First 5 LA

First 5 LA believes that the first five years of life establish the foundation for the future success of our children. We put parents at the center of our work, since parents and caregivers are at the heart of a child’s development.  

In November, 2014 the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 2015-2020 First 5 LA Strategic Plan, “Focusing on the Future,” which shifts the organization’s investment strategy to partnering with parents, community members, elected officials, county agencies and service providers to ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life. 

About First 5 LA

First 5 LA is a leading early childhood advocate working collaboratively across L.A. County. We were created in 1998 to invest L.A. County’s allocation of funds from California’s Proposition 10 tobacco tax. Since then, First 5 LA has invested more than $1.2 billion in efforts aimed at providing the best start for children from prenatal to age 5 and their families. 

Our Vision: 

Throughout Los Angeles’ diverse communities, all children are born healthy and raised in a safe, loving and nurturing environment so that they grow up healthy in mind, body, and spirit, are eager to learn, with opportunities to reach their full potential 

Our Mission: 

First 5 LA, in partnership with others, strengthens families, communities, and systems of services and supports so all children in L.A. County enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and life. 

Our Strategy

Moving forward, First 5 LA will take a more intensive approach by increasing its emphasis on systems change, collaboration and public policy. This transition supports the organization's goal of maximizing positive outcomes for children prenatal to age 5.  

The five-year plan focuses on investing in six key areas: Research and Development, Public Policy and Advocacy, Service Delivery System Improvement, Provider Training, Community Capacity Building and Communications. 

Supporting and educating parents and caregivers, creating meaningful collaborations with like-minded partners, and improving policies and practices in the health care and early care and education systems; this is the direction First 5 LA is taking to positively impact children and families throughout L. A. County for generations to come. 

Our Target Outcomes: 

Families: Increased family Protective Factors 

• Working with parents and caregivers so that they have the skills, knowledge, and resources they need to support their child’s development. 

Communities: Increased community capacity to support and promote the safety, healthy development, and well-being of children prenatal to age 5 and their families 

• Supporting a community’s ability to foster safe, healthy, and engaged neighborhoods that help children and their families thrive. 

Early Care and Education Systems: Increased access to high-quality early care and education 

• Increase access to affordable, quality child care and preschool 

Health-Related Systems: Improved capacity of health, mental health, and substance abuse services systems to meet the needs of children prenatal to age 5 and their families 

• Improvement of health-related coordination and delivery of care to young children and their families in L.A. County. 

Values:   

Our values act as guiding principles for how we do our work, the culture we aim to promote and a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance.  

Overarching Organizational Value 

Collaboration: We believe joint effort toward common goals achieves trust and produces greater impact for  L.A. County’s youngest children and their families. 

Six Core Values 

1. Integrity: We believe fidelity to our values builds credibility, trust, fairness and consistency. 
2. Respect: We believe in honoring and nurturing every individual and community. 
3. Accountability: We believe results matter and that a focus on transparency and excellence yields improved outcomes, work quality and stewardship of resources. 
4. Partnership: We believe that by working with others who share our aspirations for young children, we can maximize every child’s readiness for kindergarten and success in life. 
5. Shared Leadership: We believe that together we can ensure that every child enters kindergarten ready to succeed in school and life. 
6. Learning: We believe learning never ends, so we are committed to critical thinking and continuous innovation