Sobre Primeros 5

In November 1998, California voters approved the Children and Families First Act, commonly referred to as Proposition 10. Proposition 10, which levied a 50 cents per pack tax on cigarettes, was designed to fund early childhood development and anti-tobacco education programs at the local level.

As a first of its kind, Proposition 10 created an unprecedented opportunity for Madera County to solicit input from broad cross sections of the community in order to identify and address the health, child development and family needs of Madera’s youngest population, children zero to five years old.

Pursuant to the passage of Proposition 10, in December 1998 the Madera County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance to establish the Madera County Children and Families Commission. Enthusiastic about the new opportunities created by Proposition 10, the Madera County Children and Families Commission was eager to begin work on this grass roots effort. The Commission held its first meeting on March 28, 1999.

Madera County expects to receive approximately $2 million during the initial years of operation. With such a substantial amount of money to be administered based upon public need, participation from key stakeholders, community leaders and the general public has been exceptional. The Commission is dedicated to inclusive governance and incorporates the voices, opinion and perspectives of Madera County residents into all of its work.

Our Vision
"All Madera County Children will thrive in supportive, nurturing and loving environments, enter school healthy and ready to learn in order to become productive, well adjusted members of society."

Our Mission
"To develop and implement comprehensive, integrative and sustainable early intervention programs that enhance early childhood development, child health care and family involvement to produce healthy and socially productive children and families in Madera County."

The Madera County Children and Families Commission encourages feedback from all interested parties, both residents and nonresidents of Madera County.

Message from the Executive Director

In December 1998, the Madera County Board of Supervisors had the wisdom and foresight to appoint the First 5 Madera County Children and Families Commission to support our youngest children. We should all be proud of what we have achieved since then. To date, the Commission has committed nearly $4 million to programs and initiatives that promote children's health, prepare children for school intellectually, socially and emotionally, and support their families. We have listened carefully to the community and have focused our resources on projects and services that you have told us are most important.

During these times of severe budget cuts and a struggling economy, we need to re-emphasize and focus on the needs of our youngest children. They deserve our support and we can give it to them. To this end, in addition to the three programmatic strategies of First 5 Madera County highlighted in this packet, we will be working to reassess our strategic direction to insure most effective use of our dollars. Recent research has found that investing in young children saves taxpayers more than seven times the initial investment per child.

Every dollar spent on high-quality children’s programing saves $7 to $10 through reduced need for special education, reduced juvenile crime, reduced welfare costs and higher adult earnings. As such, when we have healthy children, we have healthier communities and economies. This finding reminds us that the programs funded by First 5 Madera County and its partners are critically important to the well being of our children and community. Children really are our future. If we care for our future, then we must all care for our children.