First 5 Santa Barbara County is holding a series of meetings to gain information from the community about what services are needed for children from birth to 5 years old.
The First 5 commission will use information gleaned from the meetings as it gets started on the strategic plan for the next three years. The county agency is inviting parents, social service providers, educators, and anyone else interested in the well-being of the county’s youngest children to participate in the input sessions.
Participants will hear about the agency’s work since it started in 1998, current partnerships, research into best practices, and the funding situation for the years ahead. Meeting attendees will be asked to contribute ideas about how to get children ready for kindergarten.
Community sessions will be held in Lompoc on Aug. 6 at the Lompoc Union School District Education Center board room, 1301 N. “A” Street, and in Santa Maria at the Minami Center, 600 W. Enos Drive, on Aug. 8. Meetings will run from 6 to 7:15 p.m. To find out more about the planning process or to fill out a parent survey, visit first5santabarbaracounty.org.
This article appears in Jul 25 – Aug 1, 2013.