WHO WE ARE

Our agency’s Board of Commissioners, leadership and talented employees work as one in reaching our North Star: Every child in Los Angeles County will reach their full developmental potential throughout the critical years of prenatal to age 5.

Our Statewide Role

First 5 LA believes the case is clear that policy makers must prioritize young children in policy and budget decisions – because our future success as a state depends upon it. Nearly half of the state’s children live in, or near, poverty. California is first in per prisoner spending, but 46th in per pupil spending in education. California continues to prioritize spending on programs for residents when problems are most acute – treatment services, child welfare, incarceration, school remediation – and lags the country and the world in spending on access to proven prevention programs like quality early learning and home visiting programs for new parents.

The impacts of ignoring our children are clear: statewide, only 45 percent of third graders read at grade level and child care can cost parents as much as in-state college tuition at the University of California. It will take grit by decision makers and elected officials to address these challenges.

First 5 LA, as part of the network of First 5s throughout the state, will help by sharing what we have learned since our inception, by bringing parents, community members, and diverse partners together to help create lasting solutions, and by advocating for investments in proven early childhood systems and supports for California’s youngest children.

First 5 LA’s structure and staffing have been designed to better enable us to advance our goals and focus on those policies and resources that will yield the greatest benefits for kids in L.A. County. Our Board of Commissioners provides guidance and direction to our leadership and staff to implement our Strategic Plan.