Press Releases
For Immediate Release
January 13, 2020
SACRAMENTO, CA – First 5 Santa Cruz County, which manages the Triple P — Positive Parenting Program, today announced that January 2020 has been proclaimed Positive Parenting Awareness Month by the California Legislature. Positive Parenting Awareness Month highlights the importance for parents and caregivers to develop warm, nurturing relationships with their children and teens and become more confident as parents.
“Positive Parenting Awareness Month was launched in Santa Cruz County eight years ago and has since become observed by nine more counties,” said Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, lead author of the statewide resolution. “Taking this statewide is a great way to send the message that every community in California benefits from a focus on raising healthy, happy kids – and there are tips and tools available to help.”
“This is a truly fantastic initiative. A Positive Parenting Awareness Month gives proper public recognition to the crucial importance of parenting to the well-being of children, parents and entire communities. There is nothing more important we can do to promote the well-being of children than to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of all parents in the task of raising healthy well-adjusted children and young people. Well done, California,” said Professor Matt Sanders, founder of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, one of various positive parenting programs available in communities throughout California.
In proclaiming January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month, the California Legislature introduced numerous important messages and concepts related to parenting, some of which include:
- Raising children and youth in California to become healthy, confident, capable individuals is the most important job parents and caregivers have.
- Positive parenting can prevent or mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences such as child abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and other traumatic events that can create dangerous levels of stress and impair lifelong health and well-being; and
- Many parents and caregivers begin the lifetime job of raising children feeling unprepared, and fear and social pressures prevent many from seeking parenting help and guidance.
- Families in California come in many forms, with children who are raised by parents, grandparents, foster parents, family members and other caregivers; and
- Families can benefit from a “tool kit” of proven strategies and receive support from various positive parenting programs in many counties and tribes through numerous organizations and individual practitioners, thanks to local partnerships, such as between First 5 Commissions, local government, tribal nations, health and human service providers, schools, libraries, higher education institutions, and child welfare agencies; and
- Every individual, community group, business, public, and non-profit agency, and tribe in California has a role to play in raising awareness of the importance of positive parenting and supporting the health and well-being of children and families.
“It’s exciting to see the local success of Positive Parenting Awareness Month validated in this way statewide,” said David Brody, Executive Director of First 5 Santa Cruz County. “Just as happens with families, partnerships come in many forms. First 5 Santa Cruz County takes pride in the role we’ve played over the last decade to create local partnerships among the family resource centers, schools, libraries, health care providers, and county agencies that deliver positive parenting resources and tools every day in Santa Cruz County.”
ABOUT TRIPLE P
The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is a world-renowned program available to families in Santa Cruz County who have children ages birth to 16, including children with special needs. Backed by more than 30 years of international, scientific research, Triple P offers families proven strategies for strengthening relationships with their children and for preventing or managing a full range of parenting challenges. The program is available to all families in Santa Cruz County through a partnership between First 5 Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency and the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department. For more, visit http://triplep.first5scc.org or facebook.com/triplepscc.
ABOUT FIRST 5 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
First 5 Santa Cruz County invests in health, early learning and family support to promote the well-being of children. A growing body of scientific evidence points to the economic and societal impacts of investing in the early years. First 5 Santa Cruz County is dedicated to giving children the opportunities they need to reach their full potential. First 5 Santa Cruz County was established by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in December 1998 by urgency ordinance to ensure that family-friendly services and education are available, so that each child reaches the fifth year of life healthy, ready and able to learn, and emotionally well developed. We are committed to involving community members, as well as professionals working with young children and their families. For more information, visit www.first5scc.org.
