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First 5 honors Lake County Children’s Champions
The First 5 Lake Children’s Champions for the second quarter of 2018 are: Ana Santana, Healthy Start director at Lake County Office of Education; Mary Prather, grants coordinator for Easter Seals Bay Area; Brandy Perry, resource and referral manager for North Coast Opportunities’ Rural Communities Child Care Program; Barbara Green, children’s service coordinator for Lake County Libraries; and David and Denice Solgat, foster and adoptive parents.
The first five years of a child’s life, starting in the prenatal period, provide the greatest window of opportunity to build a strong foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing.
What happens to and for each child in those first five years is critically important for our society. Responsive and nurturing care, provided in safe, engaging environments fosters healthy brain development.
A lack of these things, or the presence of chronic stressors (poverty and discrimination) and adverse childhood experiences (abuse and neglect, parental mental illness and substance abuse, or family violence) can disrupt healthy brain development in children, creating lifelong negative impacts on learning, behavior and health.
Because not every child begins life with the same strong foundation and because risk factors for adverse childhood experiences and chronic stress are high in Lake County, First 5 Lake wants to shine a light on those in our community who are making a positive difference in the lives of our youngest citizens and inspire others to do the same.
Each quarter in 2018, the First 5 Lake Commissioners are 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.
Ana Santana
Ana Santana oversees critical services for children and families around the Lake including an oral health program that brings free dental screenings and transportation to dental care appointments for children from preschool through high school; the Nurturing Families program providing free parenting classes throughout the county (via drop-in appointments or group classes, which include dinner and child care), foster youth services in schools, the FamilyPRO program for families who have come to the attention of child welfare as needing extra support, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Services program, the Tobacco-Use Prevention Education program, and all basic needs services provided on school sites through Healthy Start.
In addition to this work, Santana serves as the head of both the Lake County Children’s Council and Building Resilient Lake County (a trauma-informed guide team) and is a foster parent.
Her dedication to children and families in Lake County is unparalleled and she leads, equips and advocates for a team of Healthy Start professionals who are equally as committed to the health and wellbeing of our County’s children.
Mary Prather
Mary Prather is the friendly face parents, caregivers and children see when they walk through the doors of the First 5 Early Learning Centers in Clearlake and Lakeport.
Prather truly goes above and beyond as she welcomes families into the Centers each day. As a trainer of trainers in the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (a developmental milestone screening tool), she helps parents understand what skills can be expected at each stage of their children’s development and gives them ideas for helping their children explore and grow. She has created welcoming, non-threatening, child-centered environments for families to enjoy together and has enrolled in LCOE’s Quality Rating & Improvement System (QRIS) program so that the Centers and her practices can benefit from outside coaching and ongoing evaluation.
Prather can regularly be seen at community events offering face-painting, teaching infant massage, or presenting to a variety of groups about early screening and intervention. She also oversees grants providing transportation stipends for families who need to travel out of county due to high risk pregnancy or ongoing health needs of a child.
Brandy Perry
Brandy Perry is no stranger to the First 5 Commission in her role as resource and referral Specialist at NCO. She tirelessly advocates for the needs of child care and preschool providers who serve Lake County’s children in family child care home businesses.
Perry equips, supports, and provides training for these early educators and care providers and connects families in search of high quality care with a provider that can meet their needs. She also serves as a vital member of the Local Child Care Planning Council and the QRIS Consortium.
Since the legalization of adult-use marijuana, Perry has been called upon to verify that applicants for commercial cannabis cultivation/distribution are not located within the required 1,000-foot radius of licensed child care facilities, and has been lauded by the Lake County Planning Department for her quick responses to these requests.
Barbara Green
Barbara Green has been on staff at Lake County Libraries since 2007 and has been conducting story time at the Lakeport branch since 2008.
Since 2011, Green and a team of volunteers have hosted 815 story times, class visits to schools, and class field trips to the library with an attendance of more than 32,000.
Her true love is helping children discover a love of reading and she is always ready and willing to represent the library at community events.
Families who frequent storytimes describe Green as fun and cheerful and have noted that she finds a way to make each child feel special.
One parent who nominated Green for this honor said, “It just means the world to my children to be treated that special by an adult other than their family members.”
David and Denice Solgat
Finally, David and Denice Solgat have been state-licensed foster parents in Lake County for 25 years, during which time they have fostered 500 children for varying lengths of time. In previous years they have taken in numerous children for emergency, short-term placements, but for the last seven years they have focused their energy on fostering medically fragile children with complex needs.
The Solgats’ goal is to give vulnerable children a soft place to land within their home and to advocate and partner with social workers and the children’s families for the best possible outcome – whether that is reunification with their families, adoption into another family or remaining in the Solgats’ home and becoming part of their family.
The Solgats have adopted nine children to date and are in the process of adopting two more. Family members, community members, and county health workers are a big part of the team that works together to help the Solgats create opportunities for children to maximize their potential.
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.
Those previously honored as 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 Clearlake; and the IMPACT/QRIS Team at Lake County Office of Education (Angela Cuellar-Marroquin, Angel Coppa and April Strait).
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.