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May 2016Vol. 17, No. 3First 5 Ventura County's Parent Survey Evaluation

Social Policy Research Associates published an evaluation report on a parent survey analyzing First 5 Ventura County (F5VC), a Los Angeles, CA, community-based organization advocating for the health and well-being of children ages birth to 5 years. The survey was sent to approximately 7,000 F5VC participants to examine the program's progress in promoting three primary outcomes of focus: access to health care; kindergarten readiness; and knowledge of child development, resources, and parenting.

The report provides some background on the survey, methods and approach for analysis, and key characteristics of survey respondents, such as the following:

  • Child gender and age. Fifty-two percent of the child population served is male, and 48 percent is female. Infants and toddlers comprised the majority of the F5VC child service population at 64 percent.
  • Race/ethnicity. The racial and ethnic composition of the child participant population was predominantly Hispanic/Latino (76 percent), followed by White (15 percent) and multiracial (4 percent).
  • Language spoken at home. The majority of the child service population spoke a language other than English at home (61 percent). The top three languages spoken at home included Spanish (55 percent), English (39 percent), and Mixteco (3 percent).

The study concluded that F5VC participants are making good overall progress in the three key outcome areas, with particularly strong results in the areas of children's access to health care and health insurance, parent confidence, and parent knowledge of child development. It also identified some areas in need of further improvement, including the following:

  • Support for stronger literacy practices at home
  • Increased encouragement and support around oral health
  • Potential need for greater community-building efforts to reduce parent isolation
  • Increased support for preschoolers who are not reaching developmental milestones

The report's appendices include the survey that was sent to parent participants, data sources and analysis approach, characteristics of core service populations, and services administered by program type. Access the report, First 5 Ventura County Evaluation Report: Findings From the 2015 Parent Survey, at http://www.first5ventura.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/First-5-Final-Report.pdf (1 MB).