Executive Director/Staff Report
December/January 2015-16
public Policy and Communications
Annual Report – Much of December was spent finalizing First 5 Marin’s Annual Report to the community. The report is now complete and off to print; it will be ready to be presented at the January commission meeting.
Breastfeeding – FYI, the Marin Breastfeeding Coalition has postponed the “breastfeeding summit” for later this spring; date to be determined. January’s meeting is cancelled; the next meeting is February 1st.
Kit for New Parents – Marjorie emailed an announcement about the availability of First 5’s “Kit for New Parents” in November. The kit contains a parenting DVD, a book on child development stages, a book on caring for sick and injured children, a bilingual picture book and more. The free kit is available in English and Spanish, as well as several Asian languages. The kits are available individually or in sets of five; and they can be mailed at no cost to parents, schools, health facilities, child care centers or preschools. (For more information, contact .)
Marin Communications Forum – Monthly workshops continue:
· November 19 – Using Facebook for Public Education, Outreach and Advocacy - This workshop featured a beginner presentation by Jen Robinson (from the Marin County Free Library) and an intermediate/advanced session by Erin Cochran and Maureen DeNieva from Marin County Health and Human Services). We had a full house and a highly-engaged group of participants.
· December 4th - Homeless Services for Children and Families in Marin – this workshop featured a panel of speakers from: Marin County Health & Human Services, the Ritter Center, Homeward Bound of Marin and the Marin County Office of education. Presentations were very informative (we learned that while the “Point in Time” count identified 57 homeless families last January, Marin County schools reported 1231 children who were homeless or “precariously housed” in 2014-15). The audience participation was very lively, with a strong focus on the need for affordable housing in Marin.) The event was standing room only, with 60 people attending.
(A follow up session was scheduled for January 12th to work on action steps for organizations and individuals. This meeting was scheduled to share ideas for public education, outreach and advocacy in support of homeless children and families. Homeward Bound also planned to suggest ongoing monthly or bi-monthly meetings for the working group.)
· Save-the-dates:
- January 28 – Children’s Dental Health Month – this workshop will focus on advisories for oral health and dental care for children; we will also share best practices (and good examples) of public education materials. Michelle is working with Jennifer Stephens from Marin County Health and Human Services to plan the agenda.
[The Marin Communications Forum meets monthly at the Connection Center. For more information including the schedule of meetings for 2016, email .]
Marin Latino Leaders – Marjorie Delgadillo attended the Marin Latino Leaders’ planning retreat. Upcoming speakers will highlight issues affecting the Latino community, including: education, immigration, civic engagement and housing.
Marin Strong Start – Michelle Fadelli attended the January meeting of the Marin Strong Start Coalition, along with commissioner Dr. Lisa Leavitt. Jenny Callaway and Paul Cohen briefed attendees on the resolutions of support and plans to continue making presentations throughout the county. Jenny also reported that the new website would be launching soon.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
December and January are generally slower, in terms of meetings and partner activities, so there are only a few to report on:
Amy attended the Healthy Marin Parntership Health Needs Assessment meeting on December 1st. This is part of the tri-annual assessment required of hospitals in our community. There were about 45 attendees and a prioritizing process was used to determine the top health issues in Marin. The work will be synthesized and a report will be issued within the next several months.
Amy also met with Grant Colfax, the new Director of HHS. We discussed current collaborative efforts and potentials efforts on behalf of young children and their families.
Work continued with the Quality Improvement Rating System (QRIS) consortium and the IMPACT consortium (essentially the QRIS grant participants but also the expanded provider pool for the IMPACT grant from First 5 California) on implementation of the comprehensive quality improvement work in early care that these funding streams (along with MCF and First 5 Marin) provide.
Finally, Amy continued working on ideas and plans for our Annual breakfast and will be meeting with a small group on January 21st to discuss further. We will meet at 2PM here in our offices and of course, all Commissioners are invited to attend.
Meetings
Marin QRIS Consortium
First 5 Association Advocacy Committee
Bay Area ED’s
Executive Director/Staff Report 2