Contra Costa Parents, Public Invited: 11th Annual Young Children's Issues Forum

From Jonathan B. Lance of the Contra Costa County Office of Education:

The public is invited to The Eleventh Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum, to be held on Saturday, March 28, 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, at 320 Civic Center, Pleasant Hill.

This year’s theme is Speak Out for Children: Educate and Advocate.

The free annual community event is sponsored and organized by the Contra Costa Local Planning & Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC), and is coordinated by the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE).

The purpose of the program is to provide a forum for discussion among legislators, local elected officials, public agency representatives, business leaders, and the community regarding current children’s issues. Annually, this award-winning special presentation is a favorite for numerous local elected officials to take part in, as presenters and/or in question-and-answer sessions.

Confirmed guest legislators and elected officials include: Assemblymembers Susan Bonilla and Catharine Baker, Contra Costa County Supervisors Candace Andersen and Karen Mitchoff, and Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools, Karen Sakata.

Superintendent Sakata, will present opening remarks overview of the importance of early childhood education. Additionally, the topic of focus for this year’s forum is the national movement towards Quality Early Care and Education, legislation, and the impact of current state and federal investments on California’s early care and education programs.

The Forum agenda features an impressive list of invited guest presenters, including: Ted Lempert, executive director, Children Now; Matt Regan, senior vice president government relations, Bay Area Council; Moira Kenney, executive director, First 5 Association; Sean Casey, executive director, First 5 Contra Costa; Camilla Rand, director, Contra Costa Community Services Bureau,; Karen Mitchoff, supervisor, Contra Costa County; Candace Andersen, supervisor; Ruth Fernández, manager, Educational Services, CCCOE; Eduardo Aguilar, education policy associate, Children Now; and Cathy Roof, chair, Advocacy Committee of the Contra Costa Local Planning & Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC).

In 2014, the Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum received Assembly and Senate recognitions for ongoing quality civic engagement opportunities offered to the public through this annual event. In 2012, California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA) awarded the Young Children’s Issues Forum with the California Gold Award, their highest accolade of annual Excellence in Communications.

For more information about the Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum, please contact Ruth Fernández at (925) 942-3413 or visit: www.plan4kids.org.

This is a free event, but attendance registration due to limited space.

Related:

• Contra Costa Receives $1.4M Grant to Improve Preschool Quality for Low-Income Children
• California Reevaluates Role of School Standardized Test Results

--Also on Patch:

• Yowch! Shingles: You May Be More Susceptible Than You Think
• $8 a Gallon for Regular Gasoline? Sausalito Station Owner Says Why
• Silicon Valley Man - With One Prior DUI - Gets 47 Years For Drunk-Driving Deaths
• Hop To It- Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop’s Annual Little Girls’ Easter Dresses and Easter Merchandise Event!

• Start Your Kettles! Lamorinda Home Brew Fest No. 2 Is Coming Up
• Secrets for Planning the Perfect Family Safari
• Awww ... Help Name Adorable Baby Penguins At Academy of Sciences