Here is a quick look at some headlines from this week impacting the lives of kids 0-5 and their families. The purpose of these stories is simply to inform, and they do not necessarily reflect First 5 Kern's areas of support or efforts towards these issues.
Follow First 5 Kern on social media for more kid-centric information.
Now for the headlines........
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ALL EYES ARE ON GOV. NEWSOM IN PASSING NEW VACCINE LAW
The state Senate gave final legislative approval to controversial vaccine legislation Wednesday
, prompting a chaotic scene among protesters in the chamber as the bill was sent to
Gov. Gavin Newsom for a signature
. Newsom had promised to sign the bill months ago, but some uncertainty remains about the future of the legislation. It's intention is to close a loophole that anti-vaccination supporters have used for years to get around the law.
Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, New York City has declared its worst measles outbreak in decades to be over.
Of the 654 infections, only 5%
were positively identified as vaccinated. And across the pond, a 1,000-victim
outbreak in New Zealand
has also been linked to frivolous exemptions to vaccinations.
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BRING YOUR BABY TO WORK, COMING SOON TO CALIFORNIA??
Keep an eye on Assembly Bill 372 - which has cleared the California State Assembly and,
just last weekend, the State Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill would allow state workers to
bring their infants to work
. The idea of the law is to
promote parent-infant bonding time and breastfeeding. Babies would need to be between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 months, or until the infant is crawling (whichever is earlier), and get medical clearance from a physician and a surgeon. It is by no means an unprecedented law, with half a dozen or more states already having such policies.
RELATED: Speaking of Arizona, the town of Gilbert
was recently featured for their family-friendly policy.
This feature highlighted a pair
of police officers now toting their tots to work.
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DEALING WITH CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IN THE VALLEY
According to the Central California Asthma Collaborative, one in six children have asthma
in the San Joaquin Valley - the highest rate statewide.
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THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT - HIGH-RISK INFANTS' FAMILIES ARE BEING LINKED TO CARE
Neonatologists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles cared for 4,100
of the system’s tiniest patients—some weighing only a few pounds—and their mothers last fiscal year. But a
new app is helping to connect the parents
of those babies to important medical services well after they leave the care of the hospital
.
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HUNDREDS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS - AND NOW TWO DEATHS - TIED TO VAPING
It's not a children's news story, but since Proposition 10 is directly tied
to tobacco sales, we thought we would share a pair of stories about vaping.
KERO reported this week
about a California teenager who has been hospitalized with acute respiratory failure. Meanwhile,
vaping has been linked to over 300 hospitalizations
over recent months nationwide, and a pair of deaths, which remain misunderstood.
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ADDITIONAL STORIES FROM THIS WEEK...
Nature-based early learning is a growing trend, and outdoor preschools could very well
hold the key to combating childhood obesity. For that reason, one Washington State University Health Sciences researcher is partnering with Tiny Trees - the largest outdoor preschool in the country -
to study the impact of an outdoor preschool model
on children’s health outcomes.
The Ohio Reformatory for Women has unveiled a unique facility that addresses
the complexity of women being mothers while serving time for non-violent offenses. Take a look
inside this childcare facility
, which is locate
d in a prison.
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First 5 Kern was established in 1998 when California voters passed Proposition 10, which levied a 50-cent tax on tobacco products. Revenues generated from the tobacco tax are used to fund local programs in the areas of health and wellness, early childcare and education, and parent education and support services that promote early childhood development for children ages zero to five.
For more information on First 5 Kern and the agencies we support, please visit
www.First5Kern.org
and follow us on social media.
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Special thanks to
Vecteezy
for assistance on graphics
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