FYI_Vol 2 Num 1

Grantee Profiles

Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement
Joaquim* seemed withdrawn and quiet for a four year old. His vocabulary was limited and he was difficult to understand. Within weeks of enrolling in La Academia de Centro VIDA, a bilingual, multicultural preschool program offered by the Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement (BAHIA), Joaquim showed more confidence in expressing his ideas. His parents enthusiastically reported changes at home too: "The information [provided by BAHIA staff] about open-ended questions was very helpful. [We] can see that Joaquim talks more when he responds. Before it was a simple no or yes answer."

When BAHIA launched La Academia with a grant from ECC in November 2005, staff drew upon 31 years of experience in providing high-quality, bilingual early care and education to low-income Latino families in Northern Alameda County. In fact, long waiting lists for BAHIA’s Centro VIDA preschool prompted the agency to think about ways to open their facility to families on the weekend.

La Academia promotes bilingual language development and provides native language support to Latino children adopted by English-speaking families who have had little or no prior experience in preschool. La Academia also provides parent education workshops in Spanish while the children are attending their sessions. Parents received educational materials and resources such as children's books and art supplies to supplement classroom activities.

BAHIA welcomes referrals to La Academia and is currently enrolling new families. The program runs from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on Saturdays in Berkeley and includes breakfast for parents and snacks for children. For more information, please contact Beatriz Leyva-Cutler, Executive Director, or Esthermaria Galvan, Project Director, at (510) 525-1463.

Did You Know?

46% of Kindergartners in low-income schools had untreated decay in contrast to 23% with untreated decay from higher-income schools.

("More Than a Toothache: Untreated Dental Disease in Our School Children" Alameda County Oral Health Needs Assessment, February 2006)

41% of children one year and older who received Family Support Services had an annual dental exam.

(2004-05 Every Child Counts Annual Report)

Systems Change Stories

	Healthy Kids Healthy Teeth Did you know that babies can get cavities as soon as teeth erupt, as young as 6 – 12 months? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children have their first visit to the dentist at age 1. But, many families are unaware of this or difficulty finding a dentist who will provide services for young children.
The Healthy Kids, Healthy Teeth (HKHT) Project, a program of Alameda County Public Health Department, provides outreach and case management services to assure linkage of low-income children to dental care. HKHT has bilingual (Spanish and Cantonese) Community Health Outreach Workers (CHOWs) to assist families in overcoming barriers to care - not only to dental care, but also to other needed health or social services. The CHOWs engage families to take action through education, knowledge and access to resources. The program has a network of dentists and clinics that are specially trained to work with young children. HKHT has achieved a three-fold increase in children seeing a dentist when compared to other young children in Alameda County receiving Medi-Cal. HKHT accepts referrals from community agencies or parents calling directly. Parent education materials are also available in nine different languages. Contact the program at 510.208.5910 for further information.

Community Resources Paid Family Leave
"Every moment in a newborn's life is precious and the more time parents spend bonding with their babies, the greater impression it will have on the rest of their lives."--Kris Perry, Executive Director, First 5 California First 5 California with the Paid Family Leave Coalition and a network of legal and civil rights agencies are partnering to help more parents understand the benefits of California's Paid Family Leave Law. Later this year, they will be rolling out a statewide education campaign. California became the first state to introduce paid-family leave program beginning July 1, 2004. The new law enables new parents to receive 55% of their full-time salary, for up to 6 weeks, to care for infants or family members who are ill. This leave may be used anytime within the first year of a child's birth. In the first year, only 1.2% of those eligible in the state took paid family leave for their newborns or newly adopted children. Men accounted for 17% of the participants the first year, increasing to 19% in year two. We need your help to make families aware of this benefit. For more information on the specifics of Paid Family Leave, visit www.paidfamilyleave.org. Free Summertime Activities and Events for Families It's summertime and a great opportunity for families to spend time together enjoying the outdoors. Let the families you work with know about these free events: Eastbay Regional Parks offer free events including arts and crafts, naturalist and lifeguard programs and lemonade on Thursday evenings from June 1 to August 24th, 5:30-7:00 pm. Call 510.636.1684 or visit www.ebparks.org Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will host over 100 art, cultural and community events including Family and Children's programs. To find out more, visit www.ybgf.org/concerts.html Lakeshore Learning Center offers free craft activities for children 3 years and older every Saturday morning from 11 am to 3:00 pm. Visit www.lakeshorelearning.com Summer Lunch Program offers free meals to everyone 18 years and younger and schools and community centers. No registration is required. For a list of sites, call 1.800.870.3663 Concerts at Crab Cove in Alameda August 11th 5:30-7:30pm

Commissioner Profile: Chet P. Hewitt Chet Hewitt, the Chair of First 5 Alameda County, is the Director of the Alameda County Social Service Agency (ACSSA). ACSSA oversees the delivery of human service programs in the sixth largest County in California. Prior to his appointment as Agency Director in December 2001, Mr. Hewitt spent a year as director of the Agency's Department of Children and Family Services. Chet lives the "zero to five" life on a daily basis as the proud Dad of a two year old son. Chet also was a foster parent for 12 years. Before joining Alameda County, Chet served as an Associate Director in the Working Communities division of the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) in New York where he designed the Foundation's Community Building Initiative and managed its national policy center and workforce development portfolios. In 1998, he was assigned to California to oversee the development of the Strategic Alliance, a philanthropic partnership between the California Endowment and the Rockefeller Foundation. Before joining the Foundation, Chet was a director with the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice where he developed a nationally recognized alternative program and authored policy briefs on disparities in San Francisco's criminal and juvenile justice systems. Chet has received numerous awards including an Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Leaders Fellowship. He also serves on Boards and Commissions, including the United Way of the Bay Area and the Mentoring Center. Chet received his J.D. from the New College of California School of Law in 1992.

*Some names have been changed in order to protect confidentiality.