To: Board of Supervisors County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): County Executive’s Office and County Counsel
Staff Name and Phone Number: M. Christina Rivera, (707) 565-2431; Jennifer Solito, (707) 565-2431; Robert Pittman, (707) 565-2421; Kristin Horrell, (707) 565-2421
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Measure I - Child Care and Children’s Health Plan and Allocation Plan
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve the Child Care and Children’s Health Plan and Allocation Plan.
end
Executive Summary:
Measure I, the Sonoma County Child Care and Children’s Health Initiative, was approved by voters in 2024 and authorizes a countywide one-quarter-cent special transactions and use tax. Collection of the tax began on April 1, 2025.
Measure I requires the development of a Child Care and Children’s Health Plan, which is to include a budget document, on a five-year cycle to govern the use of funds). The Plan is required to be prepared by the Administering Agency of the tax, which is currently the First 5 Sonoma County Commission (Commission), as part of a planning process that is integrated with and leverages the Commission’s existing strategic planning process, as required by the California Children and Families Act (Proposition 10). Accordingly, the Child Care and Children’s Health Plan is embedded and integrated into the 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Plan (Attachment A), and the budget document is reflected in the 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Allocation Plan (Attachment B). The Strategic Plan outlines desired funding priorities, including strategies to achieve those outcomes, and the Allocation Plan shows the total amount of Measure I investment over the next 5 fiscal years, along with a breakdown of investments by fiscal year and by funding priorities. The Measure I Community Advisory Council <https://sonoma-county.granicus.com/boards/w/808bd6e42edf8e0f/boards/51704> (CAC)served as a key resource to the planning process.
The Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan (Plans) require approval by both the Commission and the Board of Supervisors prior to their implementation The Plans were approved by the Commission at its December 1, 2025 meeting, following a Public Hearing conducted on November 17, 2025, and are now coming to the Board for approval. Approval of the Plans will allow the Commission to move forward with appropriate procurements as set forth therein. Staff recommends the Board approve the attached Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan.
Discussion:
Background
Measure I, titled the Sonoma County Child Care and Children’s Health Initiative, was approved by voters in the November 5, 2024 general election and authorizes a countywide one-quarter-cent special transactions and use tax, known as the Sonoma County Child Care and Children’s Health Tax. This tax ensures that Sonoma County’s young children receive the high-quality early care, education, mental health care and developmental screening they need to be successful adults. The tax is administered by the First 5 Sonoma County Commission (Commission) and is advised by the Child Care and Children's Health Community Advisory Council (CAC), which was established by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on January 28, 2025, and whose eleven members were appointed by the Board on March 18, 2025. The primary role of the CAC is to promote and facilitate transparency in the administration of the Measure I tax revenue, including developing policy and programmatic recommendations. Collection of the tax began on April 1, 2025, and quarterly transfer of funds to the Commission commenced in September, 2025 pursuant to an interagency agreement between the County and the Commission. The tax is estimated to generate approximately $32 million in revenue annually.
The First 5 Sonoma County 2026-2031 Strategic Plan: Embedded Measure I Children’s Health Plan and Budget Document
Measure I requires that the Commission, in collaboration with the CAC, develop the Child Care and Children’s Health Plan (Plan) and a corresponding budget document (Allocation Plan) on a five-year cycle to govern the use of the tax proceeds.
The Measure I planning and budgeting processes are required to be integrated into the Commission’s existing strategic planning process, which is a requirement under the California Children and Families Act (Proposition 10). Integrating the Plan and Allocation Plan into the existing strategic planning process both avoids duplication in and leverages existing administrative efforts. Accordingly, the Child Care and Children’s Health Plan is integrated into the Commission’s 2026-2031 Strategic Plan and the budget document is reflected in the Strategic Plan’s Allocation Plan. While the Commission does adopt an annual budget, that budget process is separate from the strategic planning process and therefore the Allocation Plan, which identifies both the 5-year total of Measure I investments as well as a breakdown of those investments by fiscal year and goal areas, is the budget document associated with the strategic plan. This is consistent with the Measure I requirement that the budgeting process be integrated into the Commission’s existing strategic planning process and leverages existing administrative efforts.
The Plan is required to be designed to meet the needs of regions throughout the county with respect to increasing, improving and maintaining access to quality early care and education for families and children, improving workforce compensation of family childcare providers and early education employees, and improving children’s access to health and mental health care, including perinatal mental health for parents and caregivers. Additionally, the Plan must provide for improved wages for childcare providers and early educators and include programs that address early care and education workforce wages, in addition to describing the program requirements, including the specific projects and purposes for which the monies may be expended.
The Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan meet the above requirements by including four priority areas to which Measure I tax proceeds will be allocated and outlines strategies to achieve each priority outcome. As previously discussed, the corresponding Allocation Plan is the budget document that reflects the total amount of Measure I tax proceeds that are being invested into the community over the next 5 years, including the total amount being invested per fiscal year and includes a breakdown of how the tax proceeds are being allocated to each priority area and strategy specifically within each priority area.
Measure I requires the five-year Plan be approved by both the Commission and the Board. Additionally, Proposition 10 requires the Commission hold a public hearing on the Strategic Plan prior to it being adopted. The Commission held the required public hearing on the Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan on November 17, 2025, and both Plans were adopted unanimously by the Commission at its December 1, 2025 meeting. The Board must now approve the Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan so that the Commission may begin its implementation of the Plans.
Additionally, Measure I requires the Commission to prepare and approve an annual expenditure plan based on recommendations of the CAC and other community input. On August 26, 2025, the Board approved the Commission’s “Early Investments” Measure I expenditure plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 in order to allow the Measure I tax revenue to be allocated and spent prior to the Board’s approval of this formal five-year Plan and thereby avoiding a delay in benefits to Sonoma County children. The annual Measure I expenditure plan for FY 2026-2031 is embedded in and integrated with the Allocation Plan.
There were robust opportunities for community engagement in the preparation and adoption of the Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan. Both the CAC and Commission are Brown Act bodies, whose meetings are open to the public to attend and provide public comment on any agendized item. The CAC made recommendations to the Commission about the Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan and numerous meetings of both the CAC and Commission were held over the past few months while the Strategic Plan and Allocation Plan were created and ultimately adopted by the Commission. Those meeting minutes and presentations can be found here <https://first5sonomacounty.org/meetings-and-events/>.
Highlights of the First 5 Sonoma County 2026-2031 Strategic Plan
The 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Plan includes four Priority Areas: I. Healthy Children; II. Thriving Families; III. Early Care & Education; and IV. Community as Champions.
To fund the multiple strategies in each Priority Area, the Plan integrates, leverages and maximizes Measure I with California Prop. 10 (tobacco tax) while tracking each funding source separately in order to properly steward the tax revenue. Prop. 10 is closely aligned with the purpose and intent of Measure I and has been First 5’s primary source of public funds for investment in strategies that support children and families since 1998 and until Measure I was approved. Priority Areas I and III are primarily funded by Measure I, while Priority Area II is solely funded by Prop. 10. For Priority Area IV, the Commission has leveraged relatively similar amounts of Measure I and Prop. 10 funding.
Over the next five fiscal years, 2026-2031, the Commission has allocated the following amounts of Measure I tax proceeds to each Priority Area to fund a broad set of strategies to achieve the specified outcomes as follows:
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Priority Area |
Funding Allocated |
Outcomes |
Strategies to Achieve Outcomes |
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Priority Area I: Healthy Children |
$55,500,000 |
1. Strengthening service coordination and expanding access to wraparound care in support of children’s health. 2. Bolstering Sonoma County’s workforce in perinatal and early childhood health, lactation support and doula care. 3. Funding services that are provided where children and families live, work and play. |
• Establishing place-based, accessible child health, and perinatal mental health “hubs” to expand screening, referral and services. • Building on CalAIM strategies to strengthen networks and streamline referral and linkage between health care systems and providers and social services. • Expanding career pathways and diversifying the workforce for lactation support and perinatal, infant and early childhood mental health. •Expanding training, mentorship and supports for doulas and doula care. • Support for existing and emerging mobile and “pop-up” maternal and pediatric health clinics. • Expanding access points and modalities for screening and early intervention for special needs. • Supports for new parents related to lactation, breastfeeding and feeding, especially as they return to work. |
|
Priority Area III: Early Care & Education |
$79,915,000 |
1. Families can find and afford early care and education that meets their unique needs 2. The early care and education workforce is diverse, stable and has access to education, professional development and career advancement. 3. Early learning environments across the county are equitable, inclusive and trauma-informed. 4. The infrastructure of the early learning and care system has adequate high-quality facilities. 5. The early learning system is informed by data, family voice, provider experience and community awareness. |
• Sustaining non-traditional and two-generation early learning models. • Outreach, guidance and scholarships for families to support affordability, choice and access to care. • Improving workforce compensation and benefits and promoting equitable ECE career pathways. • Resources for “Family, Friend and Neighbor” (FFN) caregivers. • Mini-grants for child care and early learning providers to enrich and increase quality in early learning environments. • Coaching to support inclusive, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices in early learning and care environments. • Expanding high-quality facilities throughout the county, especially in child care deserts. • Making emergency response grants and loans available when disasters and other destabilizing events occur that disrupt access to care. |
|
Priority Area IV: Community as Champions |
$4,550,000 |
1. Broad and expanded community awareness and engagement regarding the importance of early childhood development and available community resources. 2. Local government, businesses and employers dedicate resource and prioritize the needs of families with young children and address the social determinants of optimal child development. 3. Communities and systems are equipped to respond to emerging needs in times of crisis and opportunity |
• Implementing an annual communication and outreach plan that employs diverse strategies to build awareness, foster community engagement and share information with families on a range of topics, including the mixed delivery system of child care, needs of dual language learners, lactation and breastfeeding and impacts of trauma on child development • Sponsorships for community events related to early learning and care, children’s health and mental health, perinatal mental health. • Addressing barriers to engaging community members, including child care providers, parents and other caregivers, through stipends and reimbursements. • Responsive Grants Program to ensure that community organizations are able to quickly mobilize to support children and families in times of disaster and unforeseen events that impact children’s health and well-being. |
Staff recommends the Board approve the Child Care and Children’s Health Plan and budget document, both of which are embedded and integrated in the 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Plan and 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Allocation Plan, respectively.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
08-26-2025- Board approved the Measure I Child Care and Children’s Health Initiative Expenditure Plan for Fiscal Year 2025/2026
03-25-2025 - Adopted Resolutions Implementing Measure I, including authorizing the County Executive to execute an Interagency Agreement with the Commission for administration and distribution of Measure I tax proceeds
03-18-2025 - Approved 11 countywide appointments to the Sonoma County Child Care and Children's Health Community Advisory Council
01-28-2025 - Adopted a resolution establishing the Sonoma County Child Care and Children's Health Community Advisory Council
12-10-2024 - Adopted a resolution making certain findings and authorizing a temporary solution to allow implementation of Measure I, the Sonoma County Child Care and Children’s Health Sales Tax Measure approved by the voters in November 2024.
02-06-2024 - Adopted a resolution submitting the Sonoma County Child Care and Children’s Health Initiative and Sales Tax Petition to the Voters of Sonoma County at the November 5, 2024 Presidential General Election
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There are no fiscal impacts associated with this item.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment A - 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Plan
Attachment B - 2026-2031 First 5 Sonoma County Strategic Allocation Plan
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
NONE