This special report originally appeared in the September-October 2001 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Prop. 10: Weaving a web of support for young children and families

A Children's Advocate Special Report on Prop. 10 in the Bay Area

Published by Action Alliance for Children and United Way of the Bay Area

Prop. 10, the California Children and Families First Initiative, passed by voters in 1998, was a move to bring desperately needed resources into the fragmented and impoverished world of services for young children and their families. But it was more than that.

The extra 50-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes was intended, not to collect a pot of money for a random assortment of programs, but to create "a seamless system of integrated and comprehensive programs and services.to support early childhood development from the prenatal stage to age five."

Actor Rob Reiner, Prop. 10's originator, says he was inspired by research showing the importance of the first years of life in creating the basis for future learning, relationships, and behavior. In particular, the 1994 Carnegie Commission report, Starting Points, summarized research showing the rapid growth of the brain in the first three years of life and the enormous influence of a child's experience on brain development.

But despite the importance of early childhood, very little public money and attention had gone to young children and their families. In California, one in five children live in poverty, more than two million lack health insurance, and most low-income families can't get subsidized housing or child care. Many children enter kindergarten with health problems or behavior problems and with few experiences that have prepared them to learn reading and math. Parents at all income levels struggle with conflicts between the demands of work and childrearing.

Parents "feel very isolated and like they don't have community," says Brenda Blasingame, executive director of the Contra Costa County Children and Families Commission. "It's extremely hard for them to raise their children under those circumstances. They don't feel like they live in a family-friendly community."

Prop. 10 was designed to change that by allocating 80 percent of its revenues to the counties. Each county was required to create a Children and Families (Prop. 10) Commission, which would then, with public input, draw up a "strategic plan" for supporting early childhood development, and allocate Prop. 10 funds to implement the plan.

Bringing people together to create a plan was itself a step toward creating a more unified system. "The planning process has made the county stronger and has helped groups communicate with each other," says Solano County Prop. 10 Commissioner Maureen McSweeney.

Some counties took longer than others to create plans and get Prop. 10 money out the door. But now, two and a half years into the process, all counties have gotten some funds into services for
children.

With the generous support of United Way of the Bay Area, Action Alliance for Children assembled a team of experienced researchers to take a first snapshot of what Prop. 10 has created so far in 11 Northern California counties.

We interviewed more than 80 people in 11 counties during June and July; we spoke with Prop. 10 commissioners and executive directors as well as others familiar with children's services in each county. We hope this report will give readers all over California a look at some of the challenges and some of the potential of this ambitious effort to create communities that truly support the development of young children.

Research Team: Philip Arca, Melissa Bowen, Elizabeth Gilman, Jessica Mihaly, Jean Tepperman.

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