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First 5 San Francisco, established in 2000, is part of the statewide First 5 California movement to assist public agencies, non-profit organizations and families in supporting early education, pediatric healthcare, family support and systems change.
Six months ago First 5 San Francisco initiated an inclusive process to collect information and solicit input from hundreds of parents, caregivers, service providers, practitioners, funders and policy makers. Our goal was to create the next First 5 San Francisco Strategic Plan that links our community’s collective wisdom to funding strategies that will enable all members of San Francisco’s families with children ages five and under the means to realize healthy, productive lives.
The Plan that follows is designed to:
- Ensure common understanding of First 5’s priorities among San Francisco stakeholders
- Guide the activities and funding allocations of the San Francisco First 5 Commission
- Encourage co-investment from First 5’s public and private funding partners
- Lay the foundation for evaluating the impact and outcomes of implementing the Plan
- Facilitate alignment between our local priorities and the goals of the California First 5 Commission.
This endeavor has offered an invaluable opportunity to bring key stakeholders together to assess lessons learned from First 5 San Francisco’s past efforts and to discuss current trends facing San Francisco’s young children and their families. Those involved in the thinking that went into the Plan spent time identifying effective strategies and practices to support our families. The process we engaged in also has allowed our community to examine how to strategically build upon new legislation, particularly the passage of Proposition H that has made San Francisco the first county in California to establish universal preschool for all four year olds.
The Plan is premised on First 5’s vision for all young children living in the City and County of San Francisco:
All children will thrive in supportive, nurturing and loving families and communities. Children from birth to five years of age will be safe, healthy and stimulated. They will be supported in their physical, emotional and cognitive development. They will start school eager to continue to learn and grow with confidence and connections to families, community and society.
We hope you will feel inspired by the potential of what we can, as a community, achieve together in San Francisco by making thoughtful, strategic, and targeted investments on behalf of our young children and their families. The Commissioners and the staff of First 5 would very much like to make First 5 San Francisco’s vision a reality.
Laurel Kloomok, Executive Director
Download/view the complete Strategic Plan for 2007-2012.
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