Tagged With "County"
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56 Children, Families Celebrate Adoption in Riverside County Superior Court [desertsun.com]
By Risa Johnson, Palm Springs Desert Sun, November 2, 2019 Forty families and 56 children celebrated adoptions at the 11th annual Adoption Finalization Day Saturday at the Riverside Historic Courthouse. Judith Clark, Riverside Superior Court juvenile presiding judge, said in a news release that the court was honored to participate in an event that "shows the strong commitment of community members, and witnesses the joy experienced by joining parents and children together as a new family.”...
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A 'fire of infections' could sweep California evacuation centers. Here's the plan to stop it [sacbee.com]
By Ryan Sabalow, The Sacramento Bee, April 29, 2020 The town of Paradise and the surrounding communities had burned to the ground. The victims, many of them poor and with nowhere to go, barely escaped. They were exhausted and scared. Then the norovirus hit as they crammed together in churches and a local fairground. They shared restrooms and slept shoulder-to-shoulder on cots. At the East Ave Church in Chico , some 300 Camp Fire evacuees had it better than some others in Butte County. Only...
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A New Program Helps Foster Kids in Orange County Avoid Homelessness when They Age Out of Public Care [ocregister.com]
By Theresa Walker, The Orange County Register, December 20, 2019 For three years after he aged out of foster care, at age 18, Christian was homeless. During that time, he was hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was in a coma for six months and his speech and memory were affected. Over most of the last year he’s lived at The Link, a homeless shelter in Santa Ana. This week, Christian, now 22, moved into his own one-bedroom apartment, in Tustin. That change is the result of...
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Butte County's low-income children suffer in coronavirus pandemic [chicoer.com]
By Natalie Hanson, Chico Enterprise-Record, May 11, 2020 It’s not unusual to see Chapman Elementary’s Principal Mike Allen driving through neighborhoods in the Chapman neighborhood, knocking on students’ doors and bringing food, toiletries and other supplies. Since the California shelter-in-place order, Allen said to keep making physical contact with children, he has made home visits to about 20 households. After calling every family, the school is trying to get back in touch with 15-20...
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Access the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s Data Dashboard!
The California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP), has developed a new County Prevention Data Dashboard to identify areas of strength and need pertaining to the prevention of child maltreatment across California. This tool presents relevant data in one location for primary and secondary prevention planning purposes and shares indicators of major risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect, social determinants of health, and early stages of...
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"ACEs Resilience and Recovery" presented at Marin Communications Forum
First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission featured Jane Stevens in a Marin Communications Forum event on Monday, May 15. Thanks to the hard work of host Michelle Fadelli of First 5 Marin, a full Embassy Suites ballroom of up to 180 Marin County service providers, from a variety of agencies, gathered.
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Addressing Childhood Trauma, Center for Learning & Resilience [actionnewsnow.com]
By Deb Anderaos and Julia Yarbough, Action News Now, April 15, 2020 Butte County health representatives say they have long realized the need for coordinated mental health services for family and children dealing with trauma. The Camp Fire drove that point home and now the coronavirus crisis. Julia Yarbough recently spoke with the Executive Director of the new Center for Learning and Resilience. It’s a resource to help meet community needs. First of all, thank you for joining us, and tell me...
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Analysis: Lack of Beds Keeps Homeless on the Streets Longer [thesungazette.com]
By Reggie Ellis, The Sun-Gazette, February 5, 2020 Visalia has the highest percentage of homeless people with highest need in the entire country. The Sun-Gazette reported last week that Tulare and Kings County, where most of the homeless population lives in Visalia, had the highest percentage nationwide of unsheltered, chronically homeless people, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Nearly one-third of the...
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California Can Lead the Nation in Science-Based Juvenile Justice Solutions [napavalleyregister.com]
By Stephanie James, Napa Valley Register, January 2, 2020 California’s juvenile justice system has evolved as we have learned more about brain development, the effects of adverse childhood experiences and social, emotional, and mental health needs of our young people. While ensuring community safety, we have moved away from the old norms of an overly punitive system to one that follows research and science to fulfill the statutorily stated mission of juvenile justice: rehabilitation. I have...
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California Jails use Kinder Approach to Solitary Confinement [sfchronicle.com]
By Don Thompson, San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 2019 An inmate in solitary confinement at a California jail was refusing to leave his cell. The jailers' usual response: Send an “extraction team” of corrections officers to burst into the cell and drag him out. But not in Contra Costa County, one of three in the state using a kinder, gentler approach in response to inmate lawsuits, a policy change that experts say could be a national model for reducing the use of isolation cells. So the...
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Updated Community Health Assessment now available [Humboldtgov.org]
The Community Health Assessment (CHA), a comprehensive overview of the health of the Humboldt County community, was presented at the Board of Supervisors meeting this afternoon. The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Public Health report looks at traditional public health measures of illness, mortality, nutrition and physical activity in the community. The CHA also includes data about income, housing status, community safety and access to care, as underlying...
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Why One Bay Area County is Exploring Basic Income for Former Foster Youth [mercurynews.com]
By Erica Hellerstein, The Mercury News, January 13, 2020 When Dontae Lartigue left foster care right before his 19th birthday in 2009, finding housing in Santa Clara County was one of his biggest obstacles. He struggled to find places he could afford on his $12 an hour salary at Walmart, and with a limited income and no rental history, he found landlords were often wary of returning his calls. So Lartigue, who is now 29 years old, ended up couch surfing or sleeping in his car. “Right now...
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Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative: Help for Those Recovering From The Devastating Fires of 2017 [sonomacountygazette.com]
By Sonoma County Gazette, October 22, 2019 As we reach the second anniversary of the 2017 wildfires, the triggers for those impacted have become more visible: reconstruction challenges, the Camp Fires in Butte County or just a windy night are a few examples. Mental health recovery and resiliency are more important than ever. Our community is really starting to see the long-term effects of wildfire trauma and PTSD on the mental health of our employees, neighbors and customers. Prolonged...
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2019 Civic Leadership Forum
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Six Bay Area counties extend coronavirus school closures to May 4 [sfchronicle.com]
By Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, March 25, 2020 Officials in six Bay Area counties announced they will shutter all schools until May 4, extending coronavirus closures for what will be at least a seven-week stretch. The coordinated decision aligns the closure schedule for hundreds of schools and nearly 1 million students in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The decision follows an announcement by Los Angeles Unified last week to close...
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Sonoma Valley's Hanna Institute Receives $30K Grant [sonomanews.com]
By Index Tribune Staff, Sonoma Index-Tribune, January 2, 2020 The Hanna Institute announced on Dec. 20 that it received a $30,000 grant from Community Foundation Sonoma County that will provide scholarships for Title I school staff and educators to attend the Hanna Institute Summit Jan. 29 through 31. “The mission of Hanna Institute is to support parents and child-serving systems with resources that build resilience and hope,” said Erin Hawkins, co-director of the Hanna Institute in a press...
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Speaking and training services from a first-hand, tenaciously resilient experience
My name is Rebekah Couch and I am a former teen mother of five children, the youngest child being my only clean & sober pregnancy allowed to remain in my care. I am a survivor of multiple sexual assaults and was afflicted with untreated mental health issues as an adolescent. My destructive journey began with self-medicating and illegal activities in Jr. High and a daily cocaine addiction by the age of fifteen that eventually advanced to methamphetamine abuse. My addiction and criminal...
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State Funding Provides New, Expanded Behavior Health Program for Residents [benitolink.com]
By County of San Benito Behavioral Health Department, BenitoLink, November 4, 2019 PATHS program provides an array of services to children and youth that aim to support enhanced social/emotional development, improve social skills, school performance, and provide linkage to mental health and substance use disorder services. The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) was approved by California voters in 2004 to provide increased funding towards programs within Behavioral Health departments to...
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Students, Teachers, Administrators Soar Above Challenges at Las Plumas [chicoer.com]
By Natalie Hanson, Enterprise-Record, December 18, 2019 As Oroville students continue to face social and economic hardships, high schools are working to improve their experiences and access to opportunities as adults. Staff at Oroville Union High School District’s schools say they are working to address the effects of widespread adverse childhood experiences. In the last decade, Butte County has been reported with the highest number of adverse childhood experiences in California in the...
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Santa Clara County Boosts Help for Sexual Assault Victims, Reports Decline in Domestic Violence Deaths [mv-voice.com]
By Mountain View Voice, September 25, 2019 The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday, Sept. 24, to increase funding for services for victims of sexual assault and create a new office to address gender-based violence in the county. The board voted to create the Santa Clara County Office of Gender-Based Violence to oversee services for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. County leaders plan to fill the positions in the new office...
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Santa Clara Supes put $200K Toward Pilot Program for Attempted Strangling Victims [mv-voice.com]
By Bay City News and Mountain View Voice Staff, Mountain View Voice, December 11, 2019 Santa Clara County Supervisors Tuesday allocated $200,000 to a new pilot program to help domestic violence victims whose partner tried to strangle them. The county will partner with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the Santa Clara Police Department to respond to victims who are 12 years old and older. Law enforcement officers will ask victims if they consent to a hospital visit, and will be...
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Scholarships are Plentiful for Students in Nevada County [theunion.com]
By Jill Haley, The Union, November 13, 2019 As the cost of college continues to skyrocket, many families are scrambling to find ways to fund their children’s college education. Federal and state scholarships and grants can be of tremendous help, but usually don’t fund the total cost, and not everyone qualifies. This is when families look for outside scholarships to help with college costs. Students in Nevada County are extremely fortunate to be part of a generous community who donate...
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Testing In California Still a Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots [califroniahealthline.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Angela Hart, and Rachel Bluth, California Healthline, May 4, 2020 Months into the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, widespread diagnostic testing still isn’t available, and California offers a sobering view of the dysfunction blocking the way. It’s hard to overstate how uneven the access to critical test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any...
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The 14th Annual Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference: Building Violence-Free Schools and Communities
The 14th Annual Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference hosted by Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) began with a 2 hour presentation by Alissa Parker, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools and the mother of a young child lost during the Sandy Hook school mass shooting. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven...
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The Lost Children of Los Angeles County: Foster Care Reform Moves Steadily Through Growing Pains [pasadenanow.com]
From Pasadena Now, March 9, 2020 As upwards of 18,000 children now move through the LA County Foster Care system, it has long meant that those young people may continually bounce from home to home, with an ever-dwindling number of care providers among the County’s 88 cities. But now the State is almost three years into implementing a new system with one simple goal—to move foster children into “forever families,” or long-term homes, more swiftly. The lofty aim requires a massive budget, a...
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Tracking Trafficking [pacificsun.com]
By Will Carruthers, Pacific Sun, February 5, 2020 North Bay residents don’t appreciate the scale of a crime happening all around them, despite an increased effort at public outreach over the past decade, according to a local nonprofit director. “Human trafficking happens every single day,” says Christine Castillo, the executive director of Verity, a Sonoma County nonprofit that offers services and support to trafficking victims and sometimes coordinates with law-enforcement agencies...
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TCOE [Tulare County Office of Education] Grant Opens 'Gates' for Minority, Low-Income Students [thesungazette.com]
By The Sun-Gazette, November 13, 2019 The Tulare County Office of Education will play a key role in helping develop strategies to improve student outcomes for black, Latino and low-income students. Last week, the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) learned it will receive a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. TCOE was the only K-12 agency in California among the current cohort of Model Design & Initiation (MDI) grantees. The MDI grant is the second grant...
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Despite Some Improvements, Higher-Than-Average Preterm Birth Rates Persist in Valley [kvpr.org]
By Kerry Klein, Valley Public Radio, November 5, 2019 The non-profit health advocacy group March of Dimes has released its annual preterm birth report card, and once again, San Joaquin Valley counties ranked among the worst in the state. Throughout California, just shy of 9 percent of babies are preterm. That means they’re born before 37 weeks of gestation, which can put them at higher risk of long-term health complications and even death. Although Fresno County’s preterm birth rate improved...
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Education Matters: Learning From School Shootings [yourcentralvalley.com]
By Dom McAndrew, YourCentralValley.com, September 10, 2019 Since the Columbine tragedy in 1999, there have been more than 220 school shootings, killing 144 people and injuring more than 300, according to research by the Washington Post. After the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools held it’s second safety meeting in Downtown Fresno, educators and law enforcement discovered that school shootings can be prevented. “You pray that it doesn’t happen but you do in some cases take a not if but...
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Emergency Child Care for Foster Families [saccounty.net]
By Sacramento County, SacCounty News, January 9, 2020 To recruit more loving families for children in foster care, Sacramento County is making it easier to find and afford childcare services for resource families. The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program’s goal is to increase the number of resource families for children in foster care by helping families find the right child care provider, connecting families to long-term child care subsidies, and by providing vouchers to pay for childcare...
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Expect More Tehama Education Summit Addresses Social-Emotional Learning [redbluffdailynews.com]
By Julie Zeeb, Red Bluff Daily News, November 20, 2019 Educators and community members converged Wednesday at Red Bluff’s State Theatre for the 11th annual Expect More Tehama education summit. “This year the focus was on social-emotional learning and how we can support it and become a social-emotional community through science, education and self-awareness in the community in both the private and public sector,” said Steering Committee member Kathy Garcia. “We are super excited to have Kyla...
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Facing Rising Homelessness, Los Angeles Adds Hundreds of Beds for Older Foster Youths [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback, The Chronicle of Social Change, November 15, 2019 The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to boost housing options for transition-age foster youth at its meeting on Tuesday. Two separate investments totaling nearly $9.4 million will open up 237 transitional beds for foster youth at the greatest risk of homelessness over the next year. “Youth transitioning out of foster care have often experienced significant trauma throughout their young lives,” said...
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Farmworkers Face Daunting Health Risks In California's Wildfires [californiahealthline.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, California Healthline, October 28, 2019 Farm laborers in yellow safety vests walked through neatly arranged rows of grapes Friday, harvesting the last of the deep purple bundles that hung from the vines, even as the sky behind them was dark with soot. Over the hill just behind them, firetrucks and first responders raced back and forth from a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection staging area, working to contain a wildfire raging through the rugged...
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FOCUS Program Aids Children Exposed to Trauma [davisenterprise.com]
By Special to The Enterprise, The Enterprise, October 25, 2019 Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig and Yolo County Superintendent of Schools Garth Lewis announced the launching of FOCUS, a notification system designed to decrease the negative impacts on children who are exposed to violence and trauma. The goal of the FOCUS program is for children to succeed to the best of their ability, regardless of the environment in which they live. Under FOCUS, law enforcement officers and other...
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Judge: Pretrial Inmates in San Francisco Need Time in Sunlight [courthousenews.com]
By Maria Dinzeo, Courthouse News Service, February 3, 2020 For years, the city and county of San Francisco has housed inmates awaiting trial in tiny cells, letting them out for only a few hours a day for exercise and often depriving them of any time outdoors, but conditions are set to improve for some after a federal judge ruled Friday that pretrial detainees incarcerated for more than four years must be given at least one hour a week of access to direct sunlight. The order handed down by...
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Kaiser Permanente Awards Grants in Napa & Solano Counties [patch.com]
By Chyresse Hill, Patch, October 24, 2019 Kaiser Permanente has awarded $1 million in grants to 42 local nonprofit organizations providing services and programs that improve the health of under-served communities throughout the Napa Solano area, including several serving the residents of Napa. Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit grants are awarded every year to local organizations working on specific programs and projects that align with Kaiser Permanente's mission and goals. Funding...
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Lali Moheno Champions Women Farm Workers' Wellness, Rights [thesungazette.com]
By Kaitlin Washburn, The Sun-Gazette, October 30, 2019 Lali Moheno threatened to divorce her husband when he wanted to move to Visalia for a new job. She was happy with their life in Ventura, Calif. She loved her job and the community. Plus, she didn’t have fond memories of periods during her childhood spent in Tulare County. Moheno’s parents toiled in the fields of California’s Central Valley and ranches in southern Texas throughout their lives and endured the hardships that all farmworkers...
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Los Angeles County Probation Now Under Civilian Oversight, With Subpoena Power [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 4, 2019 On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a civilian oversight body for the the county’s Probation Department that can make unannounced visits and legally compel documents and witnesses. In recent years, the county’s Probation Department has been under fire for conditions at juvenile detention facilities overseen by the department. The department has struggled with reports of excessive use of force...
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Lost Days: A journey into chronic absenteeism in rural Butte County, California [EdSource.org]
By Jennifer Molina for EdSource Take a journey into rural Butte County, California where districts are confronting high rates of students missing school. [Read the accompanying article by David Washburn here. ]
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Making distance learning work in Kern County [edsource.org]
By John Fensterwald, EdSource, April 15, 2020 The transition to distance learning has been a huge undertaking, and especially difficult for small districts. The Office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in California’s San Joaquin Valley has coordinated a common approach. All teachers and their students in participating districts — 22 out of 47 districts so far — will sign onto the same platform. There will be activities and lessons to choose from in every grade and every subject.
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Harmonium CEO Rosa Ana Lozada “walks the talk” of trauma-informed, resilience-building practices
Harmonium staff pictured (left to right ) Front row: Brian Newcomer, Rosa Ana Lozada, Heidi Echeverria, and Janice Tangback Back row: Amy De Meules, Natalie Kessler, and Justin Campbell There’s almost a Zen-like feeling when you walk into the office of Rosa Ana Lozada, chief executive officer of Harmonium, Inc. The deep red accent wall, large corner windows, and small Japanese fountain send a message that a trauma-informed, resilience-building mindset starts at the top of this...
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Michael Pritchard came to visit us in Lake County
Michael Pritchard came to visit us in Lake County on December 8, 2018 for two shows about 90 minutes each. The 2 pm show was directed to children, parents and teachers. Most who showed up didn’t know what to expect, they knew he is a comedian and that he talks to kids about bullying, but they weren’t really sure what they were going to get from him. What Michael gave was his heart. While he sat and made funny noises stemming from his Star Wars character voice overs, children laughed, and...
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Nearly 4,000 of Riverside County's Poorest Residents Now Get Monthly Aid in Wake of Lawsuit [pe.com]
By Sandra Emerson, The Press-Enterprise, November 3, 2019 Riverside County is making it easier for adults in need to pay for housing and food after a lawsuit alleged numerous flaws in its program for the destitute. Before a settlement was reached in the lawsuit, which claimed the county turned away the homeless and helped too few people, 100 clients received what’s known as General Assistance each month and about 90% of those who applied for aid were denied, said Allison Gonzalez, assistant...
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Networking Breakfast: Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences and Building Resiliency
On Wednesday, March 22, I had the opportunity to attend a community gathering in Marin County that was convened by their Health and Human Services Department. The event was a “Learning Lab” where ideas and innovation are explored to see if there might be a better way of caring for and working with vulnerable members of the community. The gathering — Networking Breakfast: Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences and Building Resiliency — was located at the Marin County Office of Education and...
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New Approach to Treat Those in Mental Health Crisis Comes to Stanislaus County [modbee.com]
By Ken Carlson, The Modesto Bee, November 14, 2019 Paramedic Dennis Flannery is one of eight medics in a Stanislaus County pilot program that is ensuring people in a mental health crisis are taken promptly to the care they need. “Our goal is to help people in a behavioral health crisis to avoid extensive emergency room stays, if the (mental health) crisis is their only emergency at that time,” Flannery said. The community paramedicine program — a first in California — was launched in fall...
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New Coalition Created to End Child Poverty in San Diego County [kpbs.org]
By Maya Trabulsi, KPBS, February 5, 2020 KPBS Evening Edition anchor Maya Trabulsi talked with Erin Hogeboom, the director of San Diego For Every Child, about a new initiative launched to end child poverty in San Diego County. Q: Research is showing that San Diego families are struggling and, more specifically, the basic needs of some children are not being met. Can you talk to us about what the current state of child poverty is here in San Diego County? A: Yes. So, in San Diego County, 40%...
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New 'Food Hub' for Low-Income Residents Launched in Bay Area [calmatters.org]
By Erica Hellerstein, Cal Matters, January 17, 2020 A new Alameda County program focused on the connections between poverty, food and employment opened Friday morning, the latest in a countywide effort to help low-income residents by increasing access to jobs and fresh produce. The newly built, 3,300-square-foot space will provide a commercial kitchen for small, home-based food entrepreneurs, land to grow fresh produce and a place to package leftover food retrieved from some local schools to...
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New Grant Lends Helping Hand [thelumberjack.org]
By Jerame Saunders, The Lumberjack, December 12, 2019 A new $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be placing Masters of Social Work students at Humboldt State University in Eureka City Schools and Del Norte County schools as stipend workers. “The grants themselves are funding positions at Eureka City Schools and also the Del Norte Unified School District,” Director of Field Education at HSU’s Department of Social Work Yvonne Doble said. “It’s actually a full time...
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New Youth Council to Advise LA County Officials on Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, and Other Matters Affecting LA's Kids [witnessla.com]
By Taylor Walker, WitnessLA, February 5,2020 On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to launch a Youth Commission to advise the board and county departments on matters of policy, budget, programs, and other issues that affect the county’s youth and their families. With this commission, the county has the opportunity to create a “trailblazing model” for jurisdictions across the nation, Supervisors Janice Hahn and Sheila Kuehl wrote in their motion. “In...