What We Do
Our vision is to see children in San Luis Obispo County thrive in nurturing, respectful environments, and enter school healthy and ready to learn.
Our Mission: First 5 San Luis Obispo County allocates funds and advocates for quality programs and services, supporting children, prenatal to age 5, to ensure that every child is healthy and ready to learn in school.
First 5 SLO County does this in a number of ways:
- As a funder, we distribute over $1 million every year for early childhood programs.
- As a community connector, we collaborate, share resources, educate and bring people together to address emerging issues surrounding early childhood.
- As a team of advocates, we strive to create a powerful voice on behalf of children and families, and push for policy changes that pledge to put some of the most vulnerable among us – FIRST.
At First 5 SLO County, we focus our work and investments in all three of these areas around a multi-year Strategic Plan, developed with community involvement and Commissioner leadership. The 2020-24 Strategic Plan is built upon three Focus Areas:
- Child Health and Development: Promoting young children’s wellness and access to quality care.
- Early Learning: Ensuring that from birth, children have rich and varied opportunities to develop their minds.
- Resilient Families: Supporting parents and families to build stable, nurturing and enriching home environments for young children.