First 5 Sonoma County Commission

The Commission consists of 9 members authorized to administer and allocate Sonoma County’s Prop. 10 funds. Commissioners represent county government, including the Department of Health Services and Human Services Departments, as well as community-based organizations, K-12 education, healthcare and the private sector.

Proposition 10 – The Children and Families Act of 1998

In November 1998, California voters passed Proposition 10, the California Children and Families First Initiative, which added a 50-cent per pack tax on cigarettes and tobacco products. As per the Act, the intent of Proposition 10 is to “facilitate the creation and implementation of an integrated, comprehensive, and collaborative system of information and services to enhance optimal early childhood development and to ensure that children are ready to enter school.”

Eighty percent of the tax revenue is disbursed based on birth rate to the 58 counties in California to promote the early health, learning, and family support for children from the prenatal stage through five years of age.

Since 1999, First 5 Sonoma County has invested resources towards achieving the four outcomes below, as aligned with the four strategic results of the Proposition 10 mandate:

All children 0-5 are healthy and developing optimally: Children who are healthy in mind, body, and spirit grow up confident in their ability to live a fulfilling, productive life. Healthy children have sufficient nutrition, health care, nurturing, guidance, and mental stimulation; and they live in families and communities that value them.
Early learning opportunities are diverse and high quality: The importance of preparing children to succeed in school is critical. Skills that allow one to problem solve and think creatively are developed in early childhood education settings and nurtured through community and parental reinforcement.
Parents and caregivers are resilient and nurturing: Successful and strong families are those that are able to provide for the physical, mental, and emotional development of their children. Nurturing parents, as the child’s first and most important teacher, provide the foundation for a child’s ability to create successful relationships, solve problems, and carry out responsibilities.
Systems of care are integrated and coordinated: Navigating complex systems of services, benefits and programs can be challenging for many parents and caregivers with young children. Eligibility criteria, geography, degree of alignment across funders and providers, degree of cultural responsiveness, restrictions on funding streams and many other factors can impact navigability and accessibility.