First 5 LA Convenes Policy RoundtableJanuary 28, 2008 |
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 This year's first Prenatal through Three Policy Roundtable was held last Thursday at First 5 LA, engaging over 40 stakeholders from more than 20 government and community based organizations in LA County. The roundtable aimed to brief the community on the First 5 LA Public Policy Agenda and share information about progress on policy efforts related to children prenatal through 3 year-old and their families. Included in the meeting was a presentation on how First 5 LA's Best Start LA program, formerly known as the Prenatal through Three Focus Area, is taking shape. Best Start LA will be implemented in five LA County communities and will provide home- and community-based services to pregnant women and families with babies and toddlers Also discussed was the community-wide prenatal through three policy agenda, an ongoing collaborative effort convened by First 5 LA to coalesce stakeholders' policy ideas for children prenatal to 3 years-old into a shared document. "It is in meetings like this that policy turns into practice," said First 5 LA Commissioner Nancy Au, who attended the meeting. The meeting closed with a presentation and discussion lead by Sam Chan, filling in for William Arroyo, from the L.A. County Dept. of Mental Health (DMH), on the Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) component of the Mental Health Service Act. Chan updated the group on how DMH is gathering community and stakeholder input to help inform how to spend the dollars allocated to L.A. County. He encouraged stakeholders to attend the various community meetings being held in the planning process so all voices are heard. Click here to learn more about the DMH PEI initiative. |
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