January 14, 2021 What motivates me and what informs and guides our work at...
Blogs
Meeting Families Where They Are: Virtually
In the field of family engagement, providers...
Engaging Families Through Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors: It Starts with a Single Story
“Are you the teacher whose parents are from...
Breaking Past Cycles of Intergenerational Trauma
“It’s easy to hand down trauma.” These were the words spoken by California’s Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, on the second episode of “OWN Spotlight: Black Women OWN the Conversation,” a new series on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network that features roundtable...
Standing Up To Federal Regulations that Harm Children & Families
This past year, a tide of federal regulatory proposals from the Trump Administration has come out against immigrant and low-income communities — and that tide has not receded. On the surface, these policies appear to primarily impact immigrants and underserved...
Reviewing 2019, Preparing for 2020
Every year California’s state policy leaders make decisions impacting young children and their families in Los Angeles County, from allocating funds in the state budget to changing laws to establishing the rules and regulations that guide local program implementation....
Little by Little: Celebrating New Milestones With a Good Book and a Bowl of Cereal
Imagine every child eligible for the WIC...
When Kids Flicks Flaunt Bias, Movie Magic Turns Tragic
As a writer and editor at First 5 LA, I value the great care given to how we state our commitment to the education, development, safety and health of our youngest children across Los Angeles County. Every word has a purpose to serve and must be weighed against the...
Talking About Mental Health: Language Has An Impact
Even after a lifetime of knowing something was wrong, it wasn’t until my father was completely estranged from his family (including his children), self-medicating heavily and facing times of homelessness and arrests that he was finally diagnosed with Post Traumatic...
Turning the “Myth” of Work-Life Balance into Reality
I thought I could have it all: an ambitious career and a growing family. But as a new mother struggling to manage a job that required travel, evening hours and 60+ hour workweeks, I quickly decided that work-life balance was a myth. For over a year I struggled to stay...