§ 2.48.010. Purpose and intent.

The voters of the state of California passed the California Children and Families First Act of 1998. The Act recognizes that there is a compelling need in California to create and implement a comprehensive, collaborative and integrated system of information and services to promote, support and optimize early childhood development from the prenatal stage to five years of age.

The Act further recognizes that there is a compelling need in California to ensure that early childhood development programs and services are universally and continuously available for children until the beginning of kindergarten. Proper parenting, nurturing and health care during these early years will provide the means for California's children to enter school in good health, ready and able to learn, and emotionally well developed. It is the intent of this chapter to facilitate the creation and implementation of an integrated, comprehensive and collaborative system of information and services to enhance optimal early childhood development. This system should function as a network that promotes accessibility to all information and services from any entry point into the system. It is further the intent of this chapter to emphasize local decision making, to provide for greater local flexibility in designing delivery systems, and to eliminate duplicate administrative systems.

The California Children and Families First Act of 1998 provides for funding through an excise tax on tobacco products in order to implement the goals and objectives which are outlined in the Act itself. It is the further intent of this chapter to create the Riverside County children and families first commission and the Riverside County children and families first trust fund in order to receive funding through the Act and to implement the goals and objectives outlined in the California Children and Families First Act of 1998.

(Ord. 784 § 1, 1999)