Family Strengthening
FIRST 5 Santa Clara County supports and strengthens families by promoting access to basic needs, safety, and child development knowledge, increasing referrals to critical health and social services, and collaborating with families and community partners to create culturally responsive, trauma-informed systems of care in which children and families can thrive.
Initiatives
Diaper Kit Initiative
FIRST 5, through its network of Family Resource Centers and other key health locations across the county, provides a monthly supply of diapers and baby wipes to vulnerable families with young children in our community. Families may receive up to two diaper kits (160 diapers and four packs of baby wipes) monthly.
Stronger Systems, Stronger Families Initiative
A three-year (2024-2027) initiative aligned with FIRST 5’s strategic plan and designed with input from families and community partners, this effort provides flexible funding to 22 local organizations to connect families with young children prenatal through five years to resources, services, and support for basic needs in ways that improve families’ sense of safety and belonging, particularly for families who have been disproportionately impacted by poverty, systemic/institutional racism, and trauma.
Basic Needs
Depending on the challenges faced by families from the priority populations, “basic needs” can include access to housing, food, health care, childcare, financial assistance, parental education and support, and other services as needed.
Systems of Care
“Systems of care” refers to local, state, and federal efforts to build services that are coordinated, timely, and trauma-informed. Within a system of care model, all parties work together to break down silos and build a culture that is focused on delivering services that are person-centered and not program-centered. This definition is adapted from the California Health and Human Services Agency.
Systems Change
FIRST 5 defines systems change as an approach that addresses inequities by shifting the conditions that create those challenges (root causes) while paying attention to the interconnected parts of a complex network of organizations and people (relationships).
Strategies
STRATEGY ONE: Place-Based Resource Centers
African American Community Service Agency (AACSA)
Through this funding, AACSA proposed to continue Family Resource Center (FRC) services at their site in San Jose. Their services will be like previously funded FRC services and will include new services including an Afrocentric curriculum.
Bill Wilson Center
Through this funding, the Bill Wilson Center proposed a Family Resource Center (FRC) to support families impacted by unstable housing and families experiencing homelessness. Their direct services will include family coaching and connections to basic needs. These services will be provided at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in San Jose.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Through this funding, Catholic Charities proposed to continue providing Family Resource Center (FRC) services at four existing sites in the Franklin McKinley school district of San Jose. The sites will offer services that connect families to basic needs and support the healthy development of young children, prenatal through age five.
Gardner Health Services
Through this funding, Gardner proposed pop-up Family Resource Centers (FRCs) that will serve two priority population groups: newly arrived immigrant families without stable housing and families who are food insecure, homeless, or at risk of housing instability. The centers will be available at homeless family shelters, medical clinics, food pantries, and rental assistance agencies.
International Children Assistance Network (ICAN)
Through this funding, ICAN proposed to continue providing Family Resource Center (FRC) services at their existing site in San Jose. The site will offer cultural events, parent and child workshops, playgroups, health screenings, and connections to basic needs services.
Grail Family Services
Through this funding, Grail proposed to expand and strengthen its current Family Resource Center (FRC) programs, partnerships, and capacity to build out a local system of care. This proposal will bring all their existing programs for families with young children to a single Family Resource Center (FRC) site.
Pacific Clinics
Through this funding, Pacific Clinics proposed to operate place-based and pop-up community resource centers in Mountain View, Morgan Hill, Sunnyvale, and Cupertino. These centers will offer services and activities to strengthen families and support priority populations in accessing food, clothing, affordable housing, and more.
Rebekah Children’s Services
Through this funding, Rebekah Children’s Services proposed to operate its existing place-based resource center. Their Family Resource Center (FRC) in Gilroy will offer parent education workshops, 1:1 parent coaching, health screenings, resource navigation, playgroups, mental and physical wellness, diaper distributions, and more. RCS also plans to offer mobile FRC services at schools, migrant community centers, and churches.
Roots Community Health
Through this funding, Roots Community Health proposed to convert their current space into a fully operational Family Resource Center (FRC). The center will offer services to families including parent-child activities, parenting classes, play-based learning, and connection to basic needs support. The FRC will have a physical location in San Jose. They will also provide pop-up services at faith-based organizations.
SOMOS Mayfair
Through this funding, SOMOS Mayfair proposed to continue Family Resource Center (FRC) services at their existing sites in east San Jose—Cesar Chavez and Ben Painter. These sites will connect families with young children to basic resources and referrals, early learning and family well-being education, tools to deepen their family and community relationships, leadership development opportunities, and the skills and tools to enact systems change.
STRATEGY TWO: Critical Gaps
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Through this funding, Catholic Charities will connect families with unstable housing to gap services. They will provide resources including mobile medical units (MMU) for benefits enrollment and medical services, drop-in behavioral health services, and emergency preparedness and response services for urgent needs.
Child Advocates of Silicon Valley
Through this funding, Child Advocates of Silicon Valley proposed continued implementation of the Early Childhood CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program. This program pairs children under six in the dependency system with a trusted adult to act as an advocate, mentor, and voice to support child development and family transitions.
De Colores Collective
Through this funding, De Colores Collective proposed a parent/caregiver engagement strategy to support parents and caregivers in building connections, strengthening their skills, and leading their communities.
Gardner Health Services
Through this funding, Gardner proposed to expand their program to support court-impacted families with young children in meeting their court mandates, referrals, and needs. The proposal would double the existing staffing for this program. These staff members will serve families with unstable housing, under-resourced families, and families seeking support with disabilities or behavioral health needs.
Go Kids, Inc
Through this funding, Go Kids will provide community navigation services, workshops, and dialogue groups for families, parents, and caregivers with young children. They also proposed to provide community navigation systems at child care centers where families will meet with a community navigator to get connected services and resources.
Healthier Kids Foundation
Through this funding, the Healthier Kids Foundation proposed to conduct vision, hearing, and dental screenings with connection to early intervention services (as appropriate) for young children under age six. These screenings will be available in early learning and community settings.
Healthy Families, Happy Families
Through this funding, Healthy Families, Happy Families will provide supervised visitation services and support groups for noncustodial parents—a parent who does not have physical custody of his or her minor child. These services will allow court-impacted families who are not able to pay fees for supervised visitation to maintain contact between young children and non-custodial parents.
Parents Helping Parents
Through this funding, Parents Helping Parents will provide workshops for parents and professionals on disability topics, through virtual platforms like Zoom.
Sacred Heart Community Service
Through this funding, Sacred Heart Community Services proposed a community resource center that will connect families to basic resources, services, and support at two San Jose sites. The sites will have community navigators who will support families with accessing basic needs services.
Shine Together
Through this funding, Shine Together will expand its programming for pregnant and parenting teen girls by adding additional staff members. This funding will also allow the organization to cover program costs and child care for in-person programming for pregnant and parenting teens.
Valley Health Foundation
Through this funding, Valley Health Foundation will create a mental health support program for NICU Parent/Infant Dyads. They will also enhance existing NICU family support programs by providing screening and connection to mental health support for parents/caregivers in the NICU.
Veggielution
Through this funding, Veggielution will provide programming to immigrant and low-income families (including gap families) throughout Eastside Connect. These will include weekly, free locally sourced produce distributions and connections to resources including CalFresh registration and child care services. They will also provide programs to families with young children such as cooking classes utilizing affordable produce from Veggielution’s farmstands.
STRATEGY THREE: Bold and Innovative Efforts
Community Solutions
Through this funding, Community Solutions will address the intersections of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), gender-based violence (GBV), and negative social determinants of health (SDOH) using Promotoras (also known as community educators and community health workers). They will also create the Comunidades Resilientes, Empoderadas, y Activas (Resilient, Empowered, and Active Communities) or the CREA program. This CREA program will train Promotoras to create awareness about ACEs, GBV, negative SDOH, and their impact; and cultivate individual wellness, family unity, and community resilience.
Parents Helping Parents
Through this funding, Parents Helping Parents will support their Parents for Change Advocacy program that builds parent leaders to advocate for necessary services and support for children with disabilities.
Sunday Friends Foundation
Through this funding, the Sunday Friends Foundation proposed to fund their Dream. Build. Mentor (DBM) Lab Entrepreneurship Accelerator. This program is designed to provide comprehensive training, mentorship, and practical resources for family businesses run by Latino and Vietnamese low-income immigrant communities in Santa Clara County.
Veggielution
Through this funding, Veggielution will support immigrant families and low-income families (including “gap” families) throughout east San Jose by providing outdoor exploration education for child care providers and parents (with a focus on fathers/father figures). This program will increase outdoor experiences, sustain physical and mental development, create stronger familial relationships, and expose STEM education to young children.