PROP. 10 SMOKE TAX TO BENEFIT KIDS REPEAL EFFORT COULD ENDANGER WHAT MAY BE MODEL FOR NATION.

Byline: Neal Kaufman

Californians, often called wacky by the rest of the nation because we are so open to new ideas, recently did something so exciting and far- reaching that most of us probably don't yet even realize its powerful potential.

In voting to pass Proposition 10 - the measure to promote, support and improve the health and development of all children by focusing on programs for pregnant women and children up to age 5 - the people of California have created a vitally important new opportunity to improve the future for all of us.

Funded by a 50-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes, Proposition 10 will generate significant revenue (about $165 million annually for Los Angeles County alone) which will be invested in the health and development of children by independent Proposition 10 commissions, appointed by boards of supervisors in each county under guidelines set by a state commission.

This new funding is arriving just at the right time because cutting-edge scientific research is revealing amazing new information on childhood brain development and how it can affect not only a child but, as the child matures, all of us.

Proposition 10 has the promise, and the money, to create real, long-term change.

The new research establishes that much of a child's lifelong developmental outcome is set before birth and during early childhood, impacting all later years of life.

For the first time ever we can launch children in Los Angeles on a lifetime of health and development that will improve their well-being and that of society.

Currently, once children are born and taken home from the hospital, they pretty much disappear from the sight of our public institutions, only to suddenly reappear five years later to enroll in school. Those five missing years are in many ways the most crucial years of life. Things that happen or don't happen during that time have direct physical effects on the developing brain - some irreversible, others very difficult to change.

When children enter school with previously undiagnosed and untreated medical, behavioral and cognitive problems, and without preliteracy skills, what may have been a family problem becomes the public's burden as well. Families and communities without adequate support may have already created potential lifelong difficulties.

Despite our best efforts, the current fragmented system of services simply is not up to changing many of these outcomes.

Our approach should not only improve outcomes for kids, but also be sustainable over the long term, be sensitive to the wonderful diversity in our communities, and be based on what is known to work. Since the Los Angeles Proposition 10 Commission began its work eight months ago, we have met more than 30 times to gather ideas from diverse communities. With this extensive public input and the input from professionals with experience in meeting the needs of children and families, the Los Angeles commission is finalizing its first annual plan. It will contain specific funding strategies and a foundation for subsequent plans. We will show in measurable and meaningful ways how each of the activities of Proposition 10 contributes to the well-being of children.

Our first plan will be ready for final public comment in January and will initially fund programs in four areas:

--Improving access to services through programs such as home visiting and family resource centers.

--Helping families help themselves through such strategies as parenting education, parent support phone lines and early literacy programs.

--Improving the quality, quantity and affordability of early childhood educational programs and child care services.

--Helping communities to improve the systems that support children and families.

Clearly, there is enormous potential in our work to benefit children for decades to come. As a grant-making body affiliated with government but with the independence to make things happen, Proposition 10 commissions are in a unique position to make things better for our youngest kids.

But, unfortunately, Proposition 10 is already under attack by tobacco retailers in the form of a March repeal effort (Proposition 28). They understand that if Proposition 10 succeeds here, this initiative - like so many other innovative ideas that began in California - will become a model for our entire nation.

In fact, several other states are already exploring ways to create similar programs. Imagine what this could mean for our country!

If we do this right, we can achieve things on behalf of children that we have only imagined in our wildest dreams. This opportunity, which can have such a major impact on all our futures, may never come again.