E-Newsletter

First 5 Celebrates Week of the Young Child
In honor of the 2008 Week of the Young Child (WOYC), April 13-19, First 5 Santa Barbara County’s second edition of Firsthand with First 5, is dedicated to highlighting some of the projects of the Office of Early Care and Education (OECE), a program within First 5 that works hard to increase the quality and supply of child care spaces across the county.  The Week of the Young Child is a nationwide effort held annually in April to focus public attention on the importance of the early years for children's development and learning. More about WOYC - http://www.naeyc.org/about/woyc/

This year’s WOYC theme, Bringing communities Together for Children; Children Bringing Communities Together, is appropriate as our Firsthand with First 5, the  eNewsletter of First 5 Santa Barbra County that shares highlights about the great work that our funded partners and First 5 perform on behalf of and in partnership with children, families, and providers in our County.  Each semi-monthly edition will focus on a particular early childhood theme, yet the sections of the newsletter will remain consistent. 

We want Firsthand with First 5 to be a source that you look forward to reading, thus we invite your story ideas and suggestions.  Please e-mail your comments to Katie Corda at kcorda@co.santa-barbara.ca.us.

Stipends Awarded to Child Care Providers
In May 2008, First 5’s Office of Early Care and Education will award S.T.A.R. stipends to 271 early care and education professionals county-wide. The S.T.A.R. project is part of the California First 5 initiative known as C.A.R.E.S. (Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards).  Santa Barbara is one of 44 counties in California that reward licensed center-based and family child providers with monetary incentives ranging from $400 - $1800 for educational attainment and professional development.

Since 2001, the Office of Early Care and Education has coordinated the county-wide early care and education workforce development efforts, in partnership with other child care advocacy agencies, colleges and universities and funders. A total of 126 S.T.A.R. participants have earned their AA degrees in early childhood as a result of this program. Currently 26 ECE professionals are working on bachelors degrees as a result of First 5 partnership with University of LaVerne, Antioch University and Chapman University.

These higher education partners will be joining First 5 staff at the annual C.A.R.E.S. conference in San Francisco in April 2008. This year’s conference theme is Supporting the Full Spectrum of the Early Learning Workforce – From Intentional Recruitment to Training Leaders. Additional information about C.A.R.E.S. can be found at http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/print/docs/cares/home.htm. For more information about the STAR project, contact Sharol Viker at 805 739-8745 or sviker@co.santa-barbara.ca.us.

Starting Up a Child Care Center?  Help is on the Way.
For those who have thought about opening a child care center but do not have any idea how to get started, Constructing Connections is the resource to help make those dreams a reality. Constructing Connections is a project of the Office of Early Care and Education which focuses on streamlining the system for developing child care facilities.  Understanding that starting a child care business can be a frustrating and long process when the steps are not clear and the processes are complex, the Constructing Connections project offers technical assistance and resources to individuals and works with local government and other involved agencies to ease requirements and streamline processes. 

On May 6, Constructing Connections is offering a technical assistance workshop to provide potential child care center operators the tools for planning a successful child care business.

This workshop will walk each participant through a “20 Step Timeline” to guide them through the phases of planning and developing a child care center. Included within the timeline are:

• Components of creating a comprehensive business plan that includes all aspects of a child care business
• An introduction to zoning regulations and permitting
• Financial Resources
• Site Design
• Determining market demand

By the end of this workshop, participants will have the tools necessary to move forward in developing a successful child care businesses. For more information, visit the Constructing Connections website at  http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/ece/connections.asp  or email Yvon Frazier at yfrazier@co.santa-barbara.ca.us

The First 5 Santa Barbara Constructing Connections project is partially funded by ABCD Constructing Connections, a program of the Low Income Investment Fund, with major funding from First 5 CA.

“Thinking Outside the Sandbox” Designing Quality Child Care Environments
A ground breaking child care design symposium “Thinking Outside the Sandbox” was held in November 2007 to bring together professionals involved in the design and construction process of a child care facility.  This event was the first of a number of planned events to bring together building and landscape architects, building contractors, school facility managers, planners and early education professionals -  those involved in the child care design and construction process. 

The fact that each of these professions speaks a different language sometimes results in a building that is less than the best for young children. Eric Nelson from Community Educational Center, the founders of the Outdoor Classroom Project, facilitated the day and spoke to the need for a common language and constant communication. Attendees enjoyed presentations from architects and community care licensing, all reinforcing the idea that how a facility is designed is critical to children’s development.  The afternoon was an energizing Design Charrette where attendees split into groups and designed their own child care centers.

Leading firms attended, such as our local Cearnal Andrulaitis LLP Architecture and Interior Design, who showcased the newly open Orfalea Children’s Center located at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. Joe Andrulaitis provided a presentation about the process of designing this state of the art children’s center, so children can easily flow through the indoor and outdoor environments while still enjoying a home-like and natural environment.

Susan Goltsman, a landscape architect with MIG, Inc. from Berkley, California provided the participants with a full developmental perspective on creating quality outdoor environments for young children. She told participants that it is important that each element of design is thought out and considered when designing, and that these learning environments are crucial to children’s growth and development and we should not expect anything less.

The afternoon Design Charrette required that participants separate into groups and together design a child care center around the regulatory and programming parameters that were given to them.  The groups utilized each other’s professional expertise and came up with some innovative high quality child care facilities. The energy in the room while this activity was taking place was amazing, as were the final designs, which varied from traditional to environmentally friendly, all leading to functional environments in which children can grow and develop.

The event was offered through the Office of Early Care and Education’s Constructing Connections Project, which focuses on streamlining the child care facilities development process

Due to the phenomenal response of this symposium we have a second symposium scheduled for Fall of 2008. For more information on the symposium and a picture gallery highlighting the day’s event please visit http://www.first5santabarbaracounty.org/first5/symposium2007/home.asp

The First 5 Santa Barbara Constructing Connections project is partially funded by ABCD Constructing Connections, a program of the Low Income Investment Fund, with major funding from First 5 CA.

Employee Child Care Survey Kicks Off

Employees in Santa Barbara County are competing with each other for more than jobs – they are competing for child care.  For every licensed child care space, there are three children of working parents needing that space.  This critical shortage of child care impacts employee productivity, absenteeism and recruitment in workplaces across the county. 

Employers in the downtown Santa Barbara area have gathered to do something about it.  Their first step, an Employee Child Care Survey, is being conducted by the Downtown Santa Barbara Employer Child Care Partnership and employers are encouraged to sign up during the month of April.  Here are the survey details:

Participants of the Partnership include the County of Santa Barbara, First 5 Santa Barbara County, and a group of downtown employers including Antioch University, Bartlett Pringle and Wolf, Community West Bank, Cottage Health Systems, Downtown Organization, Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council, Santa Barbara Family Care Center and Sonos.

The goal of the Partnership is to find local solutions to the need for child care that will benefit employers, employees and their children.  Valerie Janssens, Human Resource Manager of Sonos states, “The Partnership has given me great hope that we now have a forum to address these challenges and, more importantly, a means to make a difference for those working parents who need quality care for their children”.

To learn more about the survey, the focus groups and the goals of the Partnership, employers are encouraged to contact Holly Goldberg, First 5 Santa Barbara County, (805) 884-8062, hgold@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or go to http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/ece/survey/

Preschool for All Efforts Continue in Santa Barbara County
Since the defeat of Proposition 82 in June 2006 (which if passed would have provided state funding to allow all four year olds access to high quality preschool one year prior to Kindergarten), Santa Barbara County First 5 has continued to make incremental steps in striving towards the goal of Preschool for All. Local efforts have assisted many programs to become Preschool for All “Ready” when funding opportunities are introduced. They include:

• Continuation of the Preschool for All Task force made up of community partners
• Support for the professional development of the Early Care and Education workforce
• Advancement of quality environments and programming through the NAEYC Accreditation project
• Implementation of articulation strategies that link preschool programs to elementary schools

In a symbiotic effort with the California Department of Education Superintendents P-16 council, studies are showing that focus on preschool through third grade significantly affects the achievement gap. The March 2008 issue of Phi Delta Kappan focuses on P-16 Education.  In an article by Ruby Takanishi and Kristie Kauerz, "PK Inclusion: Getting Serious About a P-16 Education System," the authors make the case that a P-16 system must pay attention to the PK-3 years.  Learning during these years lays the foundation for all that follows.  They outline what educators and policymakers can do to address governance, regulations, policies, and financing to support the implementation of a PK-3 approach. The study can be found on: http://www.fcd-us.org/resources/resources_show.htm?doc_id=673665

First Early Childhood Program to be Accredited Under New System
The Orfalea Family Children’s Center, one of UCSB’s Early Childhood Care and Education Services, is the first child care program in Santa Barbara County to receive national recognition under the newly revised National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation system.  With the help of First 5’s Accreditation Facilitation Project, UCSB started this brand new, rigorous 12 month process back in May of 2006 and received notice of their status in July 2007. 

The Orfalea Family Children's Center, located at UCSB, provides child care for student, staff and faculty families of children 3 months to 5 years within the University community. Community families are also welcome.

NAEYC accreditation represents one of the highest marks of quality in early childhood education. This voluntary system sets professional standards and assists families to identify high-quality early care and education programs in their community. Currently there are 22 center based programs accredited in Santa Barbara County through the previous system with 18 more currently working on accreditation through the new system. 

Programs engage in a rigorous four step self study process that assist them with learning  what their program is doing well and also to identify areas where programs could be even better. Since 2001, the Office of Early Care and Education, First 5 has supported 26 programs seeking NAEYC accreditation through the Santa Barbara County accreditation facilitation project.  Support includes:

• On-site technical assistance
• Development of program improvement plans
• Financial support to make needed improvements
• Monthly learning communities that provide programs focused time to review accreditation standards.

To learn more about NAEYC accreditation click here http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/. For more information about the Accreditation Facilitation Project, please contact Sharol Viker at 805 739-8745 or sviker@co.santa-barbara.ca.us

Office of Early Care and Education Gets Results
The Office of Early Care and Education has a number of different strategies to elevate the field of ECE in Santa Barbara County because the development of a qualified ECE workforce is essential to building a quality Care for Children.  The qualifications of early childhood teachers matter because high-quality early childhood education improves long-term academic outcomes for children and delivers benefits to the community that far exceed initial program costs because high-quality ECE requires educated and experienced teachers.

Results of this past year’s Office of Early Care and Education efforts to develop the ECE workforce and provide quality environments for children demonstrate several promising trends locally:

• 42 participants are involved in the OECE Workforce Development Pilot Project focused on professionals obtaining their B.A. With a capacity of 50 slots, the anticipated timeline for the first cohort of students to graduate with a B.A. degree is March 2009.
• ECE Higher Education Collaborative, First 5 Santa Barbara has successfully addresses this by negotiating the lowering of tuition cost with the private colleges that are commensurate with rates of a California State University.
• OECE has provided technical support to 22 programs working on opening 853 new center spaces with a total of 140 new child care center spaces opened during 2006-2007.
• During the 2006-2007 year alone, 5 city or county policies or practices were amended to better support early care and education. 
• In 2006-2007, a total of 6 trainings or presentations on how groups can support early care and education facilities development were completed, and over 80 key stakeholders actively participated in the partnership.

Celebrating Early Care and Education
As we celebrate the Month of the Young Child we are also celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of the First 5 Office of Early Care and Education and its many partners who are working hard to develop increased access to quality early care and education.

One of the Office’s most exciting projects is their work with multiple institutions of higher learning including U.C.S.B., Antioch, La Verne, Santa Barbara City College, Allen Hancock and Chapman.  Through outstanding partnerships, curriculum tracts are being established for B.A. and M.A. degrees in early childhood education.

With the assistance of foundation dollars, scholarships have been established in coordination with the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation.  Currently 48 individuals are participating in this innovative program working toward degrees that will not only increase their skills as professional educators, but will strengthen the early child educator community as a whole.

First 5 is proud of the work that is taking place to make see that every child in Santa Barbara County has the opportunity for quality early care and education.

Sincerely,

Executive Director
First 5 Santa Barbara County – Children and Families Commission

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