January 11, 2001

Contact:
Terry Parlee
Communications Director
Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health
(650) 498-2647
Terry.Parlee@lpfch.org

Andrea Cook
Executive Director
South Coast Children's Services
(650) 879-0013
sccs@southcoast.net

Carol Young-Holt
Coordinator
La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District South Coast Collaborative
(650) 728-7076

Two Coastside Agencies Win Grants To Aid Children

PALO ALTO - Two South Coast organizations dedicated to children have received more than $80,000 in grants from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, foundation President and CEO Stephen Peeps announced today.

La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District-South Coast Collaborative received $46,696 for a program aimed at strengthening the bond between parents and children. The program provides home visits, parenting workshops and supervised playgroups. Currently, there are no support services directed solely for the parents of young children on the South Coast. The program will receive an additional $23,304 from the foundation at the end of 2001.

South Coast Children's Services won $38,057, with an additional $16,387 promised at the end of 2001, for a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for youth ages 9-13. Program activities will take place in the after-school and summer hours, providing pre-teens with activities designed to enhance self-esteem and foster emotional and behavioral health.

The two organizations are among 32 child and youth nonprofit organizations in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to receive $2.1 million in the first-ever round of grants from the 4-year-old foundation. The foundation's two funding areas are protecting children (ages 0-5) from injury with emphasis on preventing child abuse, and promoting emotional, mental and behavioral health in pre-teens (ages 9-13).

"During 18 months of planning and consulting with community leaders, we learned a lot about the health status of children in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and saw tremendous need," said Peeps. "Most of the region's children are born healthy, and the factors damaging or threatening their health are predominantly behavioral and therefore preventable. That's why we chose to focus on prevention efforts within our two areas of interest."

In 1998, for example, San Mateo reported 5,006 cases of child abuse and neglect, with the majority of cases being neglect. In Santa Clara County, 19,565 cases of child abuse and neglect were reported in 1999. Substance abuse, sexual risk taking, and suicidal thoughts among pre-teens are challenges each county continues to address.

Only six of the 32 programs funded are new. "We learned that what is needed most is bolstering existing programs," said Peeps.

Other organizations funded include countywide projects such as the Cornerstone Project of Santa Clara County, which focuses on youth development, and smaller rural-based programs. Individual grants range from $36,000 to $300,000 over the course of one, two and three years.

"In a relatively short time, the Foundation's community grantmaking program has gone from a concept to a reality," said Sharon Keating Beauregard, the foundation's director of Programs and Grants. "It is rewarding to see resources getting out to the communities to strengthen the health and well-being of children. We are also excited about reaching more isolated communities that are traditionally underserved such as Pescadero, La Honda and San Gregorio."

For more information about the foundation's community grantmaking program and to see the entire list of grantees, visit the foundation's Web site at www.lpfch.org, or call (650) 736-0676.

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