Monterey County Budget Workshop

Bright BeginningsAdvocacy, Community, Events

Investing in Early Childhood Development

By the end of last week’s day-long Monterey County Budget Workshop, each and every Supervisor voiced their recognition of the importance of investing in early childhood development. A big thank you goes to the champions that spoke persuasively from their hearts and minds to support the Health Department’s request to expand funding for projects aligned with the ECD Strategic Framework.

In addition to ongoing support for Health Department services, special requests to support early childhood included restoring the full amount of funding to the Bright Beginnings Initiative backbone, to support Maternal Mental Health, to launch a Home Visiting Triage and Coordination Hub, and to hire a coordinator for Early Education Policy & Systems Transformation (i.e., to prepare us for new resources coming from state-level policies to improve access to quality early care and education). These areas were prioritized for funding with the support of the Early Childhood Development Advisory Committee.

Budget hearings and approvals are in June — we will keep you updated on any further opportunities to get involved between now and then.

From left to right: Francine Rodd (F5MC), Laurie Ramirez (Child Care Planning Council), Maria Carmen Para (Bright Beginnings), Alma Loredo (BHC & Salinas CAT), Maria Garcia (Salinas CAT), Gabriela Silva (Salinas CAT), Norma Varillas (Young Interventions, Inc. & Salinas CAT), Sonja Koehler (Bright Beginnings)
Not Pictured: Julie Altman (CSUMB), Katy Castagna (United Way), Nina Alcarez (F5MC)