Best Start Question and Answer Sheet from Kim Belshé

First 5 LA’s new Executive Director, Kim Belshé, recently wrote a letter to all Best Start Communities introducing herself and explaining her Listening Learning and Leading initiative, a way to help her learn about First 5 LA, our programs and efforts, including Best Start. Community members submitted questions in response to the letter, which have been consolidated and answered by Ms. Belshé and are available as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet. Questions will continue to be accepted and this document will be updated periodically.

Most recent update: March 26, 2013

FAQ’s in English

FAQ’s in Spanish

FAQ’s in Khmer

FAQ’s in Mandarin

2 Responses to “Best Start Question and Answer Sheet from Kim Belshé”

Katherine Reuter, PhD says:

February 4, 2013 at 3:27 pm

Dear Ms. Belshé,

The FAQs are a wonderful way to communicate. F5LA has become more transparent in its actions, which is so important for community and County support.

I am writing to bring a fact about Best Start to your attention: SPA 5 is the only SPA with no Best Start program. SPA 5 includes sections of LA County Supervisory District 2, 3 and 4. We have pockets of poverty and need that have warranted funding of other programs (I can provide the specific zip codes on request). For example, my agency is the lead agency for the SPA 5 Partnerships for Families program, as well as DMH and private funding for services for children 0-5 and their families.

The original Best Start statistical model/analyses of poverty and need did not find the sheer numbers or density of need in SPA 5 as was found in other areas of the County. Those results, of course, did not mean there are no such needs in SPA 5. Though Best Start might not be the best fit here, if future F5LA programming decisions are based on the Best Start initial investments, SPA 5 would be left out.

Thank you so much for providing this opportunity to communicate with you and the First 5 LA staff.

Sincerely,
Katherine Reuter, Ph.D.
Director, Early Childhood Intervention Services
Saint John’s Child & Family Development Center
1339 20th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-829-8678
Fax 310-829-8455

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Kim Belshe says:

February 13, 2013 at 2:20 pm

Dear Dr. Reuter:

Thank you for your support of First 5 LA’s efforts to improve the health, safety and school readiness of our County’s youngest children and for your comment on the FAQ posting on the BestStartLA.org website. One of our greatest challenges is maximizing the impact of our investments. Our Commission has demonstrated a sensitivity to this issue by ensuring that a balance exists between investments in Best Start and investments in countywide strategies and initiatives. While a key component of Best Start is integration with those countywide efforts, it does not exclude any part of the county from consideration for investment by other First 5 LA programs, including our place-based work. We will continue to seek out every opportunity to make the most effective investments possible.

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