First 5 Sonoma County Proposed Early Investments of Measure I Funds Totaling $11.4 Million Approved by the Board of Supervisors

Investments Aim to Address Urgent Needs in Early Childhood Education, Child Health and Maternal Mental Health Ahead of Full Strategic Plan Implementation

The Board of Supervisors has approved an “early investment” plan to invest $11.4 million in Measure I funds for the period of September 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, in advance of finalizing the 5-year Strategic Plan to be launched July 1, 2026. The First 5 Sonoma County Commission, administrator of Measure I, approved a recommendation by the Community Advisory Committee in June 2025 to invest the sales tax revenue during the current fiscal year to address critical and urgent early childhood health and mental health needs across the county.

Measure I, a quarter-cent sales tax passed by Sonoma County voters in 2024, is expected to generate approximately $150 million over five years to strengthen early care and education (ECE), children’s health services and access to perinatal mental health screening and treatment in Sonoma County. While the comprehensive 5-year strategic plan is still in development, First 5 Sonoma County is taking early action to address pressing community needs and build infrastructure for long-term impact. Tax collection of Measure I funds began on April 1, 2025.

Multiple data sources, focus groups and listening sessions with families and providers, along with the Measure I Community Advisory Committee (CAC), have informed the early investments and confirmed urgent needs in the areas Measure I is intended to fund. The CAC, which includes parents, child care providers and experts in the areas of children’s health and perinatal mental health, was established to provide input on planning for Measure I expenditures and is a key vehicle for community engagement in the oversight of Measure I administration.

Angie Dillon-Shore, executive director of First 5 Sonoma County, stated that the early investment of Measure I funds this year “is in response to longstanding unmet needs faced by families with young children and the early childhood workforce and is an opportunity to demonstrate responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars with immediate, concrete community benefits. Thanks to Sonoma County voters who prioritized the needs of children and families, Measure I will help fortify and strengthen community-based programs and services at a time when other government resources are contracting”. The early investments of Measure I revenue are closely aligned with First 5 Sonoma County’s existing strategic goals related to children’s health and strengthening the early care and education system.

FY 25-26 Measure I Investments in Children’s Health and Mental Health – Total: $4.52 million

• $1.1M to strengthen the workforce for perinatal and early childhood mental health care
• $1.2M to expand access to clinical and community-based breastfeeding support
• $600K for mental health services for families with young children experiencing homelessness
• $500K for a countywide perinatal mental health education campaign to support referral, linkage and system navigation for new parents
• $120K for evaluation of impact and data strategy development
  
  

FY 25-26 Measure I Investments in Early Care & Education (ECE) – Total: $6.88 million

• $3.5M in grants and loans to improve and expand ECE/child care facilities
• $1M in financial incentives for ECE providers to stabilize child care access, especially for infants/toddlers and care for special needs children
• $500K for community engagement, planning and data collection to ensure a sustainable ECE system into the future
• $450K in mini-grants for ECE classroom supplies and quality early learning materials
• $500K for multilingual parent education and outreach about child care and early learning opportunities and the importance of early brain development and multilingualism
• $180K toward evaluation of impact and strategy development
  
  

Key Upcoming Dates:

• September 1, 2025: Contracts for early investments executed and strategies launched
• November 17 & December 1, 2025: First 5 Sonoma County Commission Public Hearings on 5-Year Strategic Plan 2026-2031 (to include Measure I goals and funding allocations)
  
  

The Sonoma County Measure I Child Care and Children’s Health Initiative FY 25-26 Early Investments Plan can be accessed here.