First 5 Supporters Testify in State Senate Hearing

"I do the best I can to provide him with a great home and a loving environment," Jencoa said, referring to his son, who traveled to Sacramento with him, and fell asleep in the back of the hearing room. "One of the most important things is that he has a high-quality education."

Jencoa was one of about 20 people to testify against Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal on Wednesday at the Capitol. Brown wants to take $1 billion in First 5 funding, as well as 50 percent of the revenue each year. First 5 grantees and families from around the state offered sometimes tearful stories of how the Proposition 10-funded First 5 commissions helped with such things as education, medical care and child abuse prevention.

Another Los Angeles parent, Elizabeth Velazquez, described how she found herself in a desperate situation. The single mother of six was unemployed, collecting welfare and living with her sister and her six children. When social workers knocked on her door, she thought her family would be torn apart.

But, as Velazquez testified, she was able to turn her life around because of the support she received through a First 5 LA-funded program - SPIRITT Family Services in El Monte. The Partnerships for Families (PFF) grantee gave her therapy and parent-child classes, as well as training in financial literacy and advocacy. As a result, Velazquez managed to complete college and is now a PFF Family Advocate, working with families who are in dire straits like she once was.

"If First 5 funds are taken away, we could not continue to support all the families that we serve," she said.

While the parents who spoke shared heartbreaking stories, the children advocates who came to the microphone spoke with passion about First 5 funding that California voters earmarked for children 0-5.

Dr. Ricky Choi, an Oakland pediatrician who spoke on behalf of the 5,000 California members of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said simply: "This proposal hurts children."

"The future is for our children and sacrificing them would be self-defeating," he added.

Celia Ayala, chief executive officer of LAUP, testified that, for every dollar invested in a preschool child, taxpayers are saved $2 to $17 in future expenditures. The money spent now goes to keeping children healthy, educated and free from abuse and neglect, she added, citing First 5 LA's four strategic goals.

Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek), chair of the committee, said he understood the value of the programs First 5 funds, but that the legislators are in a "tough spot" with the current fiscal crisis.

"None of us like being here and we will consider your testimony very thoroughly," he added.

A second budget hearing is scheduled on the state Assembly side Tuesday. For more information, please e-mail Ruel Nolledo at rnolledo@first5la.org or click here.

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