Budget Update: Assembly Committee Hears From First 5 Supporters

Bishop Henry Hearns was nearly done with his testimony about the importance of First 5 funding to the Black Infant Health (BIH) Program when the former Lancaster mayor abruptly switched gears to give an impassioned plea during a state budget hearing.

"There's that old saying: ‘Pay me now, or pay me later,'" Hearns said. "Well, I'd like to say, ‘pay me later' won't work, because ... the children will have exceeded their shelf life and gone unprepared. Leave First 5 to do its job to get our children where they need to be!"

The urgency of Hearns' words was echoed by others who traveled to Sacramento on Feb. 1 to testify against Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed redirection of First 5 funding. During the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Humans Services hearing, more than 30 parents and other community members urged legislators not to take away vital funding from programs serving low-income children.

"By cutting First 5 funding you will cut services to those most vulnerable," said Lisette Duarte, whose developmentally-disabled son receives services from the Special Needs Network, which receives sponsorship from First 5 LA for their parent advocacy program. "Any further cuts would drastically impact our children."

After the final testimony, Subcommittee Chair Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) announced that the budget item would remain open. Later, First 5 LA spoke with several parents about how First 5-funded programs have made a difference in their children's lives. Below is a compilation of those interviews: