What is First 5 San Bernardino?
The mission of First 5 is to “promote, support and enhance the lives of our children prenatal through age five.” This organization came about with the passage of Proposition 10 in November 1998 and resulted in a 50 cent tax per pack of cigarettes to fund education, health and childcare programs that promote early childhood development from prenatal through five years of age. This initiative currently produces annual revenue of approximately $25 million to San Bernardino County to invest in our county’s young children. The State allocates the funds based upon the number of live births in each county. In San Bernardino, our annual birth rate is approximately 28,000.
