Frosty mornings and sunny days – Del Norte is going through a cold snap before the rains come! I am reminded by the icy streets of the need to be safe and healthy during the winter season on the coast.

An obvious theme for this quarter’s letter is vehicular and car seat safety for families. We have had two recent juvenile fatalities and it is a wake-up call for us all. We can protect our community’s children in two ways. Defensive driving and awareness of who & what is on the road at all times is a critical driving practice. Many of our rural children wait for the school bus in the dark morning hours and are delivered at roadside stops at dusk. Drivers need to be diligent and watchful. When driving with children in the car, make sure they are securely restrained in appropriate car seats. Many old car seats are obsolete and need to be replaced. The Child Care Council is working with several local donors to collect new car seats to exchange or replace older models. The Child Death Review Team, Sutter Coast Emergency Room Nurses and the Del Norte Sheriff’s Office will be sponsoring a free car seat check-up at the April Youth & Family Fair. Look for our technicians and volunteers in a designated area where parent can drive their car up to for a free check-up and car seats for income eligible families. Donors include the Crescent Elk Middle School Students, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.

It is also the season of colds, flu and pneumonia. Keeping children warm &smp well nourished is the beginning of prevention. Washing hands before meals, after using the restroom and after play will help prevent the spread of germs. Enrolling children in a health insurance program is also a preventative action. Locally many families are not eligible for Medi Cal. There are two more options for parents beyond that: Healthy Families and California Kids coverage offers low cost policies for families. California Kids coverage is very special in that it is backed by foundation money to help sponsor matches for families. The Children’s Health Initiative has been working on bringing in a county coordinator and public information about the two insurance options. Watch for more information in the future. The DNCCC has two Certified Applicant Assistants to assist Healthy Families enrollments.

Child Abuse Prevention Month is coming up in April and there are several collaborative agencies planning a month long recognition of prevention activities. Plans have started to put another Youth & Family Fair day at the Fairgrounds. Keep an eye out for the posters and join us for a lot of arts, crafts, food and fun. Admission is free!

The Resource & Referral staff is planning a wonderful Provider Conference this quarter. The agenda includes Special Needs, Disaster Preparedness and Creative Activities among several other topics. Lunch is catered and there is a fee to attend. The Council is providing lots of prizes and incentives – join us for another great conference!