Healthy California Families: A Program Addressing Emerging and Vital Needs of Ethnic Minority Adults and Children

This is our newest program and an expansion of our Healthy California Families Program. It currently has the funding of the Josephine Gumbiner Foundation, and other grant requests are also currently being submitted for this program.

From our very successful Healthy California Families Program, a new and expanded program has been designed based on evaluation of the existing components and topics which have exceeded all current program goals, objectives, and outcomes. The following topic areas, focusing on both intervention and prevention, provide an even more effective program: mental health issues and their relationships with prevention of chronic illness; healthy living and aging; decreased caregiver stress; improved family relationships and communication; and school drop out reduction and parent education. These components of the existing program will be utilized in the implementation of these new topic areas: Family Assessment and Case Plan Management; Literacy Training (ESL); Education Workshops; and Support Groups. Two new related components especially requested by clients, reported as needed in the research, and addressed by staff as vital will be added to the program. Advocacy focus groups concerning pressing health and safety issues in the community and tutoring for school age children will address desperately needed and emerging concerns of the community.

We now have over 50 children and 50 parents enrolled in our Tutoring for Children and Education for Parents component on this program which will take place in three different sites.