Marin Voice: First 5 Marin’s 15 years of investing in kids By Amy L. Reisch Posted: 11/13/2013 06:07:38 PM PST FIFTEEN YEARS AGO this month, voters approved Proposition 10, The California Children and Families Act, affirming their support for a guaranteed revenue stream dedicated to the benefit of young children. Proposition 10, championed by…
By Margy Eller, Dana King and Mary B. Marcy Guest op-ed column —…our true most vulnerable citizens — children — have no vote and no voice. And all parents and adults concerned about the future have a responsibility to them to vote and make our own votes count.” — Marian Wright Edelman THROUGH ELECTIONS we…
By Dana King I HAVE an invitation for you. I invite you to be a part of a community that prioritizes children. Not just your kids or my kids, but all our kids. I invite you to commit to the notion that we, as a community, should ensure that every child in Marin County has…
By Barbara Clifton Zarate SOMETHING big is happening. It’s happening throughout California, and all across the nation. It’s even happening right here in Marin. It’s childhood obesity. Despite being named as “No. 1 in health outcomes,” Marin County is also home to a population of children over 30 percent of who are, by definition, overweight…
By Amy Reisch AS THEY SAY, you get what you pay for. And I’d suppose the inverse is true: You don’t get what you don’t pay for. That is, why would anyone expect a substantial “return on investment” if the investment was never made? Where investing in people is concerned, the best bet according to…
By Aideen Gaidmore Posted: 01/13/2012 05:22:00 AM PST THE GOVERNOR’S BUDGET is out, and it’s got me in a quandary. Why would anyone propose budget cuts that will be more expensive in the long run? Because that’s what will happen if we allow the governor to eliminate state subsidized child care. The governor’s budget would…
By Lisa Leavitt Posted: 08/31/2013 04:00:00 PM PDT in the Marin Independent Journal IT’S TIME to talk about vaccine awareness. Are you aware that, before vaccines, parents in the United States could expect that: measles would infect four million children, killing 500; polio would paralyze 10,000 children; German measles would cause birth defects and mental…
By Tracey Hessel Posted: 08/08/2013 07:22:00 PM PDT NEW YORK TIMES columnist Nicholas Kristof recently asked a very important question: “Can you name a miracle food that is universally available, free and can save children’s lives”…and maybe even make them smarter?” The answer, of course, is breast milk. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,…
By Amy Reisch Posted: 02/24/2013 04:00:00 AM PST AS THE DIRECTOR of an organization dedicated to the well-being of young children, you can imagine how ecstatic I was to hear President Barack Obama include preschool in his State of the Union address. Not only did he mention it, he proclaimed it, and launched what…
By Mary Jane Burke, Jenny Callaway, Kim Mazzuca and Amy Reisch Posted: 04/29/2013 05:23:00 AM PDT WHILE FOLKS around the nation celebrated “the Week of the Young Child” (April 14-20), Marin County is celebrating all year long thanks to the Board of Supervisors. We want to applaud the board for passing a resolution, presented by First 5 Marin, officially declaring 2013 as “The Year of the Child.” It’s a nonbinding document, but a tremendous statement of purpose and intent — and that is a significant step forward for the children and youth in our community. The resolution is also supportive of the work currently underway in our schools, nonprofit agencies and community organizations to meet the needs of all students and their families. The Year of the Child resolution reads in part: “Marin County shares this dedication to the good health, school readiness and general well-being…