Spotlight Story Index

As state leaders continue to battle over California's budget, new developments on the health care front are emerging which could affect the outcome of those negotiations.

As the state budget stalemate enters its third week, the impending end of federal stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  has raised concerns. 

California marked the start of its new fiscal year on July 1 without actually passing a budget, which poses problems for many service providers in California, including state-subsidized child care centers.

For the 23rd time since 1986, California lawmakers failed to meet the constitutional deadline (June 15) for submitting a balanced budget to the governor.

Last week, the First 5 LA Board of Commissioners approved a portfolio of 14 communities to target for resource investment over the next five years. Learn more about these communities and how First 5 LA will move forward.

State leaders received another bad piece of budget news when the U.S. Congress recently said it would kill plans to send more aid to California and other states, further jeopardizing children's programs.

By rejecting massive cuts in the governor's proposed May Revise, Democratic legislators sent the governor a clear message - that eliminating programs vital to California's young children is not acceptable.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s May Revise includes two proposals that could decimate state child care in California. Cutting state child care would result in the loss of crucial jobs and more.

In the May Revise budget, released Friday, the governor proposes to eliminate the CalWORKs program and drastically cut child care and other children's programs in his latest budget proposal.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to fire the opening salvo in what's expected to be a protracted budget battle this Friday when he releases his May Revise budget, which may include more bad news for California's young children.

We at First 5 LA have been hard at work for the last year assessing the places in Los Angeles County where we can reach the most children with the greatest need.

More than a million children in California rely on the state's Healthy Families Health Insurance program. Learn how the governor's current budget proposals threaten their coverage.   

First 5 LA uses Twitter and Facebook platforms to draw attention to articles and news related topics that are relevant for professionals in the early childhood world. Evie encourages readers to join. 

Advocates from across the state came together in Sacramento last week to testify at a California Senate budget hearing in opposition to a plan to divert Proposition 10 funding.

Community advocates are speaking out against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to take First 5 funding away from early childhood programs.

Los Angeles--- First 5 LA Executive Director Evelyn Martinez today called on state legislators to save local children's programs by rejecting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attempt to grab First 5 funding in order to pay for state run programs.

Last Friday, Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled a state budget proposal that includes a plan to strip an estimated $550 million in voter-approved funding from California's First 5 programs.

First 5 LA has supported community capacity building through Best Start LA, but it is also a primary component of our FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan. Learn more about how it will be accomplished through our place-based investments.

As we embark on our new FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan, First 5 LA has drafted an "Accountability Framework" to track our progress towards the Commission's four goals.

As First 5 LA embarks on our new FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan, we are poised to implement a home visitation strategy to help the Commission reach our goals.

While it's obvious that family members and other individuals profoundly affect young children's lives, what's less well recognized is the influence of their larger community. Learn more about the importance of community in a child's growth. 

As First 5 LA's new Strategic Plan focuses on a place-based approach, many stakeholders are asking what that means for them. Learn about the five selection principles that are helping guide the process.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health has released the schedule for the first round of free H1N1 vaccine, and made available online the Pandemic Flu Toolkit For Early Childcare Providers and Families.

Working on big systemic issues often requires several incremental strategic approaches. First 5 LA's FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan has outlined a "prioritized pathway," to help guide our way. 

At First 5 LA, we know that children and families are only as healthy as the communities in which they live. Our new "place-based" investment approach helps children by focusing our efforts geographically.

First 5 LA's Board of Commissioners has adopted a new strategic plan that will guide its investments through 2015. Learn more about our "place based" approach.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions that highlight specific components of First 5 LA's new strategic plan.

Trust of America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released "F" as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, a study that compares adult and childhood obesity rates among the states. The picture is bleak.

First 5's in Southern California are helping local community-based organizations and agencies seeking federal stimulus funds, leveraging the opportunity to strengthen safety net programs.

The WIC/First 5 LA Data Mining research partnership recently released Latino Children Showing Higher Rates of Preschool Enrollment, comparing enrollment rates in 2005 with rates in 2008.