We hope your Holidays were merry & bright – they certainly were blustery and wet! Now it is time to watch for runny noses and temperatures that may lead to colds and the flu. Parents and providers can reinforce the practice of washing hands and covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze. Frequent disinfecting of door knobs, counters, tables and chairs – everywhere little hands can pick up germs.

As many of you know, the State budget is winding up being a challenging year. We are watching very closely for the impact of a $16 BILLION State deficit on the child development programs. The current Governor’s Proposed Budget includes a cut of $90 million and additional reductions of $108 million to the funding which is our source of local programs. The loss of child care slots is estimated at 8,000 statewide. As the budget process unravels during the next several months, we anticipate that it will not be finalized until fall. Because the deficit is so significant we may have to initiate the same procedures as in 2003 budget deliberations: reduced staff hours and delay in payments due to the Legislature not releasing the allocations. Stay tuned.

One of the documents recently released was the 2007 Resource & Referral Child Care Portfolio including the statistics for our county. The information describes the condition of our children and families in terms of child care and economics. A quick summary of highlights include 578 children 0-5 living in poverty, a decline of 10% in children 0-13 over the 2000 to 2006 time period and the fact that there are 2,461 children with parents in the workforce and only 934 licensed slots available. The complete two pages are published later on in this newsletter. Please note that the sources include the Census Bureau, California State Finance and Education Departments. The information is available on the web as well. Another document I read this month was the California Budget Project’s review of the proposed State Budget. Two Steps Back: Should California Cut It’s Way Back to a Balance Budget? reveals a few interesting items: the share of corporate income taxes has fallen by nearly half since 1981 and is currently less than what was paid in 1960, personal income taxes provide more that half of the 2008/2009 General Fund revenues and the lowest-income households pay the largest share of their income in State and local taxes (with the range being 11.7 to 7.1%). These are definitely challenging times for families.

April is shaping up to be an exciting month! It is Child Abuse Prevention Month and there will be many local activities to participate in. The highlight is the Youth & Family Fair on April 12th when we all come together to enjoy a free all day family style event at the Fairgrounds. These and many other events are hosted by the local Child Abuse Prevention Council which is a partnership of local agencies, non-profits and parents. The meetings are open and held at the Family Resource Center. Another great event is the annual Child Care Providers Conference hosted by DNCCC in collaboration with the Local Planning Council. This special day with emphasis on early child development and care of our children will be held at Mary Peacock School and the luncheon will be provided by Fabulous Food by Julie. Hope you can join us!

Cris McCollum
DNCCC Executive Director