First 5 Orange County

First 5 Orange County team members Yvette Nuñez, Jessica Castillo, and andrew montejo were invited to present on strategies for building trust, aligning priorities, and fostering systems change that leads to lasting community impact at the Parents as Teachers International Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Their session, “Collaborative Funding: Linear to Parallel Process,” explored how funding agencies can move beyond traditional home visiting models to more dynamic, collaborative approaches that center family voice, transparency, and shared accountability.

First 5 OC received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 2023-2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare annual comprehensive financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting. Congratulations to our finance team!

First 5 OC welcomes Pritha Sengupta, a second-year Ph.D. student at UC Irvine, to the team! She will work as an Early Childhood Intern through UCI’s fellowship program. Pritha will support our Early Childhood City Initiative, assist with research, and help develop internal systems. This partnership provides valuable hands-on experience for Pritha while strengthening our connection with UCI and helping build future leaders in early childhood policy.

In a recent Parenting OC article, Board Member Katy McInnes shared her experience as a working mom. "When I became a mom, everything in my world shifted. My daughter is now 14 months old, and I can honestly say that motherhood has changed how I see everything from my work to my priorities to what “balance” actually looks like," McInnes wrote. Read the whole story at https://lnkd.in/gX8v49Bm

On Friday, we hosted another successful Kid Builders event at Pretend City Children's Museum. More than 1,000 families joined us in the early learning space for a day filled with fun, discovery, and hands-on exploration at the Kid Builders activity stations. Pictured here, First 5 OC commissioner Soledad Rivera joined our CEO/President Kim Goll and Director of Partnerships and Government Affairs Tiffany Alva to show her support. We’re proud to continue strengthening our community partnerships and engaging families across Orange County!

We’re proud to present our 2024-25 Annual Report, in which we share our collective achievements from the past fiscal year. Every day, our mission is clear: we fund vital services, engage and empower families, and bring providers together to make systems more responsive so that every child in Orange County has the strongest start possible. This past year, together with our partners, we supported more than 39,500 young children and 48,850 parents and caregivers through health, mental health, early learning, and family-strengthening programs. I’m proud to share a few of the highlights from 2024-2025. https://lnkd.in/gMSSxZaR