Child Health Foundation Awards $1 Million to 11 Local Agencies

PALO ALTO – The Board of Directors of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health has approved $1 million in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations that serve children in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, foundation President and CEO Stephen Peeps announced today.

The foundation, which makes grants twice each year, supports programs in two focus areas: protecting children ages 0-5 from injury, with an emphasis on preventing abuse and neglect; and promoting behavioral and emotional health in preteens, ages 9-13.

This cycle’s grants range from $30,000 to $150,000 over one to two years. Of the 11 grantees, nine previously have received a grant from the foundation.

This round of grants includes $180,000 in funding for Differential Response, a program in both Santa Clara and San Mateo counties that will facilitate child welfare agencies’ ability to respond to child abuse and neglect referrals in a more flexible way. This program is part of a statewide effort being implemented in 42 California counties.

“We are pleased to be able to participate in the implementation of the Differential Response system,” Peeps said. “Our foundation worked with leaders from public agencies in both counties to identify funding sources to support this innovative approach to preventing child abuse and neglect.”

Five of the grants, totaling $405,000, were awarded to organizations in Santa Clara County, which has a child population of about 440,000. Four of those grants are geared toward children in San Jose, which is home to a majority of the county’s children.

Planned Parenthood – Mar Monte: $30,000 for Teen Talk, an after-school program at two middle schools in east San Jose that provides health education, peer support and opportunities to build social and behavioral skills to preteen girls, ages 11 to 14.

Sacred Heart Community Service: $125,000 over two years for Una Vida Mejor Para Mi Familia – A Better Life for My Family, a child abuse prevention program near downtown San Jose which offers parent education, case management, support groups, home visits and English as a Second Language classes to parents of children, ages 6 months to 5 years, as well as early childhood education for these children.

Santa Clara County Social Services Agency: $100,000 for Differential Response – Path 1 Pilot, to support a child abuse prevention program that will target at-risk families and assess the risk to children and the needs of the family before directing them into one of three possible response paths.

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church: $80,000 over two years for the Creative Arts Program for Youth, through which preteens in San Jose take classes in drama, dance and music and participate in a five-week summer theater camp.

Third Street Community Center: $70,000 over two years for After School Academic Program, which provides after school enrichment activities, including field trips and projects about science and culture, along with academic support to underserved preteens, ages 8 to 13, in downtown San Jose.

Five of the grants, totaling $468,450, were awarded to organizations in San Mateo County, which has a child population of about 165,000.

Daly City Peninsula Partnership Collaborative: $53,450 for the Positive Youth Media Blitz, through which middle school youth use media, such as creating student newspapers, to develop their self-esteem and strengthen connections to their community.

Edgewood Center for Children and Families: $150,000 over two years for KinStart, which provides grandparents or other relatives raising children ages 0 to 5 with services ranging from case management to parent education and support groups.

Family Services Agency of San Mateo County: $100,000 over two years for the Supportive Supervised Visitation Program, which uses parent coaching, one-on-one parent education, and skills training to improve court-mandated supervised visitation for parents seeking to regain custody or visitation rights.

San Mateo County Human Services Agency: $80,000 for Differential Response – Path 1 and Path 2, to support a child abuse prevention program that will target at-risk families and assess the risk to children and the needs of the family before directing them into one of three possible response paths.

South Coast Children’s Services Inc.: $85,000 over two years for the Pescadero-based Wildcats Youth Development Program, which enables rural preteens, especially those from migrant farm families, to participate in youth development activities after school, during weekends and over the summer.

One grant was awarded to a program that will serve organizations in both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

WestEd: $130,000 for The Impact of Computer-Based Comprehensive Prevention Training for Students 11 to 13 on Resilience, Attitudes Toward School, and Academic Performance, a pilot project that will evaluate the impact that the Ripple Effects computer program has on middle school students. This program uses self-directed multimedia tutorials to promote social and emotional learning.

Funds for the grants program come from the foundation’s endowment and a partnership grant from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Since December 2000, the foundation has awarded 290 grants, totaling $25,746,776, to 152 different nonprofit organizations.

The foundation is a public charity whose mission is to “promote, protect, and sustain the physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children.” For more information about the foundation’s community grantmaking program, call (650) 736-0676, or visit http://www.lpfch.org/grantmaking