© 2026 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.
Page 1 of 5
Pregnancy and the birth of a baby are significant occasions that also bring many challenges. Providing support to new parents and caregivers during this time, and through early childhood, is essential to give all children and families a strong start in life.
Today the First 5 Center for Children’s Policy is proud to release The Role of First 5s in Home Visiting: Innovations, Challenges, and Opportunities in California, which summarizes the role that First 5s have played in home visiting.
This policy framework captures First 5s’ fundamental beliefs and goals for home visiting. It is intended to inform the First 5 Association’s home visiting advocacy and systems building efforts over the next several years.
With a presidential administration that has kept immigrant families living in a constant state of fear due to one of the most aggressive agendas on immigration in modern times, and a virus that’s disproportionately affecting communities of color, home visitors can play a more vital role in immigrant families’ lives than ever before.
First 5 Center for Children’s Policy has new blog posts exploring how COVID-19 is affecting families due to changes in home visiting, early intervention, and preventive care.
California’s stay-at-home order is making vital family support services harder to provide to vulnerable families – but the nurses, social workers and other professionals who provide parenting support have found ways to pivot their work to meet this moment.
The nurses and caregivers of Welcome Baby are meeting the challenge of tele-visits in stride—and the program is seeing some unexpected silver linings to going virtual.
Although home visits are now conducted by phone, and some of the concerns addressed are shifting, one thing hasn’t changed — families continue to seek the support of Santa Barbara’s field nurses.
© 2026 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.