E-Newsletter

First 5 Santa Barbara County Publishes First e-Newsletter
Welcome to the premier edition of the First 5 Santa Barbara County newsletter, Firsthand with First 5, which will be published every other month. The goal of our letter is to inform and connect people who care deeply about Santa Barbara County’s youngest children. Each edition will focus on a particular early childhood theme. This month we highlight our universal newborn home visiting program, Welcome Every Baby.

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.

First 5 and the County Education Office Launch the Welcome Every Baby Program
Welcome Every Baby is a free, voluntary and personalized home visiting program for all babies, birth through 9 months, and their families in Santa Barbara County. The program partners with parents to offer support and information during the first days and months of their baby’s life.

Welcome Every Baby focuses on the vital relationship between parents and their babies.  Participating parents can expect to receive the following support:

• A series of home visits and calls by a nurse and an infant specialist from birth until the child is 9 months old
• Breastfeeding support
• Information on caring for newborn babies
• Post-partum depression education and support
• The latest knowledge on how babies grow and learn
• Help with parent questions and concerns
• Support for parents with babies with special needs
• Activities and resources in their community

Welcome Every Baby is a program of the Santa Barbara County Office of Education, which works in partnership with local hospitals, health care providers and community organizations to give all babies the best possible start in life.  The program is funded by First 5 Santa Barbara County and a collaborative of local foundations.

How Can We Connect with Welcome Every Baby?
Parents or guardians may sign up for the Welcome Every Baby home visits after their baby is born.  Most of the time, parents are presented the opportunity to enroll after a mother delivers at a hospital or clinic.  However, all babies are eligible and parents may sign up at any time in the first 9 months of their baby’s life.

To enroll call: (805) 898-2229

Parents, who participate in Welcome Every Baby, report feeling more confident in their parenting, more reassured about their baby’s development and have high rates of breastfeeding success.  Welcome Every Baby staff support parents in their roles by answering parent questions, providing information, resources and referrals.

Education is Top Concern for Mixtec Parents
A new report released by First 5 Santa Barbara County, What Parents Think What Families Need, is based on data from a countywide survey of parents and found that 4 out of 10 Mixteco parents are concerned about their children’s education.  The report highlights findings from interviews with 100 Mixteco parents that were part of a broader public awareness and education survey commissioned by First 5.

Mixteco parents reported the lowest education and income among all groups surveyed, with 96% having less than an 8th grade education and less than half reporting that they can read. 

The survey also found that Mixteco families tend not to be connected to local resources or services and get most of their news and information from Spanish-language television and radio.

The survey is the first of its kind focused specifically on issues related in children 0-5 in the county and among the Mixteco community.  For the Mixtec report visit: http://www.first5santabarbaracounty.org/docs08_01-17MixtecReport20071.pdf and for the general parent survey visit: http://www.first5santabarbaracounty.org/docs/08_01-17GeneralReport20071.pdf .

It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 people of Mixteco heritage live in the greater Santa Maria Valley area, mostly working in agriculture.  Mixteco people originate from rural villages in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico and speak a distinct native language, “Mixtec.”  In most cases, Mixtec is a family’s home language and Mixteco parents have varying degrees of oral proficiency in Spanish.  Because Mixtec is not a written language, literacy is an issue for many parents and children in both Spanish and English.  These facts taken together, present unique challenges to Mixtec parents and children—and to schools, agencies and groups seeking to assist this special community.

First Babies of 2008 get a Special Welcome
Santa Barbara County got two new residents on New Year’s Day.  Everardo Martinez Santos was the first baby born in Santa Barbara County in 2008.  Weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces, little Everardo made his debut at 12:25 a.m. on January 1st at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria.  In Santa Barbara, Soliel Fortson surprised her parents, Terra and Dave, by arriving 3 weeks early at 9:12 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Click here to see the story covered by KSBY-TV Channel 6.

Everardo and Soleil and their families received a special welcome from First 5 Santa Barbara County as part of the launch of the Welcome Every Baby Program.  Both families received large baskets filled with books, blankets, the First 5 Kit for New Parents and many other items contributed by local businesses.  Baskets were presented to the families of the first babies born at each of Santa Barbara County’s 4 hospitals, with one basked reserved for the first home birth, which has yet to occur.

First 5 coordinated the launch to introduce the program to the community with a new look and new leadership under the Santa Barbara County Education Office.  First 5 representatives joined County Education Office and Welcome Every Baby staff to present the baskets and to announce the program via the media.  Several stories appeared on TV, radio and in print.

First 5 Programs Demonstrate Community Results
First 5 Santa Barbara County requires data reporting and evaluation guidelines for all funded programs.  The goal of robust reporting by grantees and independent analysis by UCSB is to measure the impacts services are having on individuals, families and communities.  In addition, strong evaluation allows First 5, grantees and partners to learn which strategies are working best to achieve and sustain results.

For example, we know that secure and healthy social-emotional bonds between parents and their baby is one of the keys to a child’s optimal development.  Likewise, healthy nutrition during pregnancy and after birth is critical to a baby’s physical, mental and social development.

First 5 Santa Barbara County’s 2006-2007 Annual Evaluation Report found that the Welcome Every Baby program achieved promising results in these areas.

• Parents of newborns are receiving support through home visiting.  During 2006-2007, WEB provided nurse home visits to 2,795 families and child development specialist home visits to 2,860 families.
• Mothers of newborns are breastfeeding at high rates.  Breastfeeding rates for mothers in the WEB program were 89% at postpartum, 69% at 6 months, and 65% at 9 months. These rates exceed the Healthy People 2010 targets as well as state and national averages.
• Newborns have good nutrition and positive relationships with their mothers.  Nearly universally, parents in the WEB program reported that the nutritional needs of their infants are being met and that mothers have positive relationships with their infants.
• Mothers with postpartum depression are being identified and receiving treatment.  WEB routinely screens mothers of newborns for postpartum depression (PPD). Rates of PPD were highest for the home visits that occurred approximately 2 weeks postpartum (4.3%) but decreased over time.

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

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the first edition of “Firsthand with First 5.”  We hope that this newsletter will provide a new way for First 5 to connect with those who care about young children. 

We also hope that this publication will provide you with exciting information about the many programs that are affecting the lives of young children and the people who care for them, through human interest stories as well as showcasing the significant results that have occurred through these programs.

I had the opportunity of kicking off 2008 by visiting some of the first babies born in our county in the new year.  What a joy it was to greet the new parents and their precious little ones as a way of re-launching our Welcome Every Baby program.

I wish each of you the happiest of new years.  May we continue to come together throughout the challenges ahead by keeping focused on the vital impact we each can make in supporting the early years of every child in our county.

Sincerely,

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

• Funding Opportunities at First 5 Santa Barbara County
• Who We Fund (Current)
• Who We Are
• Contact Us

First 5 Commission Meeting
February 11 from 9-12, Board of Supervisors Hearing Rm, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria.  Contact Sara Soto at 805-884-8085.

First 5 School Readiness Strategies Summit Keynote Speaker, Dr. David Dickenson, Vanderbilt University.  Friday, March 28, 8am to 4pm.  County Office of Ed Auditorium, 4400 Cathedral Oaks Rd, Santa Barbara.  Call Katie Corda for registration information at 805-560-1039.