The towns of Snowflake and Taylor, along with cities and towns across the state, recently signed proclamations that declared April 16-21 the Week of the Young Child. Research shows that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops by age five. This rapid development makes those first five years critical in a child’s life. What happens during those years can shape them for a lifetime.
All young children and their families deserve high quality early childhood education. That is where the First Things First (FTF) Navajo/Apache Partnership Council steps in to help meet the needs of children ages birth to 5 years old in non-tribal areas of Navajo and Apache counties.
FTF was born after Arizona voters passed Proposition 203 in 2006. The proposition is an initiative that funds quality early development and health programs specifically designed for children before kindergarten. The initiative created the statewide FTF Board and regional partnership councils.
First Things First is made up of 28 regional partnership councils. Each of those councils is made up of volunteers that study the unique needs of their communities and use that information to decide what programs to fund that will best support its young children and families.
Funding comes from the state tobacco tax. Currently, for every tobacco tax dollar collected, 90 cents is directed to FTF to go into a program account that can only be used to fund programs or services that will benefit young children and families.
The Navajo/Apache Partnership Council has an annual budget of $1.3 million. “The funding from First Things First has been used to fund specific projects that will meet a need or fill a gap in that system of birth through five,” said FTF Regional Director Kate Dobler-Allen. She has been working to grow this program and developing relationships with other area government agencies and child services providers for 10 years.
The FTF Navajo/Apache Partnership Council estimates that the region has a population of over 6,100 young children under 6. It is also estimated that 39 percent of young children in this region are living in poverty. Most of the Navajo/Apache region budget is spent on the Healthy Steps Program. Locally, both North Country HealthCare and Summit Healthcare are partners in this program to help reach families where they already go, the doctor’s office.
Healthy Steps offers services beyond just those concerned with the physical health and development of young children. It provides an expanded model of healthcare that helps support mothers and fathers in their role as nurturers of the emotional, behavioral and intellectual well-being of their children.
“We want to see parents be more confident and competent in their role as a child’s first and most important teacher and that has been the most important priority and most highly funded outcome. If you can do that then nearly everything else falls into place,” said Dobler-Allen.
FTF also funds services such as oral health screenings and fluoride, supports access to healthcare for children, provides scholarships for access to high quality early learning programs, supports healthcare for children, and supports the needs of infants and toddlers in the child welfare system. There are no income level requirements. Parents are connected with resources immediately after the birth of a child at Summit Healthcare. In this region, roughly 1,000 children are born every year at Summit.
National studies show that children that are exposed to quality early childhood education are 40 percent less likely to need special education, are 70 percent less likely to commit a crime by age 18, experience less anxiety and have better cognitive abilities. Snowflake Town Councilman Byron Lewis, and Chairman of FTF Navajo/Apache said, “What First Things First is able to do is help young children get ready for school and be set for life one healthy step at a time.” For more information about FTF visit www.firstthingsfirst.org.
