| |
Spring 2023 Edition
|
|
Welcome to the spring edition of Milestones!
We’re excited to share First 5 San Bernardino’s “Little Teeth, Big Responsibility” oral health campaign implemented in partnership with San Bernardino County Department of Public Health’s local oral health program, Smile SBC.
The campaign received media coverage on TV, print and online publications, promoting F5SB’s message on the importance of oral health for young children. We also provided 1,000 "Potter the Otter Goes to the Dentist" books to children via SBC’s dental services clinics.
In January and again in March, I was honored to participate on a panel with esteemed professionals at Child Care Resource Center’s Policy Forums at California State University Northridge and San Bernardino, respectively. These panels brought together both state and county leaders, policy makers and child and family service organizations to discuss collective opportunities to serve children and families in Southern California.
Please make sure to read about the recruitment efforts under way for F5SB’s Advisory Committee, the new Local Outcomes Report which provides data from fiscal year 2021-2022, and meet Traci Homan, my new executive assistant who has worked for San Bernardino County for 35 years. Lastly, I hope you will take a moment to watch First 5 California’s new campaign spots, “Stronger Starts” which addresses toxic stress awareness in young children.
|
|
|
Recruitment Underway for F5SB’s Advisory Committee
First 5 San Bernardino is accepting applications for membership to serve on the Advisory Committee to its Commission. The Advisory Committee is responsible for providing expertise, advice and assistance to the Commission, staff and service agencies to enhance the capacity, accessibility and quality of the organization’s partnerships and service to the public. The role of the Committee is advisory in nature and not for the direct establishment of program policy. Prospective committee members should reside or be employed in San Bernardino County and agree to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
Learn more at Advisory Committee – first5sanbernardino.
|
|
|
Annual ‘Little Teeth, Big Responsibility’ Campaign Promotes Kids Oral Health
The Little Teeth, Big Responsibility campaign was launched again this past February with the goal of raising awareness of the need for proper oral hygiene and twice-yearly dentist visits for children under five. With February designated National Children’s Dental Health Month, we were able to educate parents and caregivers through billboards, radio, social media, digital advertising and a special media event.
Campaign Highlights
To kick-off the campaign, a special media event was held at E. Neal Roberts Elementary School in San Bernardino. First 5 San Bernardino mascot, Potter the Otter, surprised T-K and kindergarteners with a classroom visit accompanied by a local hygienist who showed the kids how to brush their teeth and give some of them an in-chair exam.
The visit not only reinforced the importance of healthy teeth but removed the fear of visiting a dentist. San Bernardino County’s Smile SBC and Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca Jr. handed out giveaway items. Stories on the school visit ran in the San Bernardino Sun and other local media, and aired on ABC7 Eyewitness News and NBC4 News. It was the perfect way to kick off the campaign!
We also invested in a multimedia, bilingual advertising campaign to help meet our goal of reaching 500,000 San Bernardino County parents three times within the campaign timeframe. Placements included bus shelters, audio streaming, digital and social media and freeway billboards. With an 8 percent average click-through-rate – which means the percentage of people who visited our smilesbc.org website to learn more about the campaign – our English and Spanish web banners and Snapchat ads performed the best.
This advertising campaign resulted in over 24 million impressions, touching each resident of San Bernardino County 10 times.
Although Little Teeth, Big Responsibility is focused around February, we will continue to remind parents and caregivers all year long about the important messages of children’s dental hygiene.
|
|
New Local Outcomes Report Now Available
Last year, F5SB served 29,468 children, 17,431 caregivers and 4,720 providers. Read the most recent Local Outcomes Report to learn how the organization supported children, improved child well-being and remained responsive in a changing environment.
The report presents an overview of accomplishments and successes achieved through F5SB’s funded initiatives in fiscal year 2021-2022 in each of the three strategic priority areas of the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan. Within each of the strategic priority areas, F5SB maintained a commitment to systems-level efforts: collaboration, community capacity building and workforce.
View the Local Outcomes Report.
|
|
F5SB Executive Director Participates in Policy Forums
Experts in the child care and early education space, including F5SB Executive Director Karen Scott, recently joined for two panel discussions on the most critical issues affecting families in San Bernardino County and greater Los Angeles.
The most recent event, titled “Building Supportive Partnerships for Young Children & Families,” took place Friday, March 24 at California State University San Bernardino. It brought together state and county leaders, policy makers, and child and family service organizations to discuss building partnerships and the collective opportunities to better serve the children and families of San Bernardino County.
Earlier this year, another CCRC Policy Forum titled “Cultivating Whole Child and Family Well-Being” was held January 6 at California State University Northridge. Here again, Karen Scott served on the esteemed panel that included among others, First 5 California’s Executive Director Jackie Wong. The forum offered three key focal points as challenges facing parents and caregivers, child care providers and advocates: systemic issues, siloed resources and limited prevention efforts.
According to James Moses, CCRC San Bernardino Regional Director, CCRC offers these premier events for motivating discussions around early learning and child care issues. “We are grateful to First 5 San Bernardino and CSUSB Institute of Child Development and Family Relations for their support of these important events designed to uplift California’s children and strengthen families,” Moses said.
March San Bernardino Forum: View Here
January L.A. Forum: View Here
|
|
Employee Spotlight - Tracie Homan
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director
Meet Traci Homan: An administrative support professional, wife, mother, grandparent, musician, artist and classic car restoration enthusiast. Add to that list her newest ambition serving as executive assistant to F5SB’s Executive Director Karen Scott.
It’s been a while since her first San Bernardino County job where she started in the mail room. Over the past 35 years Traci has worked for probation accounting, environmental health, auditing, Colton jobs and employment services, Clerk of the Board and County Administrative Office/Board of Supervisors.
Initially joining F5SB in February 2020 as the business support manager, Traci stepped into her new role last December as executive assistant to Executive Director Karen Scott. Taking over after the retirement of Ann Calkins, Scott’s assistant for 15 years, she had big shoes to fill. “Traci jumped right in to her new role and is doing an outstanding job,” said Scott. “I’m blessed to have her on the team.”
Traci’s work centers around supporting Scott, in addition to serving as the secretary for the Commission and Advisory Committee in addition to preparing agendas, minutes and board items. Traci is also currently leading the important project of upgrading the multimedia capabilities in the organization’s Commission room.
In a position where every day is different, Traci’s job is very busy and challenging but she likes that because she constantly learning. She also appreciates her F5SB coworkers and the comradery of the staff. Additionally, Traci enjoys helping F5SB constituents get the resources or help they need while on a personal note, she’s intrigued with the research on brain development in young children which she’s learned about since joining F5SB.
Perhaps Traci’s former supervisor, F5SB’s Chief Financial Officer Debora Dickerson-Sims, sums it up best. “Traci is a devoted mother and wife who continually keeps F5SB’s objective and her coworker's best interests in mind.”
Please join us in congratulating Traci on her promotion!
|
|
|
First 5 California Launches ‘Stronger Starts'
In March, First 5 California launched “Stronger Starts,” a new campaign focusing on toxic stress prevention. In California, 1 in 3 kids are at risk of toxic stress.*
When a child has difficult experiences, stress builds up inside their body. If they don’t get specific support from their parents, this stress can turn toxic, which can have lasting impacts on a child’s physical and mental health. Some of the causes include harsh language, unfair treatment, violence, painful loss, abuse and/or natural disaster.
The campaign encourages people to go to their website to learn four ways to ensure stronger starts for your child and includes bilingual creative assets in the links below.
First 5 CA Toxic Stress
English Toxic Stress
Spanish Toxic Stress
Spanish / Doctor / Toxic Stress
English / Doctor / Toxic Stress
*See Stronger Starts for data sources.
|
|
|
About 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 five 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.
|
|
|
|
|
