In November  of 1998, the California voters approved Proposition 10, a constitutional amendment that dedicated a portion of taxes on tobacco products to the development of the California Children  and Families initiative.

The California legislature followed the direction of the Proposition and enacted the Children and Families Act, which authorized counties in California to create local commissions to administer funds derived from tax on tobacco products. County Commission receives revenues generated by the tax based upon the annual recorded births to county residents.

According to the Act, each California County Board of Supervisors must appoint a Children and Families First Commission to oversee planning and distribution of the Proposition 10 fund in its county.

Sutter County, acting through its Board of Supervisors, approved an ordinance establishing the Sutter County Children and Families Commission, appointed commissioners and established the Sutter County Children and Families Commission Trust Fund on January 5, 1999.

Each county Commission must develop a comprehensive strategic plan that outlines how the Commission will utilize the revenues generated by the tax.  Sutter County Children and Families Commission  included the following guiding principles when writing the strategic plan:

• A description of the goals and measurable objectives to be attained;
• A description of the programs, services and projects to be provided;
• A description of how measurable outcomes of such  programs, services and projects will be determined by the County Commission using appropriate reliable indicators; and
• A description of how programs, services, and projects relating to  early childhood development within the county will be integrated into a consumer-oriented and easily accessible system.

In adopting this comprehensive strategic plan, the Sutter County Children and Families Commission identified six basic principles to govern the planning activities and to provide guidance on the future allocation of funds and program development.

•  Services should be designed to serve all children and families eligible under the guidelines of Proposition 10 of Sutter County who wish to benefit from the propose services
• Proposed services should not duplicate existing community services
•  Proposed services should provide for the maximum amount of integration possible between existing community programs and newly established programs