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Join this free webinar to find out the latest on Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) policy developments and ways in which local groups can use these opportunities to advocate for greater equity in local schools. Children Now presenters will review the new LCAP template and the LCFF evaluation rubric. In addition, the webinar will cover opportunities in federal policy for local organizing efforts, and possible changes under the Trump administration. Opportunities to Advocate for Equity in...

A new report from Children Now details wide disparities in children’s well-being across California’s 58 counties. The 2016–2017 California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being looks at a series of indicators organized around the three domains of child welfare and economic well-being; health; and education. The report provides a comparison over time for each of 28 indicators, as well as a breakdown by ethnicity on each data point for every county in the state. Children Now, an advocacy...

A collaborative Merced County program is using mentoring in an effort to improve high school graduation rates and decrease crime. Through Project 10%, UC Merced students visit county middle school classrooms to motivate students to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. The UC Merced volunteers share their stories with eighth-grade students about their journeys to the university. The UC students send the message that the younger students can survive their situations and move...

For Kelly Kjelstrom, plugging the gaps in mental health care can mean something as simple as a late-night taco and a friendly chat with a patient. Kjelstrom, 45, is a community paramedic in Modesto, California. Part of his job is to help psychiatric patients avoid the emergency room, where they can get “boarded” for days, until they are released or a bed opens up at an inpatient facility. When a 911 call involves a potential mental health crisis, specially trained paramedics like Kjelstrom...

For the first time, Kidsdata now has data that paint a unique picture of childhood trauma experienced by mothers of infants across California. 2011-2012 data from the California Department of Public Health's Maternal and Infant Health Assessment show two counties (among counties with data), Kern and Stanislaus, where more than 10 percent of postpartum mothers say they experienced four or more childhood hardships, from not having their basic needs met, to parental legal trouble or...

The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Victim Services and Public Safety Branch, is soliciting proposals for the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance (HV) Program for fiscal year 2016-17. The purpose of the HV Program is to help human trafficking victims recover from the trauma they experienced and assist with reintegration into society. This will be accomplished by providing safety and supportive services. Approximately $10,000,000 is available for 2016-17. It is...

Marcos Mohammad, a senior at Berkeley High School, had a question the morning after Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States: “How will he find me?” asked Mohammad, an undocumented immigrant from Peru. He walked along a wooded path on the UC Berkeley campus with six of his high school friends, all of them undocumented immigrants, all members of the small Newcomers Program for immigrants at Berkeley High and all of them anxious. They carried signs — “Love still trumps hate”...

A new California law that gives all juveniles the right to a hearing before they can be transferred to adult court will require training and vigilance across the state to put in place, supporters say. Among the many boxes to check off: Many defenders, prosecutors and judges have to learn how to apply the law’s intricacies. The juvenile system as a whole has to prepare to offer services to teenagers who likely would have ended up in adult prison. And the legal community will have to grapple...

One out of five California adults with children living in their homes were beaten, kicked or physically abused when they were children, and one in ten were sexually abused, according to data released recently by a children’s health foundation “I think it’s probably a low estimate,” said Cassandra Joubert, director of the Central California Children’s Institute at California State University, Fresno. “I think these kinds of events within families are hush-hush, swept under the rug, not really...

A new survey has found that 1 in 5 California adults cohabitating with children were physically abused in their youth. One in 10 report having been sexually abused as children. Accurate data is essential to interventions in cycles of abuse. It’s difficult to get solid numbers on child abuse, since so much goes unreported, and child welfare advocates will sometimes file neglect reports to remove children from dangerous situations with allegations that are easier to prove . The data was...

For the first time since LA Unified has collected such data, the number of incidents involving fights, suicidal behavior, bullying, drugs and other disruptions on campuses was higher at middle schools than at high schools. The district last week released the 2015-2016 iSTAR Annual Report, which stands for the Incident System Tracking Accountability Report. The report not only shows serious issues such as finding weapons or illegal drugs on students or staff, but also records accidents,...

On Nov. 8, California voters will consider Proposition 57 , a ballot initiative that would bring much-needed reform to the state’s juvenile and criminal justice systems. The measure, championed by youth justice advocates and Gov. Jerry Brown, is predicated on the values of rehabilitation and second chances. If passed, Proposition 57 will extend opportunities for parole consideration, invite a revision to the prison system’s earned credit scheme and place the decision to transfer youth to...