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First 5 honors Lake County champions for children
These early years – prenatal through age 5 – are when a foundation is being laid for language, literacy, social skills, critical thinking, gross and fine motor skills, problem solving, empathy, and every vital capacity that a person will need to build a healthy and rewarding life.
The vision of First 5 Lake County is that all of Lake County’s children will receive the best possible start in life and thrive.
Each quarter in 2018, the First 5 Lake Commission will be recognizing Children’s Champions in our community – people who are going above and beyond to make sure that our youngest citizens are protected, nurtured, and prioritized.
The First 5 Children’s Champions for the first quarter of 2018 are: Christopher Veach, director of Lake County Libraries; Jeff Smith, District 2 supervisor; Kari Donley, LVN at Adventist Health Clear Lake; and the IMPACT/QRIS Team at Lake County Office of Education, consisting of: Angela Cuellar-Marroquin, LPC/QRIS coordinator; Angel Coppa, QRIS Coach; and April Strait, QRIS coach.
Christopher Veach reached out to First 5 Lake to find out how he could bring needed information about parenting, community resources, and the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, to the parents and caregivers of young children attending the Lake County Library story times.
Since that initial brainstorming meeting, local agencies have joined the collaboration and have committed to send staff to story times throughout the year to share with parents about their programs, how their services can be accessed and to answer any questions.
Conversations have also begun regarding how to capitalize on the comfort level community members already have when visiting the libraries by bringing in educational programs about ACEs and parenting to those trusted spaces.
Jeff Smith served as a First 5 Commissioner from 2010-2018 as a representative from the Board of Supervisors.
As he prepares to end his tenure as District 2 supervisor, he has now passed the First 5 baton to the capable hand of Supervisor Tina Scott, but the commission would like to honor his many years of service and his ongoing care, concern and advocacy for Lake County children and families.
Kari Donley is a licensed vocational nurse working in the Bright Start OB program at Adventist Health Clear Lake.
Donley recently contacted First 5 after running into roadblocks in obtaining immediate drug treatment services for a pregnant patient in her care.
She then brought the issue to the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board who invited key government contacts to the table to discuss what systems changes could be implemented to make sure that pregnant patients would be sure to receive a seamless referral for needed treatment during the critical prenatal period of child development.
Donley’s passionate advocacy on behalf of her patient has resulted in systems changes and stronger working relationships between agencies that will benefit many more Lake County mothers and babies in the future.
The IMPACT/QRIS, or Quality Rating Improvement System, Team at Lake County Office of Education, led by Angela Cuellar-Marroquin, is in the process of implementing several multi-year grants aimed at increasing the quality of childcare and early education in Lake County.
Angel Coppa and April Strait serve as quality improvement coaches and work with 30+ different daycares, preschools, family childcare homes and other non-traditional sites where children are cared for and educated in the County.
Their one-on-one coaching covers everything from curriculum to the classroom environment, knowledge of child development and the quality of student-teacher interactions, to working with parents effectively.
The team also provide trainings for all Lake County early educators regardless of their participation in the IMPACT/QRIS program and recently hosted a Quality Care Counts Conference which provided a full day of free professional development for early childhood professionals from around the Lake.
The First 5 Lake Commissioners are honored to bring these Children’s Champions and their efforts to the attention of our Lake County friends and neighbors.
Members of the community are encouraged to nominate worthy Champions for Children in Lake County, by filling out a nomination form at: www.firstfivelake.org/childrens-champions.php . New Champions will be selected and honored each quarter.
Using funds derived from CA Proposition 10’s voter-mandated tax on tobacco products, the First 5 Lake County Commission funds programs and services that benefit the health and development of young children and educate parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers about the critical role they play during a child’s first five years.
Since its inception in 2000, First 5 Lake has supported thousands of families with programs and services designed to help Lake County children grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.
Current First 5 Lake Commissioners are Pam Klier, Denise Pomeroy, Brock Falkenberg, Tina Scott, Crystal Markytan, Susan Jen, Laurie Daly, Carly Swatosh and Allison Panella.