May 2020

By Samantha Young, California Healthline, May 29, 2020 Shirley Madden, 83, relies on a caregiver and her two grown daughters to remain living at home — and not in a nursing home. Her daughters, 55-year-old Carrie and 60-year-old Kristy Madden, both use wheelchairs and need a second caregiver to help them navigate their own daily lives. But that critical caregiving support, along with other health care benefits for millions of Californians, could be scaled back to help plug a massive budget...

By Hans Johnson and Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Public Policy Institute of California, May 29, 2020 The COVID-19 recession has already led to much larger declines in employment than occurred throughout the Great Recession, and jobs have been lost much more quickly. As with past recessions, less-educated workers are bearing the brunt of these declines. Nationwide, almost 20 million workers lost jobs between February and April this year (among adults age 25 and over). Employment declined by about 7...

By Tia Taylor Williams, American Public Health Association, May 2020 Alarming disparities within the COVID-19 pandemic — such as higher hospitalizations and death rates among African Americans — are sadly predictable and highlight the urgent need to address the root causes of health inequities. APHA is hosting this four-part webinar series to give an in-depth look at racism as a driving force of the social determinants of health and equity. The series will explore efforts to address systems,...

Taundra Pitchford, the Child Care Planning Council Coordinator at the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO), shared with me in an interview that SBCEO, not unlike other organizations within the Resilient Santa Barbara County ACEs Connection Network, remains open and operational amid the ever-evolving Coronavirus turmoil we find ourselves navigating. Pitchford commented, when asked how her work has shifted since the outbreak of the virus, "While I was busy before, I have never worked...

Early Learning and Care Division Click this link for full reference: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2006.asp Subject: COVID-19 Guidance regarding Emergency Childcare Services for Essential Workers and At-Risk Populations Number: 20-06 Date: April 2020 Expires: June 30, 2020, or until the State of Emergency has ended, whichever occurs first Authority: Senate Bill 117 (Chapter 3, Statutes of 2020); Executive Order N-33-20; Executive Order N-45-20, Executive Order N-47-20; Welfare and...

Here is the link to the recording of the webinar "Lessons from the Past" if you didn't have a chance to tune in yesterday. Carolee https://youtu.be/M_sUW2wWnfA

When I was an adolescent and young adult, I struggled with depression. As I reflect back on that time, so much of what I was experiencing was deeply tied to coming to terms with my sexuality. Growing up in the 1980’s in a relatively conservative town, I was closeted (even to myself) until I was a young adult. The pain and fear of being different, of not belonging, of being judged or rejected for who I was more than my adolescent brain could wrap its conscious head around.

By S.E. Williams and Chuck Bibbs, Black Voice News, May 20, 2020 The COVID-19 Pandemic shined a brighter spotlight on the unorthodox leadership of this nation and revealed an unprepared healthcare system. In the process, it also exposed a grim, denigrating and devastating reality regarding people of color and the poor, particularly Black people. The health vulnerabilities these communities have lived with for generations, left them dangerously vulnerable to this deadly virus. Now, they are...

By Randol White, CapRadio, May 26, 2020 California’s triple-digit heat is back — and new research shows residents in the state’s most underserved neighborhoods suffer the most when the mercury rises. Portland State University’s heat-mapping project tapped volunteers last summer in four California metro areas to attach GPS-equipped temperature collection gadgets to their cars and drive along set routes for an hour in the morning, afternoon and evening. They drove through the Bay Area, Los...

By Jason Pohl, The Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2020 California’s long history of altering its criminal justice system — from requiring life in prison for third-strike offenders to reducing the punishment for hundreds of crimes — is having another moment that could dramatically alter how the state locks people up. In a seismic, almost overnight shift, California has jailed 21,700 fewer people — nearly one-third of its daily population — in county lockups since the new coronavirus hit the state.

By Meredith Liu and Valentina Helo-Villegas, EdSurge, May 26, 2020 Over the past month, educators across the country have come up with creative ways to support the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of children. From “ teacher caravans ” to virtual office hours, read alouds, and dance breaks, they have provided students with much-needed support to complement their education during a time of unprecedented disruption. But what about the wellbeing of parents? Should schools play a role in...

By Ana B. Ibarra, Cal Matters, May 28, 2020 In the city of Oakland, when census workers call residents, they’re on a dual mission. Not only do they ask if the individual has filled out a census card, they also ask whether that person wants to get tested for the coronavirus. If so, do they know where to go? “It’s extremely creative,” said Dr. Tony Iton, a senior vice president of the California Endowment. “They’re doing census outreach in populations that are the hardest to reach, which are...