Counties Told to Carefully Weigh Use of Prop. 10 Funds

Four months after passage of Proposition 10, child specialists advised local officials from around the state Friday to take their time in determining how to spend an expected $680 million a year on preschoolers.

A member of the new state commission formed by the Children and Families First initiative said the proposition’s narrow margin of approval in November means that foes--including the tobacco industry, which opposed the measure because it taxes cigarettes--will be watching for missteps.

“This is a great opportunity but even a greater responsibility,” said Commissioner Sandra Gutierrez, administrator for the Los Angeles County Child Care Program. She advised officials to make sure “that each and every decision [is] able to withstand scrutiny.”

A report by UCLA released at the Sacramento conference advocated careful planning to make sure the huge infusion of money links together typically fragmented children’s services.

“There is a real danger to take this money, slice and dice it . . . and we’ll end up exactly where we are today,” said Dr. Neal Halfon, co-director of the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities.

The ballot initiative sponsored by movie director and actor Rob Reiner adds a 50-cent tax to a pack of cigarettes to fund programs for children up to age 5 and for parent education. It provides for a statewide commission to set policy, but leaves most expenditure decisions to commissions appointed by counties.

No money has been distributed yet, in part because the state commission is not fully staffed--Gov. Gray Davis must make two more appointments and choose a chairperson.

But counties, motivated by the prospect of a financial windfall, have been gearing up. Most have named local commissioners and a few have begun to meet and determine spending priorities, officials reported. Confusion lingers, however, over exactly how the new program will work.

“As soon as they tell us all the rules, we’re going to jump right in,” said Plumas County Supervisor Bill Dennison, one of more than 350 local government, health, education and child care officials who attended Friday’s all-day conference.

Los Angeles County has appointed its nine-member commission but it has not yet met, a representative said.

Revenue estimates reported at the conference were lower--$684 million next year instead of $750 million--because of an anticipated decline in smoking caused by an increase in cigarette prices announced by tobacco companies after reaching settlement of a federal lawsuit.

Because the funding is based on birth rates, and amounts to about $1,000 per baby, Los Angeles County stands to receive about $89 million for the remainder of this fiscal year and nearly $169 million in 1999-2000, according to the state legislative analyst’s office.

Orange County should receive nearly $26 million this year and nearly $50 million next year. Ventura County should get $6 million this year and nearly $12 million next year.

Advice given at Friday’s conference was sometimes conflicting.

A UC Berkeley epidemiologist recommended that counties favor experimentation over proven programs because the field of child development is evolving so quickly. The legislative analyst’s office recommended that counties invest in the tried and true.

The analyst’s office also recommended legislation to give the state commission more authority to review county plans and guide local decisions. In contrast, county representatives said they want a chance to prove they know better what local children need.

“We have always looked at this as an opportunity to prove . . . we know our own problems and can best solve them,” said Kings County Supervisor Alene Taylor.

Some speakers suggested that counties ought to focus the new money on the neediest of children, perhaps testing youngsters to determine which are most likely to have learning and emotional problems later on. Others insisted that counties must find ways to touch all children, as the initiative campaign promised.

“Proposition 10 is not another program for other people’s children,” said UCLA’s Halfon. “This is for all children.”