing march toward justice and equality. In 2017 and 2018, we adopted resolutions opposing inhumane immigration practices and the enforcement of threats to immigrant families by the federal government. In June 2020, the First 5 Alameda County Commission reaffirmed this commitment to equity by adopting a resolution on equity and social justice to stand united with our Black and African American colleagues, partners, and the entire Black community against racism in all its forms. We consider these resolutions as public commitments by which we hold ourselves accountable.
In 2022, we committed to an agencywide process to create a shared understanding of equity to capture our current work, intentions for continuous learning and improvement, and commitment to accountability. A key consideration is how best to utilize our role within the Early Childhood System of Care to operationalize our shared understanding of equity. We do this by using the population result that guides our work—that all children are ready for kindergarten—to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools support families and children by creating the conditions that position all for success.
During the Fall of 2022 to Spring 2023, First 5 Alameda County partnered with Radicle Root Collective with learning from Arnold Chandler to engage all staff in a participatory process to articulate our shared understanding of and commitment to equity.
EQUITY STATEMENT
First 5 Alameda County is committed to being an equity-centered, anti-racist, and anti-classist organization. We recognize that we operate in a racialized economic system characterized by extractive and exploitative labor practices and public policies that perpetuate long-standing disparate life outcomes. To this end, we use anti-racist and equity-based practices to invest in and support children, families, and neighborhoods. Our Place, People, Policy framework intentionally prioritizes our investments in communities that have experienced historic and systemic racism and disinvestment.
As a part of this commitment, we use our resources to redress these injustices by:
• Celebrating Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cultures and honoring their assets, values, and needs by ensuring investments, programs, data, and policy work is directed by and reflects the richness and needs of these communities
• Prioritizing the needs of low-to-moderate-income families and neighborhoods with historical disinvestment
• Addressing root causes through the administration of public funds, advocacy, and operationalization of public policy
• Interrupting inequities that impact the conditions needed for kindergarten readiness
• Ensuring that our investments, policies, practices, and Agency culture are aligned with our equity principles
We acknowledge that our unconscious and conscious bias impacts our practices. Therefore, we are committed to deepening our understanding of how power, wealth, and opportunity imbalances appear in policies, communities, organizations, and interpersonal relationships. We can only do this as lifelong learners with a growth mindset focused on transformative change. We commit to continuous improvement and to hold ourselves accountable to operationalize this statement and our principles.
In addition to our co-created Equity Statement, we are adopting the “Guiding Principles for Federal Action on Racial Equity” developed by national leaders PolicyLink and Race Forward to further articulate our intentions. The statement and principles are consistent with our systems approach and will be operationalized into each of our strategies.
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE 1
UNDERSTAND THE PAST, THE PRESENT, & YOUR INFLUENCE
Understand and cknowledge the federal, state, and local* government’s role in impacting society at a wide scale to this day— whether positive, negative, or seemingly neutral
PRINCIPLE 2
CONSISTENTLY ADDRESS ROOT DRIVERS
Target the fundamental root drivers of gaps and inequities and prioritize the people who have traditionally been excluded, recognizing these investments will benefit all
PRINCIPLE 3
WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IMPACT IN RELEVANT COMMUNITIES
bLeverage the xpertise and experiences of all to promote equity, particularly leaders of color and their communities
PRINCIPLE 4
ADOPT A CONTINUOUS LEARNING & ADAPTIVE APPROACH
Acknowledge that the scale and complexity of reaching racial equity will require ongoing commitment, action, and adjustments to drive meaningful change and strengthen our democracy
PRINCIPLE 5
BE TRANSPARENT & ACCOUNTABLE
Build public trust and accountability in the long-term commitment for racial equity through data-driven decisionmaking and outcome tracking
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
In conjunction with our agencywide equity work, First 5 Alameda County will refine its partner engagement approach and practices.
We define partnership as the authentic and intentional work to develop responsive and reciprocal practices and relationships—with parents, caregivers, providers, and community so that our strategies reflect a collective community vision.
Through our practices, we will increase parent and community engagement to promote equity and broader systems change. This agencywide commitment is represented in all our strategies, and we are nurturing our continued growth in this area to fulfill our commitment.
In the years ahead, we commit to:
• Adopting agency principles for partner engagement in all facets of our work. We are examining existing models and frameworks, including those introduced via the First 5 Association, the Ripples of Transformation, the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s manifesto for parent engagement, as well as frameworks adopted by other public agencies, to inform the development of agency principles
• Engaging in a cross-agency effort to operationalize shared principles and goals to align our work, ensure operational equity, and focus the direction of partner engagement
• Assessing our current approach and practices including resources to support parent, community, and partner participation
• Providing the necessary resources and capacity to support this agencywide initiative
• Adopting community advisory and governance mechanisms as mandated by legislation to administer funding from the Oakland Children’s Initiative and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
2022–2031 STRATEGIC PLAN PARAMETERS & FINANCIAL PICTURE
First 5 Alameda County identified the following planning assumptions and parameters, approved by the Commission to guide the development of this document. THEY ARE:
• Continue to diversify revenue to support building an equity-centered early childhood system, including partnerships with the county managed care plan, Social Services Agency, Health Care Services Agency, and other public entities to scale First 5 Alameda County programs fundamental to an early childhood system. This includes leveraging our infrastructure (financial, contract, staff expertise) to build out an equity-centered early childhood system.
• Proposition 10 has been shoring up the early childhood system in preparation for the type of public investments we are now seeing from our managed care plan to support pediatric care coordination, the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA), and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) for early care and education.
• We have temporarily used our sustainability fund to offset Proposition 10 reductions while planning for diversified revenue sources and scale of successful programs.
• New public funding preserves the flexible Proposition 10 funding to resource the early childhood system, for example investments in birth equity programs and advocacy supporting the “family” part of the system.
• Utilize a largely contracted and community-based, equity-focused model for Proposition 10-funded activities, including direct services. Available Proposition 10 funds can be used to support proof-of-concept strategies for policy and systems change and provide funding to community-led initiatives. As a declining revenue source, it is not a sustainable funding stream to scale direct services staffed by First 5 Alameda County, or those we consider part of the county safety net.
Stakeholder Interviews
More than 40 partner interviews of county and community leaders.
Strategic Planning Process
Parent focus groups in English, Spanish, and Chinese, including parents with children with special needs, and one group speci cally for fathers.
First 5 Comissioners Commission engagement and adoption of strategic direction.
First 5 Staff
All-sta participation in multiple large and small group settings.
Parent Focus Groups
First 5 Leadership
First 5 leadership established the planning parameters and held retreats and working sessions throughout the process as feedback came in.
Prop 10 Revenue 1999-2027
ACTUAL & PROJECTED PROP 10 REVENUE IN MILLIONS
Source: First 5 California, March 2023
Prop 10 revenue shows a steady decline, with some variation and plateauing based on tobacco legislation.
Long Range Financial Plan FY 2022-2031
BUDGET & FUND BALANCE IN MILLIONS
We are temporarily using our sustainability fund to support a steady state so as not to reduce capacity as we anticipate the continued build-out of the early childhood system supported by local public agencies and philanthropy.
LOCAL REVENUE FOR EARLY CARE & EDUCATION
Additional Resources Create Opportunity
The past five years have been a high-water mark for legislation and funding to address the divide in access to early care and education, healthcare, and social services in California. Both California and Alameda County are making significant investments in children and families. At the state level, California is implementing an unprecedented set of initiatives to redesign its social safety net, including Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), though their implementation may be delayed or scaled back due to the State’s budget deficit.
In Alameda County, there are two active ballot measures related to early care and education (see Appendix C for more details):
1. The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) was passed in November 2018 and upheld by the courts in 2021. The Oakland Children’s Initiative is funded by a parcel tax projected to provide approximately $30 million annually in funding for early care and education and college preparedness programs for Oakland residents. In December 2022, First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative
2. The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), a countywide measure, was passed by voters in March 2020 and names First 5 Alameda County as the administering agency of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education portion of the revenue. The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County is expected to raise approximately $150M annually for early care and education. The Measure was upheld by the courts in April 2024. In fiscal year 2024-25, First 5 will begin a year of planning to develop the initial five-year program plan and budget for approval by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
Given these federal and state policy initiatives, local ballot measures, and the groundbreaking partnership with the Alameda Alliance for Health, First 5 Alameda County is uniquely positioned for growth and sustainability when compared to its sister organizations. The new local revenue and scaling of programs, by tapping into federal and state allocations, afford an opportunity to reimagine a more equitable early childhood system. In doing so our lessons learned and local success could very well serve as a model for state and federal policies that recognize and invest in child care and the labor of providers as the public good that they are.
Local Ballot Measures, First 5 & Alameda County’s Early Childhood System
First 5 Alameda County commits to the responsible stewardship of these precious public resources, in partnership with the City of Oakland, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, community governance and advisory bodies, and other early care and education partners, particularly parents/caregivers and early care and education professionals. The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) will benefit Oakland and Alameda County’s early childhood system of care broadly and will impact First 5 Alameda County as the county’s only governmental agency solely dedicated to families/caregivers with children 0-5 by:
• Aligning new investment with our current investments and providing resources for backbone support to the early childhood system
• Allowing us to leverage our subject matter expertise, community partnerships, and infrastructure
• Facilitating integration with our programming and fiscal leveraging of Proposition 10, Measure AA, and Measure C, in addition to federal, state, local, and philanthropic funds
• Leveraging the flexible Proposition 10 dollars to fund components of the early childhood system (e.g., birth equity, neighborhood investments)
• Shifting our role, budget, operations, scale (i.e., staff and contracts), and community and public partnerships
Readying Our County for Systems Change
The intention is for First 5 Alameda County to leverage our agency infrastructure to implement the mandates in the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), and to coordinate federal, state, and local funding streams to build a more coordinated, efficient, effective, and equity-centered early childhood system in Alameda County.
The systems change opportunities for the early care and education system locally are profound. Measures AA and C will significantly increase the amount of revenue the Alameda County early care and education system receives from the state and federal sources for child care and early learning. The community, providers, and public systems partners will all play a significant role in the implementation of the measure.
First 5 Alameda County preparations to administer the local ballot measures required the agency to review its competencies, capabilities, and capacity to perform this expanded role. Preparing our organization for growth was a top priority in 2022 and 2023. This has included evolving the organizational infrastructure, bringing in resources to manage substantial organizational change, and successfully hiring critical positions. The hiring and structural changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we have entered a three-to-five-year building phase.
With the courts’ final decision in 2024 to uphold Measure C, First 5 may now begin implementation of the measure, which will start with orienting and staffing a Community Advisory Council (CAC) to advise First 5 on the development of a five-year program plan and budget to govern the use of funds allocated to the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account (80% of Measure C funds). This plan and budget must be approved by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
To ready the agency and shore up the early childhood system in anticipation of Measure C, First 5 Alameda County has been planning, with community and partners, in the areas of:
Community, Family, and Provider Engagement and Outreach
With support from national experts and consultants we began designing our community engagement framework. We are internally vetting this framework for continued guidance of our community partnership efforts. In addition:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we embarked on a series of informational Oakland Children’s Initiative and Measure C presentations to share updates and information with community, parents, providers, and partners.
Facilities
Utilizing findings from our Facilities Needs Assessment to inform the infrastructure and space needed to offer high-quality early care and education programming:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a contractor for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund and Technical Assistance program.
Financial Landscape
Analyzing existing state and federal early care and education funding, children served, and expenditures to inform implementation of Measure C:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024 we began working with national experts to support financial forecasting.
Quality Supports
Supporting and advancing quality supports for early care and education providers, including family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) caregivers, in meeting their identified quality goals. Supports include coaching, professional development, technical assistance, training, etc.
Research and Evaluation
• In fiscal year 2023-2024 a countywide table of school district representatives was convened to identify a common policy-focused tool for measuring Kindergarten Readiness countywide. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) was selected as the tool for future Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies.
Technology, Data Systems
Assessing and planning for technology and data systems that promote and monitor the effectiveness of local strategies, including the mandated evaluation; integrating information on subsidies, quality, and the ECE workforce:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Technology Development Liaison to assist in the development of requirements for an early care and education centralized eligibility and enrollment system and a data warehouse system.
Workforce Strategies
Partnering with the field to develop workforce strategies to attract, train, retain, and promote early care and education professionals, including a landscape analysis to prioritize investments.
PROGRAM STRATEGIES
Overview
Since 2017, First 5 Alameda County has strategically enhanced its organizational capacity to engage in systems building by:
1) Increasing organizational capacity to center community needs and voices
2) Engaging in policy advocacy
3) Leveraging federal, state, and local funds to ensure sustainability and scale of programming vital to an early childhood system
The evolution of our method of systems building has required us to take a multi-pronged approach, incorporating place-based investments, administration of programs, and building policy, data, evaluation, and communications capacity to articulate impact and advocate for resources.28
Using the Place, People, Policy implementation framework, First 5 Alameda County is catalyzing increased access to services and supporting family-friendly community conditions. This enabled us to be nimble in our response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, alongside support of building an equity-centered early childhood system in service to community, family, and child well-being.
Neighborhoods Ready for School
PURPOSE
Thriving neighborhoods are an essential component of an early childhood system. First 5’s Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) strategy is a place-based investment, asset building, and policy response to the relationship and interplay between neighborhood conditions, family and child well-being, and the structural factors that contribute to overall health, development, and school readiness. The NRFS strategy funds trusted community-based organizations using an equity index to prioritize neighborhoods with young children that have been historically marginalized due to racist, classist systems and policies.
Our 2019 Kindergarten Readiness study confirmed the importance of this place-based approach. We found that neighborhood assets, especially the presence of mutual support among community members, along with sidewalks, walking paths, and libraries, significantly boost children’s school readiness.29 Families earning at least $50,000 per year were significantly more likely than lower income families to report the availability of each asset in their neighborhood. Higher income families reported 6.1–6.7 assets in their neighborhoods, while lower income families reported 4.5–5.5 assets. Children in both low-income families and higher-income families had significantly higher kindergarten readiness if they also lived in asset-rich neighborhoods.
The NRFS strategy employs a trust-based philanthropy model that recognizes and prioritizes the knowledge and wisdom of those who live and work within communities. Community partners are best positioned to define their own needs, appropriate responses, and their role in policy advocacy.
The key principles guiding this place-based community capacity building and infrastructure are:
• Strengthening economic supports and basic needs, food and supply distribution in service to systems change
• Increasing coordination of family services across systems, family navigation, and connection to resources
• Directing early childhood programs and services, including virtual supports
• Expanding the physical infrastructure to promote safe spaces for young children and their families
• Fostering family leadership and civic engagement
• Building partnerships among community organizations and government
• Supporting policy advocacy efforts catalyzed and led by residents
GOALS
1. Work with NRFS sites to implement the strategies developed in response to the priorities and needs identified by the community as part of the facilitated strategic planning process completed in fiscal year 2023-2024.
2. Concentrate First 5 programs in NRFS catchment areas to leverage investments and generate multiplier effect across the neighborhoods.
3. Develop an essential data set for reporting and analysis to understand impact, identify areas for continuous improvement, and ease the reporting burden on grantees.
4. Invest in school district, service provider capacity and partnerships, and community infrastructure that supports families (housing, libraries, parks) and kindergarten readiness.
5. In collaboration with NRFS agencies use the qualitative and quantitative data collected from neighborhood partners and other sources to advocate for policy and systems changes that will help to improve conditions for families with young children.
6. Showcase successes and local stories that demonstrate effectiveness to support sustainability of the NRFS models.
Early Care and Education (ECE)
PURPOSE
Early Care and Education (ECE) is a cornerstone of the early childhood system and a vital part of the local economy. However, the field has historically been under-resourced and underappreciated.
Participation in ECE is a leading factor in predicting kindergarten readiness, as research has shown that participation in ECE significantly narrowed readiness gaps.29 Our biannual Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies have consistently found less than half of children in Alameda County are fully ready for kindergarten, largely due to socioeconomics tied to structural racism, with particular consequences for African-American and Latinx children.
Affordability is a major barrier to accessing ECE. The cost of child care has risen 68% since 2014; a family of four in Alameda County with a preschooler and an infant pays one-third of their income toward child care costs.13 At the same time, there is a significant gap in access to subsidies for income-eligible families with an unmet need in 2018 of 91% of eligible infants and 46% of eligible preschool children in Alameda County.21 The pandemic worsened existing inequities, with families facing historic levels of job loss, school and child care closures, and food insecurity.
ECE professionals are an underpaid and aging workforce, with high attrition rates. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Alameda County ECE professionals, 79% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or other women of color, are considered very low-income for the county.24 Across the county, the number of licensed family child care providers declined by 34% between 2007 and 2019.21 These operational challenges increased durig the pandemic. We estimate that the Alameda County ECE field lost $395 million in fiscal year 2020-2021 alone ($220 million without taking into consideration the increased cost of providing care) and these losses are expected to continue in the current fiscal year.30
To better support families and educators and to improve the spaces where students learn, Alameda County voters made significant investments in children and families through their support of two local ballot measures—the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C). As the implementation partner and administrator of these measures, First 5 is taking on the complex and deeply fragmented system that has traditionally patched together early education in Alameda County and is now serving as the public system backbone to these initiatives.
GOALS
1. Work with partners to design, administer, and implement programmatic strategies for two local child care measures—the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C).
2. Co-design with community, families, and provider partners a more equity-informed approach to the early learning and care ecosystem inclusive of the full mixed delivery system.
3. Shift First 5’s resources from formal assessment and rating to support early learning and care professionals in coordinated training, coaching, mentorship, professional learning communities, curriculum support, stipends, and other financial supports, where allowable.
4. Provide core infrastructure support to the local Quality Counts California activities in Alameda County and maintain county readiness for additional partnership and funding opportunities.
5. Increase the number of FCC and FFN providers participating in Quality Counts, especially those serving low-income, dual-language learners, children with special needs, and children experiencing homelessness.
6. Expand partnerships with community organizations and public agencies such as parks and recreation departments and libraries to serve children outside of formal care settings, while identifying ways to increase and improve place-based support for FFNs and FCCs in Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) settings/neighborhoods.
7. Increase collaboration and integration between ECE and other First 5 programs and investments, including NRFS, Help Me Grow, Parent Partnership, and Fatherhood.
8. Leverage and streamline, in partnership with Data and Evaluation staff, the local use of ECE data systems, including Hubbe and the California ECE Workforce Registry, to strengthen the collection of data and to better support planning, data decolonization, and tools for community partners and the ECE field.
9. Based on the ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, develop and implement strategies to increase capacity and quality of facilities and infrastructure in key areas of unmet need.**
10. Monitor, in partnership with Government Affairs and Policy staff, the implementation of TK-Universal Pre-K and support plans that incorporate best practices for meeting family and children’s needs and support the mixed delivery system.
11. Based on the workforce landscape study, in partnership with the Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council, Alameda County Office of Education, and community partners, develop and implement county strategies for leveraging state and local resources to address the well-being of the ECE workforce (e.g., career pathways, wages and benefits, quality jobs, etc.)**
Parent Partnership
PURPOSE
Family Leadership is one of the core components of an early childhood system, as it enhances parents’ leadership and advocacy in early childhood programs and at home. First 5’s redefined Parent Partnership strategy invests in direct services to families and children with a focus on maternal and child health and the 0-3 years and uses parent leadership to inform programming and investments. The Parent Partnership strategy increases access and reduces disparities stemming from inequities through program design, investments, and systems partnerships.
Inequities in policies, systems, and practices with roots in structural racism have an impact on families and children. Black women and birthing people are three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth and to experience more maternal health complications.19 Black babies are three to four times more likely to be born too early, too small, or to die before their first birthday.19 Given the deep disparities and recognizing that the period from birth to age five is a critical time for children and families, First 5 is committed to programming, investments, and engagements that seek to improve underlying structural conditions and outcomes.
The revised Parent Partnership strategy includes: 1) formulating parent-advised investments in programs, supports, and services that promote equity in birth outcomes, maternal and child health, family well-being, and kindergarten readiness, 2) ensuring parents representing the diversity of languages in Alameda County can be active partners through interpretation and translation, and 3) building partnerships with maternal and child health-serving agencies and organizations.
GOALS 1. Collaborate with parents and systems partners to define type of investment, program approach, and guiding frameworks to increase focus on birth equity, Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality, and promoting equity in the 0-3 space. **
2. Assess First 5’s Cultural Access Services (CAS) structure within the agency to best meet the diverse interpretation and translation needs of families, providers, and contractors. **
3. Identify emerging opportunities, legislative and budgetary, related to maternal health and birth equity to scale promising programs and supports and to inform program design, policy advocacy, and the evolution of the local early childhood system.
4. Employ data and lessons learned in collaboration with parents, staff, and partners to:**
i. Advocate for scaling of DULCE, and the importance of legal, medical, and social services partnerships to address the social determinants of health.
ii. Demonstrate how parent partnership initiatives have improved outcomes for children and families to make a case for sustainability and systems change.
Pediatric Care Coordination
PURPOSE
Comprehensive Health and Development is a key component of the early childhood system. First 5’s Pediatric Care Coordination (PCC) strategy focuses on achieving a common goal that all children in Alameda County grow up healthy, thriving, and strong. Decades of national research has demonstrated that early childhood development and overall well-being is affected by the social determinants of health including community and environmental conditions, racism, poverty, stress, relationships, access to resources, and education.
There are more than 32,000 low-income children under age 6 enrolled in Medi-Cal in Alameda County.14 While Alameda County has been a state leader in enrolling income-eligible children in public health coverage, approximately one in three are not engaging in or receiving regular pediatric preventive care, including but not limited to well-child care and early childhood screenings.31 Approximately 85% of children served through Help Me Grow, First 5’s centerpiece program of this strategy, are insured through Medi-Cal, and 20% of families served were also referred to services for basic needs, such as food, housing, health care, and child care.32
Given this landscape, the primary goal of this strategy is to connect and integrate public and community screening, referral, and response resources. Our focus is to engage, assess, and connect children, especially Medi-Cal enrolled families, to pediatric preventative care, medically necessary services, and community-based programming and support.
Fundamental to this strategy is maximizing the family’s pediatric visits. Pediatric visits are an entry point to care management, resource referral, and other community supports. Research has shown that expanding community-based care management improves overall family health and wellbeing.33
The PCC strategy fosters collaboration with community partners to leverage data and develop targeted strategies to fill service gaps, reduce barriers, and advance racial equity, thereby ensuring equitable access to supports and benefits.
First 5 adopted the nationally recognized Help Me Grow model as the primary implementation framework for the PCC strategy. The HMG program provides:
• Training and technical assistance to providers serving the Medi-Cal pediatric population (0-5) in Alameda County
• Implementation and referral assistance to pediatric and early child care and education providers with recommended developmental, social-emotional, and/or Adverse Childhood Experiences Screenings (ACEs)
• Multilingual access to HMG’s Central Access Point to provide support and care coordination to parents/caregivers for families of children with an identified need for developmental, behavioral, or other resources and services
• Outreach and convenings to build a coordinated network of services and promote awareness of HMG
GOALS
1. Build a menu of navigation services to provide support to families enrolled in Medi-Cal and other insurance for referrals to early intervention, community resources, family support, and basic needs.
2. Recommend strategies for increasing agency and HMG community capacity to address unmet needs, with a focus on First 5’s Neighborhoods Ready for School catchment areas and other high need areas in the county.
3. Enhance the scope of Help Me Grow program training, screening, and resource referral activities to include social needs, support for pregnant and parenting populations, and those who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with a particular emphasis on children insured through Medi-Cal.**
4. Expand outreach and education that increases providers’, community-based organizations’, and partner agencies’ understanding of individual and community conditions (such as social determinants of health and protective factors) that impact child development, well-being, and kindergarten readiness.
5. Assess opportunities and risks associated with funding streams that support Early Identification, Screening, and Care Coordination, particularly the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program.**
6. Develop strategy and approach to enhance partnerships with early childhood system providers across health and education agencies, including Alameda Alliance for Health, Health Care Services Agency, Regional Center, and Local Educational Agencies to better connect supports and improve experiences for families.
7. Align and expand care coordination through pediatric delivery system programs and partnerships (e.g., HMG and Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone, DULCE).
8. Assess opportunities for care coordination through early care and education, particularly with the expansion of Universal Transitional Kindergarten.
9. Evaluate new technology solutions, beginning with resource directory and referral platforms, to support improved coordination and communication among parents/ families, providers, managed care plans, and First 5.
Fatherhood
PURPOSE
First 5’s Fatherhood program is a unique approach to the early childhood system of care’s family leadership principles. Historically, early childhood and family and community support programs have focused on serving mothers and children; in most cases, this unintentionally leaves fathers and father-figures out of the equation. The Fatherhood program raises awareness of the benefits of the active role that fathers and father-figures have in early childhood development. We have focused on strengthening collaboration with public systems and community-based organizations to promote and acknowledge the critical roles fathers and father-figures can play. To increase acceptance of and the experiences of fathers and father-figures participating in child development activities, First 5 sponsors training, support groups, and technical assistance geared toward the development of high-quality, father-centered services.
Our Kindergarten Readiness studies have confirmed locally what the national research indicates. High-quality, involved fathering by dads who live in the child’s home and apart, has strong, positive impacts on a child’s development, including academic achievement, emotional well-being, and behavior.34, 35 Locally, we found that fathers who accessed a greater number of community resources (parks, libraries, and museums) with their children contributed to their child’s greater readiness for kindergarten.29
The Fatherhood program supports service providers with training that fosters healthy co-parenting relationships to ensure that parents are functioning as a team. High-functioning, healthier coparenting relationships support young children’s optimal development and bolster their social and emotional learning. These skills and interactions are shown to improve children’s cognitive skills, which leads to increased kindergarten readiness.
GOALS
1. Incorporate Fatherhood and Father-Friendly Principles into First 5 structures and infuse Fatherhood strategies into other First 5 strategies: Neighborhoods Ready for School, Pediatric Care Coordination, Parent Leadership, and ECE.
2. Engage fathers/father-figures and male service providers in implementing the Healthy Relationship Principles (HRP) to support organizations and providers with integrating the HRP in their work with families and training providers on how to incorporate the HRP in their work.**
3. Position the Fatherhood work for sustainability and scale through fund development and public systems partnerships.
4. Promote integration of Father-Friendly Principles in public and community-based systems of care.
5. Identify strategies to strengthen internal collaboration and referral pathways for additional public system support connecting fathers to employment, financial education, health, and housing.
AGENCY STRATEGIES
Agency Strategy: Training
PURPOSE
Diverse, well-informed, and well-trained provider and parent communities are critical elements of the early childhood system. In partnership with First 5 staff and community, First 5’s Training department identifies, coordinates, and delivers instructional content, skill-building workshops, and information sessions to build the capacity of the early childhood system in Alameda County.
Our 2019 Kindergarten Readiness study found that fewer than half of the kindergarten teachers surveyed had received training related to children with special needs, trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and family engagement. Pediatricians have historically had limited specialized training on child development and mental and behavioral health.37,38 The same holds true for other direct service workers who serve young children and their families.36 Equally important, parents and caregivers benefit from, and are eager for, information on topics relevant to their young children, but often do not know how to obtain it.39
The Training department delivers content aimed at supporting agency priorities and community needs. This team also provides technical assistance to staff and community partners in best practices for identifying, planning, delivering, and evaluating educational programming.
GOALS
1. Reassess training offerings to ensure greater alignment with agency and community priorities and needs to ensure programming is focused on areas critical to sustainability of key investments and ongoing service provision.
2. Assist human resources with implementation of staff trainings ranging from professional development and technical assistance directly linked to agency strategy and program goals.
3. Incorporate equity framework into content development and mode of delivery to increase reach to underrepresented child care providers and to support parents and other community members (i.e., NRFS).
Agency Strategy: Government Affairs and Policy
PURPOSE
First 5’s Government Affairs and Policy strategy utilizes analysis, data, information, and coalitions to support the evolution of an equity-centered local early childhood system. We engage in advocacy to scale and sustain effective programs and to promote public policies grounded in equity and justice.
Our policy work seeks to shape, support, and sustain policies that proactively address the needs of families with young children and their caregivers in public systems. We anchor our policy efforts to our equity statement and the lessons learned from our program work with staff, community partners, providers, parents, and caregivers. Through our policy work, we mobilize a shared vision of an early childhood system of care that is a network of coordinated and responsive organizations that improve outcomes for children from prenatal to age 5. First 5’s biannual Kindergarten Readiness study repeatedly points to the importance of structural conditions, e.g., socioeconomics and access to early care and education, as critical to supporting children’s success. In Alameda County approximately one in 10 children under 6 years old lives below the Federal Poverty Level ($26,500 for a family of four).15 It takes $137,660 to meet the basic needs of a two-parent family with one infant and one preschooler.8 Alameda County is the second most disparate county in California for children enrolled in licensed early care and education—a key driver for kindergarten readiness.20
By understanding the legislative, budgetary, regulatory, and administrative levers of public systems, we create a multifaceted policy agenda for systems change. We leverage our resources, access, expertise, analytical skill set, and partnerships to listen, lift up needs, share successes, and evaluate the impact of public investments and policy choices that improve outcomes for children and families.
GOALS
1. Document success of First 5’s work catalyzing sustainability, scale, and systems change initiatives that are contributing to the evolution of an early childhood system of care.
2. Convene partners, community, and elected officials and their staff in discussions of policy issues and advocacy specific to the conditions that support communities and families with young children, using findings and recommendations from First 5 Alameda County programs, data, and evaluations.
3. Create an annual policy agenda with input from staff and community; lift messages, insights, and policy priorities learned from programs including direct service needs of parents and caregivers, and gaps in the system.
4. Position First 5 with elected officials, policymakers, First 5 California, and other statewide associations as a key leader, partner, and convener in the work to advance system building and the well-being of families with young children in Alameda County.
5. Craft a policy narrative in support of increased public investments in proven strategies to support an early childhood system of care with input from community leaders and policy makers.
Agency Strategy: Data and Evaluation
PURPOSE
First 5’s Data and Evaluation strategy supports shared accountability, continued organizational learning, public awareness, and policy advocacy as part of our role in evolving the early childhood system.
Research and data can provide a roadmap to systems change. Our research has pointed to the underlying structural conditions and opportunities necessary to support families with young children. Our Kindergarten Readiness study shows that differences in kindergarten readiness are largely attributable to inequities of access to resources and educational experiences.27 Our 2018 longitudinal study found that four out of five children who are not ready for kindergarten are still not caught up to grade level by third grade, pointing to the importance of early investments in children, families, and communities.26
Working Definitions to Support Continued Learning and Practice:
Data Decolonization refers to practices adopted to intentionally shift focus and ownership of data collection and analysis to Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities.40
Data Democratization refers to practices adopted to intentionally approach data collection and analysis with a community lens, supporting broad access to data and data analysis, including by those whom the data is about, as powerful tools for change, and eliminating unnecessary barriers to accessing and utilizing data.
GOALS
We believe data, research, and evaluation are tools for making policy change and creating a shared system and partner understanding of community priorities and needs. We focus on generating and sharing data, research, and results to inform internal agency decision-making, our work with partners, and public policy, planning, and advocacy. Through participatory research, storytelling, and other practices consistent with data decolonization and democratization, we put the power of data back into the hands of the people. We use data to highlight community conditions, the strengths and needs of our county’s youngest children, their families, and the providers who serve them, and to advance policies that promote equity.
We partner with colleagues and community stakeholders on data and evaluation efforts to identify promising practices, demonstrate effectiveness, support efforts to scale and sustain effective strategies, and promote continuous quality improvement in the early childhood system.
1. Deepen our understanding of equitable data and research practices and data decolonization and democratization. Document learning, practices, and opportunities.
2. Use First 5 evaluations such as the Kindergarten Readiness Community Study and Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) evaluation in collaboration with the community to inform policy advocacy, program investments, and continuous quality improvement.
3. Streamline production and elevate dissemination of data and research products as policy and communication tools for use by external partners and staff.
4. Strengthen understanding and support the interconnected needs of families and communities by developing robust data sharing agreements with public agencies and other key partners and increasing integration of data among systems at the local level to support data-driven policymaking with an equity and “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach.
5. Identify opportunities for evaluation/research projects in collaboration with partners and community to make a case for sustainability, scale, and/or systems change.
6. Streamline data collection, Results Based Accountability (RBA) measures, and reporting with an eye to information that would most meaningfully contribute to agency decision-making, continuous improvement, and the identification of promising practices.
7. Complete agencywide implementation of RBA framework so staff and leadership consistently use data and research findings to inform decisions and promote continuous improvement across all programs.
Agency Strategy: Communications
PURPOSE
First 5’s communications strategy builds public awareness, mobilizes support, promotes systems coordination, and advocates for investments in an equity-centered early childhood system of care. The communication department works with internal and external audiences to inform and guide key partners and decision-makers in understanding, building, and supporting an equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive early childhood system.
First 5’s communications department creates compelling narratives about the importance of early childhood, positive and adverse childhood experiences, and “whole community, whole family, whole child” policy and programs. We use messages, stories, and data that point to the structural conditions, including racism and classism, underpinning children’s outcomes and highlight opportunities to build thriving communities, families, and children.
First 5’s communications strategy reinforces the agency’s position as a leading local policy voice for children and families. Communications initiatives provide support for the early childhood system in the form of investments, capacity building, and community data to inform priorities and decisionmaking. We promote centralized resources, information, and services for parents, caregivers, and service providers.
First 5 advances equity and partner engagement in its communications by using feedback loops to listen to and report back to community partners, allowing us to:
• Create accessible content and design, using multiple languages and modalities
• Elevate community voice in communications materials
• Highlight family and community successes despite structural barriers
• Represent diverse families and family structures across all media
GOALS 1. Implement First 5’s Communications Plan to advance equity commitment, promote programmatic success, policy advocacy, and partnerships for systems change and to sustain and scale effective and promising programs.
2. Generate and disseminate content for policymakers, advocates, community partners, media, funders, and providers by producing multimedia collateral material, policy and data briefs, case studies, website, social media, and media engagement.
3. Increase access to and ease of navigation of centralized information and resources for neighborhoods, families, caregivers, providers, and policymakers.
**Indicates goals that have been accomplished as of fiscal year 2023-2024.
INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONAL SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
First 5 Alameda County Infrastructure Division includes finance, human resources, technology, facilities, planning and project management, and administration.
These teams support the day-to-day operations of the agency and allow the organization to play a backbone role to community-based organizations, providers, and public agencies that are part of the early childhood system.
The next phase of First 5 Alameda County will require us to continue doing our core work, while adding new capabilities, infrastructure, and capacity. Consistent with the direction set with our 2017-2022 strategic plan, much of our new funding will likely be contracted out to external parties. As a result, our hiring will reflect the staffing skillsets needed to support contract development (what to procure), performance measurement, planning and project management, communications, government relations, policy advocacy, and financial budgeting and forecasting.
As the administrative lead of significant public resources, we are uniquely positioned and have the responsibility to partner with community, parents, and providers to reimagine an early childhood system that is equity centered.
Administration and Facilities
First 5’s Administration and Facilities’ strategy is to provide a safe, productive, efficient and inclusive work environment for staff and partners. Administrative and facilities staff ensure that the facility is operating as it should on a daily basis by completing regular inspections, ensuring compliance with all relevant requirements and standards, and conducting repairs and maintenance. Office administrative operations are performed in a seamless manner to ensure the efficient operations of the agency.
GOALS
1. Maintain and operate an office facility that provides for a safe, clean, functional, and welcoming environment.
2. Perform maintenance and repairs in a minimally disruptive manner.
3. Review operational efficiencies to maximize the utilization of resources.
4. Ensure that the office facility meets legal requirements and health and safety standards.
5. Provide efficient and effective administration procedures and practices.
Finance
PURPOSE
First 5’s Finance strategy enables the agency to use Proposition 10 funds strategically for direct service programs, as First 5 transitions away from providing direct services funded by Proposition 10 to a contracted and community-based model.
Finance focuses on budgeting, financial planning, forecasting, and managing revenue and expenditures for programs core to the agency’s mission. First 5 has been updating governance, financial and compliance structures, polices, and practices and building the capacity and infrastructure needed to administer the new public funds (Measure AA and Measure C). The Finance department effectively and transparently communicates fiscal data to the First 5 Alameda County Commission to ensure the ongoing health and viability of the organization.
GOALS
1. Develop and maintain fiscally responsible and sustainable budgets that reflect our strategies with input from partners and system partners.
2. Present timely financial reports to identify current and future revenue and expenditure trends.
3. Implement the agency’s financial policies and procedures to ensure the timely, accurate, and complete reporting of financial information.
4. Ensure that financial operations and transactions are accurate and in compliance with federal, state, and financial requirements.
Human Resources
PURPOSE
To serve First 5’s function as a backbone to the early childhood system, Human Resources builds the capacity of the agency and our workforce. First 5’s Human Resources strategy focuses on aligning agency structure, staffing, operations, and culture with its organizational focus on systems change work. Human Resources serves as an effective partner by providing efficient and solution-focused services, maintaining a culture of inclusiveness and belonging, and ensuring First 5 has the requisite expertise, competencies, and skills needed to successfully execute the 2022–2027 Strategic Plan. We seek to retain and recruit a diverse workforce that reflects Alameda County, support staff development, ensure regulatory compliance, and support agency planning to inform organizational structure and business processes.
GOALS
1. Engage in organizational development to improve the agency’s capability through alignment of our mission, strategy, people, structure, and processes.
2. Focus our talent acquisition strategies on attracting, developing, and retaining a talented and diverse workforce.
3. Expand professional development and create resources dedicated to offering learning opportunities that support our organizational goals while enhancing the knowledge and skills of our workforce and increasing employee engagement, retention, and morale.
4. Provide leadership, support, and guidance for operationalizing internal agency equity practices.
5. Cultivate leadership within the agency, including succession planning and staff capacity building. Doing so will help to support the agency and develop leaders for the early childhood field.
Technology
PURPOSE
First 5’s Technology strategy focuses on deploying technology applications and tools to support coordination and linkages, communication, and shared accountability among agency staff, partners, and grantees. With equity at the center of service design and delivery, this strategy provides support to staff and partners for operational efficiencies, data collection and tracking, and performance management.
GOALS
1. Conduct a technology assessment to create a roadmap for decision-making regarding applications for accounting, Salesforce, case management, resource directory, and website applications.
2. Identify, develop, and implement technology solutions that further data integration across agency divisions in support of decision-making, learning, research, policy advocacy, and operations.
3. Plan for the implementation of data systems and data warehouse to prepare for the implementation of additional public funding, including a child care pathways (Centralized Eligibility and Enrollment System) database.
PROPOSITION 10
FY24-25 INVESTMENTS
First 5 is using a Maintenance of Effort approach to this Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2024-2025 to maintain strategy budgets as we seek to build out the early childhood system. The budget will be updated annually.
Neighborhoods Ready for School
($3,500,000) is a place-based investment, asset building, and policy response to the relationship and interplay between neighborhood conditions, family and child well-being and the structural factors that contribute to overall health, development, and kindergarten readiness.
Early Care and Education
($1,722,500) provides quality improvement supports for centers, family child care (FCC) providers, and family, friend and neighbor (FFN) providers with coaching, training, professional development, technical assistance, and financial incentives and supports; and funds communitybased programming for those children who are not in a licensed early educational setting.
Parent Partnership
($2,080,000) provides direct services to families and children with a focus on maternal and child health and the 0-3 years and uses parent leadership to inform programming and investments.
Pediatric Care Coordination ($1,365,000) connects and strengthens public system and community resources to engage, assess, and connect children, with a focus on Medi-Cal-enrolled families, to pediatric preventative care, medically-necessary services, and community-based programming and support.
Fatherhood ($262,500) strengthens collaboration with public systems and communitybased organizations, increases the representation and improves the experiences of men, fathers, and fatherfigures through training, strategic messaging, and the development of high-quality father-centered services.
Training ($700,000) identifies, coordinates, and delivers training to foster a diverse, well-trained provider workforce and support awareness, leadership, and linkages in each of the core components of the early childhood system.
Policy ($1,146,600) utilizes analysis, data, information, and coalitions to support the evolution of an equity-centered local early childhood system. We engage in advocacy to scale and sustain effective programs and to promote public policies grounded in equity and justice.
Data and Evaluation ($1,058,400) supports shared accountability, continued organizational learning, public awareness, and policy advocacy as part of our role in evolving the early childhood system.
Communications ($605,000) works with internal and external audiences to inform and guide key stakeholders and decisionmakers in understanding, building, and supporting an equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive early childhood system.
Operations and Administration ($3,510,000) includes finance, human resources, technology, facilities, and administration.
MEASURING OUR PROGRESS
To understand, track, and guide our progress we use data, research, and parent and community knowledge.
To understand, track, and guide our progress towards the results outlined in this plan, we use data, research, and parent and community knowledge. Together this information helps us understand how well children and families in the county are doing in areas that we know correspond to kindergarten readiness, such as access to basic needs, participation in early care and education, and neighborhood conditions.
We also use data to help us understand the performance and impact of our programs and investments and opportunities for continuous improvement.
This method of distinguishing “population” and “performance” data is part of a framework called Results Based Accountability which is widely used by funders and public agencies, including Alameda County. It is a disciplined way of thinking and taking action that can be used to improve quality of life in communities, as well as to improve the performance of programs. Results Based Accountability is a simple, plain language approach to measurement that puts the focus on the ends and works backward to the means.
In our approach we strive to use data for action, and we work within our agency and with partners to make data accessible, relevant, and actionable. We want to ask the “story” behind the data (what does the data tell us?), the partners who have a role to play, and steps we can take, including those that advance our equity commitment, are community-driven, and are low-cost to no-cost ideas.
We use evaluation as a tool to help us get “under the hood” to understand why and how investments or programs might be working, and lift promising practices for policy advocacy, sustainability, and scale.
Results Based Accountability as a Tool for Equity
Population Result: The well-being of a whole population in a geographic area
(e.g., all children under five in Alameda County, or all families with children under five in a zip code)
All Children in Alameda County are Ready for Kindergarten
We look at disaggregated data to understand structural inequities that create disparities in outcomes. This helps to inform our programs and investments.
Performance Accountability: The well-being of client populations for programs, agencies, or service systems (i.e., all children 0-5 on MediCal, all families served by ABC community organization)
For our programs and investments, we ask ourselves:
• How much do we do?
• How well do we do it?
• Is anyone better off?
For more on RBA and Equity, Racial Equity: Getting to Results (2017)
Finally, we recognize the critical role of intentionally centering our approach around equity. We are committed to participatory, equity-informed, and community driven practices in our data, research, and evaluation work. This means that at every stage—from identifying research questions and measures, to data collection methods, to interpreting findings and developing recommendations—we seek to be in deep partnership with community.
Implementation
The 2022-2027 purpose statements, goals, and key initiatives are the next phase of the new strategic direction set for First 5 Alameda County in the 2017-2022 strategic plan. In the first year of the implementation phase, we engaged in a participatory process with internal teams to identify performance measures to understand progress towards our goals and are collecting baseline data in fiscal year 2022-2023. The agency continues to prepare, adapt, and respond to the changing landscape as an influx of local resources becomes available to First 5 Alameda County and the larger early childhood system. As these shifts occur, we will continue to identify data, research, and evaluation approaches, in close partnership with community, to understand, monitor, and ultimately improve outcomes for children, families, and communities.
APPENDIX A.1: Tracking Our Progress; Program Strategies, Goals, & Investments
Source: Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County 2021-22: Appendix B) – May 2023 Update
In support of reaching our “North Star,” we fund organizations and initiatives, partner with parents and caregivers, providers, communities, and organizations and agencies, and administer programs for young children and families. The appendix below details our investments, partnerships, and programs for each year and how they align with the data-driven strategies that are shown to prepare children for kindergarten, outlined in our Road to Kindergarten Readiness. It also shows which strategic goals we have completed to track our progress in implementing the 2022-27 Strategic Plan.
Support Communities
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Invested over $5 million in distribution of essential supplies, including diapers. Worked with family-serving shelters and provided capital awards, supply stipends, and technical assistance.
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Paid tuition and permit fees for early care educators through the Early Education Apprentice Program, increasing the average apprentice wage of $19.13 per hour to $28.00 per hour upon completion of 12 units and receipt of an Associate Teacher Permit
• Invested $487,000 to support basic needs programming and distribution of diaper kits through a partnership with Neighborhoods Ready for School grantees and SupplyBank.org
• Provided referrals for basic needs support through our Help Me Grow Program; 33% of all referrals from Help Me Grow are for basic needs supports.
THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS
ACCOMPLISHED GOALS
• Neighborhoods Ready for School, Goal #1: In January 2024, the NRFS partners presented their final four-year strategic workplans and data profiles to First 5, highlighting the needs and priorities of each community.
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
As part of the Neighborhoods Ready for School strategy, First 5 funds trusted community organizations and family resource centers to build an ecosystem of support for families in the community. First 5 provides training and coaching in early identification to newly recruited family child care providers.
• HMG trains providers to offer their families early screenings and offers direct screening through the Developmental Screening Program; provides care coordination and navigation support to families referred to the Central Access Point (phone line); and conducts community outreach and networking events to stay on top of available services and resources.
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Invested more than $3 million in four neighborhoods across Alameda County through our Neighborhoods Ready for School Initiative
• Contracted with Cities & People Advisors to facilitate a strategic planning process specific to the Neighborhoods Ready for School initiative to help identify areas of opportunity and to foster alignment with Oakland Thrives’ RiseEast
Support Families
FAMILY HEALTH & WELL-BEING
ACCOMPLISHED GOALS
• Parent Partnership, Goal #1: A strategic and visioning brief was completed in February 2024 providing context and recommendations for the evolution of this work.
• Parent Partnership, Goal #2: The assessment was completed, and CAS will transition to the Operations Division to centralize its functions across the agency.
• Parent Partnership, Goal #3: DULCE joined the Pediatric Care Coordination Division and data and lessons learned will inform the division’s work.
• Pediatric Care Coordination, Goal #1: This work is completed yearly and remains ongoing, as resources must be updated each year.
• Pediatric Care Coordination, Goal #5: A CalAIM Opportunity roadmap for scaling and sustaining First 5’s Pediatric Care Coordination services was developed. The roadmap outlines opportunities and risks with funding streams that support early identification, screening and care coordination, as well as a Care Management Continuum approach and three key phases for First 5 to leverage CalAIM opportunities to enhance care coordination for young children in Alameda County.
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Help Me Grow (HMG) Alameda County supports families to connect to medical check-ups, with particular focus on Medi-Cal clients; trains providers to offer screenings; and provides the HMG central access point (phone line) for information and care coordination.
• Awarded $1.45 million from the Alameda Alliance for Health for an expanded partnership through HMG program to support access to pediatric preventative care, care management, and quality improvement
• Fund DULCE at Highland Hospital to provide health, family, and legal services to families
• As part of the Alameda County Emergency Child Care Response Team, partnered with Samuel Merritt University School of Nursing and ECE providers to provide health consultation support through the Health Heroes program
• Support Af rocentric playgroups, promotora programming. Promotores and community health workers are liaisons between their communities and health providers, social service providers, and resources.
• Took lead role on a regional grant application with Contra Costa to support Afghan family resettlement, funding planning and direct services and engaging in community events and advocacy
• Participate in workgroup led by the Alameda County Office of Dental Health to improve access to dental care for the 0-5 age group through communication, outreach, and integration with primary care
• Partner with the Alameda Alliance, federally qualified health centers, and UCSF Benioff Children’s hospital on efforts to expand care coordination and navigation to services through pediatric sites
• Our Cultural Access Services program provides language supports and promotes cultural humility and appreciation of the county’s diverse population through interpretation and translation for First 5 and partner programs to increase access to community-based services.
• Fund parent and caregiver supports, such as Dad-scussions, Parent Cafés, and culturally specific playgroups, through the work in each of the Neighborhoods Ready for School sites
• Participate in systems building as a member of Alameda County’s Perinatal Equity Initiative Steering Committee to dismantle unjust systems and practices that harm Black birthing people and their babies by addressing the causes of persistent inequality and identifying best practices to improve outcomes
• Contracted with Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice to support a pilot project, Honoring & Unifying Gatherings (HUGs), which will partner with local Black-owned cafes to provide a safe space for new mothers, birthing people, and caretakers of infants in the community to come and connect with each other weekly over a free beverage and pastry
• Contracted with TLC Consulting & Maternal Healing-Midnight Milk Program to offer free afterhours infant feeding, pregnancy, and postpartum virtual support group to address existing inequities in accessing lactation support, as well as workforce development for participants interested in becoming lactation peer educators or birth workers
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Created a new Pediatric Care Coordination division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing and capacity to reach even more Alameda County children and families
• Renewed funding for our Help Me Grow and DULCE programs and collaborated with local partners, including our local Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan and Alameda Health System leadership, to identify additional funding sources to sustain these vital programs, which led to the successful 154% increase of Help Me Grow’s annual budget
• Enrolled and provided enhanced support for 162 families at Highland Hospital’s family birthing center through Project DULCE, which provides a family specialist in the pediatric setting to support connection of the families to needed resources, including legal support
Served 8,600+ children and families through our Pediatric Care and Coordination division, which provides care coordination, connection to pediatric visits, developmental screenings, health and parenting education, resource information, family navigation, and/or peer support
Benefited 1,323 children and 1,451 parents through investments in lactation supports for African American mothers and birthing people, with leadership from Alameda County Public Health Department, as part of our Birth Equity policy agenda
• Funded HUGS Cafes, a program of Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice Project, which partners with local Black-owned cafés to provide safe spaces for Black mothers, birthing people, and caregivers of infants in the community to gather and connect once every week. The program benefited more than 700 Black and African American women. Participants have reported maintaining continued relationships, connections, and support networks beyond the structured HUGs sessions.
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION
ACCOMPLISHED GOALS
• ECE, Goal #9: ECE Facilities Needs Assessment has been completed and focus now turns to implementation.
• ECE, Goal #20: The first Workforce Taskforce and preliminary landscape study with Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA) has been completed and focus now turns to implementation.
ONGOING
Named administrator of Measure C: Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County. The agency will now begin implementation of Measure C building off prior years’ work to prepare for its role as administrator by restructuring the agency, convening an ECE Workforce Task, conducting an ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, and preparing for the staffing, facilitation, and orientation of the Measure C Community Advisory Council (CAC) members. (See Appendix D: Readying Our County for Systems Change, for more on how the agency has prepared for implementation.)
• Selected as the Early Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI). In the first year of implementation, First 5 has allocated more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs at Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start. Initial allocations fund growing staffing needs and supports, family navigators, and one-time physical infrastructure projects to improve and increase capacity of current early care sites.
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
Awarded $1,000,000 from Alameda County Social Services Agency in General Fund to build a countywide child care centralized eligibility list (CEL) that will help caregivers access subsidized child care
Expanded number of licensed family child care providers participating and benefiting from Alameda County Quality Counts, building peer support
Jointly funded Alameda County’s ECE Apprenticeship Program to provide CalWORKs participants training, advanced degrees, and employment in ECE settings; advocated for additional investments in the model HMG care coordination and family navigation services provide connections to services and supports for parents and caregivers, as well as emotional support
Supported child care providers with technical assistance in English, Spanish, and Chinese for the statewide Minor Renovation and Repair Grant Request for Applications for both centers and family child care
Support libraries to provide children’s books in multiple languages, offer playgroups, provide take-home resources for parents, including over 1000 literacy kits, and provide developmental screening and referral on-site through HMG
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Hired a permanent Director of Early Care and Education and increased staffing and capacity to lead the implementation of the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund
• Began administration of the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund, allocating more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs across Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start
• Supported 153 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care and 97 Family Child Care (FCC) providers with quality improvement programming such as trainings and individualized supports
Support ECE Professionals, Teachers, and Care and Education Systems
KINDERGARTEN
TRANSITION SUPPORTS
ACCOMPLISHED GOALS
Fatherhood, Goal #2: In 2023, Healthy Relationship Principles (HRP) were adopted, and a new learning community was implemented. The focus now shifts to supporting their implementation in internal programs and with funded partners.
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Funded school districts in Alameda County, using an equity index, to support kindergarten transition programming (educational materials, books, tablets) and supports for families (basic needs)
• Developed a Summer Pre-K (SPK) Program that partnered with low-performing and high need elementary schools in Alameda County, providing quality transitional early childhood experiences for children without prior preschool or child care experience entering kindergarten in the fall
• Through the Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) initiative, community partners promote child-andfamily friendly communities, strong families, and school readiness
• Leader of Alameda County Fathers Corps, a collaborative focused on empowering and supporting fathers, service providers, agencies, systems, and the wider community to raise awareness of the critical role of fathers and father-figures and the benefits of active father involvement on young children’s development; provide training and support to service providers with implementation of the Father-Friendly Principles; and advocate for more father-specific and father-friendly services
• Awarded grants to community-based organizations to provide drop-in groups to support fathers in addressing their challenges in accessing public and community supports
• Partnered with 10 libraries across the county to facilitate story time and playgroups for the community, where families are also connected to the Help Me Grow program, with which they can access support and resources for children’s development, learning, and behavior
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Invested $227,000 in support of the Oakland Unified School District Summer Kinder/TK Program. Funding also supports year-round school readiness and transition programming
• Fathers Corps program celebrated its 10th anniversary, completed an evaluation of the program, and rolled out a new set of Healthy Relationship Principles for organizations engaging fathers
• 411 fathers, father-figures, educators, and providers engaged in workshops, activities, and trainings during the 2023 Fatherhood Summit.
SUPPORTED EDUCATORS & SYSTEMS
ONGOING
• Named administrator of Measure C: Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County. The agency will now begin implementation of Measure C building off prior years’ work to prepare for its role as administrator by restructuring the agency, convening an ECE Workforce Task, conducting an ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, and preparing for the staffing, facilitation, and orientation of the Measure C Community Advisory Council (CAC) members. (See Appendix D: Readying Our County for Systems Change, for more on how the agency has prepared for implementation.)
• Selected as the Early Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI). In the first year of implementation, First 5 has allocated more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs at Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start. Initial allocations fund growing staffing needs and supports, family navigators, and one-time physical infrastructure projects to improve and increase capacity of current early care sites.
FY21-22 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
Expand participation in the number of providers participating in Quality Counts program for quality improvement, coaching, professional learning communities, and quality grants
Investing in training (over 4.5k attendees and 11k YouTube views) to strengthen providers’ and families’ understanding of best practices for early education, mental health, family support, health, and administration
Financially support school districts with kindergarten transition efforts, including through the Community Resilience Fund grants allocated using an equity index
Partnered with Alameda County Social Services Agency and Supplybank.org to distribute 880 air purifiers to 440 family child care providers
Administered $3 million in family child care grants provided by Alameda County Social Services Agency from CARES Act funds
Invest in the CARE Family Resource Navigation program, which has been effective in supporting families experiencing homelessness with child care and access to basic needs
Distributed over 12,000 backpacks with supplies to incoming kindergartners through schools and community partners
FY22-23 PROGRAM INVESTMENTS
• Convened 47 cross-sector stakeholders on First 5’s Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Task Force to inform initial recommendations for a more coordinated local response to the ECE employment crisis
• Provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field
• Distributed $288,430 in professional development and training stipends to ECE professionals and caregivers participating in First 5’s Quality Counts program
• Together with Alameda County Social Services Agency and Tipping Point Community, continued to fund the Early Education Apprentice Program, administered by YMCA of the East Bay, which provides financial and academic support, as well as on-the-job training and mentorship while students pursue their ECErelated degrees and teaching permits
Source: Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County 2021-22: Appendix B) – May 2023 Update
First 5 Alameda County works to advance county, state, and federal policies through budgetary, legislative, and administrative advocacy to cultivate an equity-centered local early childhood system of care that prepares and supports children, families, and communities so that children are ready for kindergarten. Below are the policy advocacy activities we’ve engaged, by year, to advance each of our priority issue areas, to ultimately make progress toward our “North Star.”
Support Communities
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FY21-22
Advocated for increases in economic supports for families at local, state, and federal levels, e.g., child tax credits, diaper banks, supports for CalWORKs
Funded the evaluation of Help A Mother Out’s diaper distribution and provided a letter of recommendation for the successful application to the California Commission on the Status of Women for a $25,000 Women’s Recovery Response grant
• Signed on to an open letter from the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers, laying out a vision for increased investments in prenatal-to-three issues in 2022 and beyond
Provided public comment to support Stable Rents and Stable Families campaign to strengthen rental protections for the unincorporated communities in Alameda County
Provided public comment in support of AB 2053: The Social Housing Act (Lee) to connect early childhood and affordable and stable housing
Submitted a comment letter to the City of Oakland’s General Plan Housing Element highlighting the housing needs of families with young children and early care and education professionals living in Oakland and Alameda County
• Signed-on to a federal letter urging Congress to include housing investments in the revised budget reconciliation bill
• Submitted a letter in support of SB 1083 to increase access to homeless assistance support for pregnant CalWORKs families, which was signed into law in September 2022
• Supported AB 230 (Reyes) and SB 59 (Skinner), which proposes increased access to period products as a form of basic needs
• Signed on to a letter and provided public comment supporting a State Budget Proposal for $30M over three years for diaper and wipe distribution
• Submitted a federal regulatory comment in support of proposed updates to modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by allowing online ordering and transactions and food delivery
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 309 (Lee) which proposed to increase access to affordable and stable housing
FY22-23
• Submitted a letter to our Alameda County State Delegation urging them to support policies that aid families through the pandemic including increased paid family leave and state disability insurance payment rate, extending access to COVID supplemental paid sick leave as well as streamlining construction of affordable housing
To elevate diaper need as a gap in the safety net, presented the findings from our Help a Mother Out Diaper Bank Evaluation at the California Welfare Directors Association annual conference in October 2022
Submitted a federal regulatory comment in support of proposed updates to modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by allowing online ordering and transactions and food delivery
Signed onto a letter urging the Governor to sign SB 951 (Durazo): Affordable Paid Leave for All into law. SB 951 would increase wage replacement rates for PFL + SDI to 90% for lower wage workers by January 1, 2025, making paid family leave and state disability insurance accessible to all Californians.
• Provided public comment at state committee hearings in support SupplyBank.org’s budget proposal for a statewide diaper bank program
THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS
FY21-22
• Signed on to a budget letter requesting that the California legislature and administration increase wage replacement rates for low-wage workers in the State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave programs
• In partnership with the City of Oakland, submitted a one-time state budget request to improve Oakland’s play spaces for young children and their families
• Funded an evaluation of our place-based Neighborhoods Ready for School strategy to inform policy advocacy and public investments
• Partnered with parents and caregivers to inform the design, implementation, and interpretation of the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment study as part of a research to action approach and commitment to equity
• Submitted letters of support for AB 2517 (Bonta) and AB 1321 (Bonta) which propose to establish a twoyear California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle-to-career networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
• Advocated to ensure equitable implementation of CalAIM; submitted a letter to the state budget subcommittees in response to the state’s proposed sunset of the Child Health and Disability Prevention program
• Submitted a letter to the City of Oakland in support of San Antonio Neighborhood’s recommendations and work with neighborhood members to finalize and implement a Master Plan that supports the health and well-being of children ages birth to 5
FY22-23
• Submitted a letter to the City of Oakland in support of San Antonio Neighborhood’s recommendations and work with neighborhood members to finalize and implement a Master Plan that supports the health and well-being of children ages birth to 5
Submitted a letter of support for AB 1321 (Bonta): California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services Grant Program, which would have established a California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle to career (C2C) networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
• Provided public comment to the Draft PY21–24 Regional Plan Biennial Modification highlighting the workforce needs of families with young children and early care and education professional living and working in Alameda County
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 309 (Lee): Social Housing Act, which would introduce social housing to California
Support Families
FAMILY HEALTH & WELL-BEING
FY21-22
• Submitted a letter in support of AB 1995, a proposal to eliminate monthly Medi-Cal premiums or copayments so that low-income households can put resources toward other essential needs
• In support of continuous Med-Cal eligibility, AB2402, Diana Garcia, Data and Policy Analyst, gave testimony (beginning at the 2:36:50 mark) at the California State Assembly
• Submitted a letter in support of SB 65 the California Momnibus bill, which would re-imagine maternal health to improve perinatal outcomes, close racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and improve data collection and research on socioeconomic factors that contribute to negative birth outcomes
Provided the California Department of Health Care Services feedback on a draft of the Medi-Cal Community Health Worker Provider Manual to ensure that its language supports implementation to advance health equity
Wrote a letter to the state supporting the California Department of Public Health’s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health priorities to advance health equity for women, birthing people, children, adolescents, and families
• Signed on to a letter rejecting the Governor’s proposal to delay implementation of the Community Health Workers, Promotoras, and Representatives (CHWPR) workforce and training funds and signed on to a letter requesting that the Governor use funds from the Managed Care Organization Tax Proposal to raise CHWPR wages
• Supported Alameda County’s Social Services Administration ask for three enrollment office mobile vehicles to help connect families to programs and services they are eligible for
• Submitted a letter in support of AB 583 (Wicks), which would establish the Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project to support specified groups, including community-based doula groups, to provide full-spectrum doula care to pregnant and birthing people who are low income and do not qualify for MediCal or who are from communities that experience high rates of negative birth outcomes, among others
• Published a Birth Equity Policy Brief highlighting recommendations and local strategies to ensure Black women and birthing people have safe and healthy births
FY22-23
• Signed on to a letter rejecting the Governor’s proposal to delay implementation of the Community Health Workers, Promotoras, and Representatives (CHWPR) workforce and training funds. We also signed on to a letter requesting that the Governor use funds from the Managed Care Organization Tax proposal to raise CHWPR wages.
• Published a Birth Equity Policy Brief highlighting recommendations and local strategies to ensure Black women and birthing people have safe and healthy births
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 583 (Wicks): Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project, which would establish the Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project to support specified groups, including community-based doula groups, to provide full-spectrum doula care to pregnant and birthing people who are low income and do not qualify for Medi-Cal or who are from communities that experience high rates of negative birth outcomes, among others
• Supported Alameda County Social Services Agency ask for three enrollment office mobile vehicles to help connect families to program and services they are eligible for
• Supported Asian Health Services and UCSF Oakland Children’s Hospital with letters of support for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) federal funds to increase childhood developmental screenings and necessary follow-up services and referrals
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION
FY21-22
Provided a letter of support for Food with Care: SB 1481 (Becker) that would provide free daily meals to children in child care by enabling all child care providers to qualify for the highest level of reimbursements for the meals they serve
Wrote to the Federal Alameda County Delegation urging them to support child care in the reconciliation process
Signed on and wrote to our Federal Alameda County Delegation for their support on the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act designed to strengthen school meals, child care food programs, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other federal nutrition programs for children
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 679 (Wicks) to advocate for an increase meal rate reimbursement for meals served by family child care providers
• Submitted public comment on Alameda County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) three-year plan for FY 2022-23, highlighting findings from our most recent KRA report and the continued need for mental health services and supports that target young children, their parents/caregivers, and the early care and education workforce
• Submitted letters of support for AB 1352 (Bonta) which proposes to expand the Alameda County’s Child Care Pilot Program set to expire June 30, 2023
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 51 (Bonta) to advocate for effective and equitable functioning of California’s early childhood system so that it meets the diverse childcare needs of families and the workforce in every community
FY22-23
Provided a letter of support for AB 679 (Wicks): Family Daycare Homes: Meals Reimbursement Rate which proposed to eliminate the unfair meal reimbursement rate gap that discriminates against family child care providers
Submitted letters of support for AB 1352 (Bonta) which proposes to expand the Alameda County’s Child Care Pilot Program set to expire on June 30, 2023
Submitted a letter of support for AB 51 (Bonta) to advocate for effective and equitable functioning of California’s early childhood system so that it meets the diverse childcare needs of families and the workforce in every community
Support ECE Professionals, Teachers, and Care and Education Systems
KINDERGARTEN TRANSITION SUPPORTS
FY21-22
• Alameda County Fathers Corps advocates for local systems change and has championed a state resolution on the adoption of the Father-Friendly Principles
In partnership with Oakland Unified School District, Union City Family Center, and county libraries, First 5 published a policy brief on kindergarten transition supports
Hosted a Policy Breakfast focused on sharing and digesting key findings from the recent Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and highlighting remarks from featured speaker Assemblymember Mia Bonta
FY22-23
• Hosted a Policy Breakfast focused on sharing and digesting key findings from the recent Kindergarten Readiness Assessment study and highlighting remarks from featured speaker Assemblymember Mia Bonta
• In partnership with Oakland Unified School District, Union City Family Center, and county libraries, First 5 published a policy brief on kindergarten transition supports
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 1321 (Bonta): California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services Grant Program, which would have established a California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle to career (C2C) networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
SUPPORTED EDUCATORS & SYSTEMS
FY21-22
• Provided public comment to the Alameda County Behavioral Health — Mental Health Services Act Plan FY 2022-23 to highlight the need for infant and early childhood mental health services and supports through investments in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health workforce and Consultation programs
• Submitted a letter to the state supporting the Rate and Quality Stakeholder Workgroup’s recommendations for investments in the workforce and for an equitable rate reimbursement system
• Promoted coordination between school districts and the early care and education mixed delivery system in planning for implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten/Prekindergarten
• Signed on to a letter urging Governor Newsom and State Legislators to adopt an alternative methodology utilizing a cost-estimation model and multi-year transition plan to address the child care crisis and transform child care and early learning in California
• Provided public comment at state workgroup meetings advocating for meaningful weights on regional adjustments that reflect the local cost of quality child care and cost of living
FY22-23
• Signed on to a letter urging the Governor and State Legislators to adopt an alternative methodology utilizing a cost-estimation model and multi-year transition plan to address the child care crisis and transform child care and early learning in California to ensure young children and families can thrive
• Provided public comment at state workgroup meetings advocating for meaningful weights on regional adjustments that reflect the local cost of quality child care and cost of living
• Submitted public comment on Alameda County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) three-year plan for FY 2022-23, which highlights findings from our most recent KRA report and the continued need for mental health services and supports that target young children, their parents/caregivers, and the early care and education workforce
APPENDIX B:
APPENDIX C: Local Child Care Ballot Measures
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA)
The Children’s Health & Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
Geography City of Oakland Alameda County
Overview
Status
Key Components of Early Childhood Portions
• 30-year annual parcel tax of $198 a year on single-family homes and $135 a year per unit of each multi-unit residence
• Revenues support early child care and preschool programs, and fund college readiness programs, tuition assistance, and efforts to fix racial inequities in access to higher education
• Raises approximately $25-$30million annually with funds divided into three subaccounts:
• 62% to Early Education Fund
• 31% to the Oakland Promise Fund
• 7% for oversight and accountability
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA), was passed in November 2018 and upheld by the courts in 2021.
In December 2022 First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner
• Expand existing public services; first funding priority is to public agencies, particularly programs at Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and Oakland Head Start
• Priority on serving the children of families with the lowest incomes and/ or those who are in high need. Support families who need FFN care
• In order or priority:
• Availability of free or affordable and high quality ECE or preschool
• 4-year-olds from low-income families
• 3-year-olds from low-income families
• Increase affordability or quality of preschool (not ECE)
• All 4-year-olds
• All 3-year-olds
• Increase the availability and/ or quality of child development support services for children from birth through age 3.
• A 20-year half-percent (0.5%) sales tax that would raise an estimated $150 million per year to provide support and enhancements for child care, preschool, early education, and pediatric health care in Alameda County
• The funds will be divided 80/20 into two subaccounts:
• A Pediatric Health Care Account (20%), overseen by a citizen oversight committee
• A Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account (80%), administered by First 5
Measure C was passed in March 2020 and upheld by the courts in 2024.
• Increases access to quality care for participating providers through
• New enrollments
• Rate enhancements
• Ensures teacher wages at a minimum of $15 to be increased annually with revenue increases
• Allows services to 0–12-year-olds, but defines a focus on 0–5-year-olds
• Targets low-income families and those children/families with the greatest needs, e.g., families experiencing homelessness and children in foster care
Provider/Program Wage Requirements
Provider Quality Requirement Responsibilities
Pay all employees minimum $15/hr. to be adjusted annually
• Adjusted annually based on the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• The City of Oakland has its own minimum wage schedule for employees working within the geographic boundaries of Oakland ($16.10/hr in 2024).
Participating center-based programs are able to, within reasonable timeframe
• Achieve baseline rating of 3 on QRIS or new system
• Utilize developmentally appropriate curriculum, aligned with CDE standards, and evidence-based and/or demonstrated success in improving preparation for kindergarten
• Conduct formative assessments
Participate in valid, regular, and reliable assessments of quality to foster continuous improvement and to reduce disparities by income/wealth in child outcomes
Pay all ECE educator employees minimum $15/hr. to be adjusted annually on January 1, beginning in 2022
• Based on the San FranciscoOakland-Hayward Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the percentage increase in revenues raised during the previous calendar year by tax (whichever is less)
Measure C outlines multiple strategies for improving ECE quality, including:
• Comprehensive training and professional development system
• Support for educational advancement and degree attainment
• Teacher retention
• Maintaining, enhancing, and expanding quality ECE facilities
First 5’s Role as Administrator of Funds
Contractor with the City of Oakland
• Early Education Implementation Partner
• Contracts are on a five-year cycle
First 5’s role as outlined in section 2.08.305.B of the Ordinance:
• Developing Program Plan & Annual Expenditure Plan
• Allocating funds based on Expenditure Plan
• Developing, implementing, administering, and overseeing all programs and services paid for by the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account
• Providing staff support for the CAC
• Developing the Program Plan Evaluation
• Operating with transparency and public accountability, good fiscal stewardship of public resources; annual audit to ensure compliance
• Awarding funds pursuant to our contracting policies and the Ordinance requirements
Governing Bodies & Responsibilities
Accountability Officer duties include:
• Overseeing programs and providing recommendations to the Citizens Oversight Commission
• Preparing subsequent 5-year guidelines
• Leading the selection process and contracting for the Implementation Partners, making recommendations to the Citizens Oversight Commission
• Ensuring independent financial audits
• Monitoring performance of Implementation Partners
• Overseeing external evaluations, including selection
• Approves (or rejects) City of Oakland staff’s recommendation of the Early Education Implementation Partner
• Approves the five-year Guidelines for the Early Education funds
• Approves or rejects plans, recommendations, audits
• Approves (or rejects) recommendations; does not develop policy and programmatic recommendations
Oakland City Council
Mayor appoints COC members & Council confirms
Auditing Accountability Officer ensures annual audits are completed and presented to COC.
Evaluation Cycles
Data Reporting
• Accountability Officer oversees external evaluations of Implementation Partners’ performance.
• Progress and performance reporting are due to COC every two years.
Oakland City Administrator has the authority to enter into a contract with legally required terms such as (but not limited to):
• Performance metrics and benchmarks
• Data sharing agreements
Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS)
• Conducts the annual independent audit
• Can terminate First 5 and select a different entity as the Administering Agency
• Approves Five-Year Program & Budget Plans
First 5 Alameda County Commission
• Approves Annual Expenditure Plan
• Approves Five-Year Program & Budget Plans
Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Develops policy and programmatic recommendations related to the Measure C account
• First 5 will develop the Program Plan, which must be developed in coordination with the Community Advisory Council (still to be seated) and community, for approval by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and Board of Supervisors.
BOS conducts annual independent financial audit of Measure C revenues and expenditures
• Evaluations during implementation period of each Plan and prior to the development of a new Plan (every fourth year).
• First 5 oversees external evaluations with input for CAC for presentation to BOS
First 5 develops data collection strategies and collects data from participants in Measure C programs as part of initial application and evaluation process.
APPENDIX D: Readying for Measure C
The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), a countywide measure, was passed by voters in March 2020 and names First 5 Alameda County as the administrator of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education portion of the revenue. Upheld by the courts in 2024, the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County is expected to raise approximately $150M annually for early care and education. First 5 Alameda County will begin implementation by staffing a Community Advisory Council to advise First 5 on the development of a five-year program plan and budget that will be submitted for approval in Spring 2025 to the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
Since the passage of Measure C in 2020 and throughout the four years of litigation, First 5 Alameda County has taken significant steps to prepare the agency for implementation in key areas, including:
ADMINISTRATION & FACILITIES
• Invested in a Facilities Needs Assessment for centers and family child care providers in Alameda County to understand the infrastructure and space needed to offer high-quality care. We also completed a soon-tobe-published Early Care and Education Needs Assessment for the unincorporated areas of Alameda County in partnership with the Alameda County Community Development Agency to understand the supply of licensed and affordable child care, access to high-quality services, and needs of child care facilities in these areas.
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a contractor for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund and Technical Assistance program. The primary goals of this funding will include supporting children’s kindergarten readiness, asset building, developing more stable, high-quality facilities for the early childhood field, and leveraging other funding streams for facilities where possible. The contractor will support the development of recommendations for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund Program with accompanying policy recommendations, dissemination of capital, and technical assistance to providers.
COLLABORATION & PLANNING
• We started community engagement planning and meetings with key stakeholders, such as the Alameda County Administrator’s Office (CAO), the Valley Family Child Care Association (VFCCA) FCC Listening Session, Alternative Payment agencies, Resource & Referral agencies, school districts, and Head Start programs. We have also embarked on informational presentations across the county to share our Oakland Children’s Initiative implementation and Measure C readying work with community, parents, providers, and partners. We continue to benefit from the community engagement that resulted in these two measures, including listening sessions to consider how Measure C can best support our diverse mixed delivery system in the county.
DATA & EVALUATION
• Adopted the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as the new Kindergarten Readiness Community Study tool. The EDI is a comprehensive tool that provides valuable insights into the development of children, helps us predict health, education, and social outcomes, and informs policy decisions and investments. The adoption of this new tool was a collaborative decision made by all school districts involved in the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool Decision-Making Series, a sequence of meetings that was co-chaired by Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro and First 5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos and included school district representatives and labor representation. The series culminated in the unanimous decision to adopt the EDI. We believe that the EDI will serve as a critical component in our efforts to improve local systems that support children 0-5 and their families.
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION WORKFORCE
• Continued to expand and started an evaluation of the Early Education Apprentice Program. This program is an “earn and learn model” that covers tuition and permit fees for early care educators while providing on-the-job training, stipends, and additional supports like tutoring and child care. It is an exemplary model of a public-private partnership between Alameda County Social Services Agency, First 5 Alameda County, and philanthropy (Tipping Point Community), and the type of public policy infrastructure necessary to support the continued growth in our local early care and education delivery system.
OPERATIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE, & TECHNOLOGY
• We are working to complete an ECE financial landscape to inform key programmatic investments for Measure C. We are working with national and state consulting experts to support our financial forecasting and implementation planning.
• First 5 Alameda County has proactively built its capacity and readied its infrastructure to implement Measure C. We have restructured the agency and conducted hiring to ensure we have the staffing and infrastructure to administer substantial new public funding. Since fiscal year 2022-2023, we have added 34 new positions in various areas throughout the agency, including programs, operations, finance, compliance, technology, data and evaluation, planning, communications, and government affairs and policy. These changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we have entered a three-to-five-year building phase. We aim to retain and recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity and cultural fabric of Alameda County, support staff development and professional growth, ensure regulatory compliance, and effectively implement existing and new initiatives.
• Reviewed, prepared, and revised governance, financial, and compliance structures, policies, and practices, e.g., investment and conflict of interest policies and practices
• Reprocured an auditing firm for annual financial and program compliance
• Secured contracts with expert consultants to strengthen the foundation and capacity of the agency:
Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies support First 5 with financial modeling and advising on the governance structure for the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County’s Community Advisory Council, which First 5 is responsible for standing up and staffing.
School Readiness Consulting is supporting First 5’s Leadership and ECE team on a broad range of system readying and planning efforts, including the development of recommendations and a community engagement strategy for key partners to inform a Central Eligibility List (CEL) technology tool build and the development of an initial ECE System program design and operational approach to implementation.
• Released an RFP to secure a Technology Development Liaison consultant who will support the procurement and implementation of a technology system for the centralized eligibility and enrollment system, which we call Child Care Pathways. The technology system will support eligibility for, and enrollment into, ECE services. In addition, the technology consultant will advise on efforts to integrate early childhood data from across data systems and advise in the development of requirements for a data warehouse.
1. US Census Bureau. (2021). Households and Families, 2019 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S1101& g=0500000US06001&tid=ACSST5Y2021.S1101&hidePreview=true
2. State of California, Department of Finance, P-2B: Population Projections by Individual Year of Age, California, 2010-2060 (Baseline 2019 Population Projections; Vintage 2020 Release). Retrieved from https://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/ Demographics/
3. U.S. Census Bureau (2021). ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (DP05). Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/ table/ACSDP5Y2021.DP05?q=population&g=050XX00US06001
4. California Department of Public Health, Birth Statistical Master Files. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.kidsdata.org/topic/610/births/ table#fmt=1060&loc=127&tf=141&sortColumnId=0&sortType=asc
5. US Census Bureau. (2021). 2020 Census diversity index. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/demo/race/ppl-2020.html
6. US Census Bureau. (2022). Age by Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B16007?q=B16007&t=Language%20 Spoken%20at%20Home&g=050XX00US06001
7. US Census Bureau. (2022). AGE AND NATIVITY OF OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS IN FAMILIES AND SUBFAMILIES BY NATIVITY OF PARENTS, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ ACSDT5Y2022.B05009?t=Families%20and%20Living%20Arrangements:Native%20 and%20Foreign%20Born&g=050XX00US06001&tid=ACSDT1Y2022.B05009
8. Insight Center (2021). California Family Needs Calculator (formerly the California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard or Self-Sufficiency Standard), Alameda County. Retrieved from https://insightcced.org/family-needs-calculator/
9. Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the difference between Income Required to Meet Basic Needs [see citation 8] – 2022 FPL level for family of 4
10. California Department of Developmental Services. (2021). Minimum Wage – 2021. Based on two workers working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. Retrieved from https://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/vendor-provider/minimum-wage/
11. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2020). Note: Self-reported data for 2,348 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2020. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their self-reported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks.
12. US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). (2021). HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2021. Based on a household of four. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/povertyguidelines
13. Insight Center (2021). Family Needs Indicator - Alameda County Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: https://insightcced.org/the-cost-of-being-californian-alameda-county-factsheet/
14. Alameda County Social Services Agency. (2021). Enrollment numbers represent a one-month snapshot for January 2021.
15. U.S. Census Bureau (2019). Poverty Status in the past 12 months of related children under 18, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B17006). Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=child%20poverty&tid=ACSDT5Y2019.B17006
16. National Diaper Bank Network. (2021) Diaper Need and Its Impact On U.S. Families. Retrieved from https:// nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ Diaper-Need-and-Its-Impact-on-US-Families.pdf
17. United States Census Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the percent difference between Median Family Income in 2021 and 2000 (adjusted to 2019 dollars). U.S. Census Bureau (2000,2019). Income in the past 12 months (in 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars), American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2021.S1901?q=Income%20and%20 Poverty&g=050XX00US06001&hidePreview=true
18. United States Census Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the percent difference between Median Family Income in 2021 and 2000 (adjusted to 2019 dollars). U.S. Census Bureau (2000,2019). Income in the past 12 months (in 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars), American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2021.S1901?q=Income%20and%20 Poverty&g=050XX00US06001&hidePreview=true
19. Alameda Public Health Department (n.d), Perinatal Equity Initiative webpage. Retrieved from https://acphd.org/programs-and-services/perinatal-equity-initiative/
20. Advancement Project California. (2019). RACE COUNTS County Rankings. Retrieved from https://www.racecounts.org/rankings/. Note: RACE COUNTS calculates an Index of Disparity to summarize overall equity in outcomes. Details and methodology can be found here.
21. Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council (2021) Alameda County Early Care and Education Needs Assessment. Retrieved from: http:// www.first5alameda.org/ files/2021%20Alameda%20County%20ECE%20Needs%20
Assessment%20FINAL.pdf
22. First 5 Alameda County analysis conducted in October 2021. Estimates suggest that, based on population, Alameda County could see nearly 4,000 more subsidized slots based on the 2021-22 adopted budget. Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the new reimbursement rates could bring an increase of over $20 million countywide to subsidized child care providers just for the slots for children age 0-5 currently in the system (estimates based on assumption of full day care rates). The Center for American Progress provides estimates of the true costs of care for child care programs in California.
23. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2023). Note: Self-reported data for 5,637 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2023. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their self-reported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks
24. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2020). Note: Self-reported data for 2,348 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2020. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their self-reported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks
25. Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council (2021) Alameda County Early Care and Education Needs Assessment. Retrieved from: http:// www.first5alameda.org/ files/2021%20Alameda%20County%20ECE%20Needs%20 Assessment%20FINAL.pdf
26. Applied Survey Research. (2018). Kindergarten Readiness and Later Achievement, A Longitudinal Study in Alameda County. Retrieved from http://www.first5alameda. org/files/Alameda%20 Longitudinal%20KRA%20Study%20Final.pdf
27. Applied Survey Research. (2021). 2021-2022 Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County. Retrieved from http://www.first5alameda.org/kindergarten-readinessassessment
28. LaPiana Consulting. (2019). The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.lapiana.org/insight/the-nonprofit-strategy-revolution-2/
30. Estimate based on extrapolation from survey data and administrative data from October 2020 Alameda County Child Care Program Survey conducted by the Alameda County Early Care and Education Program Local Planning Council and First 5 Alameda County
31. Focali Consulting. (2020, December 30). Meeting Summary
32. Help Me Grow Alameda County. (2021). Program data analysis of families served.
33. McNally, K.R., Enneking, B., Ramaker M., et al. (2020). Family-centered care coordination in an interdisciplinary neurodevelopmental evaluation clinic: Outcomes from care coordinator and caregiver reports. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 8:538633. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.538633
34. Adamsons, K. (2018). Quantity versus quality of nonresident father involvement: Deconstructing the argument that quantity doesn’t matter. Journal of Child Custody, 15(1), 26-34. doi: 10.1080/15379418.2018.1437002
35. Adamsons, K., Johnson, S.K. (2013). An updated and expanded meta-analysis of nonresident fathering and child well-being. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(4), 589–599. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033786
36. McMillan, J.A., Land, M., Tucker, A.E., et al. (2020). Preparing future pediatricians to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of children. Pediatrics, 145(1): e20183796. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3796
37. Macary, S. (2020). Preparing future pediatricians to address behavioral health needs of children: opportunities in pediatric residency training programs. Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc. Issue Brief. Retrieved from https:// www.chdi.org/index.php/publications/issue-briefs/issue-brief-76- preparing-futurepediatricians-address-behavioral-health-needs-children-primary-care
38. University of California, Davis, Continuing and Professional Education, Human Services. Summary: Recommendations for High Fidelity Wraparound Services in California. (2020). Retrieved from https://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/news/ summary-recommendations-high-fidelity-wraparound-services-california
39. Bartlett, J.D., Guzman, L., Ramos-Olazagasti M.A. (2018). 5 things to know about parents’ knowledge of parenting and early childhood development. Child Trends. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/publications/5- things-to-know-aboutparents-knowledge-of-parenting-and-early-childhood-development
40. Secaira, M. (2019). Abigail Echo-Hawk on the art and science of “decolonizing data.” Crosscut. Retrieved from https://crosscut.com/2019/05/abigail-echo-hawk-art-andscience-decolonizing-data
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Table of Contents (P. 3)
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2022-2027AMOMENT OF URGENCY AND POSSIBILITY (P. 4)
Ensuring Alameda County’s children grow into healthy, productive adults is fundamental to our community’s prosperity, health, and well-being. Decades of research have demonstrated that the period from birth to age 5 is the most critical window of opportunity to positively impact a child’s future. The correlation between early childhood development, community and family conditions, and lifelong health have also been established and are undeniably intertwined.
The research makes clear that disparate life outcomes of children related to health, education, and employment are the result of historic and ongoing racist, classist policies that extract resources (i.e., poorly paid labor) and harm some communities, families, and children while benefiting others. Despite these forces, there are systemic interventions that can positively change the lives of children and their families. These findings have profound implications for public policy and the role of public systems.
It is evident that President Biden’s proposals in support of families with young children and Governor Newsom’s investments in early childhood and the safety net are informed by the growing recognition of both the conditions necessary to support family and child well-being and the need for public policy to address the increasing inequality.
Locally, Alameda County voters made significant investments in children and families that are coming closer to fruition. First 5’s role in two local ballot measures as contracted implementation partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and named administrator of The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) will grow our agency's annual revenue from $24 million to approximately $200 million annually, an eight-fold increase. A major focus of this strategic plan is to ready our infrastructure and capacity to support the effective use of these precious public dollars as First 5 Alameda County adapts to these new local and state historic investments in children and families.
This is the moment to invest in a better future through long-term, systemic solutions for children and families.
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WHO WEARE (P. 5 – 6)
First 5 was established in 1998 by California’s Proposition 10. Our role is to improve life outcomes for Alameda County’s youngest children. We support, inform, and partner with public systems (i.e., health, early care and education, economic, and family supports) and community resources to create an early childhood system of care that is responsive to the needs of caregivers and families with young children.
Our “North Star,” the population result that guides our work, is that all Children Are Ready for Kindergarten; our work is to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools support families and children by creating the conditions that position all for success.
We are guided by a “whole community, whole family, whole child” policy and programming approach to our work. First 5 Alameda County uses lessons learned from our investments, research and data, and partnerships to inform policy positions and influence local, state, and national decision-making.
First 5 policy efforts focus on systems change, particularly across sectors, with an intention to shift the conditions that hold problems in place, to achieve meaningful and lasting social change.
- First 5 Association 2022-24 Strategic Plan
We recognize that the context of lived experience is essential to impactful investment, program design, and policy advocacy and support the efforts of families, caregivers, and community-based organizations. We have a multi-year investment in place-based initiatives, and we have funded community engagement work, including summer preK programs, alongside Alameda County’s school districts. We have partnered with community providers and pediatricians to support families’ concerns about their children’s development and access to resources. We provide technical assistance and infrastructure support to the early childhood education field and communitybased providers. We invest in father-friendly programming and systems so that men and dads are not excluded from conversations impacting their children.
We routinely assess and evaluate our efforts to identify areas for improvement and capacity building, and where there are gaps in the early childhood system, we strive to fund and scale promising programs and proven interventions. Where possible, we integrate and align our activities to improve equitable access to better serve the needs of Alameda County families.
Since 2008, First 5 has benchmarked results for our county’s children by conducting a biannual Kindergarten Readiness Community Study. Results have shown very little improvement over time and consistently point to the countervailing impact of systemic
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inequities socioeconomics, community conditions, and limited enrollment in early education as barriers to kindergarten readiness.
Since 1998, First 5 Alameda County has:
- Raised $43.6 million from philanthropic and other funding sources
- Earned $24 million from federal fiscal leveraging
- Awarded $295.5 million to community partners and agencies
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The findings and recommendations in the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Community Study indicate a drop in readiness since the pandemic from 44% to 33%, according to parents, and reinforce a systems-based approach to early childhood that centers on equity and basic needs. First 5’s programming, investments, and policy agenda are multipronged and cross Place, People, and Policy to improve conditions in the areas we support— Neighborhoods, Health & Well-Being, Learning & Care, and Family.
Exhibit 1: Defining Systems Building
Defining Systems Building Systems initiatives are organized efforts to improve a system and its impacts. They can be publicly or privately funded or a combination of the two. Systems initiatives in the early childhood field may have different labels, such as systems building, systems change, or systems reform. Yet systems initiatives are best understood by their focus or by the areas of the system they are trying to improve. Specifically, an early childhood systems initiative might focus on one or more of the following five areas:
From the Early Childhood Systems Building Resource Guide (hhs.gov)
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EVOLVING THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEM OF CARE (P7-10)
After taking inventory of our impact, local system opportunities, and the needs of families and children in the 2017–2022 strategic plan, First 5:
• Integrated signature programs into larger systems when applicable and sunset programs when appropriate
• Launched substantial investments in community-directed, place-based efforts
• Increased the agency’s focus and capacity in policy advocacy, research, and data for action
• Identified public system partners to scale proven strategies, including Early Care and Education (ECE), Pediatric Care Coordination, Fatherhood, and ECE CalWORKs Apprenticeship
Alameda County’s context and our analysis of the public policy levers by which conditions for families can be improved have informed our embrace of equity as the center of our work.
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Coupled with a decline in Proposition 10 tobacco revenues, First 5 has adopted a systems change approach strategy acting as a funder and a policy advocate to address the underlying structural issues (the root causes) that face communities, families, and children.
Since the adoption of the 2022-2027 strategic plan in June 2022, we have continued to leverage our expertise, infrastructure, and investments in Place, People, and Policy, allowing us to scale the past 25 years of our work to build and evolve the early childhood system. Given this, the drivers of our accomplishments and agency growth in this strategic plan update are:
#1 SYSTEM READYING, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CAPACITY 2023 PRIORITY
1. INVESTING IN TRANSFORMATIVE SYSTEM BUILDING
• Continued to build and scale the local early childhood system with new revenue. Our fiscal outlook is strong given new funds, coupled with a clean audit and a balanced budget. While First 5 Alameda County will be experiencing significant growth in the coming year, all other First 5 agencies around the state have declining revenues and are facing layoffs and program cuts. Our colleagues throughout California, and beyond, are looking to us as a model for leveraging funding, policy advocacy, and equity-centered systems building as they manage challenging local circumstances.
At the local, state, and federal level in FY 2023-2024, we received:
$1.6M from the Alameda County Social Services Agency (ACSSA)
$1.6M annual allocation from Alameda Alliance for Health (AAH)
$2.5M annual allocation for Medi-Cal Administrative Activities (MAA)
$2.2M from multi-year grants from philanthropy and Child Family & Community Services (CFCS)
$9.6M from California Proposition 10 (75% reduction from its inception in 1998)
$24.5M From the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund
• Adopted the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as the new Kindergarten Readiness Community Study tool. The EDI is a comprehensive tool that provides valuable insights into the conditions that support family well-being and child development. The information collected through parents/caregivers and educators will provide data down to the census tract on the conditions and will inform policy decisions and investments The adoption of this new tool to be used in FY 2025-2026 was a collaborative decision made by all school districts involved in the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool Decision-Making Series, a sequence of meetings that was co-chaired by Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro and First 5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos and included school district representatives and labor representation. The series culminated in the unanimous decision to adopt the
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EDI as the tool for future Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies. We believe the EDI will serve as a critical component in our efforts to improve local systems and conditions that support children 0-5 and their families.
• Created a Pediatric Care Coordination Division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing and capacity to reach more Alameda County children and families. We renewed funding for our Help Me Grow and DULCE programs and collaborated with local partners, including our local Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan (Alameda Alliance for Health), Alameda Health System, and the Stupski Foundation to identify additional funding sources to sustain and scale these vital programs. This work successfully increased our Alameda Alliance for Health grant award from $572,473 in fiscal year 2021-2022 to $1.59 million in fiscal year 2023-2024, an increase of $1 million.
• Continued to expand and began evaluation of the Early Education Apprentice Program. This program is an “earn and learn model” that covers tuition and permit fees for early care educators, while providing on-the-job training, as well as stipends and additional supports like tutoring and child care. It is an exemplary model of a public-private partnership as the program is jointly funded by the Alameda County Social Services Agency, First 5 Alameda County, and Tipping Point Community. This is the type of public policy infrastructure necessary to support continued growth in our local early care and education delivery system.
• Continued to offer training to providers. First 5 disseminates best practices to professionals working with young children in mental health, early education, health, family support, and administration. In FY 2022-2023, we provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field, and we distributed $288,430 in professional development and training stipends to ECE professionals and caregivers participating in First 5's Quality Counts program.
• Continued to fund Project DULCE at Highland Hospital. Families enrolled in the program receive enhanced support in which a family specialist in the pediatric setting supports connection of the families to needed resources, including legal support. More than 160 families were enrolled and received support in FY 20222023.
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• Restructured the agency and conducted hiring to build the staff capacity and infrastructure needed to administer substantial new public funds. Spurred by the Oakland Children's Initiative and Measure C, we have been proactively building an organization prepared to manage the significant system building legislatively mandated by these new public resources. Since fiscal year 2022-2023, we added 34 new positions in various areas throughout the agency, including programs, operations, finance, compliance, technology, data and evaluation, planning,
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communications, and government affairs and policy. The hiring and structural changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we enter a 3-to-5-year building phase. We seek to retain and recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity and cultural fabric of Alameda County, support staff development and professional growth, ensure regulatory compliance, and effectively implement existing and new initiatives.
• Continued centering equity in our programming, investments, and advocacy and intentionally engaging in dialogue regarding organizational culture. First 5 has used equity to inform our work since our founding in 1998. Over the years, we have intentionally built upon and strengthened this commitment, including in our 20172022 and 2022-2027 strategic plans. As part of our evolution in fiscal year 20222023, we engaged in a participatory agencywide learning and development process to update our equity statement to encompass our current work, intentions for continuous learning and improvement, and commitment to accountability (see pages 21). In fiscal year 2023-2024, our agency took an important step in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by engaging in all-staff trainings on unconscious bias. The trainings, led by Dr. Sacha Joseph-Mathews, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Stanislaus State University, equipped employees with fundamental knowledge, tools, and resources to identify, address, and minimize unconscious bias in their dealings with fellow team members and stakeholders.
• Ensuring that our governing body represents our commitment to communitydirected investments by appointing a representative of a parent/community-based building group as a First 5 Commissioner.
3. EVOLVING TO MORE COMMUNITY-CENTERED PROGRAMMING
• Launched key programmatic and community investments, including:
o A new division of Pediatric Care Coordination encompassing our existing family-serving programs out of pediatric health settings, including Help Me Grow’s developmental screening, outreach, referral, and navigation and the DULCE’s model health, resource, and legal supports.
o A strategic parent partnership program focused on supporting Black mothers and birthing people and on investing in community-based strategies to disrupt inequities and disparities in birth outcomes with a focus on lactation supports for Black birthing people
• Reached key programmatic and community investment milestones, including:
o Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) initiative grantees engaged in a yearlong facilitated strategic planning process with Cities and People Advisors to identify each site’s community-directed multi-year priorities and develop strategic work plans and data profiles to implement their priorities. This process also fostered alignment with Oakland Thrives’ Rise East Initiative, a
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placed-based investment that is on the precipice of receiving more than $100 million from philanthropic partners. Proudly, First 5’s NRFS investment was part of the foundation that made the Rise East investment by philanthropy possible.
o Alameda County Father Corps 10-Year Evaluation. The evaluation details the history and evolution of the program since its inception in 2013, the impacts on fathers and father figures, service providers, and system leaders who are connected to the Fathers Corps, and recommendations and innovation opportunities for each of the target audiences to improve access, outcomes, and systems change. The evaluation will help the agency continue improving and evolving the program to better serve fathers and father figures and share lessons learned with other agencies who wish to implement fatherhood initiatives.
o Fatherhood Summit Hosted more than 400 fathers and father figures in a free all-day event, where attendees engaged in workshops, activities, and trainings and connected to community resources and employment opportunities.
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ALAMEDACOUNTY’S CONTEXT –DATAFORACTION (P11-14)
Alameda County’s context and our analysis of the public policy levers by which conditions for families can be improved have informed our embrace of equity as the center of our work.
Coupled with a decline in Proposition 10 tobacco revenues, First 5 has adopted a systems change approach strategy acting as a funder and a policy advocate to address the underlying structural issues (the root causes) that face communities, families, and children.
Alameda County Family Demographics
• Approximately 71,000 households with children under 6 (2019)1
• More than 108,264 children under age 6 (2021)2,3
• Approximately 6.4% of total population under age 6 (2021)2,3
• More than 16,900 births (2021)4
• 3 out of 4 children born to mothers of color (2019)4
• 7th most diverse county in the United States (2020)5
• Nearly half of children live in households that speak a language other than English at home. (2022)6
• Half of children under age 6 live with at least one parent who was born outside of the US. (2022)7
Financial Realities of Families
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Children 0-6 Enrolled in Public Benefits in Alameda County (2021)14
Medical 32,008 (28% of total children 0-6)
CalFresh 12,182 (11% of total children 0-6)
Children and women, especially those who identify as people of color, bear the brunt of structural inequities.
Approximately 1 in 10 children under 6 lives below the Federal Poverty Level. (2021)15
In Alameda County and the Bay Area, more than 1 in 3 women are caught in financial precarity.13
3 out of 4 households struggling to meet their basic needs in Alameda County have a head of household that identifies as a person of color.13
1 in 3 families struggled to afford diapers prior to the pandemic 16
The cost of living continues to rise at an unsustainable rate.
68% increase in child care cost (2014–2021)8
30% increase in median family income (2000–2021)17
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48% of renters pay more than 30% of their income for rent. (2021)18
Structural Inequities Lead to Racial Disparities
Maternal and Newborn Health19
Black women and birthing people are 3x more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth and to experience more maternal health complications.
Black women are 2x as likely to live in poverty during pregnancy.
Black babies are 3-4x more likely to be born too early, too small, or to die before their first birthday.
Access to Child Care
Alameda County is the second most disparate county in California for children enrolled in licensed early care and education a key driver for kindergarten readiness.20
There is significant unmet need for subsidized care.
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Child Care Professionals Work in a Critical and Fragile System
There is a significant need for investment and expansion in ECE licensed facilities. We estimate that the facilities cost to meet demand for licensed ECE child care in Alameda is likely in the range of $2 billion to $4 billion.22
96% of Alameda County ECE educators identify as women. (2020)23
82% of ECE educators are considered very low income for Alameda County. (2022)24
79% of Alameda County ECE educators identify as women of color. (2020)24
52% of ECE educators are over 50 years old.24
20% of providers at child care centers reported earning less than $15 per hour. (2020)23
Between March 2020 and January 2021, 153 (7%) licensed child care facilities in Alameda County closed permanently.25 From 2019 to 2021, there were 21 fewer licensed care centers and 270 fewer family child care (FCC) sites in Alameda County.25
Child Outcomes
First 5’s 2018 longitudinal study found that four in five children who are behind in kindergarten are still behind in third grade, a predictor of high school graduation and later health and career success.26
We find that differences in kindergarten readiness are largely attributable to inequities in access to resources. The greatest movable factor continues to be child health and well-being, which is tied to socioeconomics, housing stability, and stress among parents/caregivers.27
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MEETING THIS MOMENT IN TIME (P.15)
Kindergarten readiness studies have consistently indicated that factors predicting readiness are closely associated with socioeconomic conditions rooted in structural racism, classism, and public disinvestment in neighborhoods with primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residents.
The pandemic exacerbated persistent health and economic inequities that disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities, creating increased risks for families’ economic security, emotional well-being, educational progress, health, and safety. The long-term effects on kindergarten readiness are not yet fully understood, but in Alameda County we saw a drop in readiness from 44% to 33% in two years
First 5 Alameda County’s 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) findings and recommendations point to systemic inequities and show how our county can reassess policies, programming, and investment in communities, families, and schools to increase kindergarten readiness. First 5 Alameda County is focused on building and evolving an equity-centered early childhood system that matches the priority areas identified in the KRA study, and the “Roadmap to Kindergarten Readiness” (see figure on page 16).
Building an equity-centered early childhood system that centers a whole community, whole family, whole child approach to improve kindergarten readiness is essential to the current and future overall health of Alameda County.
It will require the prioritization, commitment, and investment of a cross-section of partners, including public systems, community-based organizations, parent advocates and leaders, and philanthropic organizations. To this end, First 5 funds, partners, administers, and advocates to ensure that families have what they need at every stop along the “Road to Kindergarten Readiness” and that systems are prepared to meet the needs of children, families, and communities.
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SUMMARY OF STRATEGIC PLAN PARTNER FEEDBACK (P.17)
We are building on the partner feedback from our 2021-22 planning process (see Appendix B), which highlighted priorities for supporting families and providers, and for First 5 and public systems, including:
• Build/evolve the early childhood system.
• Families and communities have strengths to build upon and should be valued, listened to, and leveraged.
• Underlying structural inequities by race and class are impacting families, providers, and communities
Our system partner, Oakland Thrives, encapsulated our partner feedback succinctly at a November 2022 in-person gathering with this statement:
We are "program rich and systems poor." We have a wealth of programs and opportunities for children, youth, and families in Oakland, but realizing the promise of those programs at neighborhood or citywide scale relies on collaboration, innovation, and alignment of public and private sector leaders, systems, and resources.
We have hosted local, state, and national leaders to support our learning journey, including in March 2023 an all-staff presentation by Dr. Manuel Pastor, who was also the keynote speaker at the 2023 First 5 Association state annual summit focused on systems change.
"There is no going back to a normal that did not work for so many. We do not need a recovery but a reimagination, restructuring, and renewal that challenges inequality and lifts commonality "
- Dr. Manuel Pastor, speaking to First 5 Alameda County All-Staff meeting, March 9, 2023
First 5 is guided by a “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach to our work. With our role as administrators of Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) ballot measures, new sources of revenue are available for critical early childhood programming and system building. With these new investments, First 5 can reallocate Proposition 10 funds to return to source resources for BIPOC communities, lowincome communities, and neighborhoods that have experienced historic and ongoing disinvestment and wealth extraction.
Looking ahead for fiscal year 2024-25, First 5 Alameda County will continue making progress on:
1. Implementing the Children's Health and Child Care Initiative (Measure C) and continuing our administration of the Oakland Children’s Initiative.
2. Updating and operationalizing the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan according to the agency's expansion and system building efforts for a whole community, whole family, whole child approach
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OURAPPROACH (P. 18-19)
We will be successful when all children in Alameda County are ready for kindergarten Our work is to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools are ready to support families and children to position them for life-long educational success, health, and wellbeing.
We have learned a lot over the last 25 years about the connection between community conditions and children’s outcomes, and our learning was reinforced again this past year with the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Given our mission, the consistent KRA findings, and our analysis of opportunities for impact, we have adopted a Place, People, Policy framework to guide our investment in children and families toward building an equity-centered early childhood system:
PLACE – We believe that the health and well-being of children and their families are strongly influenced by the social and economic conditions of their neighborhoods. Strong, supportive communities help children and families thrive. We invest in programs and policies that promote economically prosperous and vibrant environments that afford access to opportunities and promote well-being by:
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“What really matters is childhood environment, rather than where you live as an adult. Every extra year of exposure to a positive childhood environment makes a significant impact on long-term outcomes.” –
Dr. Raj Chetty
From Dr. Chetty’s presentation as part of the 2021 First 5 Alameda County Commission Speaker Series
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o Building on Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) place-based investments
o Integrating services across First 5’s targeted neighborhoods, in alignment with Alameda County’s priority zip codes
o Strengthening place-based systems change and care coordination for families in NRFS sites
PEOPLE – We believe caregivers are the experts on their needs and the needs of their children and families. We work with them to identify their strengths, resources, and needs. We partner with them to reinforce their family and community supports and improve the effectiveness of our investments by:
o Connecting families to basic needs and resources
o Investing in parent partnership and leadership
o Increasing access to affordable, quality child care options that meet the needs of low-to-moderate-income families in Oakland and Alameda County as mandated by the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
o Supporting educators and education systems to promote success for children by providing educators with wages, facilities resources, workforce development, coaching, and technical assistance
o Promoting early screening and care coordination to address social-emotional, trauma, or developmental concerns
o Fostering family well-being through innovative parent-centered programming
o Maintaining comprehensive, quality early childhood training content to providers, parents/caregivers, and community in line with our commitment to equity
POLICY – We believe that our policy work should address structural racism and childhood poverty and their impact on child development and family well-being. Furthermore, our policy work is most effective when families are engaged in its development and active in a leadership role. We believe that data, research, and evaluation should be conducted in partnership with the community, informing an action agenda for advocacy and organizing. We believe that public systems should be accessible, effective, and responsive to families’ needs. We take a systems-change approach by advancing solutions that move the early childhood system from a patchwork of services to an integrated ecosystem. We build an equity-centered early childhood system by:
o Measuring continuous improvement in service to equity
o Evolving quality early care and education and capacity building for the field
o Expanding local pediatric strategies and systems care coordination capabilities (through Help Me Grow and DULCE)
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o Using data and policy advocacy to advance local, state, and national investments in people, place, and systems
o Preparing the agency to administer The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) and other local, state, and federal funding initiatives
o Advancing policies and supports for early childcare workers’ professional development, workforce diversification, and equitable compensation and working conditions that support providers and quality care
With this scaffolding in place, First 5 Alameda County is well-positioned to build out an equity-centered early childhood system. We will continue this transformation by partnering with parents, caregivers, community, providers, and public systems to address the underlying inequities. We will leverage the assets in Alameda County and seize the opportunity of once-in-a-generation federal, state, and local investments to build a more integrated early childhood system.
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COMMITMENT TO EQUITY (P. 20-21)
First 5 is committed to being an anti-racist organization.
Our 2017–2022 strategic plan explicitly named equity as a central component of our work. Inequity negatively impacts the health and well-being of children and families. We promote equity in our organization and within the community broadly. Equity informs our hiring, staff development, investments, training, community partnerships, program design, approach to data, research, and evaluation, and policy advocacy.
Our equity work is an ongoing march toward justice and equality. In 2017 and 2018, we adopted resolutions opposing inhumane immigration practices and the enforcement of threats to immigrant families by the federal government. In June 2020, the First 5 Alameda County Commission reaffirmed this commitment to equity by adopting a resolution on equity and social justice to stand united with our Black and African American colleagues, partners, and the entire Black community against racism in all its forms. We consider these resolutions as public commitments by which we hold ourselves accountable.
In 2022, we committed to an agencywide process to create a shared understanding of equity to capture our current work, intentions for continuous learning and improvement, and commitment to accountability. A key consideration is how best to utilize our role within the Early Childhood System of Care to operationalize our shared understanding of equity. We do this by using the population result that guides our work that all Children Are Ready for Kindergarten to ensure that policies, systems, communities, and schools support families and children by creating the conditions that position all for success.
From Fall 2022 through Spring 2023, First 5 Alameda County partnered with Radicle Root Collective with learning from Arnold Chandler to engage all staff in a participatory process to articulate our shared understanding of and commitment to equity.
Equity Statement:
First 5 Alameda County is committed to being an equity-centered, anti-racist, and anticlassist organization. We recognize that we operate in a racialized economic system characterized by extractive and exploitative labor practices and public policies that perpetuate long-standing disparate life outcomes. To this end, we use anti-racist and equitybased practices to invest in and support children, families, and neighborhoods. Our Place, People, Policy framework intentionally prioritizes our investments in communities that have experienced historic and systemic racism and disinvestment.
As a part of this commitment, we use our resources to redress (to set right) these injustices by:
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• Celebrating Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) cultures and honoring their assets, values, and needs by ensuring investments, programs, data, and policy work is directed by and reflects the richness and needs of these communities
• Prioritizing the needs of low-to-moderate-income families and neighborhoods with historical disinvestment
• Addressing root causes through the administration of public funds, advocacy, and operationalization of public policy
• Interrupting inequities that impact the conditions needed for kindergarten readiness
• Ensuring that our investments, policies, practices, and agency culture are aligned with our equity principles
We acknowledge that our unconscious and conscious bias impacts our practices. Therefore, we are committed to deepening our understanding of how power, wealth, and opportunity imbalances appear in policies, communities, organizations, and interpersonal relationships. We can only do this as lifelong learners with a growth mindset focused on transformative change.
We commit to continuous improvement and to hold ourselves accountable to operationalize this statement and our principles.
In addition to our co-created Equity Statement, we are adopting the “Guiding Principles for Federal Action on Racial Equity” developed by national leaders PolicyLink and Race Forward to further articulate our intentions. The statement and principles are consistent with our systems approach and will be operationalized into each of our strategies.
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE 1 UNDERSTAND THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND YOUR INFLUENCE
Understand and acknowledge the federal, state, and local* government’s role in impacting society at a wide scale to this day whether positive, negative, or seemingly neutral
PRINCIPLE 2 CONSISTENTLY ADDRESS ROOT DRIVERS
Target the fundamental root drivers of gaps and inequities and prioritize the people who have traditionally been excluded, recognizing these investments will benefit all
PRINCIPLE 3 WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IMPACT IN RELEVANT COMMUNITIES
Leverage the expertise and experiences of all to promote equity, particularly leaders of color and their communities
PRINCIPLE 4 ADOPT A CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND ADAPTIVE APPROACH
Acknowledge that the scale and complexity of reaching racial equity will require ongoing commitment, action, and adjustments to drive meaningful change and strengthen our democracy
PRINCIPLE 5 BE TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE
Build public trust and accountability in the long-term commitment for racial equity through datadriven decision-making and outcome tracking
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[Insert as Footnote]
*Edited from the original “Five guiding principles for federal action on racial equity” developed by PolicyLink. Original source: 2021 PolicyLink report, For Love of Country: A Path for the Federal Government to Advance Racial Equity, page 36.
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WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP(P. 22)
In conjunction with our agencywide equity work, First 5 Alameda County will refine its partner engagement approach and practices. We define partnership as the authentic and intentional work to develop responsive and reciprocal practices and relationships with parents, caregivers, providers, and community so that our strategies reflect a collective community vision.
Through our practices, we will increase parent and community engagement to promote equity and broader systems change. This agencywide commitment is represented in all our strategies, and we are nurturing our continued growth in this area to fulfill our commitment.
In the years ahead, we commit to:
• Adopting agency principles for partner engagement in all facets of our work. We are examining existing models and frameworks, including those introduced via the First 5 Association, the Ripples of Transformation, the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s manifesto for parent engagement, as well as frameworks adopted by other public agencies, to inform the development of agency principles
• Engaging in a cross-agency effort to operationalize shared principles and goals to align our work, ensure operational equity, and focus the direction of partner engagement
• Assessing our current approach and practices including resources to support parent, community, and partner participation
• Providing the necessary resources and capacity to support this agencywide initiative
• Adopting community advisory and governance mechanisms as mandated by legislation to administer funding from the Oakland Children’s Initiative and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
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2022–2031 STRATEGIC PLAN PARAMETERS & FINANCIALPICTURE
(P. 23-24)
First 5 Alameda County identified the following planning assumptions and parameters, approved by the Commission to guide the development of this document. They are:
- Continue to diversify revenue to support building an equity-centered early childhood system, including partnerships with the county managed care plan, Social Services Agency, Health Care Services Agency, and other public entities to scale First 5 Alameda County programs fundamental to an early childhood system. This includes leveraging our infrastructure (financial, contract, staff expertise) to build out an equity-centered early childhood system.
o Proposition 10 has been shoring up the early childhood system in preparation for the type of public investments we are now seeing from our managed care plan to support pediatric care coordination, the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA), and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) for early care and education.
o We have temporarily used our sustainability fund to offset Proposition 10 reductions while planning for diversified revenue sources and scale of successful programs.
- New public funding preserves the flexible Proposition 10 funding to resource the early childhood system, for example investments in birth equity programs and advocacy supporting the “family” part of the system.
- Utilize a largely contracted and community-based, equity-focused model for Proposition 10-funded activities, including direct services. Available Proposition 10 funds can be used to support proof-of-concept strategies for policy and systems change and provide funding to community-led initiatives. As a declining revenue source, it is not a sustainable funding stream to scale direct services staffed by First 5 Alameda County, or those we consider part of the county safety net
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LOCALREVENUE FOR EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION (P. 25-27)
Additional Resources Create Opportunity
The past five years have been a high-water mark for legislation and funding to address the divide in access to early care and education, healthcare, and social services in California. Both California and Alameda County are making significant investments in children and families. At the state level, California is implementing an unprecedented set of initiatives to redesign its social safety net, including Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), California
Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), though their implementation may be delayed or scaled back due to the State’s budget deficit.
In Alameda County, there are two active ballot measures related to early care and education (see Appendix C for more details):
1) The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) was passed in November 2018 and upheld by the courts in 2021. The Oakland Children’s Initiative is funded by a parcel tax projected to provide approximately $30 million annually in funding for early care and education and college preparedness programs for Oakland residents. In December 2022, First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative.
2) The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), a countywide measure, was passed by voters in March 2020 and names First 5 Alameda County as the administering agency of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education portion of the revenue. The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County is expected to raise approximately $150M annually for early care and education. The Measure was upheld by the courts in April 2024. In fiscal year 2024-25, First 5 will begin a year of planning to develop the initial five-year program plan and budget for approval by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
Given these federal and state policy initiatives, local ballot measures, and the groundbreaking partnership with the Alameda Alliance for Health, First 5 Alameda County is uniquely positioned for growth and sustainability when compared to its sister organizations.
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The new local revenue and scaling of programs, by tapping into federal and state allocations, afford an opportunity to reimagine a more equitable early childhood system. In doing so our lessons learned and local success could very well serve as a model for state and federal policies that recognize and invest in child care and the labor of providers as the public good that they are.
Local Ballot Measures, First 5, and Alameda County’s Early Childhood System
First 5 Alameda County commits to the responsible stewardship of these precious public resources, in partnership with the City of Oakland, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, community governance and advisory bodies, and other early care and education partners, particularly parents/caregivers and early care and education professionals. The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) will benefit Oakland and Alameda County’s early childhood system of care broadly and will impact First 5 Alameda County as the county’s only governmental agency solely dedicated to families/caregivers with children 0-5 by:
• Aligning new investment with our current investments and providing resources for backbone support to the early childhood system
• Allowing us to leverage our subject matter expertise, community partnerships, and infrastructure
• Facilitating integration with our programming and fiscal leveraging of Proposition 10, Measure AA, and Measure C, in addition to federal, state, local, and philanthropic funds
• Leveraging the flexible Proposition 10 dollars to fund components of the early childhood system (e.g., birth equity, neighborhood investments)
• Shifting our role, budget, operations, scale (i.e., staff and contracts), and community and public partnerships
Readying Our County for Systems Change
The intention is for First 5 Alameda County to leverage our agency infrastructure to implement the mandates in the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), and to coordinate federal, state, and local funding streams to build a more coordinated, efficient, effective, and equity-centered early childhood system in Alameda County.
The systems change opportunities for the early care and education system locally are profound. Measures AA and C will significantly increase the amount of revenue the Alameda County early care and education system receives from the state and federal sources for child care and early learning The community, providers, and public systems partners will all play a significant role in the implementation of the measure
First 5 Alameda County preparations to administer the local ballot measures required the agency to review its competencies, capabilities, and capacity to perform this expanded role. Preparing our
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organization for growth was a top priority in 2022 and 2023. This has included evolving the organizational infrastructure, bringing in resources to manage substantial organizational change, and successfully hiring critical positions. The hiring and structural changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we have entered a three-to-five-year building phase.
With the courts’ final decision in 2024 to uphold Measure C, First 5 may now begin implementation of the measure, which will start with orienting and staffing a Community Advisory Council (CAC) to advise First 5 on the development of a five-year program plan and budget to govern the use of funds allocated to the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account (80% of Measure C funds). This plan and budget must be approved by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
To ready the agency and shore up the early childhood system in anticipation of Measure C, First 5 Alameda County has been planning, with community and partners, in the areas of:
Community, Family, and Provider Engagement and Outreach
With support from national experts and consultants we began designing our community engagement framework. We are internally vetting this framework for continued guidance of our community partnership efforts. In addition:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we embarked on a series of informational Oakland Children’s Initiative and Measure C presentations to share updates and information with community, parents, providers, and partners.
Facilities
Utilizing findings from our Facilities Needs Assessment to inform the infrastructure and space needed to offer high-quality early care and education programming:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a contractor for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund and Technical Assistance program.
Financial Landscape
Analyzing existing state and federal early care and education funding, children served, and expenditures to inform implementation of Measure C:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024 we began working with national experts to support financial forecasting
Quality Supports
Supporting and advancing quality supports for early care and education providers, including family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) caregivers, in meeting their identified quality goals. Supports include coaching, professional development, technical assistance, training, etc.
Research and Evaluation
• In fiscal year 2023-2024 a countywide table of school district representatives was convened to identify a common policy-focused tool for measuring Kindergarten Readiness countywide. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) was selected as the tool for future Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies
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Technology, Data Systems
Assessing and planning for technology and data systems that promote and monitor the effectiveness of local strategies, including the mandated evaluation; integrating information on subsidies, quality, and the ECE workforce:
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Technology Development Liaison to assist in the development of requirements for an early care and education centralized eligibility and enrollment system and a data warehouse system.
Workforce Strategies Partnering with the field to develop workforce strategies to attract, train, retain, and promote early care and education professionals, including a landscape analysis to prioritize investments
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PROGRAM STRATEGIES (P. 28-35)
Overview
Since 2017, First 5 Alameda County has strategically enhanced its organizational capacity to engage in systems building by:
1) Increasing organizational capacity to center community need and voice
2) Engaging in policy advocacy
3) Leveraging federal, state, and local funds to ensure sustainability and scale of programming vital to an early childhood system
The evolution of our method of systems building has required us to take a multi-pronged approach, incorporating place-based investments, administration of programs, and building policy, data, evaluation, and communications capacity to articulate impact and advocate for resources.28
Using the Place, People, Policy implementation framework, First 5 Alameda County is catalyzing increased access to services and supporting family-friendly community conditions. This enabled us to be nimble in our response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, alongside support of building an equity-centered early childhood system in service to community, family, and child well-being.
Neighborhoods Ready for School Purpose
Thriving neighborhoods are an essential component of an early childhood system. First 5’s Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) strategy is a place-based investment, asset building, and policy response to the relationship and interplay between neighborhood conditions, family and child well-being, and the structural factors that contribute to overall health, development, and school readiness. The NRFS strategy funds trusted community-based organizations using an equity index to prioritize neighborhoods with young children that have been historically marginalized due to racist, classist systems and policies.
Our 2019 Kindergarten Readiness study confirmed the importance of this place-based approach. We found that neighborhood assets, especially the presence of mutual support among community members, along with sidewalks, walking paths, and libraries, significantly boost children’s school readiness 29 Families earning at least $50,000 per year were significantly more likely than lower income families to report the availability of each asset in their neighborhood. Higher income families reported 6.1–6.7 assets in their neighborhoods, while lower income families reported 4.5–5.5 assets. Children in both low-income families and higher-income families had significantly higher kindergarten readiness if they also lived in asset-rich neighborhoods.
The NRFS strategy employs a trust-based philanthropy model that recognizes and prioritizes the knowledge and wisdom of those who live and work within communities. Community partners are
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best positioned to define their own needs, appropriate responses, and their role in policy advocacy. The key principles guiding this place-based community capacity building and infrastructure are:
• Strengthening economic supports and basic needs, food, and supply distribution during COVID-19 in service to systems change
• Increasing coordination of family services across systems, family navigation, and connection to resources
• Directing early childhood programs and services, including virtual supports
• Expanding the physical infrastructure to promote safe spaces for young children and their families
• Fostering family leadership and civic engagement
• Building partnerships among community organizations and government
• Supporting policy advocacy efforts catalyzed and led by residents
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Work with NRFS sites to implement the strategies developed in response to the priorities and needs identified by the community as part of the facilitated strategic planning process completed in fiscal year 2023-2024.
2. Concentrate First 5 programs in NRFS catchment areas to leverage investments and generate multiplier effect across the neighborhoods.
3. Develop an essential data set for reporting and analysis to understand impact, identify areas for continuous improvement, and ease the reporting burden on grantees.
4. Invest in school district, service provider capacity and partnerships, and community infrastructure that supports families (housing, libraries, parks) and kindergarten readiness.
5. In collaboration with NRFS agencies, use the qualitative and quantitative data collected from neighborhood partners and other sources to advocate for policy and systems changes that will help to improve conditions for families with young children.
6. Showcase successes and local stories that demonstrate effectiveness to support sustainability of the NRFS models.
Early Care and Education (ECE)
Purpose
Early Care and Education (ECE) is a cornerstone of the early childhood system and a vital part of the local economy. However, the field has historically been an under-resourced and underappreciated.
Participation in early care and education (ECE) is a leading factor in predicting kindergarten readiness, as research has shown that participation in ECE significantly narrowed readiness gaps. 29 Our biannual Kindergarten Readiness Community Studies have consistently found less than half of children in Alameda County are fully ready for kindergarten, largely due to socioeconomics tied to structural racism, with particular consequences for African-American and Latinx children.
Affordability is a major barrier to accessing ECE. The cost of child care has risen 68% since 2014; a family of four in Alameda County with a preschooler and infant pays one-third of their income toward child care costs.13 At the same time, there is a significant gap in access to subsidies for income-eligible families with an unmet need in 2018 of 91% of eligible infants and 46% of eligible
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preschool children in Alameda County.21 The pandemic worsened existing inequities, with families facing historic levels of job loss, school and child care closures, and food insecurity.
ECE professionals are an underpaid and aging workforce, with high attrition rates. Eighty-seven (87%) of Alameda County ECE professionals, 79% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or other women of color, are considered very low-income for the county 24 Across the county, the number of licensed family child care providers declined by 34% between 2007 and 2019.21 These operational challenges increased during the pandemic. We estimate that the Alameda County ECE field lost $395 million in fiscal year 2020-2021 alone ($220 million without taking into consideration the increased cost of providing care) and these losses are expected to continue in the current fiscal year.30
To better support families and educators and to improve the spaces where students learn, Alameda County voters made significant investments in children and families through their support of two local ballot measures the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C). As the implementation partner and administrator of these measures, First 5 is taking on the complex and deeply fragmented system that has traditionally patched together early education in Alameda County and is now serving as the public system backbone to these initiatives
High-quality early care and education, licensed and community-based childhood development programming are key components of the early childhood system of care. The ECE strategy provides quality improvement supports for the mixed delivery system centers, family child care (FCC) providers, and family friend and neighbor (FFN) providers with coaching, training, professional development, technical assistance, and financial incentives and supports that include learning networks for each type of child care delivery setting, ensuring technical support, and fostering leadership and community. First 5 also partners with libraries and family resource centers to support quality developmental programming for those children who are not in a licensed early educational setting.
We recognize that the scarcity of public resources limits the existence of and access to quality child care and quality community-based programming. As a result, we prioritize those caring for children receiving subsidies and those that have historically been unable to access ECE supports, particularly FCCs and FFNs.
We recognize the strengths and needs of dual-language learners and promote inclusive practices in classrooms to meet the requirements of children with special needs, so all early learners are positioned for success.
Finally, we are updating our child care facilities census and charting the ECE workforce development needs. In addition, First 5 is creating opportunities to generate interest and professionalization of these important roles by creating apprenticeship programs as a pathway to recruit people new to the field and retain teachers.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Work with partners to design, administer, and implement programmatic strategies for two local child care measures the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) and the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C).
2. Co-design with community, families, and provider partners a more equity-informed approach to the early learning and care ecosystem inclusive of the full mixed delivery
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system.
3. Shift First 5’s resources from formal assessment and rating to support early learning and care professionals in coordinated training, coaching, mentorship, professional learning communities, curriculum support, stipends, and other financial supports, where allowable.
4. Provide core infrastructure support to the local Quality Counts California activities in Alameda County and maintain county readiness for additional partnership and funding opportunities.
5. Increase the number of FCC and FFN providers participating in Quality Counts, especially those serving low-income, dual-language learners, children with special needs, and children experiencing homelessness.
6. Expand partnerships with community organizations and public agencies such as parks and recreation departments and libraries to serve children outside of formal care settings, while identifying ways to increase and improve place-based support for FFNs and FCCs in Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) settings/neighborhoods.
7. Increase collaboration and integration between ECE and other First 5 programs and investments, including NRFS, Help Me Grow, Parent Partnership, and Fatherhood.
8. Leverage and streamline, in partnership with Data and Evaluation staff, the local use of ECE data systems, including Hubbe and the California ECE Workforce Registry, to strengthen the collection of data and to better support planning, data decolonization, and tools for community partners and the ECE field.
9. Based on the ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, develop and implement strategies to increase capacity and quality of facilities and infrastructure in key areas of unmet need.**
10. Monitor, in partnership with Government Affairs and Policy staff, the implementation of TKUniversal Pre-K and support plans that incorporate best practices for meeting family and children’s needs and support the mixed delivery system.
11. Based on the workforce landscape study, in partnership with the Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council, Alameda County Office of Education, and community partners, develop and implement county strategies for leveraging state and local resources to address the well-being of the ECE workforce (e.g., career pathways, wages and benefits, quality jobs, etc.)**
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Parent Partnership
Purpose
Family Leadership is one of the core components of an early childhood system, as it enhances parents’ leadership and advocacy in early childhood programs and at home. First 5’s redefined Parent Partnership strategy invests in direct services to families and children with a focus on maternal and child health and the 0–3 years and uses parent leadership to inform programming and investments. The Parent Partnership strategy increases access and reduces disparities stemming from inequities through program design, investments, and systems partnerships.
Inequities in policies, systems, and practices, with roots in structural racism, have an impact on families and children. Black women and birthing people are three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth and to experience more maternal health complications.19 Black babies are three to four times more likely to be born too early, too small, or to die before their first birthday.19 Given the deep disparities and recognizing that the period from 0–3 is a critical time for children and families, First 5 is committed to programming, investments, and engagements that seek to improve underlying structural conditions and outcomes.
The revised Parent Partnership strategy includes: 1) formulating parent-advised investments in programs, supports, and services that promote equity in birth outcomes, maternal and child health, family well-being, and kindergarten readiness, 2) ensuring parents representing the diversity of languages in Alameda County can be active partners through interpretation and translation, and 3) building partnerships with maternal and child health-serving agencies and organizations.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Collaborate with parents and systems partners to define type of investment, program approach, and guiding frameworks to increase focus on birth equity, Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality, and promoting equity in the 0-3 space.**
2. Assess First 5’s Cultural Access Services (CAS) structure within the agency to best meet the diverse interpretation and translation needs of families, providers, and contractors. **
3. Identify emerging opportunities, legislative and budgetary, related to maternal health and birth equity to scale promising programs and supports and to inform program design, policy advocacy, and the evolution of the local early childhood system.
4. Employ data and lessons learned in collaboration with parents, staff, and partners to:**
i. Advocate for scaling of DULCE, and the importance of legal, medical, and social services partnerships to address the social determinants of health
ii. Demonstrate how parent partnership initiatives have improved outcomes for children and families to make a case for sustainability and systems change
Pediatric Care Coordination Purpose
Comprehensive Health and Development is a key component of the early childhood system. First 5’s Pediatric Care Coordination (PCC) strategy focuses on achieving a common goal that all children in Alameda County grow up healthy, thriving, and strong. Decades of national research has demonstrated that early childhood development and overall well-being is affected by the social
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determinants of health including community and environmental conditions, racism, poverty, stress, relationships, access to resources, and education.
There are more than 32,000 low-income children under age 6 enrolled in Medi-Cal in Alameda County.14 While Alameda County has been a state leader in enrolling income-eligible children in public health coverage, approximately one in three are not engaging in or receiving regular pediatric preventive care, including but not limited to well-child care and early childhood screenings.31 Approximately 85% of children served through Help Me Grow, First 5’s centerpiece program of this strategy, are insured through Medi-Cal, and 20% of families served were also referred to services for basic needs, such as food, housing, health care, and child care.32
Given this landscape, the primary goal of this strategy is to connect and integrate public and community screening, referral, and response resources. Our focus is to engage, assess, and connect children, especially Medi-Cal enrolled families, to pediatric preventative care, medically necessary services, and community-based programming and support.
Fundamental to this strategy is maximizing the family’s pediatric visits. Pediatric visits are an entry point to care management, resource referral, and other community supports. Research has shown that expanding community-based care management improves overall family health and well-being.33
The Pediatric Care Coordination strategy fosters collaboration with community partners to leverage data and develop targeted strategies to fill service gaps, reduce barriers, and advance racial equity, thereby ensuring equitable access to supports and benefits.
First 5 adopted the nationally recognized Help Me Grow model as the primary implementation framework for the PCC strategy. The HMG program provides:
• Training and technical assistance to providers serving the Medi-Cal pediatric population (0-5) in Alameda County
• Implementation and referral assistance to pediatric and early child care and education providers with recommended developmental, social-emotional, and/or Adverse Childhood Experiences Screenings (ACEs), commonly known as toxic stress
• Multilingual access to HMG’s Central Access Point to provide support and care coordination to parent/caregivers for families of children with an identified need for developmental, behavioral, or other resources and services
• Outreach and convenings to build a coordinated network of services and promote awareness of HMG.
Goals (not in a particular order):
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1. Build a menu of navigation services to provide support to families enrolled in Medi-Cal and other insurance for referrals to early intervention, community resources, family support, and basic needs.
2. Recommend strategies for increasing agency and HMG community capacity to address unmet needs, with a focus on First 5’s Neighborhoods Ready for School catchment areas and other high need areas in the county.
3. Enhance the scope of Help Me Grow program training, screening, and resource referral activities to include social needs, support for pregnant and parenting populations, and
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those who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with a particular emphasis on children insured through Medi-Cal.**
4. Expand outreach and education that increases providers’ , community-based organizations’, and partner agencies’ understanding of individual and community conditions (such as social determinants of health and protective factors) that impact child development, well-being, and kindergarten readiness.
5. Assess opportunities and risks associated with funding streams that support Early Identification, Screening, and Care Coordination, particularly the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program **
6. Develop strategy and approach to enhance partnerships with early childhood system providers across health and education agencies, including Alameda Alliance for Health, Health Care Services Agency, Regional Center, and Local Educational Agencies to better connect supports and improve experiences for families.
7. Align and expand care coordination through pediatric delivery system programs and partnerships (e.g., HMG and Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone, DULCE).
8. Assess opportunities for care coordination through early care and education, particularly with the expansion of Universal Transitional Kindergarten.
9. Evaluate new technology solutions, beginning with resource directory and referral platforms, to support improved coordination and communication among parents/families, providers, managed care plans, and First 5.
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• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
Fatherhood
Purpose
First 5’s Fatherhood program is a unique approach to the early childhood system of care’s family leadership principles. Historically, early childhood and family and community support programs have focused on serving mothers and children; in most cases, this unintentionally leaves fathers and father-figures out of the equation. The Fatherhood program raises awareness of the benefits of the active role that fathers and father-figures have in early childhood development. We have focused on strengthening collaboration with public systems and community-based organizations to promote and acknowledge the critical roles fathers and father-figures can play. To increase acceptance of and the experiences of fathers and father-figures participating in child development activities, First 5 sponsors training, support groups, and technical assistance geared toward the development of highquality, father-centered services.
Our Kindergarten Readiness studies have confirmed locally what the national research indicates. High-quality, involved fathering by dads who live in the child’s home and apart, has strong, positive impacts on children’s development, including academic achievement, emotional well-being, and behavior.34,35 Locally, we found that fathers who accessed a greater number of community resources (parks, libraries, and museums) with their children contributed to their child’s greater readiness for kindergarten.29
The Fatherhood program supports service providers with training that fosters healthy co-parenting relationships to ensure that parents are functioning as a team. High-functioning, healthier coparenting relationships support young children’s optimal development and bolster their social and emotional learning. These skills and interactions are shown to improve children’s cognitive skills, which leads to increased kindergarten readiness.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Incorporate Fatherhood and Father-Friendly Principles into First 5 structures and infuse Fatherhood strategies into other First 5 programs strategies: Neighborhoods Ready for School, Pediatric Care Coordination, Parent Leadership, and Quality ECE.
2. Engage fathers/father-figures and male service providers in implementing the Healthy Relationship Principles (HRP) to support organizations and providers with integrating the HRP in their work with families and training providers on how to incorporate the HRP in their work **
3. Position the Fatherhood work for sustainability and scale through fund development and public systems partnerships.
4. Promote integration of Father-Friendly Principles in public and community-based systems of care.
5. Identify strategies to strengthen internal collaboration and referral pathways for additional public system support connecting fathers to employment, financial education, health, and housing.
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• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
Agency Strategies (P. 36-39)
Agency Strategy: Training
Purpose
Diverse, well-informed, and well-trained provider and parent communities are critical elements of the early childhood system. In partnership with First 5 staff and community, First 5’s Training department identifies, coordinates, and delivers instructional content, skill-building workshops, and information sessions to build the capacity of the early childhood system in Alameda County.
Our 2019 Kindergarten Readiness study found that fewer than half of the kindergarten teachers surveyed had received training related to children with special needs, trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and family engagement. Pediatricians have historically had limited specialized training on child development and mental and behavioral health 37,38 The same holds true for other direct service workers who serve young children and their families.36 Equally important, parents and caregivers benefit from, and are eager for, information on topics relevant to their young children, but often do not know how to obtain it.39
The Training department delivers content aimed at supporting agency priorities and community needs. This team also provides technical assistance to staff and community partners in best practices for identifying, planning, delivering, and evaluating educational programming.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Reassess training offerings to ensure greater alignment with agency and community priorities and needs to ensure programming is focused on areas critical to sustainability of key investments and ongoing service provision.
2. Assist human resources with implementation of staff trainings ranging from professional development and technical assistance directly linked to agency strategy and program goals.
3. Incorporate equity framework into content development and mode of delivery to increase reach to underrepresented child care providers and to support parents and other community members (i.e., NRFS).
Agency Strategy: Government Affairs and Policy Purpose
First 5’s Government Affairs and Policy strategy utilizes analysis, data, information, and coalitions to support the evolution of an equity-centered local early childhood system. We engage in advocacy to scale and sustain effective programs and to promote public policies grounded in equity and justice.
Our policy work seeks to shape, support, and sustain policies that proactively address the needs of families with young children and their caregivers in public systems. We anchor our policy efforts to our equity statement and the lessons learned from our program work with staff, community partners, providers, parents, and caregivers. Through our policy work, we mobilize a shared vision of an early childhood system of care that is a network of coordinated and responsive organizations that
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improve outcomes for children from prenatal to age 5. First 5’s biannual Kindergarten Readiness study repeatedly points to the importance of structural conditions, e.g., socioeconomics and access to early care and education, as critical to supporting children’s success. In Alameda County approximately one in 10 children under 6 years old lives below the Federal Poverty Level ($26,500 for a family of four).15 It takes $137,660 to meet the basic needs of a two-parent family with one infant and one preschooler.8 Alameda County is the second most disparate county in California for children enrolled in licensed early care and education a key driver for kindergarten readiness.20
By understanding the legislative, budgetary, regulatory, and administrative levers of public systems, we create a multifaceted policy agenda for systems change. We leverage our resources, access, expertise, analytical skill set, and partnerships to listen, lift up needs, share successes, and evaluate the impact of public investments and policy choices that improve outcomes for children and families.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Document success of First 5’s work catalyzing sustainability, scale, and systems change initiatives that are contributing to the evolution of an early childhood system of care.
2. Convene partners, community, and elected officials and their staff in discussions of policy issues and advocacy specific to the conditions that support communities and families with young children, using findings and recommendations from First 5 Alameda County programs, data, and evaluations.
3. Create an annual policy agenda with input from staff and community; lift messages, insights, and policy priorities learned from programs including direct service needs of parents and caregivers and gaps in the system.
4. Position First 5 with elected officials, policymakers, First 5 California, and other statewide associations as a key leader, partner, and convener in the work to advance system building and the well-being of families with young children in Alameda County.
5. Craft a policy narrative in support of increased public investments in proven strategies to support an early childhood system of care with input from community leaders and policy makers.
6. Increase integration of data among systems at the local level to support data-driven policymaking with an equity and “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach.
Agency Strategy: Data and Evaluation
Purpose
First 5’s Data and Evaluation strategy supports shared accountability, continued organizational learning, public awareness, and policy advocacy as part of our role in evolving the early childhood system.
Research and data can provide a roadmap to systems change. Our research has pointed to the underlying structural conditions and opportunities necessary to support families with young children. Our Kindergarten Readiness study shows that differences in kindergarten readiness are largely attributable to inequities of access to resources and educational experiences.27 Our 2018 longitudinal study found that four out of five children who are not ready for kindergarten are still not
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caught up to grade level by third grade, pointing to the importance of early investments in children, families, and communities.26 We believe data, research, and evaluation are tools for making policy change and creating a shared system and partner understanding of community priorities and needs. We focus on generating and sharing data, research, and results to inform internal agency decision-making, our work with partners, and public policy, planning, and advocacy. Through participatory research, storytelling, and other practices consistent with data decolonization and democratization, we put the power of data back into the hands of the people. We use data to highlight community conditions, the strengths and needs of our county’s youngest children, their families, and the providers who serve them, and to advance policies that promote equity.
We partner with colleagues and community on data and evaluation efforts to identify promising practices, demonstrate effectiveness, support efforts to scale and sustain effective strategies, and promote continuous quality improvement in the early childhood system.
Goals (not in a particular order):
Working Definitions to Support Continued Learning and Practice:
Data Decolonization refers to practices adopted to intentionally shift focus and ownership of data collection and analysis to Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities.40
Data Democratization refers to practices adopted to intentionally approach data collection and analysis with a community lens, supporting broad access to data and data analysis, including by those whom the data is about, as powerful tools for change, and eliminating unnecessary barriers to accessing and utilizing data.
1. Deepen our understanding of equitable data and research practices and data decolonization and democratization. Document learning, practices, and opportunities.
2. Use First 5 evaluations such as the Kindergarten Readiness Community Study and Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) evaluation in collaboration with the community to inform policy advocacy, program investments, and continuous quality improvement.
3. Streamline production and elevate dissemination of data and research products as policy and communication tools for use by external partners and staff.
4. Strengthen understanding and support the interconnected needs of families and communities by developing robust data sharing agreements with public agencies and other key partners and increasing integration of data among systems at the local level to support data-driven policymaking with an equity and “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach.
5. Identify opportunities for evaluation/research projects in collaboration with partners and community to make a case for sustainability, scale, and/or systems change.
6. Streamline data collection, Results Based Accountability (RBA) measures, and reporting with an eye to information that would most meaningfully contribute to agency decisionmaking, continuous improvement, and the identification of promising practices.
7. Complete agencywide implementation of RBA framework so that staff and leadership consistently use data and research findings to inform decisions and promote continuous improvement across all programs.
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Agency Strategy: Communications Purpose
First 5’s communications strategy builds public awareness, mobilizes support, promotes systems coordination, and advocates for investments in an equity-centered early childhood system of care. The communication department works with internal and external audiences to inform and guide key partners and decision-makers in understanding, building, and supporting an equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive early childhood system.
First 5’s communication department creates compelling narratives about the importance of early childhood, positive and adverse childhood experiences, and “whole community, whole family, whole child” policy and programs. We use messages, stories, and data that point to the structural conditions, including racism and classism, underpinning children’s outcomes and highlight opportunities to build thriving communities, families, and children.
First 5’s communications strategy reinforces the agency’s position as leading local policy voice for children and families. Communication initiatives provide support for the early childhood system in the form of investments, capacity building, and community data to inform priorities and decision making. We promote centralized resources, information, and services for parents, caregivers, and service providers.
First 5 advances equity and partner engagement in its communications by using feedback loops to listen to and report back to community partners, allowing us to:
• Create accessible content and design, multiple languages, and modalities
• Elevate community voice in communications materials
• Highlight family and community successes despite structural barriers
• Represent diverse families and family structures across all media
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Implement First 5’s Communications Plan to advance equity commitment, promote programmatic success, policy advocacy, and partnerships for systems change and to sustain and scale effective and promising programs.
2. Generate and disseminate content for policymakers, advocates, community partners, media, funders, and providers by producing multimedia collateral material, policy and data briefs, case studies, website, social media, and media engagement.
3. Increase access to and ease of navigation of centralized information and resources for neighborhoods, families, caregivers, providers, and policymakers.
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**Indicates goals that have been accomplished as of fiscal year 2023-2024.
*Goals are listed in no particular order.
Introduction to Operational Support Functions (P. 40-42)
First 5 Alameda County Infrastructure Division includes finance, human resources, technology, facilities, planning and project management, and administration. These teams support the day-today operations of the agency and allow the organization to play a backbone role to community-based organizations, providers, and public agencies that are part of the early childhood system.
The next phase of First 5 Alameda County will require us to continue doing our core work, while adding new capabilities, infrastructure, and capacity. Consistent with the direction set with our 20172022 strategic plan, much of our new funding will likely be contracted out to external parties. As a result, our hiring will reflect the staffing skillsets needed to support contract development (what to procure), performance measurement, planning and project management, communications, government relations, policy advocacy, and financial budgeting and forecasting.
As the administrative lead of significant public resources, we are uniquely positioned and have the responsibility to partner with community, parents, and providers to reimagine an early childhood system that is equity centered.
Administration and Facilities
First 5’s Administration and Facilities’ strategy is to provide a safe, productive, efficient, and inclusive work environment for staff and partners. The Administration and Facilities teams ensure that the facility is operating as it should on a daily basis by completing regular inspections, ensuring compliance with all relevant requirements and standards, and conducting repairs and maintenance. Additionally, office administrative operations are performed in a seamless manner to ensure the efficient operations of the agency.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Maintain and operate an office facility that provides a safe, clean, functional, and welcoming environment.
2. Perform maintenance and repairs in a minimally disruptive manner.
3. Review operational efficiencies to maximize the utilization of resources.
4. Ensure that the office facility meets legal requirements and health and safety standards.
5. Provide efficient and effective administration procedures and practices.
Finance Purpose
First 5’s Finance strategy enables the agency to use Proposition 10 funds strategically for direct service programs, as First 5 transitions away from providing direct services funded by Proposition 10 to a contracted and community-based model
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Finance focuses on budgeting, financial planning, forecasting, and managing revenue and expenditures for programs core to the agency’s mission. First 5 has been updating governance, financial and compliance structures, polices, and practices and building the capacity and infrastructure needed to administer the new public funds (Measure AA and Measure C). The Finance department effectively and transparently communicates fiscal data to the First 5 Alameda County Commission to ensure the ongoing health and viability of the organization.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Develop and maintain fiscally responsible and sustainable budgets that reflect our strategies with input from partners and system partners.
2. Present timely financial reports to identify current and future revenue and expenditure trends.
3. Implement the agency’s financial policies and procedures to ensure the timely, accurate, and complete reporting of financial information.
4. Ensure that financial operations and transactions are accurate and in compliance with federal, state, and financial requirements.
Human Resources
Purpose
To serve First 5’s function as a backbone to the early childhood system, Human Resources builds the capacity of the agency and our workforce. First 5’s Human Resource strategy focuses on aligning agency structure, staffing, operations, and culture with its organizational focus on systems change work. Human Resources serves as an effective partner by providing efficient and solution-focused services, maintaining a culture of inclusiveness and belonging, and ensuring First 5 has the requisite expertise, competencies, and skills needed to successfully execute the 2022–2027 Strategic Plan. We seek to retain and recruit a diverse workforce that reflects Alameda County, support staff development, ensure regulatory compliance, and support agency planning to inform organizational structure and business processes.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Engage in organizational development to improve the agency’s capability through alignment of our mission, strategy, people, structure, and processes.
2. Focus our talent acquisition strategies on attracting, developing, and retaining a talented and diverse workforce.
3. Expand professional development and create resources dedicated to offering learning opportunities that support our organizational goals while enhancing the knowledge and skills of our workforce and increasing employee engagement, retention, and morale.
4. Provide leadership, support, and guidance for operationalizing internal agency equity practices
5. Cultivate leadership within the agency, including succession planning and staff capacity building. Doing so will help to support the agency and develop leaders for the early childhood field.
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Technology Purpose
First 5’s Technology strategy focuses on deploying technology applications and tools to support coordination and linkages, communication, and shared accountability among agency staff, partners, and grantees. With equity at the center of service design and delivery, this strategy provides support to staff and partners for operational efficiencies, data collection and tracking, and performance management.
Goals (not in a particular order):
1. Conduct a technology assessment to create a roadmap for decision-making regarding applications for accounting, Salesforce, case management, resource directory, and website applications.
2. Identify, develop, and implement technology solutions that further data integration across agency divisions in support of decision-making, learning, research, policy advocacy, and operations.
3. Plan for the implementation of data systems and data warehouse to prepare for the implementation of additional public funding, including a child care pathways (Centralized Eligibility and Enrollment System) database
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PROPOSITION 10 FY24-25 INVESTMENTS (P. 43)
First 5 is using a Maintenance of Effort approach to this Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2024-2025 to maintain strategy budgets as we seek to build out the early childhood system. The budget will be updated annually.
Neighborhoods Ready for School ($3,500,000) is a place-based investment, asset building, and policy response to the relationship and interplay between neighborhood conditions, family and child well-being, and the structural factors that contribute to overall health, development, and kindergarten readiness.
Early Care and Education ($1,722,500) provides quality improvement supports for centers, family child care (FCC) providers, and family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers with coaching, training, professional development, technical assistance, and financial incentives and supports; provides learning networks for each type of child care delivery setting; and funds community-based programming for those children who are not in a licensed early educational setting.
Parent Partnership ($2,080,000) provides direct services to families and children with a focus on maternal and child health and the 0-3 years and uses parent leadership to inform programming and investments.
Pediatric Care Coordination ($1,365,000) connects and strengthens public system and community resources to engage, assess, and connect children, with a focus on Medi-Cal-enrolled families, to pediatric preventative care, medically-necessary services, and community-based programming and support.
Fatherhood ($262,500) strengthens collaboration with public systems and community-based organizations, increases the representation and improves the experiences of men, fathers, and father-figures through training, strategic messaging, and the development of high-quality fathercentered services.
Training ($700,000) identifies, coordinates, and delivers training to foster a diverse, well-trained provider workforce and supports awareness, leadership, and linkages in each of the core components of the early childhood system.
Policy ($1,146,600) utilizes analysis, data, information, and coalitions to support the evolution of an equity-centered local early childhood system. We engage in advocacy to scale and sustain effective programs and to promote public policies grounded in equity and justice.
Data and Evaluation ($1,058,400) supports shared accountability, continued organizational learning, public awareness, and policy advocacy as part of our role in evolving the early childhood system.
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Communications ($605,000) works with internal and external audiences to inform and guide key stakeholders and decision-makers in understanding, building, and supporting an equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive early childhood system.
Operations and Administration ($3,510,000) includes finance, human resources, technology, facilities, and administration.
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MEASURING OUR PROGRESS (P. 44)
To understand, track, and guide our progress towards the results outlined in this plan, we use data, research, and parent and community knowledge. Together this information helps us understand how well children and families in the county are doing in areas that we know correspond to kindergarten readiness, such as access to basic needs, participation in early care and education, and neighborhood conditions.
We also use data to help us understand the performance and impact of our programs and investments and opportunities for continuous improvement.
This method of distinguishing “population” and “performance” data is part of a framework called Results Based Accountability which is widely used by funders and public agencies, including Alameda County. It is a disciplined way of thinking and taking action that can be used to improve quality of life in communities, as well as to improve the performance of programs. Results Based Accountability is a simple, plain language approach to measurement that puts the focus on the ends and works backward to the means.
In our approach we strive to use data for action, and we work within our agency and with partners to make data accessible, relevant, and actionable. We want to ask the “story” behind the data (what does the data tell us?), the partners who have a role to play, and steps we can take, including those that advance our equity commitment, are community-driven, and are lowcost to no-cost ideas.
We use evaluation as a tool to help us get “under the hood” to understand why and how investments or programs might be working, and lift promising practices for policy advocacy, sustainability, and scale.
Results Based Accountability (RBA) as a Tool for Equity
Population Result: The well-being of a whole population in a geographic area (e.g., all children under 5 in Alameda County, or all families with children under 5 in a zip code)
All Children in Alameda County are Ready for Kindergarten
We look at disaggregated data to understand structural inequities that create disparities in outcomes. This helps to inform our programs and investments.
Performance Accountability: The well-being of client populations for programs, agencies, or service systems (e.g., all children 0-5 on Medi-Cal, all families served by ABC community organization)
For our programs and investments, we ask ourselves:
• How much do we do?
• How well do we do it?
• Is anyone better off?
For more on Results Based Accountability and Equity, Racial Equity: Getting to Results (2017)
Finally, we recognize the critical role of intentionally centering our approach around equity. We are committed to participatory, equity-informed, and community driven practices in our data, research, and evaluation work. This means that at every stage from identifying research questions and measures, to data collection methods, to interpreting findings and developing recommendations we seek to be in deep partnership with community.
Implementation
The 2022-2027 purpose statements, goals, and key initiatives are the next phase of the new strategic direction set for First 5 Alameda County in the 2017-2022 strategic plan. In the first year of the
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implementation phase, we engaged in a participatory process with internal teams to identify performance measures to understand progress towards our goals and are collecting baseline data in fiscal year 2022-2023. The agency continues to prepare, adapt, and respond to the changing landscape as an influx of local resources becomes available to First 5 Alameda County and the larger early childhood system. As these shifts occur, we will continue to identify data, research, and evaluation approaches, in close partnership with community, to understand, monitor, and ultimately improve outcomes for children, families, and communities.
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Source Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County 2021-22: Appendix B) – May 2023 Update
[roadmap graphic]
In support of reaching our “North Star,” we fund organizations and initiatives, partner with parents and caregivers, providers, communities, and organizations and agencies, and administer programs for young children and families. The appendix below details our investments, partnerships, and programs for each year and how they align with the data-driven strategies that are shown to prepare children for kindergarten, outlined in our Road to Kindergarten Readiness It also shows which strategic goals we have completed to track our progress in implementing the 2022-27 Strategic Plan.
Support Communities
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FY21-22 Program Investments
• Invested over $5 million in distribution of essential supplies, including diapers
• Worked with family-serving shelters and provided capital awards, supply stipends, and technical assistance
FY22-23 Program Investments
• Paid tuition and permit fees for early care educators through the Early Education Apprentice Program, increasing the average apprentice wage of $19.13 per hour to $28.00 per hour upon completion of 12 units and receipt of an Associate Teacher Permit
• Invested $487,000 to support basic needs programming and distribution of diaper kits through a partnership with Neighborhoods Ready for School grantees and SupplyBank.org
• Provided referrals for basic needs support through our Help Me Grow Program; 33% of all referrals from Help Me Grow are for basic needs supports.
THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS
Accomplished
Goals
• Neighborhoods Ready for School, Goal #1: In January 2024, the NRFS partners presented their final four-year strategic workplans and data profiles to First 5, highlighting the needs and priorities of each community.
FY21-22 Program Investments
• As part of the Neighborhoods Ready for School strategy, First 5 funds trusted community organizations and family resource centers to build an ecosystem of support for families in the community.
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• First 5 provides training and coaching in early identification to newly recruited family child care providers.
• HMG trains providers to offer their families early screenings and offers direct screening through the Developmental Screening Program; provides care coordination and navigation support to families referred to the Central Access Point (phone line); and conducts community outreach and networking events to stay on top of available services and resources.
FY22-23 Program Investments
• Invested more than $3 million in four neighborhoods across Alameda County through our Neighborhoods Ready for School Initiative
• Contracted with Cities & People Advisors to facilitate a strategic planning process specific to the Neighborhoods Ready for School initiative to help identify areas of opportunity and to foster alignment with Oakland Thrives’ RiseEast
Accomplished Goals
• Parent Partnership, Goal #1: A strategic and visioning brief was completed in February 2024 providing context and recommendations for the evolution of this work.
• Parent Partnership, Goal #2: The assessment was completed, and CAS will transition to the Operations Division to centralize its functions across the agency
• Parent Partnership, Goal #3: DULCE joined the Pediatric Care Coordination Division and data and lessons learned will inform the division’s work.
• Pediatric Care Coordination, Goal #1: This work is completed yearly and remains ongoing, as resources must be updated each year.
• Pediatric Care Coordination, Goal #5: A CalAIM Opportunity roadmap for scaling and sustaining First 5's Pediatric Care Coordination services was developed. The roadmap outlines opportunities and risks with funding streams that support early identification, screening and care coordination, as well as a Care Management Continuum approach and three key phases for First 5 to leverage CalAIM opportunities to enhance care coordination for young children in Alameda County.
FY21-22 Program Investments
• Help Me Grow (HMG) Alameda County supports families to connect to medical check-ups, with particular focus on Medi-Cal clients; trains providers to offer screenings; and provides the HMG central access point (phone line) for information and care coordination.
• Awarded $1.45 million from the Alameda Alliance for Health for an expanded partnership through HMG program to support access to pediatric preventative care, care management, and quality improvement
• Fund DULCE at Highland Hospital to provide health, family, and legal services to families
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• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• As part of the Alameda County Emergency Child Care Response Team, partnered with Samuel Merritt University School of Nursing and ECE providers to provide health consultation support through the Health Heroes program
• Support Afrocentric playgroups, promotora programming. Promotores and community health workers are liaisons between their communities and health providers, social service providers, and resources.
• Took lead role on a regional grant application with Contra Costa to support Afghan family resettlement, funding planning and direct services and engaging in community events and advocacy
• Participate in workgroup led by the Alameda County Office of Dental Health to improve access to dental care for the 0-5 age group through communication, outreach, and integration with primary care
• Partner with the Alameda Alliance, federally qualified health centers, and UCSF Benioff Children’s hospital on efforts to expand care coordination and navigation to services through pediatric sites
• Our Cultural Access Services program provides language supports and promotes cultural humility and appreciation of the county’s diverse population through interpretation and translation for First 5 and partner programs to increase access to community-based services.
• Fund parent and caregiver supports, such as Dad-scussions, Parent Cafés, and culturally specific playgroups, through the work in each of the Neighborhoods Ready for School sites
• Participate in systems building as a member of Alameda County’s Perinatal Equity Initiative Steering Committee to dismantle unjust systems and practices that harm Black birthing people and their babies by addressing the causes of persistent inequality and identifying best practices to improve outcomes
• Contracted with Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice to support a pilot project, Honoring & Unifying Gatherings (HUGs), which will partner with local Black-owned cafes to provide a safe space for new mothers, birthing people, and caretakers of infants in the community to come and connect with each other weekly over a free beverage and pastry
• Contracted with TLC Consulting & Maternal Healing-Midnight Milk Program to offer free afterhours infant feeding, pregnancy, and postpartum virtual support group to address existing inequities in accessing lactation support, as well as workforce development for participants interested in becoming lactation peer educators or birth workers
FY 22-23 Program Investments
• Created a new Pediatric Care Coordination division, secured philanthropic funds to hire a director to oversee that division, and expanded our Pediatric Care Coordination staffing and capacity to reach even more Alameda County children and families
• Renewed funding for our Help Me Grow and DULCE programs and collaborated with local partners, including our local Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan and Alameda Health System leadership, to identify additional funding sources to sustain these vital programs, which led to the successful 154% increase of Help Me Grow’s annual budget
• Enrolled and provided enhanced support for 162 families at Highland Hospital's family birthing center through Project DULCE, which provides a family specialist in the pediatric setting to support connection of the families to needed resources, including legal support
• Served 8,600+ children and families through our Pediatric Care and Coordination division, which provides care coordination, connection to pediatric visits, developmental screenings,
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health and parenting education, resource information, family navigation, and/or peer support
• Benefited 1,323 children and 1,451 parents through investments in lactation supports for African American mothers and birthing people, with leadership from Alameda County Public Health Department, as part of our Birth Equity policy agenda
• Funded HUGS Cafes, a program of Mothers-for-Mothers Postpartum Justice Project, which partners with local Black-owned cafés to provide safe spaces for Black mothers, birthing people, and caregivers of infants in the community to gather and connect once every week. The program benefited more than 700 Black and African American women. Participants have reported maintaining continued relationships, connections, and support networks beyond the structured HUGs sessions.
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION
Accomplished Goals
• ECE, Goal #9: ECE Facilities Needs Assessment has been completed and focus now turns to implementation.
• ECE, Goal #20: The first Workforce Taskforce and preliminary landscape study with Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA) has been completed and focus now turns to implementation
Ongoing
• Named administrator of Measure C: Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County. The agency will now begin implementation of Measure C building off prior years’ work to prepare for its role as administrator by restructuring the agency, convening an ECE Workforce Task, conducting an ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, and preparing for the staffing, facilitation, and orientation of the Measure C Community Advisory Council (CAC) members. (See Appendix D: Readying Our County for Systems Change, for more on how the agency has prepared for implementation.)
• Selected as the Early Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI). In the first year of implementation, First 5 has allocated more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs at Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start. Initial allocations fund growing staffing needs and supports, family navigators, and one-time physical infrastructure projects to improve and increase capacity of current early care sites.
FY21-22 Program Investments
• Awarded $1,000,000 from Alameda County Social Services Agency in General Fund to build a countywide child care centralized eligibility list (CEL) that will help caregivers access subsidized child care
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Expanded number of licensed family child care providers participating and benefiting from Alameda County Quality Counts, building peer support
• Jointly funded Alameda County’s ECE Apprenticeship Program to provide CalWORKs participants training, advanced degrees, and employment in ECE settings; advocated for additional investments in the model
• HMG care coordination and family navigation services provide connections to services and supports for parents and caregivers, as well as emotional support.
• Supported child care providers with technical assistance in English, Spanish, and Chinese for the statewide Minor Renovation and Repair Grant Request for Applications for both centers and family child care
• Support libraries to provide children’s books in multiple languages, offer playgroups, provide takehome resources for parents, including over 1000 literacy kits, and provide developmental screening and referral on-site through HMG
FY22-23 Program Investments
• Hired a permanent Director of Early Care and Education and increased staffing and capacity to lead the implementation of the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund
• Began administration of the Oakland Children’s Initiative Early Education Fund, allocating more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs across Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start
• Supported 153 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care and 97 Family Child Care (FCC) providers with quality improvement programming such as trainings and individualized supports Support ECE
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
Teachers, and Care and Education Systems
Accomplished Goals
• Fatherhood, Goal #2: In 2023, Healthy Relationship Principles (HRP) were adopted, and a new learning community was implemented. The focus now shifts to supporting their implementation in internal programs and with funded partners.
FY21-22 Program Investments
• Funded school districts in Alameda County, using an equity index, to support kindergarten transition programming (educational materials, books, tablets) and supports for families (basic needs)
• Developed a Summer Pre-K (SPK) Program that partnered with lowperforming and high need elementary schools in Alameda County, providing quality transitional early childhood experiences for children without prior preschool or child care experience entering kindergarten in the fall
• Through the Neighborhoods Ready for School (NRFS) initiative, community partners promote child-and-family friendly communities, strong families, and school readiness
• Leader of Alameda County Fathers Corps, a collaborative focused on empowering and supporting fathers, service providers, agencies, systems, and the wider community to raise awareness of the critical role of fathers and father-figures and the benefits of active father involvement on young children’s development; provide training and support to service providers with implementation of the Father-Friendly Principles; and advocate for more father-specific and father-friendly services
• Awarded grants to community-based organizations to provide drop-in groups to support fathers in addressing their challenges in accessing public and community supports
• Partnered with 10 libraries across the county to facilitate story time and playgroups for the community, where families are also connected to the Help Me Grow program, with which they can access support and resources for children’s development, learning, and behavior
FY22-23 Program Investments
• Invested $227,000 in support of the Oakland Unified School District Summer Kinder/TK Program. Funding also supports year-round school readiness and transition programming
• Fathers Corps program celebrated its 10th anniversary, completed an evaluation of the program, and rolled out a new set of Healthy Relationship Principles for organizations engaging fathers
• 411 fathers, father-figures, educators, and providers engaged in workshops, activities, and trainings during the 2023 Fatherhood Summit.
Support ECE
Professionals,
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
Teachers, and Care and Education Systems Ongoing
• Named administrator of Measure C: Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County. The agency will now begin implementation of Measure C building off prior years’ work to prepare for its role as administrator by restructuring the agency, convening an ECE Workforce Task, conducting an ECE Facilities Needs Assessment, and preparing for the staffing, facilitation, and orientation of the Measure C Community Advisory Council (CAC) members. (See Appendix D: Readying Our County for Systems Change, for more on how the agency has prepared for implementation.)
• Selected as the Early Education Implementation Partner for the Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI). In the first year of implementation, First 5 has allocated more than $10 million to stabilize and strengthen existing early education programs at Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland Head Start. Initial allocations fund growing staffing needs and supports, family navigators, and one-time physical infrastructure projects to improve and increase capacity of current early care sites.
FY21-22 Program Investments
• Expand participation in the number of providers participating in Quality Counts program for quality improvement, coaching, professional learning communities, and quality grants
• Investing in training (over 4.5k attendees and 11k YouTube views) to strengthen providers’ and families’ understanding of best practices for early education, mental health, family support, health, and administration
• Financially support school districts with kindergarten transition efforts, including through the Community Resilience Fund grants allocated using an equity index
• Partnered with Alameda County Social Services Agency and Supplybank.org to distribute 880 air purifiers to 440 family child care providers
• Administered $3 million in family child care grants provided by Alameda County Social Services Agency from CARES Act funds
• Invest in the CARE Family Resource Navigation program, which has been effective in supporting families experiencing homelessness with child care and access to basic needs
• Distributed over 12,000 backpacks with supplies to incoming kindergarteners through schools and community partners
FY22-23 Program Investments
• Convened 47 cross-sector stakeholders on First 5’s Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Task Force to inform initial recommendations for a more coordinated local response to the ECE employment crisis
• Provided more than 50 trainings and learning opportunities for parents, caregivers, providers, and professionals in the ECE field
• Distributed $288,430 in professional development and training stipends to ECE professionals and caregivers participating in First 5's Quality Counts program
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• Together with Alameda County Social Services Agency and Tipping Point Community, continued to fund the Early Education Apprentice Program, administered by YMCA of the East Bay, which provides financial and academic support, as well as on-the-job training and mentorship while students pursue their ECE-related degrees and teaching permits
Source Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County 2021-22: Appendix B) – May 2023 Update [roadmap graphic]
First 5 Alameda County works to advance county, state, and federal policies through budgetary, legislative, and administrative advocacy to cultivate an equity-centered local early childhood system of care that prepares and supports children, families, and communities so that children are ready for kindergarten. Below are the policy advocacy activities we’ve engaged, by year, to advance each of our priority issue areas, to ultimately make progress toward our “North Star.”
Support Communities
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan) Page | 58
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FY21-22
• Advocated for increases in economic supports for families at local, state, and federal levels, e.g., child tax credits, diaper banks, supports for CalWORKs
• Funded the evaluation of Help A Mother Out’s diaper distribution and provided a letter of recommendation for the successful application to the California Commission on the Status of Women for a $25,000 Women’s Recovery Response grant
• Signed on to an open letter from the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers, laying out a vision for increased investments in prenatal-to-three issues in 2022 and beyond
• Provided public comment to support Stable Rents and Stable Families campaign to strengthen rental protections for the unincorporated communities in Alameda County
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Provided public comment in support of AB 2053: The Social Housing Act (Lee) to connect early childhood and affordable and stable housing
• Submitted a comment letter to the City of Oakland’s General Plan Housing Element highlighting the housing needs of families with young children and early care and education professionals living in Oakland and Alameda County
• Signed-on to a federal letter urging Congress to include housing investments in the revised budget reconciliation bill
• Submitted a letter in support of SB 1083 to increase access to homeless assistance support for pregnant CalWORKs families, which was signed into law in September 2022
• Supported AB 230 (Reyes) and SB 59 (Skinner), which proposes increased access to period products as a form of basic needs
• Signed on to a letter and provided public comment supporting a State Budget Proposal for $30M over three years for diaper and wipe distribution
• Submitted a federal regulatory comment in support of proposed updates to modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by allowing online ordering and transactions and food delivery
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 309 (Lee) which proposed to increase access to affordable and stable housing
FY22-23
• Submitted a letter to our Alameda County State Delegation urging them to support policies that aid families through the pandemic including increased paid family leave and state disability insurance payment rate, extending access to COVID supplemental paid sick leave as well as streamlining construction of affordable housing
• To elevate diaper need as a gap in the safety net, presented the findings from our Help a Mother Out Diaper Bank Evaluation at the California Welfare Directors Association annual conference in October 2022
• Submitted a federal regulatory comment in support of proposed updates to modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by allowing online ordering and transactions and food delivery
• Signed onto a letter urging the Governor to sign SB 951 (Durazo): Affordable Paid Leave for All into law. SB 951 would increase wage replacement rates for PFL + SDI to 90% for lower wage workers by January 1, 2025, making paid family leave and state disability insurance accessible to all Californians.
• Provided public comment at state committee hearings in support SupplyBank.org’s budget proposal for a statewide diaper bank program
THRIVING NEIGHBORHOODS
FY21-22
• Signed on to a budget letter requesting that the California legislature and administration increase wage replacement rates for low-wage workers in the State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave programs
• In partnership with the City of Oakland, submitted a one-time state budget request to improve Oakland’s play spaces for young children and their families
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Funded an evaluation of our place-based Neighborhoods Ready for School strategy to inform policy advocacy and public investments
• Partnered with parents and caregivers to inform the design, implementation, and interpretation of the 2021-22 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment study as part of a research to action approach and commitment to equity
• Submitted letters of support for AB 2517 (Bonta) and AB 1321 (Bonta) which propose to establish a two-year California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle-tocareer networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
• Advocated to ensure equitable implementation of CalAIM; submitted a letter to the state budget subcommittees in response to the state’s proposed sunset of the Child Health and Disability Prevention program
• Submitted a letter to the City of Oakland in support of San Antonio Neighborhood’s recommendations and work with neighborhood members to finalize and implement a Master Plan that supports the health and well-being of children ages birth to 5
FY22-23
• Submitted a letter to the City of Oakland in support of San Antonio Neighborhood’s recommendations and work with neighborhood members to finalize and implement a Master Plan that supports the health and well-being of children ages birth to 5
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 1321 (Bonta): California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services Grant Program, which would have established a California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle to career (C2C) networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
• Provided public comment to the Draft PY21–24 Regional Plan Biennial Modification highlighting the workforce needs of families with young children and early care and education professional living and working in Alameda County
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 309 (Lee): Social Housing Act, which would introduce social housing to California
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
FY21-22
• Submitted a letter in support of AB 1995, a proposal to eliminate monthly Medi-Cal premiums or copayments so that low-income households can put resources toward other essential needs
• In support of continuous Med-Cal eligibility, AB2402, Diana Garcia, Data and Policy Analyst, gave testimony (beginning at the 2:36:50 mark) at the California State Assembly
• Submitted a letter in support of SB 65 the California Momnibus bill, which would reimagine maternal health to improve perinatal outcomes, close racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and improve data collection and research on socioeconomic factors that contribute to negative birth outcomes
• Provided the California Department of Health Care Services feedback on a draft of the Medi-Cal Community Health Worker Provider Manual to ensure that its language supports implementation to advance health equity
• Wrote a letter to the state supporting the California Department of Public Health’s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health priorities to advance health equity for women, birthing people, children, adolescents, and families
• Signed on to a letter rejecting the Governor’s proposal to delay implementation of the Community Health Workers, Promotoras, and Representatives (CHWPR) workforce and training funds asnd signed on to a letter requesting that the Governor use funds from the Managed Care Organization Tax Proposal to raise CHWPR wages
• Supported Alameda County’s Social Services Administration ask for three enrollment office mobile vehicles to help connect families to programs and services they are eligible for
• Submmited a letter in support of AB 583 (Wicks), which would establish the Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project to support specified groups, including community-based doula groups, to provide full-spectrum doula care to pregnant and birthing people who are low income and do not qualify for Medi-Cal or who are from communities that experience high rates of negative birth outcomes, among others
• Published a Birth Equity Policy Brief highlighting recommendations and local strategies to ensure Black women and birthing people have safe and healthy births
FY22-23
• Signed on to a letter rejecting the Governor’s proposal to delay implementation of the Community Health Workers, Promotoras, and Representatives (CHWPR) workforce and training funds. We also signed on to a letter requesting that the Governor use funds from the Managed Care Organization Tax proposal to raise CHWPR wages.
• Published a Birth Equity Policy Brief highlighting recommendations and local strategies to ensure Black women and birthing people have safe and healthy births
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 583 (Wicks): Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project, which would establish the Birthing Justice for California Families Pilot Project to support specified groups, including community-based doula groups, to provide full-spectrum doula care to preganant and birthing people who are low income and do not qualify for Medi-Cal or who are from communites that experience high rates of negative birth outcomes, among others
• Supported Alameda County Social Services Agency ask for three enrollment office mobile vehicles to help connect families to program and services they are eligible for
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Supported Asian Health Services and UCSF Oakland Children’s Hospital with letters of support for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) federal funds to increase childhood developmental screenings and necessary follow-up services and referrals
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION
FY21-22
• Provided a letter of support for Food with Care: SB 1481 (Becker) that would provide free daily meals to children in child care by enabling all child care providers to qualify for the highest level of reimbursements for the meals they serve
• Wrote to the Federal Alameda County Delegation urging them to support child care in the reconciliation process
• Signed on and wrote to our Federal Alameda County Delegation for their support on the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act designed to strengthen school meals, child care food programs, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other federal nutrition programs for children
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 679 (Wicks) to advocate for an increase meal rate reimbursement for meals served by family child care providers
• Submitted public comment on Alameda County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) threeyear plan for FY 2022-23, highlighting findings from our most recent KRA report and the continued need for mental health services and supports that target young children, their parents/caregivers, and the early care and education workforce
• Submitted letters of support for AB 1352 (Bonta) which proposes to expand the Alameda County’s Child Care Pilot Program set to expire June 30, 2023
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 51 (Bonta) to advocate for effective and equitable functioning of California’s early childhood system so that it meets the diverse childcare needs of families and the workforce in every community
FY22-23
• Provided a letter of support for AB 679 (Wicks): Family Daycare Homes: Meals Reimbursement Rate which proposed to eliminate the unfair meal reimbursement rate gap that discriminates against family child care providers
• Submitted letters of support for AB 1352 (Bonta) which proposes to expand the Alameda County’s Child Care Pilot Program set to expire on June 30, 2023
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 51 (Bonta) to advocate for effective and equitable functioning of California’s early childhood system so that it meets the diverse childcare needs of families and the workforce in every community
Support ECE Professionals, Teachers, and Care and Education Systems
KINDERGARTEN TRANSITION SUPPORTS
FY21-22
• Alameda County Fathers Corps advocates for local systems change and has championed a state resolution on the adoption of the Father-Friendly Principles
• In partnership with Oakland Unified School District, Union City Family Center, and county libraries, First 5 published a policy brief on kindergarten transition supports
• Hosted a Policy Breakfast focused on sharing and digesting key findings from the recent Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and highlighting remarks from featured speaker Assemblymember Mia Bonta
FY22-23
• Hosted a Policy Breakfast focused on sharing and digesting key findings from the recent Kindergarten Readiness Assessment study and highlighting remarks from featured speaker Assemblymember Mia Bonta
• In partnership with Oakland Unified School District, Union City Family Center, and county libraries, First 5 published a policy brief on kindergarten transition supports
• Submitted a letter of support for AB 1321 (Bonta): California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services Grant Program, which would have established a California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services grant program to implement new, and strengthen existing, neighborhood and regional cradle to career (C2C) networks to reduce inequities and increase economic mobility in communities across California through integrated place-based support systems
Support ECE Professionals, SUPPORTED EDUCATORS & SYSTEMS
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
Teachers, and Care and Education Systems
FY21-22
• Provided public comment to the Alameda County Behavioral Health Mental Health Services Act Plan FY 2022-23 to highlight the need for infant and early childhood mental health services and supports through investments in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health workforce and Consultation programs
• Submitted a letter to the state supporting the Rate and Quality Stakeholder Workgroup’s recommendations for investments in the workforce and for an equitable rate reimbursement system
• Promoted coordination between school districts and the early care and education mixed delivery system in planning for implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten/Prekindergarten
• Signed on to a letter urging Governor Newsom and State Legislators to adopt an alternative methodology utilizing a cost-estimation model and multi-year transition plan to address the child care crisis and transform child care and early learning in California
• Provided public comment at state workgroup meetings advocating for meaningful weights on regional adjustments that reflect the local cost of quality child care and cost of living
FY22-23
• Signed on to a letter urging the Governor and State Legislators to adopt an alternative methodology utilizing a cost-estimation model and multi-year transition plan to address the child care crisis and transform child care and early learning in California to ensure young children and families can thrive
• Provided public comment at state workgroup meetings advocating for meaningful weights on regional adjustments that reflect the local cost of quality child care and cost of living
• Submitted public comment on Alameda County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) three-year plan for FY 2022-23, which highlights findings from our most recent KRA report and the continued need for mental health services and supports that target young children, their parents/caregivers, and the early care and education workforce
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
APPENDIX B: Summary of Strategic Plan Partner Feedback (June 2022 version) (P. 56)
Summary of Strategic Plan Stakeholder Feedback
Build/evolve the early childhood system. Families and communities have strengths to build upon and should be valued, listened to, and leveraged. Underlying structural inequities by race and class are impacting families, providers, and communities.
PRIORITIES FOR SUPPORTING FAMILIES
A “seamless” system that addresses basic needs ( i.e., food, housing, transportation), child care, health and mental health/social connections
PRIORITIES FOR SUPPORTING PROVIDERS
Wages and professional development, flexible funding, and organizational capacity building
PRIORITIES FOR FIRST 5
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• Define and clarify role
• Emphasize partnerships with families, community, community-based organizations, and systems
• Leverage place-based investments and consider other opportunities by place and population
• Use data and policy advocacy in partnership with community for systems change
• Build agency capacity to meet new need and opportunity
• Support staff leadership and well-being
PRIORITIES FOR SYSTEMS
• Invest in families with young children
• Coordinate resources for a system that is responsive and accessible
• Invest in community infrastructure that supports families (housing, libraries, parks)
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
APPENDIX C: Local Child Care Ballot Measures (P. 57-59)
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA)
Geography City of Oakland
Overview
Status
Key Components of Early Childhood Portions
• 30-year annual parcel tax of $198 a year on single-family homes and $135 a year per unit of each multi-unit residence
• Revenues support early child care and preschool programs and fund college readiness programs, tuition assistance, and efforts to fix racial inequities in access to higher education
• Raises approximately $25-$30 million annually with funds divided into three subaccounts:
o 62% to Early Education Fund
o 31% to the Oakland Promise Fund
o 7% for oversight and accountability
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) was passed in November 2018 and upheld by the courts in 2021. In December 2022 First 5 Alameda County was awarded the contract to serve as the Early Care and Education Implementation Partner.
• Expand existing public services; first funding priority is to public agencies, particularly programs at Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and Oakland Head Start
• Priority on serving the children of families with the lowest incomes and/or those who are in high need. Support families who need FFN care
• In order or priority:
o Availability of free or affordable and high quality ECE or preschool
The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
Alameda County
• A 20-year half-percent (0.5%) sales tax that would raise an estimated $150 million per year to provide support and enhancements for child care, preschool, early education, and pediatric health care in Alameda County
• The funds will be divided 80/20 into two subaccounts:
o A Pediatric Health Care Account (20%), overseen by a citizen oversight committee
o A Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education Account (80%), administered by First 5
Measure C was passed in March 2020 and upheld by the courts in 2024.
• Increases access to quality care for participating providers through:
o New enrollments
o Rate enhancements
• Ensures teacher wages at a minimum of $15 to be increased annually with revenue increases
• Allows services to 0–12-year-olds, but defines a focus on 0–5-year-olds
• Targets low-income families and those children/families with the greatest needs, e.g., families experiencing homelessness and children in foster care
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA)
▪ 4-year-olds from lowincome families
▪ 3-year-olds from lowincome families
o Increase affordability or quality of preschool (not ECE)
▪ All 4-year-olds
▪ All 3-year-olds
o Increase the availability and/or quality of child development support services for children from birth through age 3
The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
Provider/Program
Wage Requirements
Provider Quality Requirement
Pay all employees minimum $15/hr to be adjusted annually
• Adjusted annually based on the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• The City of Oakland has its own minimum wage schedule for employees working within the geographic boundaries of Oakland ($16.10/hr in 2024).
Participating center-based programs are able to, within reasonable timeframe:
• Achieve baseline rating of 3 on QRIS or new system
• Utilize developmentally appropriate curriculum, aligned with CDE standards, and evidencebased and/or demonstrated success in improving preparation for kindergarten
• Conduct formative assessments
Participate in valid, regular, and reliable assessments of quality to foster continuous improvement and to reduce disparities by income/wealth in child outcomes
Pay all ECE educator employees minimum $15/hr to be adjusted annually on January 1, beginning in 2022.
• Based on the San Francisco-OaklandHayward Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the percentage increase in revenues raised during the previous calendar year by tax (whichever is less)
Measure C outlines multiple strategies for improving ECE quality, including:
• Comprehensive training and professional development system
• Support for educational advancement and degree attainment
• Teacher retention
• Maintaining, enhancing, and expanding quality ECE facilities
First 5’s Role as Administrator of Funds
Contractor with the City of Oakland
• Early Education Implementation Partner
• Contracts are on a five-year cycle
First 5’s role as outlined in section 2.08.305.B of the Ordinance:
• Developing Program Plan & Annual Expenditure Plan
• Allocating funds based on Expenditure Plan
• Developing, implementing, administering, and overseeing all programs and services
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA)
Governing Bodies & Responsibilities
The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C) paid for by the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education account
• Providing staff support for the CAC
• Developing the Program Plan Evaluation
• Operating with transparency and public accountability, good fiscal stewardship of public resources; annual audit to ensure compliance
• Awarding funds pursuant to our contracting policies and the Ordinance requirements
Community-Seated Bodies
Accountability Officer duties include:
• Overseeing programs and providing recommendations to the Citizens Oversight Commission
• Preparing subsequent 5-year guidelines
• Leading the selection process and contracting for the Implementation Partners, making recommendations to the Citizens Oversight Commission
• Ensuring independent financial audits
• Monitoring performance of Implementation Partners
• Overseeing external evaluations, including selection
• Approves (or rejects) City of Oakland staff’s recommendation of the Early Education Implementation Partner
• Approves the five-year Guidelines for the Early Education funds
• Approves or rejects plans, recommendations, audits
• Approves (or rejects) recommendations; does not develop policy and programmatic recommendations
Oakland City Council Mayor appoints COC members & Council confirms
Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS)
• Conducts the annual independent audit
• Can terminate First 5 and select a different entity as the Administering Agency
• Approves Five-Year Program & Budget Plans
First 5 Alameda County Commission
• Approves Annual Expenditure Plan
• Approves Five-Year Program & Budget Plans
Community Advisory Council (CAC)
• Develops policy and programmatic recommendations related to the Measure C account
• First 5 will develop the Program Plan, which must be developed in coordination with the Community Advisory Council (still to be seated) and community, for approval by the First 5 Alameda County Commission and Board of Supervisors.
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA)
Auditing Accountability Officer ensures annual audits are completed and presented to COC.
Progress and performance reporting are due to COC every two years.
Data Reporting Oakland City Administrator has the authority to enter into a contract with legally required terms such as (but not limited to):
• Performance metrics and benchmarks
• Data sharing agreements
The Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C)
BOS conducts annual independent financial audit of Measure C revenues and expenditures.
Evaluations during implementation period of each Plan and prior to the development of a new Plan (every fourth year).
First 5 oversees external evaluations with input for CAC for presentation to BOS.
First 5 develops data collection strategies and collects data from participants in Measure C programs as part of initial application and evaluation process
APPENDIX D: Readying for Measure C (P. 60-61)
The Children's Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County (Measure C), a countywide measure, was passed by voters in March 2020 and names First 5 Alameda County as the administrator of the Child Care, Preschool, and Early Education portion of the revenue. Upheld by the courts in 2024, the Children's Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County is expected to raise approximately $150M annually for early care and education. First 5 Alameda County will begin implementation by staffing a Community Advisory Council to advise First 5 on the development of a five-year program plan and budget that will be submitted for approval in Spring 2025 to the First 5 Alameda County Commission and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
Since the passage of Measure C in 2020 and throughout the four years of litigation, First 5 Alameda County has taken significant steps to prepare the agency for implementation in key areas, including:
ADMINISTRATION & FACILITIES
• Invested in a Facilities Needs Assessment for centers and family child care providers in Alameda County to understand the infrastructure and space needed to offer high-quality care. We also completed a soon-to-be-published Early Care and Education Needs Assessment for the unincorporated areas of Alameda County in partnership with the Alameda County Community Development Agency to understand the supply of licensed and affordable child care, access to high-quality services, and needs of child care facilities in these areas.
F5AC_SP Updates by Section – DRAFT
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, we released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a contractor for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund and Technical Assistance Request program. The primary goals of this funding will include supporting children's kindergarten readiness, asset building, developing more stable, high-quality facilities for the early childhood field, and leveraging other funding streams for facilities where possible. The contractor will support the development of recommendations for the Early Childhood Facilities Fund Program with accompanying policy recommendations, dissemination of capital, and technical assistance to providers.
COLLABORATION & PLANNING
• We started community engagement planning and meetings with key stakeholders, such as the Alameda County Administrator's Office (CAO), the Valley Family Child Care Association (VFCCA) FCC Listening Session, Alternative Payment agencies, Resource & Referral agencies, school districts, and Head Start programs. We have also embarked on informational presentations across the county to share our Oakland Children's Initiative implementation and Measure C readying work with community, parents, providers, and partners. We continue to benefit from the community engagement that resulted in these two measures, including listening sessions to consider how Measure C can best support our diverse mixed delivery system in the county.
DATA & EVALUATION
• Adopted the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as the new Kindergarten Readiness Community Study tool. The EDI is a comprehensive tool that provides valuable insights into the development of children, helps us predict health, education, and social outcomes, and informs policy decisions and investments. The adoption of this new tool was a collaborative decision made by all school districts involved in the Countywide Kindergarten Readiness Tool Decision-Making Series, a sequence of meetings that was co-chaired by Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro and First 5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos and included school district representatives and labor representation. The series culminated in the unanimous decision to adopt the EDI. We believe that the EDI will serve as a critical component in our efforts to improve local systems that support children 0-5 and their families.
EARLY CARE & EDUCATION WORKFORCE
• Continued to expand and started an evaluation of the Early Education Apprentice Program. This program is an "earn and learn model" that covers tuition and permit fees for early care educators while providing on-the-job training, stipends, and additional supports like tutoring and child care. It is an exemplary model of a public-private partnership between Alameda County Social Services Agency, First 5 Alameda County, and philanthropy (Tipping Point Community), and the type of public policy infrastructure necessary to support the continued growth in our local early care and education delivery system.
OPERATIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE, & TECHNOLOGY
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
• We are working to complete an ECE financial landscape to inform key programmatic investments for Measure C. We are working with national and state consulting experts to support our financial forecasting and implementation planning.
• First 5 Alameda County has proactively built its capacity and readied its infrastructure to implement Measure C. We have restructured the agency and conducted hiring to ensure we have the staffing and infrastructure to administer substantial new public funding. Since fiscal year 2022-2023, we have added 34 new positions in various areas throughout the agency, including programs, operations, finance, compliance, technology, data and evaluation, planning, communications, and government affairs and policy. These changes will continue into 2024 and beyond, as we have entered a three-to-five-year building phase. We aim to retain and recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity and cultural fabric of Alameda County, support staff development and professional growth, ensure regulatory compliance, and effectively implement existing and new initiatives.
• Reviewed, prepared, and revised governance, financial, and compliance structures, policies, and practices, e.g., investment and conflict of interest policies and practices
• Reprocured an auditing firm for annual financial and program compliance
• Secured contracts with expert consultants to strengthen the foundation and capacity of the agency:
o Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies support First 5 with financial modeling and advising on the governance structure for the Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County’s Community Advisory Council, which First 5 is responsible for standing up and staffing.
o School Readiness Consulting is supporting First 5’s Leadership and ECE team on a broad range of system readying and planning efforts, including the development of recommendations and a community engagement strategy for key partners to inform a Central Eligibility List (CEL) technology tool build and the development of an initial ECE System program design and operational approach to implementation.
• Released an RFP to secure a Technology Development Liaison consultant who will support the procurement and implementation of a technology system for the centralized eligibility and enrollment system, which we call Child Care Pathways. The technology system will support eligibility for, and enrollment into, ECE services. In addition, the technology consultant will advise on efforts to integrate early childhood data from across data systems and advise in the development of requirements for a data warehouse.
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
References (P. 62)
1. US Census Bureau. (2021). Households and Families, 2019 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S1101&g=0500000US06001&tid=ACSST5Y2021.S1101&hideP review=true
2. State of California, Department of Finance, P-2B: Population Projections by Individual Year of Age, California, 2010-2060 (Baseline 2019 Population Projections; Vintage 2020 Release). Retrieved from https://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/
3. U.S. Census Bureau (2021). ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, American Community Survey 5year estimates (DP05). Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2021.DP05?q=population&g=050XX00US06001
4. California Department of Public Health, Birth Statistical Master Files. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.kidsdata.org/topic/610/births/table#fmt=1060&loc=127&tf=141&sortColumnId=0&sort Type=asc
5. US Census Bureau. (2021). 2020 Census diversity index. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/demo/race/ppl-2020.html
6. US Census Bureau. (2022). Age by Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B16007?q=B16007&t=Language%20Spoken%20at%20H ome&g=050XX00US06001
7. US Census Bureau. (2022). AGE AND NATIVITY OF OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS IN FAMILIES AND SUBFAMILIES BY NATIVITY OF PARENTS, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2022.B05009?t=Families%20and%20Living%20Arrangements: Native%20and%20Foreign%20Born&g=050XX00US06001&tid=ACSDT1Y2022.B05009
8. Insight Center (2021). California Family Needs Calculator (formerly the California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard or Self-Sufficiency Standard), Alameda County. Retrieved from https://insightcced.org/family-needs-calculator/
9. Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the difference between Income Required to Meet Basic Needs [see citation 8] – 2022 FPL level for family of 4
10. California Department of Developmental Services. (2021). Minimum Wage – 2021. Based on two workers working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. Retrieved from https://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/vendor-provider/minimum-wage/
11. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2020). Note: Self-reported data for 2,348 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2020. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their selfreported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks.
12. US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). (2021). HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2021. Based on a household of four. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines
13. Insight Center (2021). Family Needs Indicator - Alameda County Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: https://insightcced.org/the-cost-of-being-californian-alameda-county-fact-sheet/
14. Alameda County Social Services Agency. (2021). Enrollment numbers represent a one-month snapshot for January 2021.
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
15. U.S. Census Bureau (2019). Poverty Status in the past 12 months of related children under 18, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B17006). Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=child%20poverty&tid=ACSDT5Y2019.B17006
16. National Diaper Bank Network. (2021) Diaper Need and Its Impact On U.S. Families. Retrieved from https:// nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ Diaper-Need-and-Its-Impacton-US-Families.pdf
17. United States Census Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the percent difference between Median Family Income in 2021 and 2000 (adjusted to 2019 dollars). U.S. Census Bureau (2000,2019). Income in the past 12 months (in 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars), American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2021.S1901?q=Income%20and%20Poverty&g=050XX00US060 01&hidePreview=true
18. United States Census Analysis by First 5 Alameda County calculating the percent difference between Median Family Income in 2021 and 2000 (adjusted to 2019 dollars). U.S. Census Bureau (2000,2019). Income in the past 12 months (in 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars), American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2021.S1901?q=Income%20and%20Poverty&g=050XX00US060 01&hidePreview=true
19. Alameda Public Health Department (n.d), Perinatal Equity Initiative webpage. Retrieved from https://acphd.org/programs-and-services/perinatal-equity-initiative/
20. Advancement Project California. (2019). RACE COUNTS County Rankings. Retrieved from https://www.racecounts.org/rankings/. Note: RACE COUNTS calculates an Index of Disparity to summarize overall equity in outcomes. Details and methodology can be found here.
21. Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council (2021) Alameda County Early Care and Education Needs Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.first5alameda.org/ files/2021%20Alameda%20County%20ECE%20Needs%20 Assessment%20FINAL.pdf
22. First 5 Alameda County analysis conducted in October 2021. Estimates suggest that, based on population, Alameda County could see nearly 4,000 more subsidized slots based on the 2021-22 adopted budget. Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the new reimbursement rates could bring an increase of over $20 million countywide to subsidized child care providers just for the slots for children age 0-5 currently in the system (estimates based on assumption of full day care rates). The Center for American Progress provides estimates of the true costs of care for child care programs in California.
23. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2023). Note: Self-reported data for 5,637 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2023. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their selfreported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks
24. California Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Registry. (October 2020). Note: Self-reported data for 2,348 people registered in the Alameda County Workforce Registry as of October 2020. The Workforce Registry only represents a subset of the ECE workforce as it is a voluntary database. The registry includes an overrepresentation of those working at child care centers and Title 5 programs compared to other child care program types. Registry participants report wages as an hourly gross rate or annual, monthly, or weekly gross salary. Annual wage was calculated by multiplying their selfreported wage and their self-reported number of hours worked by 50 weeks
• Updated text for FY 2024-25 in orange
• (page numbers in parentheses refer to content’s page number in final 2022-27 Strategic Plan)
25. Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council (2021) Alameda County Early Care and Education Needs Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.first5alameda.org/ files/2021%20Alameda%20County%20ECE%20Needs%20 Assessment%20FINAL.pdf
26. Applied Survey Research. (2018). Kindergarten Readiness and Later Achievement, A Longitudinal Study in Alameda County. Retrieved from http://www.first5alameda.org/files/Alameda%20 Longitudinal%20KRA%20Study%20Final.pdf
27. Applied Survey Research. (2021). 2021-2022 Kindergarten Readiness in Alameda County. Retrieved from http://www.first5alameda.org/kindergarten-readiness-assessment
28. LaPiana Consulting. (2019). The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.lapiana.org/insight/the-nonprofit-strategy-revolution-2/
30. Estimate based on extrapolation from survey data and administrative data from October 2020 Alameda County Child Care Program Survey conducted by the Alameda County Early Care and Education Program Local Planning Council and First 5 Alameda County
31. Focali Consulting. (2020, December 30). Meeting Summary
32. Help Me Grow Alameda County. (2021). Program data analysis of families served.
33. McNally, K.R., Enneking, B., Ramaker M., et al. (2020). Family-centered care coordination in an interdisciplinary neurodevelopmental evaluation clinic: Outcomes from care coordinator and caregiver reports. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 8:538633. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.538633
34. Adamsons, K. (2018). Quantity versus quality of nonresident father involvement: Deconstructing the argument that quantity doesn’t matter. Journal of Child Custody, 15(1), 26-34. doi: 10.1080/15379418.2018.1437002
35. Adamsons, K., Johnson, S.K. (2013). An updated and expanded meta-analysis of nonresident fathering and child well-being. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(4), 589–599. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033786
36. McMillan, J.A., Land, M., Tucker, A.E., et al. (2020). Preparing future pediatricians to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of children. Pediatrics, 145(1): e20183796. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3796
37. Macary, S. (2020). Preparing future pediatricians to address behavioral health needs of children: opportunities in pediatric residency training programs. Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc. Issue Brief. Retrieved from https://www.chdi.org/index.php/publications/issue-briefs/issue-brief-76- preparing-futurepediatricians-address-behavioral-health-needs-children-primary-care
38. University of California, Davis, Continuing and Professional Education, Human Services. Summary: Recommendations for High Fidelity Wraparound Services in California. (2020). Retrieved from https://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/news/ summary-recommendations-highfidelity-wraparound-services-california
39. Bartlett, J.D., Guzman, L., Ramos-Olazagasti M.A. (2018). 5 things to know about parents’ knowledge of parenting and early childhood development. Child Trends. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/publications/5- things-to-know-about-parents-knowledge-ofparenting-and-early-childhood-development
40. Secaira, M. (2019). Abigail Echo-Hawk on the art and science of “decolonizing data.” Crosscut. Retrieved from https://crosscut.com/2019/05/abigail-echo-hawk-art-and-sciencedecolonizing-data
First 5 Alameda County Proposed Expenditure Budget by Expenditure Category
July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025
* Professional Services Contracts: Contracts with individuals or vendors for time limited services that support program work (e.g. consultants, web design, etc.) ** Program Operating Costs: Costs that support agency program implementation (e.g. supplies, travel, meeting costs, etc.)
Funding to conduct an evaluation of the Alameda County Early Childhood CalWORKs Apprenticeship Program by engaging with program participants and other stakeholders to increase understanding of the benefits and challenges experienced by participants, program staff, IHE personnel, and other key stakeholders, and to inform future program models.
Funding to plan for the expansion of the Kindergarten readiness study and implementation of a new tool, the Early Development Instrument (EDI).
Bananas, Inc. CARES Program Funding to implement the CARES Homeless Navigation Pilot Program.
to provide professional development opportunities for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) workforce in Alameda County and on-site technical assistance and coaching to Quality Counts sites.
Funding to provide training and playgroups for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers and training and for Family Child
Funding to manage the Quality Counts process for distributing Quality Improvement incentive grants and professional development (PD) and Dual Language Learner (DLL) stipends. Funds will be used to make facility and environment improvements, enhance training, support staff release time, technology needs, and professional development activities.
Funding to provide training and playgroups for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers and training and for Family Child Care (FCC) providers.
Relationship
Community evaluation activities including workshop evaluations, end of year surveys, and administering father group participant surveys.
Funding to host fathers’ groups and participate
Funding to provide drop-in sessions to under-resourced, Alameda County fathers with a reliable, safe space to receive guidance from family court attorneys on how to navigate the family courts and provide resources and guidance related to child custody laws, filling out commonly used court forms, and knowledge on steps to take to reach their desired goals.
Funding to host fathers’ groups and participate in Fatherhood Partnership trainings/Healthy Relationship Learning Community evaluation activities including workshop evaluations, end of year surveys, and administering father group participant surveys.
Funding to
Funding to host fathers’ groups and participate in Fatherhood Partnership trainings/Healthy Relationship Learning Community evaluation activities including workshop evaluations, end of year surveys, and administering father group participant surveys.
Funding to host fathers’ groups and participate in Fatherhood Partnership trainings/Healthy Relationship Learning Community evaluation activities including workshop evaluations, end of year surveys, and administering father group participant surveys.
Funding to host fathers’ groups and participate in Fatherhood Partnership trainings/Healthy Relationship Learning Community evaluation activities including workshop evaluations, end of year surveys, and administering father group participant surveys.
Fatherhood Family Paths (Parental Stress Service) Fatherhood Partnership
Fatherhood Friends of the Oakland Public Library Fatherhood Partnership
Fatherhood Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) Fatherhood Partnership
Funding to build infrastructure in neighborhoods to provide places for families to learn, plan, and achieve their goals; increase neighborhood-level coordination to provide a comprehensive menu of resources to support family protective factors, build community, and increase children’s school readiness; and increase family leadership and civic engagement opportunities.
Funding to build infrastructure in neighborhoods to provide places for families to learn, plan, and achieve their goals; increase neighborhood-level coordination to provide a comprehensive menu of resources to support family protective factors, build community, and increase children’s school readiness; and increase family leadership and civic engagement opportunities.
Funding to coordinate and implement programs and services at the Castlemont Community Room to Bloom Family Resource Center, and conduct neighborhood outreach and family engagement activities.
Funding to build infrastructure in neighborhoods to provide places for families to learn, plan, and achieve their goals; increase neighborhood-level coordination to provide a comprehensive menu of resources to support family protective factors, build community, and increase children’s school readiness; and increase family leadership and civic engagement opportunities.
Funding to build infrastructure in neighborhoods to provide places for families to learn, plan, and achieve their goals; increase neighborhood-level coordination to provide a comprehensive menu of resources to support family protective factors, build community, and increase children’s school readiness; and increase family leadership and civic engagement opportunities.
&
&
&
Lotus Bloom Family Resource Center (Room to Bloom) Castlemont Community Room to Bloom Family Resource Center
NRFS
New Haven Unified School District (Union City Kids Zone) Neighborhoods Ready for School
NRFS Roots Community Health Center Neighborhoods Ready for School
Funding to support culturally reflective, Medi-Cal inclusive doula trainings led by Black Women Birthing Justice, to support Alameda County birthing families, doulas, and systems and increase the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) doula Medi-Cal provider workforce.
to administer
First 5 Association of California and First 5 CA Updates
June 2024
First 5 Network Responds to State Budget Cut Proposals
The First 5 network released a press release expressing disappointment in the Governor’s May Revision which proposes cuts to safety net programs and services that support serve California families with young children. Among the programs and services facing cuts are the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program, universal transitional kindergarten, Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, child care slots, mental and public health services, and no funding for continuous Medi-Cal eligibility for children 0-5.
First 5 California Commission Meetings
In May, First 5 California held two Commission meetings. The May 22nd budget study session reviewed First 5 California revenue forecasts, fund account balances, investments in development, and their updated strategic planning process. There will be opportunities for local commissions to provide feedback and input on the strategic planning proces later this fall. At the regular Commission meeting on May 23rd , First 5 Association Executive Director Avo Makdessian was joined by First 5 local commissions, including First 5 Alameda Government Affairs & Policy Officer Ana Apodaca, to support a request for a $25 million emergency stabilization fund for First 5 County Commissions that need immediate support to maintain critical local services and infrastructure. The First 5 California Commission has committed to discussing this proposal at its August 22nd meeting.
First 5 California: Stronger Starts Powered by Cell-Ed
First 5 California announced their new mobile learning program, Stronger Starts powered by Cell-ED. This free program provides family support through an engaging educational program of courses, coaching, and microlearning. The mobile learning program is designed for caregivers of children 0-5 who would like to learn how to help their children cope with difficult times. More information about the program is available here
First 5 California Investments in Action: Sehat Initiative's Refugee Family Support
In partnership with UC Davis and with funding from First 5 California, the Sehat Initiative’s Refugee Family Support project connects newly arrived refugees with children ages 0-5 to important services and support as they resettle in Sacramento County, California. Their report, A Trauma-Informed Approach to Address the Health of Refugee Children and Families, highlights ongoing work to support new arrival families and is available to read here
First 5 Association of California: First 5 County Emergency Stabilization Fund
With the continued decline of tobacco revenue, the First 5 Association is proposing that the First 5 California Commission create a $25 million emergency stabilization fund for First 5 County Commissions that need immediate support to maintain critical local services and infrastructure. As mentioned above, in support of this
request, First 5 Alameda County Government Affairs and Policy Officer Ana Apodaca provided public comment at the May First 5 California Commission Meeting and highlighted First 5 Alameda County as an example of the critical role a First 5 can play in the local landscape and shared the need for stable resources that can support similiar early childhood systems building efforts in other counties.
First 5 Center for Children’s Policy: Medi-Cal Learning Community
The First 5 Center for Children’s Policy has continued to convene local First 5 staff for the Medi-Cal Learning Community (MCLC) series. In May, the MCLC’s webinar included updates on the state certification for the community health worker (CHW) benefit and an overview of the First 5 managed care plan MOU template and negotiation process. The First 5 Association is working to understand the needs of the group and tailor future convenings to address those needs.
New
Policy Brief: Community Health Workers Advancing Child Health Equity: Part II
The First 5 Center for Children’s Policy and The Children’s Partnership released a new brief outlining how community health workers, promotores and representatives (CHW/P/R) are an anti-racist solution providing support for early childhood development and child health equity. The brief provides an update on Medi-Cal’s CHW benefit implementation; uplifts programs and models across California that are utilizing CHWs to benefit children and families; shares policy recommendations including how California can continue to take successful models to scale; and provides a roadmap for advocates to champion reforms that center the contributions of CHWs and address systemic inequities in health care
Legislation and Public Policy Updates
June 2024
State Policy
State Legislative Session
The California Legislature introduced 2,124 bills before the February 16th bill introduction deadline. This includes 1,505 bills in the Assembly and 619 in the Senate As of May 24th , 435 Assembly bills and 220 Senate bills have made it through their house of origin and into the second chamber. The Legislature has until August 31st to pass bills for the Governor’s consideration and final approval. First 5 Alameda County is tracking close to 100 bills that align with our 2024 Policy Agenda Below is a list of bills where we have taken a formal support position.
Bill
AB 2982 (Reyes): Prenatal-to-3 Workgroup.
*Sponsored by the First 5 Association
AB 2446 (Ortega): MediCal: diapers
AB 2476 (Bonta): Child Care Payments
Summary Status
Would establish a workgroup to create recommendations for a statewide comprehensive, equity-focused prenatal-to-3 system agenda, as specified. The bill would require the workgroup to submit its recommendations to the Administration and to the Legislature by January 31, 2026.
Held under submission
AB 1808 (Nguyen): Childcare and development services: eligibility
Would establish diapers as a covered benefit under Medi-Cal for infants/toddlers with certain conditions like UTI’s and skin diseases as well as for children older than three who have been diagnosed with a condition that contributes to incontinence. Would establish diapers as a covered benefit for individuals up 21 years of age, if needed to correct or ameliorate certain conditions.
Would remove the requirement that alternative payment programs reimburse child care providers based on specified criteria; would require the state to ensure that child care providers are reimbursed at the applicable regional market rate ceiling; and would require that, commencing on April 30, 2026, alternative payment programs provide payment to child care providers prior to the day the child care begins.
Would delete the 12-month exception for CalWORKs Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3 programs, aligning eligibility with other subsidized child care programs.
Senate
Senate
Senate
Bill
AB 2319 (Wilson): California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act
AB 2343 (Schiavo): CalWORKs: childcare programs
Summary Status
Would expand implicit bias trainings to include recognition of intersecting identities and potential biases; and would establish clear penalties for violations. The Office of the Attorney General would also be authorized to publish a list of non-compliant facilities and report on compliance data every two years.
Would authorize CalWORKs stage 1 and stage 2 providers / administrators of child care to provide additional enhanced support and navigation services to recipients experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic violence, or both. It would authorize the administrator of a child care program to partner with specified agencies to provide those services.
State Budget Outlook
Senate
Senate
On May 10th Governor Newsom released a summary of his May Revision to the Fiscal Year 2024-25 proposed State Budget. The May Revise outlines a projected $44.9 billion shortfall, which accounts for the $17.3 billion early action agreement passed by the Legislature in April. The Governor proposes using reserves, spending cuts, and delays or deferrals of spending authorized in previous years to address the budget deficit. The Governor’s updated budget plan includes delays and cuts to core First 5 policy priorities that are highlighted in the summary table here. Protected investments include the CalEITC, Young Child Tax Credit, and Foster Youth Tax Credit, and temporary rate increases for child care providers.
On May 29th , the Legislature released their joint budget plan in response to the Governor’s May Revise. The Legislature’s plan rejects many of the Governor’s May revision proposals, including proposals to permanently eliminate $2.4 billion in annual health investments, delay funding for Child Care slots, as well as proposed cuts to public health programs, CalWORKs, Foster Care, In Home Supportive Services (IHSS), California Youth Apprenticeship program, Multifamily Housing, Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0, Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program, and others.
The Governor and Legislative leaders are now in active budget negotiations to reach agreement on a final budget. The Legislature must pass a budget bill by June 15th and the Governor needs to sign it by June 30th.
State and Local Advocacy
First 5 Alameda County submitted the following public comment and position letters:
• Oppose Cuts in the May Revise: Submitted a letter to the Assembly and Senate Budget Committee Chairs regarding the Governor’s proposed cuts and delayed investments to Safety Net programs in the May Revise.
• Improving Data Collection for Place-Based Investments: Submitted a letter in support of the County of Alameda’s efforts to work with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to modify USPS Place Names to match the official community names and boundaries of its unincorporated communities: Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, and Fairview. This would support local agencies, systems, and community organizations with the data needed to target investments in unincorporated communities with the most need.
• Birth Equity: Supported California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act, which clarifies which health care facilities must facilitate implicit bias trainings, creates fines for facilities that do not comply, and adds inclusive language to existing legislation to address maternal health disparities.
• Early Care and Education:
o Supported Childcare services: alternative payment programs bill, which proposes to align the private pay and subsidized child care markets by ensuring that child care providers receive reimbursements for providing subsidized care prior to providing services.
o Supported bills that extend the CalWORKS eligibility period to align with other subsidized child care programs and use existing funds to provide additional support and navigation services to CalWORKs recipients experiencing homelessness and escaping domestic violence.
• Local First 5 Sustainability: Provided public comment at the May First 5 California Commission meeting urging the First 5 California Commission to support a $25 million Emergency Stabilization Fund for First 5 County Commissions that need immediate support to maintain critical local services and infrastructure.
Federal Policy
2025 Appropriations
Congress is beginning to lay out its plans for the Fiscal Year 2025 annual appropriations process. However, it is likely that the funding bills will not be finalized until after the November elections. The House Appropriations Committee did released a Fiscal Year 2025 mark-up schedule and preview of interim subcommittee allocations which includes cuts to Fiscal Year 2024 levels of nondefense funding. House Democratic leaders are proposing a starting point of at least one percent over Fiscal Year 2024 funding levels for both nondefense and defense funding.
Farm Bill
The House Committee on Agriculture passed a Farm Bill that cuts nearly $30 billion in SNAP benefits over the next 10 years. These cuts would result in reduced benefits to over 17 million households with children per month and 5 million children under five per month. The Senate version of the Farm Bill proposes changes that would strengthen the SNAP program by reducing barriers for older adults, military families, reentering citizens, and some college students; addresses farmworker safety; and
establishes a path for Puerto Rico to eventually participate in the SNAP program. It is likely that a final Farm Bill package will be passed after the November elections.
Child Tax Credit Improvements
Earlier this year, the House passed a tax package that contained improvements to the Child Tax Credit. The package remains in standstill due to push back from key Republican Senators despite bipartisan support. Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden is working with Senate Majority Leader Schumer to schedule a time to bring the tax package to the Senate Floor for a vote.
