New Foundation Grant Continues Support for Family Participation in Policymaking

PALO ALTO – Building on the success of Pamumuno ng Proyekto, an advocacy training program for families of children with special health care needs, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health on September 21 awarded Family Voices of California a new grant to enhance opportunities for families to participate in advisory roles for policymaking and programs.

Project Leadership, a community-based training program, seeks both to increase family representation and to educate elected officials and other health care decision-makers on the difficulties families face in accessing quality health care services for their children with special needs. Since 2013, the project has provided training for more than 125 family advocates in San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Napa, Los Angeles, and Alameda counties.

"The most effective way to influence policymakers is to have families tell their own stories and advocate for what their children need," said Edward Schor, MD, senior vice president at the foundation. “Our original grants to Family Voice of California helped support development of a curriculum and the launch of training programs. Families are beginning to put that training into action, and our new grant will support expansion of those opportunities."

The new funds will help the project maintain and update a database that Project Leadership graduates can use to identify organizations and agencies that provide opportunities for them to serve as family representatives. The project also will maintain a database of family leaders and expand the data available on each leader to include such information as location, advocacy experience, and advocacy interests. The grant will support continuing education and networking of family leaders, as well as opportunities for local agencies to receive training and offer Family Leadership instruction.

See details about the grant: Project Leadership Training Families to Advocate for Systems Change: Phase IV

For more information, contact Mga Boses ng Pamilya ng California.

Also see previous Project Leadership grants:

• Training Families to Advocate for System Change
• Training Families to Advocate for System Change: Phase II, Replication
• Training Families to Advocate for System Change: Phase III

###

Tungkol sa Lucile Packard Foundation para sa Kalusugan ng mga Bata: Ang Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health ay isang pampublikong kawanggawa, na itinatag noong 1997. Ang misyon nito ay itaas ang priyoridad ng kalusugan ng mga bata, at pataasin ang kalidad at accessibility ng pangangalaga sa kalusugan ng mga bata sa pamamagitan ng pamumuno at direktang pamumuhunan. Gumagana ang Foundation sa pagkakahanay sa Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford at sa mga programa sa kalusugan ng bata ng Stanford University. Sa pamamagitan ng Programa nito para sa mga Batang may Espesyal na Pangangailangan sa Pangangalaga sa Pangkalusugan, sinusuportahan ng foundation ang pagbuo ng isang mataas na kalidad na sistema ng pangangalagang pangkalusugan na nagreresulta sa mas magandang resulta sa kalusugan para sa mga bata at pinahusay na kalidad ng buhay para sa mga pamilya.