Funding Initiatives


2007-2008 Allocations

First 5 Madera County is committed to investing Proposition 10 revenues into strong partnerships with local agencies able to produce high quality programming that is well integrated into the existing service system and proven to be promising in achieving desired outcomes. To that end, the First 5 Madera County Commission will utilize the following funding strategies for distribution of funds during the 2005-2006 program year:

PROGRAMMATIC STRATEGY I: FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER INITIATIVE

• Chowchilla & Mountain Area Family Resource Centers
• FRC Community and Family Friendly Awards

PROGRAMMATIC STRATEGY II: FUNDING INITIATIVES

• Preschool Access Initiative
• General Grants/Renewals
• Mini Grants
o One-Time Only Mini Grants
o School Readiness Expansion – Backpack Literacy Projects Mini Grants
o Quality Care Supplies Mini Grants

PROGRAMMATIC STRATEGY III: CAPACITY BUILDING

• Evaluation Program
• Strategic Planning/Needs Assessing/Report Card
• Tobacco Education and Outreach
• Healthcare for All – Tier I: Benefits Outreach and Enrollment
• Professional Training Institute

Funding Initiatives

Funding Initiatives encompass the largest investment of First 5 revenues each year. Local partners are funded to facilitate direct services to children and families that specifically impact established goals. Funded projects are either co-located with, or linked to, the FRC Initiative and complementary to the overall system. Per the adopted 2005-2006 Annual Budget, Funding Initiatives for this program year are as follows:

Preschool Access Initiative $350,000
The Preschool Access Initiative is designed to explore and begin to address the story behind Madera County’s modest preschool enrollment rates (only 32%) and invest local funding into expanding preschool access. (Matching Funds: TBD

Renewals
First Parens Program $ 177,306.000
The Parents Program is a universal home visitation strategy based on the Hawaiian Healthy Start Model that uses public health professionals and paraprofessionals to offer series of home visits and telephone follow-ups to new and expecting parents in Madera County in order to reduce factors negatively influencing Commission's goal for children to be born.

Nurturing Parent Program $46,000.00
The Nurturing Parenting Program is a prevention focused strategy that targets parents with children of typical development and behavior who are interested in gaining general parenting information.

Incredible Years Program $27,250.00
The Incredible Years Program is an early intervention strategy targeting parents/children/families identified as high risk buy may, or may not, have elevated to the point of formal entry into the the child welfare system.

"0-5 in 30 Minutes!"
"0-5 in 30 Minutes!" is a telvised program that serves as a mass parenting workshop, which is aired on a local PBS Channel. The program is a 30 Minutes long in duration. The program's target audiences are parents, grandparents and child care providers. This program focuses on several issues including school readiness, nutrition and fitness and parenting techniques.

Mini Grants $ 50,000
The Mini Grant Program is a user-friendly mechanism developed to fund small one-time projects promoting optimal childhood development in Madera County. Mini grant applications are accepted quarterly.

Child Care Fair  $12,000
The Child Care Fair is an annual fair held in celebration of Madera County’s
licensed child care providers. Selected vendors are invited to bring age
appropriate materials and equipment specifically selected to promote optimal
early learning in child care settings. The first 80 licensed child care providers to
complete and submit Child Care Fair Entry Forms are issued $150 in Child Care
Fair Bucks and allowed to shop at the fair. In exchange, participating providers
are required to volunteer at the Family Resource Center (FRC) for two hours.
Volunteerism might include supporting predefined FRC programming (i.e., Story
Time, Play Time, Movie Night, etc.) or planning and implementation of a unique
children’s activity of their choice. You can look for announcements about this year’s Child Care Fair in spring 2006.