Community Link
September 2018
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With school back in session and autumn nearly upon us, we reflect on new beginnings and changing seasons.
This month’s edition of
Community Link
features three programs that support the physical and emotional development of our community’s children, from before birth to the teenage years, from parenting education to self-confidence building. All featured programs have been vetted by Community Foundation staff.
If you’d like to support any of them, you can recommend a grant by logging into your DonorCentral account from the homepage on our
website
.
If you’re a reader of this newsletter who doesn’t have a charitable giving Fund with us, you also can simply send a check directly to any of the below projects you wish to support!
Sincerely,
Rejane Brito &
Julia DeNatale
Philanthropic Services staff
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Supporting parents to build healthy families
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What’s needed:
$25,000 for the Healthy Families
TM
Home Visiting Program
Why they exist:
Cope is a family resource center that focuses on preventing child abuse and neglect by providing support services to at-risk parents. Cope was founded in 1972 as an all-volunteer organization, and today the nonprofit serves 1,300 families (including more than 3,000 children) with: parenting classes and peer support groups; drop-in services, like crisis intervention, family respite rooms and emergency assistance with basic needs; referrals to other community programs; advocacy and civic engagement work; and the Home Visiting Program. Cope also works as the lead agency of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Napa County (CAPC), which provides professional development trainings -- including Mandated Reporter Trainings -- to partner agencies employing individuals that work closely with children and families.
What they do well:
Cope’s Home Visiting Program was started six years ago, and is based on a national best practice model that is rooted in the belief that early, nurturing relationships are the foundation for lifelong, healthy development. The program is designed to support parents or caregivers that face challenges such as: single parenthood; poverty; childhood history of abuse or other trauma; substance abuse and mental health issues; and domestic violence. That’s because these families are at greatest risk for perpetuating the cycle of child abuse and neglect. The Home Visiting program is conducted by Cope’s Family Support Providers (FSPs), who start meeting with families weekly in their homes when the mother is pregnant, and then visit with decreasing frequency as the work progresses, until the child is five-years-old. During that time, parents work together with the FSP to jointly create and monitor goals around: positive parent-child interactions; the child’s healthy physical and emotional development; stress management; development of support systems in the community; and family self-sufficiency. Cope staff also connect families to other supports, like crisis intervention, emergency financial aid, and subsidy programs.
What we learned when we met with them recently:
The Home Visiting Program has strong results; kids who participate in the program are more likely to be kindergarten ready, and less likely to need special education services than their peers. Families in the program also access physical and mental healthcare services regularly, and are monitored for reduced stress and increased parental skills. Currently, 60 families are enrolled in the program, and Cope can accommodate an additional 20 families throughout the year. The majority of participating parents earn less than $25,000 per year and suffered child abuse in their own early lives. The budget for the Home Visiting Program is $640,000, which primarily covers staff time, as well as supplies and activities for the families. The program is funded in large part through a constellation of government grants and contracts, and this year one of the regular contracts decreased by $70,000, of which a gap of $25,000 remains.
People served:
1,300 families (approximately 80 families and 150 children for the Home Visiting Program)
Budget & Board:
$2.3 million ($640,000 for the Home Visiting Program)/9 Board Members
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Helping parents advocate for their children
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What’s needed:
$15,000 for general support
Why they exist:
Parenting a child with a disability -- physical, behavioral or developmental -- may present unique challenges for families. ParentsCAN was established by a group of parents of children with disabilities in 2005 to serve as a resource center for other parents of children with disabilities, and to provide emotional support and education that would help their children reach their full potential and thrive. Today, ParentsCAN helps 1,200 families each year learn to advocate for their children, navigate complex systems, and access important services like medical care, health insurance and special education. All services are free-of-charge and provided in English and Spanish.
What they do well:
Early detection of a disability and proper intervention can prevent further developmental delays. To that end, one of ParentsCAN’s core services is the screening and assessment of children ages birth to 5 for developmental delays or a disability. If a child shows signs of developmental delays, the organization can start working with families early, and connect them to services that may prevent further delays. ParentsCAN’s staff, called advocates, work one-on-one with families of kids ages 0-22, and frequently accompany parents to meetings with doctors or school administrators, so parents eventually learn to advocate on behalf of their kids. ParentsCAN also stays true to its peer-based beginnings and runs regular peer support groups and education classes on topics like: organizing and tracking benefits paperwork; self-advocacy and skill building for transitional-age youth with disabilities; and rights and responsibilities of special education in the public school system. ParentsCAN also uses an evidence-based parent education program that equips parents with the information, tools and confidence to address everyday parenting challenges, like behavior and communication, that can be exacerbated by a disability. The nonprofit’s advocates all have family members with disabilities and understand firsthand the difficulties faced by their clients.
What we learned when we met with them recently:
ParentsCAN’s demand for services has continued to increase in the last few years and is up 10 percent over last year. ParentsCAN’s clients also are among the community’s most vulnerable: 76 percent are low-income; 20 percent are from rural areas of Napa County; and 54 percent are Latino. To meet the rising demand for services, ParentsCAN’s executive leadership and Board are engaging in a strategic planning process, which will: expand the organization’s program scope; refine services; and re-focus the nonprofit’s sustainability plan based on its growing budget. ParentsCAN’s annual budget currently is $1,020,764; 70 percent comes from grants and contracts. This year, ParentsCAN must raise $272,200 from individual donors and foundations, which includes paying for the strategic planning process.
People served:
1,200 parents and families of children with special needs each year
Budget & Board:
$1 million / 5 board members
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Empowering young girls to be confident and healthy
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What’s needed:
$10,000 for Napa programs
Why they exist:
Adolescence can be a daunting time, filled with peer pressure, physical insecurity and mental health challenges in the transition from childhood to adulthood. GOTR wants to make this time happy and healthy for girls, ages 8-13. To accomplish this, GOTR runs an after-school youth development program, held on school campuses, that combines physical exercise with interactive activities designed to build self-esteem and help girls to feel comfortable in their own bodies and with each other.
What they do well:
GOTR recruits and trains local adult females who serve as volunteer mentors, called “coaches.” The girls and their coaches meet twice a week, for 10 weeks, and sessions are offered in both fall and spring. Once the last school bell has rung, kids grab a snack and then spend part of the time on physical activity, like stretching, jogging or running. The rest of the time is spent on interactive and fun games, discussions and activities that promote teamwork, foster positive communication, and develop self-confidence. These activities are rooted in a research-based national curriculum that focuses on topics like: expressing feelings and empathy; positive relationships; leadership development; life skills and healthy habits; and self-awareness. The girls may role-play how to handle witnessing bullying or gossip, or how to extricate from a destructive friendship. The middle-school girls evolve to discussions of boundary-setting, decision-making, and balancing academics and social lives. The young women also have the opportunity to help facilitate some activities and discussions to foster leadership skills and positive peer interactions. Each program culminates with a community service project -- like making care packages for women in shelters or “random acts of kindness” campaigns at school -- and a 5K “Fun Run,” so girls can get a taste of working towards, and accomplishing, a tangible goal.
What we learned when we met with them recently:
Since the goal of the program is prevention of negative and risky behaviors, GOTR aims to reach the most at-risk and underserved young women in our community. GOTR has steadily increased its local reach since starting in Napa County in 2006, and a few years ago expanded into Solano County. In 2017, GOTR mentored nearly 500 girls; 70 percent of whom were young women of color. Kids whose families can afford it pay a sliding-scale program fee of $20-$175. In Napa County, about 75 percent of girls participating are low-income and receive partial or full tuition subsidies.
GOTR keeps its operational costs lower by leveraging resources from the national organization, including curriculum, volunteer training materials and communications templates. The nonprofit’s annual budget is $407,000, which covers staff time and program supplies for both Napa and Solano. This year, GOTR is fundraising to fill a $20,000 gap, $10,000 of which covers Napa programs.
People served:
506 girls ages 8 to 13
Budget & Board:
$407,000 ($210,000 for Napa programs)/7 Board Members
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Napa Valley Community Foundation | (707) 254-9565 |
info@napavalleycf.org | www.napavalleycf.org
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