First 5 San Bernardino
The Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino County (First 5 San Bernardino) was created in December 1998, in order to realize the benefits of Proposition 10 (California Children and Families Act) for the County’s youngest residents and their families. The act created a program for the purpose of promoting, supporting and improving the early development of children from the prenatal stage to 5 years of age, under the guidance of the Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino, and in collaboration with the community and agencies providing services to children.
Mission
Promote, support and enhance the well-being and early development of children prenatal through age 5, their families and their communities.
North Star
First 5 San Bernardino’s North Star is a cohesive and complementary system that enables communities, organizations and families to ensure that all children in San Bernardino County are healthy, safe, nurtured and prepared to thrive.
Guiding Principles
These principles represent our core values, which guide our priorities and decision making for all our work. These guiding principles will also support the way we engage with communities and systems, enabling First 5 San Bernardino to follow its mission and achieve its North Star.
- Community, Systems and Context
- Collaboration
- Impact and Sustainability
What is Proposition 10?
Prop 10 provides revenue that is is generated from 50 cent tax per tobacco pack across the state.
First 5 San Bernardino annually averages $25 million in tobacco tax revenue to fund programs and services for children from prenatal stage to age 5.
80% is divided amongst all 58 counties based on the number of births in each county.
90% of a child’s brain develops in the first five years of life. According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child:
“Child development is a foundation for community development and economic development, as capable children become the foundation of a prosperous and sustainable society.”
“When parents, informal community programs, and professionally staffed early childhood services pay attention to young children’s emotional and social needs, as well as to their mastery of literacy and cognitive skills, they have maximum impact on the development of sturdy brain architecture and preparation for success in school.”
“Creating the right conditions for early childhood development is likely to be more effective and less costly than addressing problems at a later age.”
Just as the foundations for healthy brain architecture are laid in the earliest years of life, beginning before birth, so are the foundations of lifelong health and well-being.
A young child’s biological systems—including the neural, immune, and metabolic systems—develop in interconnected ways.
These systems adapt based on a child’s experiences in their developmental environment, with potential lifelong impacts.