First 5 Contra Costa

What First 5 Contra Costa does

First 5 Contra Costa is a public county agency established in 1998 under California Proposition 10, the tobacco tax that created county-level First 5 commissions to invest in early childhood development. The organization serves families with children from birth to age 5 across Contra Costa County, principally through a network of five First 5 Centers (family resource centers) located in Antioch, Brentwood, Pittsburg, Concord, and San Pablo. These centers deliver free in-person and virtual group classes, playgroups, school-readiness activities, support groups, one-on-one service navigation, and material resources such as food and diapers. The operating model relies on Community Advisory Councils (CACs) at each site to surface local needs and shape programming.

The organization's product surface extends beyond the centers. Core programs include Roadmap to Kindergarten (year-long kindergarten preparation), Ready Kids East County (equity-centered supports for Black and African American families), Child Care Boost Initiative (a Measure X-funded wage enhancement of approximately $1,800/month for licensed child care providers, administered by CocoKids), the Child Passenger Safety Program (car seat distribution and technician training funded by a ~$140,000 California Office of Traffic Safety grant), Community Advisory Councils, Building Blocks Mini-Grants (community advocacy funding), the annual Coffee & Kids policy breakfast, and the Contra Costa Early Childhood Systems Map. Center operations partner with Lincoln Families (Pittsburg) and Bay Area Community Resources (San Pablo).

Revenue is generated exclusively through grants, dedicated tax allocations, and philanthropy rather than commercial fees: California Prop 10 tobacco tax receipts (declining), Measure X county sales tax funds, state and federal grants (e.g., OTS, California Jobs First Catalyst Planning Grant), foundation philanthropy (e.g., Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation for Ready Kids East County), and individual donor contributions. All services to families are provided at no cost. The agency is led by Executive Director Dr. Ruth Fernández and Deputy Director Sandra Naughton; operating status is active with administrative headquarters at 2300 Clayton Road, Suite 300, Concord, effective January 1, 2026.

Name

First 5 Contra Costa

Legal name

First 5 Contra Costa

Website

https://first5coco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First 5 Contra Costa is a public county agency established in 1998 under California's Proposition 10 that supports families with children from birth to age 5 across Contra Costa County through five free First 5 Centers offering classes, playgroups, resource navigation, and material aid, plus workforce and equity-centered programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood and Family Support Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

Keywords

• Early childhood services
• Family resource centers
• Parent support programs
• Developmental screening services
• Child care workforce support

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Proposition 10 Tobacco Tax Revenue: Primary funding source. California's Proposition 10 imposed a tax on tobacco products; revenues are allocated to county First 5 commissions to fund early childhood programs. Declining tobacco tax revenues have reduced available resources over time.
2. Measure X Local Tax Revenue: County-level sales tax measure funding that supports early care and education workforce initiatives, including the Child Care Boost Initiative wage enhancement program administered by CocoKids.
3. State and Federal Grants: Grant funding from California state agencies (e.g., California Jobs First Catalyst Planning Grant) and federal sources (e.g., California Office of Traffic Safety grant of ~$140,000 for child passenger safety).
4. Foundation Philanthropy: Strategic public-private partnership combining Proposition 10 funds with philanthropic contributions from organizations such as the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation to support specific initiatives like Ready Kids East County.
5. Donor Contributions: The organization accepts individual and organizational donor contributions to supplement public funding for programs and services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

First 5 Contra Costa is a public county agency that operates five First 5 Centers (family resource centers) across Contra Costa County, delivering free group classes, playgroups, school readiness activities, support groups, one-on-one assistance, developmental screenings, and basic-needs resources such as food and diapers to families with children from birth to age 5. It also runs targeted initiatives including Ready Kids East County (for Black and African American families), Roadmap to Kindergarten, the Child Care Boost Initiative (wage enhancement for licensed providers), Community Advisory Councils, the Child Passenger Safety Program, and the Contra Costa Early Childhood Systems Map, alongside Building Blocks Mini-Grants for community advocacy.

Product overview

First 5 Contra Costa is a public agency offering a coordinated suite of early childhood and family support services. The core offering is a network of five First 5 Centers (Family Resource Centers) in Antioch, Brentwood, Pittsburg, Concord, and San Pablo, providing free services including group classes, playgroups, school readiness activities, support groups, and community resource connections. Key programs include Ready Kids East County (supporting Black and African American families), Roadmap to Kindergarten (year-long early learning), Child Care Boost Initiative (wage enhancement for providers), and the Coffee & Kids annual policy breakfast. Additional offerings include Community Advisory Councils, Building Blocks Mini-Grants for advocacy, and the Contra Costa Early Childhood Systems Map. Services are funded through California Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenues and Measure X.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• First 5 Centers: Family Resource Centers that offer group classes, playgroups, school readiness activities, support groups, one-on-one assistance connecting to community services, and resources such as food and diapers for families with children from birth to age 5.
• Ready Kids East County
• Community Advisory Councils (CAC)

Products and services

• First 5 Centers Family Resource Centers offering group classes, playgroups, school readiness activities, support groups, one-on-one assistance connecting to community services, and resources such as food and diapers at no cost to families with children from birth to age 5.
• Ready Kids East County A dedicated initiative that centers the experiences of Black and African American families in East County, connecting them to culturally rooted programs, services, and community resources from womb to classroom.
• Roadmap to Kindergarten

Quantifiable outcome

• Impacted nearly 16,000 parents, children, and service providers in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care EmploymentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Anna Powell, Associate Director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, presented at the Coffee & Kids policy breakfast on the economics of the early care and education workforce, connecting local realities to broader statewide and national trends.
• Bay Area Professional Family Child Care NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Co-host of the 5th Annual Day Without Childcare event, which centered on the need for universal access to affordable, high-quality child care and sustainable wages for providers.
• Lincoln FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024Lincoln Families, a local non-profit with roots in Contra Costa and Alameda County, operates the East County First 5 Center in Pittsburg in partnership with First 5 Contra Costa. The partnership brings together resources and staff to meet the needs of families in East County, providing a welcoming space where families feel they belong. Celebrated its one-year anniversary operating the center in June 2024.
• CocoKidscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCocoKids administers the Child Care Boost Initiative, a 10-month wage enhancement program for licensed child care providers in Contra Costa County, funded by Measure X. First 5 Contra Costa led the community process to inform the development of the Wage Boost model and advocated for the pilot's implementation.
• Stanford Center for Early ChildhoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst 5 Contra Costa partnered with the Stanford Center for Early Childhood to conduct a countywide listening tour, gathering feedback from parents of children under six through focus groups and interviews with more than 50 families. Findings are being used to inform strategic planning.
• Black Girls Mental Health FoundationminorOthers2025 Building Blocks Mini-Grant recipient. Grant supports organizing a community partner meeting to develop a shared mission and strategic plan for a new Maternal-Child and Early Childhood Health Consortium, and launching a professional development series to promote equity in maternal mental health for Black and Brown women.
• Food Bank of Contra Costa and SolanominorOthers2025 Building Blocks Mini-Grant recipient. Grant supports amplifying the voices of parents with young children in the Food Bank's longstanding conference cycle program.
• Contra Costa Abundant Birth Project (partnering with PHFE for Expecting Justice)minorOthers2025 Building Blocks Mini-Grant recipient. Grant supports collecting and sharing photos and personal stories highlighting the joy, strength, and empowerment of Black and African American mothers and children benefiting from the guaranteed income project.
• NCal Family Child Care AllianceminorOthers2025 Building Blocks Mini-Grant recipient. Grant supports developing a policy report and close campaign to visualize the voices, needs, strengths, and experiences of bilingual early childhood educators.
• Care Parent Network (partnering with VistAbility)minorOthers2025 Building Blocks Mini-Grant recipient. Grant supports developing advocacy and storytelling skills for parents of children with autism through facilitated play dates, advocacy training, and community events.
• FIERCE AdvocatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFIERCE Advocates delivered a four-session advocacy workshop series for parents and service providers interested in learning about early childhood policy advocacy. Approximately 40 people from across the county participated.
• CardeaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the inclusion in early learning initiative, contributing to community input gathering and draft recommendations for enhancing inclusion in early learning settings across Contra Costa County.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Zero to Three: National nonprofit focused on early childhood development from birth to age three, including policy advocacy, research, and training. Operates at a much broader geographic and policy scale but shares First 5 Contra Costa's core focus on the 0-5 window, healthy brain development, and family support.

Emerging players

• Help Me Grow California: Statewide early childhood system focused on developmental screenings and connecting families to early intervention services. First 5 Contra Costa's own Liliana Gonzalez Sanchez previously served as Help Me Grow Coordinator at the organization, indicating deep operational overlap in early intervention service coordination.
• Lincoln Families: Bay Area nonprofit that operates the East County First 5 Center in Pittsburg in partnership with First 5 Contra Costa. Comparable in mission (family strengthening, early childhood mental health) and is a direct operational partner; also a relevant peer for understanding how First 5 delegates center operations to community-based providers.

Direct peers

• CocoKids (Contra Costa Child Care Council): CocoKids is a core strategic partner that administers the Child Care Boost Initiative funded by First 5 Contra Costa, and operates as the local child care resource & referral agency for the county. Directly comparable in child-care/ECE service delivery and a frequent co-investor with First 5 in workforce initiatives.
• First 5 Alameda County: Neighboring county First 5 commission operating an essentially identical model (Prop 10 funding, family resource centers, 0-5 services, policy advocacy) in the adjacent Bay Area market. Direct operational peer for staffing, programming, and funding strategy comparisons.
• First 5 Los Angeles: First 5 LA is California's largest First 5 county commission and the most direct comparable: same Prop 10 mandate, same family resource center model, same focus on children 0-5 and family support services. It is the flagship against which all other county First 5 commissions (including Contra Costa) benchmark their programming and policy advocacy.
• BANANAS Inc. Bay Area child care resource & referral agency operating a comparable family resource and ECE support model in neighboring Alameda and Contra Costa-adjacent counties. Comparable in scale, funding mix (public + private), and target population of low-income families with young children.
• Child Care Resource Center (CCRC): Large-scale child care resource & referral and ECE family services nonprofit operating across multiple California counties. Comparable in delivering subsidized child care navigation, family support, and ECE workforce development funded through a mix of public contracts and philanthropy.
• First 5 Sacramento: Another California First 5 county commission delivering the same Prop 10-mandated suite of family resource centers, ECE workforce investments, and policy advocacy in a different (but comparable-size) county. Useful peer for benchmarking impact metrics, mini-grant design, and strategic plan cadence.

Others

• Stanford Center for Early Childhood: Research partner that conducted the countywide listening tour with First 5 Contra Costa to inform strategic planning. Not a direct service peer but a thematic/strategic peer in producing evidence-based policy and program design for the 0-5 population.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/First5CoCo
• Instagraminstagram.com/westcountyfirst5center
• Xx.com/First5CoCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first5coco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First 5 Contra Costa