Proposition 10 Commission Releases Funds in Contra Costa
February 6, 2001

— Contact: Brenda Blasingame 925/335-9991

The Contra Costa Children and Families Commission is releasing almost $3 million to fund programs and activities in Contra Costa County aimed at improving the lives of children from 0 to 5 and their families. Fifteen grassroots organizations will receive funding to help neighborhoods address local concerns. The Commission is also funding a countywide project to expand substance abuse services for pregnant and parenting women. And families with young children that have special needs or mental health problems will be more likely to find quality childcare and specialized services through funding received from the Commission.

Among the grassroots organizations funded, projects addressing safety concerns are the big winners. "At many of the community meetings we convened to come up with our strategies, we heard over and over again about the importance of safety in the neighborhoods," says Brenda Blasingame, Executive Director of the Children and Families Commission. To address these safety concerns, the Commission is funding the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council in Richmond to put up safe play equipment in the neighborhood. The Council, which formed in 1999, was inspired to do something about creating access to play areas in the neighborhood last year when a child was hit by a car and killed while crossing the street to reach a playground at Lincoln School. The Parent Booster Club in Knightsen is also receiving funds to build playground equipment designed specifically for children under five.

And as everyone knows, safety begins at home. So the Commission will be funding a planning grant for the Parkside Family Alliance to implement a health education and training program for the Parkside neighborhood that would include CPR classes. This grassroots organization received its impetus from an incident that happened last November when a baby of a young mother went into respiratory distress and died because the mother had no telephone to call 911 and hadn’t received any training in CPR, which might have saved her baby’s life. "We are funding safety projects that are driven by community members because people in the neighborhood know what’s best for their community; we want to make change that people can see and feel in their lives," says Blasingame.

The Contra Costa Children and Families Commission was funded by the voter approved Proposition 10 (1998) which levied a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes. Revenues are to be used to fund health, early education and family support programs that promote early childhood development for children during their first five years of life, as well as anti-tobacco education. Approximately $10 million per year is available in Contra Costa County.