Children Need Literacy Earlier Than You Think: June 21 Conference Unveils New Guidelines for Parents and Caregivers and Launches New Network for Early Literacy Development.

WHAT:     The Children and Families Commission of Orange County will
          unveil comprehensive early literacy development guidelines
          and best practices for children ages five and under, at a
          June 21 conference.  The conference will bring together
          noted national experts with Orange County's education,
          health and business leaders to discuss the importance of
          language development and launch the new Early Literacy
          Development Network, an innovative county-wide effort to
          promote early literacy development.

WHEN:     Monday, June 21, 2004
          9:00 - 10:00 a.m.  -- Keynote: Hallie Yopp,
                                Calif. State University, Fullerton
          10:15 - 11:30 a.m. -- Panel discussion on early literacy
          11:45 - 12:45 p.m. -- Keynote: Virginia Mann,
                                University of California, Irvine

WHERE:    Radisson Newport Beach Hotel
          4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach

WHO:      The Children and Families Commission of Orange County is
          sponsoring the conference.  The commission was created as a
          result of Proposition 10, the California Children and
          Families Act of 1998, which added a 50-cent sales tax on
          tobacco products and requires funds to be used to support
          education, health and childcare programs promoting early
          childhood development from the prenatal stage to age five.

WHY:      Literacy experts emphasize the need to develop language
          skills in young children beginning at birth.  Babies and
          young children need to be talked to and read to, which will
          prepare them to learn to read when they are in school.  A
          task force of education and health experts developed
          guidelines and best practices around the issue of early
          literacy development that will be distributed at the
          conference.  In addition, a new early literacy network will
          be introduced for individuals that are committed to increase
          literacy support in Orange County.