By, Ruel Nolledo | Freelance Writer
February 26, 2025
First 5 LA’s Board of Commissioners Meeting was convened by LA Supervisor and Board Chair Holly Mitchell on Feb 13. Highlights of the meeting included the election of chair and vice chair positions; an update on the ongoing relief and recovery efforts to help the families and communities affected by the recent fires; a presentation on sustainability strategies related to First 5 LA’s home visiting investment; and an overview of the 2025-26 proposed state budget and the current political climate.
As is customary at the start of each year, the meeting began with chair and vice chair elections were held. Board members unanimously elected L.A. County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to continue as board chair and Commissioner Summer McBride as vice chair.
Following the elections, Mitchell also announced committee assignments for the year. McBride and Commissioner Robert Byrd will continue to serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Executive Committee. Commissioner Carol Sigala will serve as chair and Commissioner Jacquelyn McCroskey as co-chair of the Program and Planning Committee. Helming the Budget and Finance Committee this year will be Byrd as chair and Commissioner Abigail Marquez as vice chair.
The complete list of committee assignments can be found here.
During her opening remarks as Board Chair, Mitchell welcomed Commissioners back, adding that January had been especially difficult and painful for Los Angeles. After expressing her heartfelt condolences to the families and businesses impacted by the recent fires, she thanked several commissioners for their work in relief and recovery efforts and called on everyone to continue the work.
“This is a space where I can lock arms with all of you and focus on the hyperlocal,” Mitchell told the other Commissioners. “A space where I know that we’re going to make a difference in the lives of young children. You’ve made a commitment as a Board again in our strategic planning, making sure that we’re going to align our dollars with our mission, to make sure that this organization continues to be resilient and present and in a position to offer support.”
First 5 LA President and CEO Karla Pleitéz Howell echoed Mitchell’s sentiments and conveyed her own condolences to everyone who had been affected by the fires.
“The unprecedented scope of these fires has had a tremendous impact on families,” she said. “It will take time to recover.”
Pleitéz Howell then discussed with the Board how First 5 LA will use its Strategic Plan as a framework to guide the agency’s work in response to the wildfires. In addition to supporting the relief and recovery work of its partners, First 5 LA also supported the City of Los Angeles in developing an executive order that would expedite land use permitting for child care providers and promote connections with community care licensing.
Pleitéz Howell also emphasized the importance of prioritizing equity in the relief and recovery efforts, adding that First 5 LA had reached out to First 5 commissions in other counties that have experienced wildfires. She cited experiences in Butte County following the 2018 campfires, where resources did not allow for the rebuilding of some of the poorest communities.
“All of them lifted up that if there isn’t an equity lens that addresses the calcifying of inequitable issues, it’s going to make it worse,” Pleitéz Howell emphasized.
More information on First 5 LA’s activities to help families affected by the fires can be found in Early Childhood Matters (LINK!) and in the President and CEO’s Report here.
First 5 LA’s FY 2024-25 Budget was the next topic on the meeting agenda. Finance Director Raoul Ortega and Financial Planning & Analysis Manager Daisy Lopez presented proposed mid-year adjustments to First 5 LA’s budget. Adjustments to both program and operating budgets resulted in a cost-neutral change to the approved fiscal year 2024-25 budget of $91.7 million. These adjustments and revised budget will be brought to the Board for approval on consent at the March 13 meeting.
For more information on the mid-year budget adjustments, click here.
The Commission next turned its attention to the agency’s home visiting initiative. Executive Vice President of Family Systems & Human Resources John Wagner kicked off the presentation with an overview of this long-standing First 5 LA investment, which includes both the evidenced-informed Welcome Baby model deployed at 11 birthing hospitals as well as two other models, Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Healthy Families America (HFA) at 13 other sites. As a result of the increased decline in First 5 revenues due to the passage of Proposition 31 in 2022, First 5 LA has been working with partners to identify other funding for this vital resource for parents. This work has paid off; in addition to securing federal and state funding from the Department of Mental Health, First 5 LA has received reimbursement from a local health plan whose members have enrolled in home visiting programs. Despite this, First 5 LA’s current investment of $36.6 million, which represents 39% of the agency’s total budget, is unsustainable.
“The discussion today isn’t a question of whether we would continue to fund home visiting, but at what level,” Wagner said. “And in spite of the reductions… home visiting will continue to be the single largest investment for First 5 LA.”
Family Supports Director Diana Careaga spoke next to explain the process and approach behind the decisions on the home visiting contracts. She noted that a key priority from the onset was engaging partners in the decision-making process. First 5 LA established a Home Visiting Stakeholder Workshop in late 2024 that would provide critical input for criteria that could inform budget changes in First 5 LA’s home visiting investment as well as longer-term funding considerations to the Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP). The Workgroup, which consisted of representatives from key County departments, elevated several considerations that were incorporated into the agency’s criteria, which comprise three categories: Priority Areas, Efficiency and Sustainability. Based on the criteria, two funding changes were put forth that would see the non-renewal of two out of the 11 Welcome Baby contracts and three of the 13 Select Home Visiting (SHV) contracts.
Also joining the presentation were Victoria Bibby, the director of direct services at Antelope Valley Partners for Health, and Dr. Priya Batra, deputy director of the Health Promotion Bureau at the Department of Public Health. More information can be found in the Board presentation and Board memo.
Following the discussion on home visiting, First 5 LA Vice President of Community Engagement and Policy Aurea Montes-Rodrigues led a presentation focusing on Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2025-26 state budget, the current political landscape and the policy environment at the federal level.
“There is new work that will require our attention,” she noted, “especially when we’re looking at policies and the state budget.” In line with First 5 LA’s Strategic Plan, the team will be focusing on catalyzing public policy efforts that prioritize the needs of young children and their families at the local, state and federal levels.
Guest presenter Chris Hoene, the executive director of the California Budget and Policy Center, provided a high-level overview of the Governor’s budget proposal. He noted that while Newsom’s plan upholds some past commitments and important investments, there were several missed opportunities and questionable choices. Hoene also added that state leaders are in a very difficult scenario this year, given the uncertainty surrounding the federal government’s funding priorities on several key services that affect millions of Californians.
Following the state budget presentation, Senior Policy Strategist Ofelia Medina provided an overview of the political landscape at the state and federal levels. She shared with Commissioners that the Los Angeles County State Legislative Delegation now has three new state senators and eight assembly members who First 5 LA will engage regarding early childhood issues. For the new legislative session, a number of bills have been introduced that relate to First 5 LA’s Policy Agenda priorities.
Also joining the presentation was Rosie Arroyo, the programs and grantmaking director at the California Community Foundation, who provided additional context on how some of the emerging federal issues were affecting Los Angeles County, including the enormous changes in immigration policy. She reported that 82 immigration-related policy actions have been made at the federal level since January 28, resulting in chaos and confusion among immigrant families.
To learn more about the state budget and political landscape, please read the presentation.
As part of its consent calendar, the Board approved an amendment to an existing contract with Chrissie M. Castro and Associates. The consultant team will continue to support First 5 LA as it implements the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. More information on the item can be found here.
The next Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for March 13, 2025, with a focus on Initiative 1 (Prevention First) of the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. For more information, please visit www.first5la.org/our-board/meeting-materials 72 hours in advance of the meeting date.
