Nonprofits Jockeying for Part of Prop. 10

If you had a $12-million windfall, how would you spend it?

How about creating an “owner’s manual” to be handed out to new parents as they leave the maternity ward? Or building more and better public preschools? Or building a community hub where parents can drop in to learn how to soothe a toddler’s tantrum?

These are just a few of the suggestions being offered by children’s advocates eager to get a slice of the fat pie that is Proposition 10, and the millions of dollars in cigarette taxes it has produced for Ventura County.

Money, lots of it, is energizing leaders of nonprofit groups who have toiled for years to get more attention--and dollars--for programs serving the very young.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” said Annette Marcus, who manages youth crisis programs at Interface Children Family Services in Camarillo. “For the first time, we have what looks like a long-term source of funding for what is really the most vulnerable population in the state.”

The ballot initiative sponsored by movie director and actor Rob Reiner adds a 50-cent tax to a pack of cigarettes to pay for programs that will benefit children up to age 5.

An estimated $690 million annually will be distributed to California’s counties starting next month. Ventura County’s share is $11.7 million--more money than some city budgets.

*

The initiative provides for a statewide commission to set policy, but leaves most spending decisions to local committees, such as Ventura County’s Children and Families First Commission.

The commission, whose members include Supervisor Kathy Long and three managers from the county’s health, social services and child care units, will hold its first meeting June 24. Five other members will be appointed by supervisors.

“When I heard about this, I immediately shipped off a letter to supervisors,” said Charles Weis, the county’s school chief. “Focusing attention on early childhood is critical to helping our children reach the higher standards we expect in public schools today.”

Some dollars have been put into a special account to establish the county commission. Members will spend the next year reviewing proposals from nonprofit groups and other agencies before drawing up a spending plan. Additional dollars will be released once the plan is completed and submitted to the state.

But, behind the scenes, the jockeying for dollars has already begun. Ventura County has about 800 nonprofit groups that deal with families. Interface is preparing a pitch for its plan to create a home-visiting program designed to prevent abuse and neglect, Marcus said.

*

A team made up of a nurse, child development specialist, mental health counselor and other specialists would serve families with children from birth to age 3. The families could also visit a resource center in their community that would offer parenting classes, parent support groups and group activities for children, she said.

Most programs are targeted at poor children or those being raised by one parent, populations at higher risk for abuse and neglect. A similar project in Elmira, N.Y., resulted in a net savings to government of $18,600 per at-risk family. Savings were realized from reduced welfare, criminal justice and health costs, according to a report by the California legislative analyst’s office.

Ventura County Supervisor Susan Lacey, one of nine members of the state’s Children and Families First Commission, said she anticipates that nearly every county will create some version of the home-visiting program.

Other possibilities are expanding child care subsidies for the working poor and creating child care centers that serve youths with chronic illnesses, such as asthma or diabetes, Lacey said. She advocates giving every new mother and father a parenting manual as they leave the hospital with a baby.

“We do that for refrigerators and TVs,” she said. “Why not kids?”

*

A growing body of research demonstrates the importance of the first three years of life, when 90% of brain growth occurs. Children learn how to form human attachments, develop empathy and build the foundational skills that will help them read, write and interact with the world, Marcus said.

But too many spend long hours in child care centers that merely baby-sit, or worse, in homes where they are neglected or abused, she said.

“Kids develop a real gap if they are not nurtured, and given interesting things to do,” Marcus said.

Some confusion lingers over exactly how the new commission will work. Some counties have argued that local boards of supervisors should have more say in how dollars are spent, Lacey said.

The attorney general’s office is expected to issue an opinion in the coming weeks. But Joan Province, Lacey’s aide, said the initiative’s intent clearly is to give local commissions autonomy from supervisors.

“It is clear that local boards of supervisors do not control the money,” Province said. “Some counties are finding that very hard to accept.”