$400m for eyes, teeth, & homelessness: First 5 LA

July 19, 2012: First 5 LA has awarded UCLA School for Dentistry $9 million "iln response to an urgent need for improved oral health care for children," primarily Latinos and African-Ameriocans, who are at high-risk for early dental disease. According to the release from the UCLA Health System: 

...Called the First 5 LA 21st Century Community Dental Homes Project... major objectives will be to not only deliver quality dental care to young children but to increase parents' and child care providers' awareness of the importance of oral health care for preschool children and develop a sustainable community "dental home" model of care for these children.

 

Health care disciplines including dentistry, public health and pediatric and family medicine have all recognized that providing ongoing oral health care to children, beginning in the first year of life, leads to overall improved health and lower dental-related health care costs throughout childhood and adolescence. However, only a small fraction of infants and preschool children in the U.S. receives the recommended dental services needed to lead a healthy life... 

 At left, LA County Supervisor and Chair of the First 5 LA Commission, Zev Yaroslavsky; photo by Gary Leonard for the Los Angeles Downtown News. 

The grant is part of a new spending plan that will, according to First 5, "enable [the organization] to spend millions of dollars...more quickly and culminate in providing nearly $400 million in desperately needed services for children 0-5 in Los Angeles County."

The plan, which combines nearly $200 from the '12-'13 operating budget plus $110 million in long-term contracts for existing programs, and $70 million in "new long-term investments" that were approved on July 12, will include:

The elements of the plan approved today include:

• A multi-year master agreement with Los Angeles County to fund and implement $87.2 million of existing initiatives in the following areas:

1.  Reduction of childhood obesity
2.  Parent Child Interaction Therapy
3.  Substance abuse treatment services
4.  Healthy Kids health insurance coverage for children

• Multi-year agreements totaling over $22 million to fund another component of the Healthy Kids program and existing dental health initiatives [see above]
• A new allocation of $40 million over 5 years to fund an expansion of First 5 LA's dental care program for children 0-5 and implement a public education campaign promoting water as a beverage of choice for families
• A new allocation of $4.1 million to implement a countywide vision services plan for children 0-5
• A new allocation of $25 million to provide Permanent Supportive Housing for women and families with children 0-5
• Funds for a broad package of multiyear programs will be advanced to the County of Los Angeles and other partner agencies to allow them to immediately qualify for future matching fund opportunities

The announcement of the new spending plan was made by LA County Supervisor and First 5 LA Commission Chair, Zev Yaroslavsky. The County Board of Supervisors took control of the agency in October 2011. First 5 LA is currently conducting a search for a new executive director and a director of finance.

Comments

[sharon woodson bryant]

Thanks for the great coverage on our new spending plan, however, please note that First 5 LA was NOT taken over by the County Board of Supervisors. We are headed by the First 5 LA Commission and that did not change following the resignation of our former CEO.

[Wendy Lestina]

Sharon Woodson Bryant is media manager at First 5 LA, and she is correct. The First 5 LA Commission is headed by a member of the county board of supervisors, Zev Yaroslavsky.