Caring for Infants and Toddlers

W hen California voters passed the Pro p osition 10 ballot initiative in 1998, they set in motion an unprecedented experiment to reshape how California communities address the needs of very young children and their families. Since 1999, the California Children and Families First Act has dedicated nearly $700 million per year to services for children, prenatal to age five, t h rough increased state excise taxes on cigare t t e s ( a n additional $0.50 per pack) and other tobacco pro d u c t s . By allocating 80% of the revenues at the county level to e n s u re that programs meet local needs and calling for an o v e rhaul in the way services are developed, funded, and implemented, Proposition 10 has challenged the n a t i o n ’s largest state to embrace young children in a new way. (See Box 1.) P roposition 10 is intended to foster opportunities for physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development for Californ i a ’s youngest children before they begin school. The Proposition 10 interventions are aimed at p roviding better outcomes for children in later years. The task in reaching out to Californ i a ’s diverse childre n and their families is daunting. In 2000, the state had nearly 2.8 million children ages zero to four. Import a n t l y, in 2000, California ranked 45th among states and the District of Columbia in poverty among children and youths, and ranked 46th in health insurance coverage. Only one-half of children eligible are enrolled in Head S t a rt .1 Many California youths face stiff odds as they move through California schools—California ranks 46th in the percentage of 18to 24-year-olds who complete high school and 48th in incarcerated juveniles.