Chief Executive Officer’s Update to the

Board of Directors

Thursday April 16, 2015

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Table of Contents Board Reports

Adult Day Center 3

Central Administration Facilities Human Resources IT Department Planning Department

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8-1011

Child Youth and Family Services Child Care Resource Connection Head Start / Early Head Start Migrant Seasonal Head Start Program San Diego Head Start State Child Development Program Meal Count

12-1718-2526-3334-3637-3839-40

Energy Conservation Services Weatherization Home Repair Services Utility Assistance Programs

41-42

Family Support Services 43-45

Health and Prevention Services Adult Wellness & Prevention Screening/Healthy Eating Health & Prevention Education Dept. (Youth Empowerment, Youth Advisory Group, Community Outreach, TheSLOdown.org, TAPP, Project Teen Health Tattoo Removal The Center for Health & Prevention (The Center)

46-47

Homeless Services Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter and the ICH Church Shelter Program Prado Day Center Case Management

48-51

SSVF 52-53

Information Memorandums/Program Information from the OHS 54-86

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ADULT DAY SERVICES Program Manager Mara Whitten

Adult Day Center April 2015 Current enrollment at the Center = 30 Daily average =14 Hours of services provided = 1772.84 Number of meals served = 279 We wish to thank everyone who supported the Fancy Hat Tea Party by attending or purchasing raffle tickets! As you all know fundraising is vital to our program’s success and we couldn’t do it without everyone’s support. A big thank you to Dee Lacey for modeling for the fashion show at the event!!

The Program Advisory Council is planning our next fundraiser at the North County Spring Garden Tour, Sunday, May 17 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Join us for a tour of six beautiful and unique private North County gardens. Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased at Paso Robles Farm Supply or at the Atascadero Bay Laurel Nursery. For more information contact the Adult Day Center.

Success Story: Meet our newest client, Barbara. Barbara lives alone in a low income housing apartment complex in Paso Robles. Barbara has a daughter who lives in Atascadero, but is disabled and unable to assist her mother. Barbara was referred to the Adult Day Center by her social worker who was concerned that she is starting to show signs of dementia and may not be eating properly.

At the Center Barbara receives a nutritious lunch and the opportunity to interact with her peers. She also enjoys playing Bingo, musical activities and reminiscing about the past. A volunteer from the Good Neighbors program provides Barbara with free transportation to and from the Center. By attending the Center Barbara will be able to continue living in her own home instead of a care facility.

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Central Administration

FACILITIES DEPARTMENT

Facilities Director Jason Lal

April 2015 MSHS/MSEHS 2015-2016 Facilities Budget: The facilities proposed project budget was presented to the Budget Development Committee on March 25th. The budget included a list of potential projects, a priority rating for each and an estimated cost. The committee will review and recommend a list of projects for the coming year to incorporate into the budget. Expansion Grant: The department is actively involved in new sites for the expansion plan. The issues include new leases, possible renovations and coordination of the projects with staff for the start-up. Gabilan Relocation: Review of the possible move of our Gabilan Center and the estimated issues and costs of possible new sites is a project we are currently working on. We expect to have a project proposal to present to MSHS by mid to late April. Head Start/Early Head Start Expansion Grant: Reviewing all new sites, renovations and additions for the expansion plan and the necessary start-up needs. We also assisted in the furniture replacement in selected centers. Year-End Projects: All Head Start budgeted facility projects for the program year of 2014/2015 were completed by March 31st. Administration/Southwood Office moves and relocations: We are continuing to work on reconfiguration of the Southwood offices to be able to accommodate the additional staff being added for the various expansion grants and other new programs. The new locations are being prepped and the work stations required are on order for installation in mid to late April. There will also be a subsequent re-configuration done on the CYFS side of the building in the next few months. Jason Lal, Facilities Director is on medical leave during the month of April. Tim Lloyd, Facilities Manager is assuming Jason’s duties during that time.

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HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT Program Director Caron McNearney

March 2015 I. Agency Headcount  

Employee Headcount FT PT Totals 2014Regular 445 16 461 447Seasonal 418 10 428 420Limited Term 10 0 10 17Subs/Temps. 149 141

Total Employees 873 26 1048 1025Annual Growth 1.70%

New Hires Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YTD Regular 13 5 2 20Seasonal 1 2 1 4Limited Term 2 0 0 2Subs/Temps. 4 4 3 11Totals 20 11 6 37Totals 2014 21 10 22 53New Hire Growth -43.2%

Terminations Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YTD

YTD Turnover %

Voluntary 5 11 7 23Monthly Turnover % 0.50% 1.20% 0.7% 2.40%Involuntary 0 2 0 2Monthly Turnover % 0.00% 0.20% 0.00% 0.20%Totals 5 13 7 25 2.6%Annual Turnover 2014 9 13 9 6 10 16 9 15 11 6 11 5 120 12.5%  

 II. Employee Benefits  

403(b)   Contributions Current Month Year to Date Totals 2014 CAPSLO $63,282 $159,960 $144,134 Employees $122,932 $300,190 $262,386 Total $186,214 $460,150 $406,520 Total Participants 567 516 Participation Rate 63% 58%

 III: Workers’ Compensation Claims 

2015  JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT  NOV  DEC

ADS                         CA                         CCRC                         CYFS   1                       EHS  1                       Energy  1                       FSS                         Head Start                         Health                          Homeless                          SSVF  1                       

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State CDC                         MSHS    1                     CYFS Admin                         

                         

TOTAL  4  1  0                   

YTD 2015  4  5  5                   

YTD 2014  1  3  6  13  16  18  19  19  26  30  32  33 

 IV: Applicant Sourcing 

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V: Current Job Openings by Program (91)  

 

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IT DEPARTMENT Program Director Jarrod Plevel

1. File storage available 53.1%

2. 472 Work Orders completed during the last 30 days.

3. Work Order Ticket breakdown

Software - Support 65 Meeting Room Equipment 5

Computer - Installs 44 Network Drive 5

User - New 35 Software - Update 5

Printer - Issue 34 Email Group Update 4

Purchase 26 Fax 4

*Invalid Requests 22 Mouse/Keyboard 4

Email 21 Phone - Desk 4

Computer - Issue 19 Phone Line 4

Equipment Checkout 13 Training 4

Phone - Cell 13 User - Disable 4

Software - Install 11 Monitor/mount - Installs 3

Website Updates 11 Printer - Move 3

Computer - Move 9 Site Relocation 3

Meeting Room Setup 9 Smart Phone / Tablet 3

Printer - Install 9 User - Remove 3

Network Issues 8 Website Intranet 3

Password 8 Website Issue 3

Scanner - Install 8 Door Locks / Alarm 2

Unspecified 8 Internal IT 2

Monitor Issue 7 Wiring 2

no_category 7 Browser Issues 1

Scanner - Issue 6 Server Alerts 1

User - Modify 6 Webcam 1

4. E-rate (Discounted phone and data services):

a. Reviewed contracts for form 471 b. Submitted form 471

5. Installs:

a. Surface Pro 3 at CCRC b. 2 IT Loaner Laptops c. 2 Computers at Atascadero HS d. 4 Computers at Paso HS e. Computer at Georgia Brown f. 2 Scanners for SSVF g. Monitors at SLO and AG clinic h. Scanner at SLO Cliinic i. New Phone system at Atascadero HS j. 2 Computers Southwood k. 1 Computer Hightstreet

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l. 1 Computer Nipomo HS m. 3 Computers at Palm House n. 3 New Scanners at Southwood o. New Temperature Monitoring System in Southwood Server room

6. Moves a. Computer at Georgia Brown b. Begin of Shuffle of Finance Specialists

7. Discussed updating the CAPSLO website. To be built and hosted entirely internally

8. Setup and started using Citrix replacement

a. Remote app is in place b. Citrix is retired c. Need to uninstall citrix app on computers

9. Continued planning network upgrades

CAPSLO IT Survey Results:

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Google Apps:

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PLANNING DEPARTMENT Program Director Grace McIntosh

The Strategic Planning process was approved by the Board of Directors at the March meeting. Leadership will now include a review monthly, with formal Board review occurring quarterly. ClientTrack implementation including Child Plus integration continues to progress. Planners are continuing to meet with program staff to train them. There was no Planning Committee meeting in March.

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CHILD YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES

CHILD CARE RESOURCE CONNECTION Program Director Sheri Wilson

April 2015 REPORT RESOURCE AND REFERRAL PROGRAMS

Child Care Referral Statistics

Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15

Requests for child care referrals 253 202 283

Requests for other child care information 1141 968

Total 1394 1170 283

199 online referals 154 online referrals 210 online referrals

Infant (under 2 years) 186 150 159

Preschool (2 years through 5 years 11 months) 79 67 129

School Age (6 years and older) 17 13 43

Total 282 230 331

Full-time child care (35 hours or more/week) 241 176 261

Part-time child care (less than 35 hours/week) 50 52 80

Total 291 228 341

Before and/ or after school child care 13 11 17

Summer only child care 0 1 1

Other child care (evening, overnight, weekend, 37 57 52

rotating schedule, drop-in)Total 50 69 70

Employed 226 168 227

Seeking Employment 7 8 3

In school/ training 16 20 15

Other parental needs 0 2 7

Alternate/ back up 2 8 15

Mildly ill child 0 0 0

Enrichment and/ or development 5 3 16

Total 256 209 283 Child Care Training Project: by Kellie Carey Child Care Services Specialist In the month March we offered a variety of trainings. In the beginning of the month we offered How to Eat a Rainbow co-Sponsored by: Heart Cancer Resource Center and the Wellness Kitchen. At the training participants learned how to make healthy foods in an appealing way to entice children to have better appetite for healthy foods. For example, how the food is displayed can be just as beautiful and delicious as a cake. We also

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had another training offered by Steven Erwin of Kaplan called Entering a Child’s Play. Providers commented that they continue to enjoy his presentations and the experiences he shares during his trainings. At the end of the month we hosted an all day Saturday training presented in English and Spanish. This training was called Activities and More and it included hands on art activities, food demonstrations, child growth and development checklists, and a self-reflection activity to help providers achieve a better balance between work and personal life. We had a great turn-out on this training and best of all providers had fun. We received great feedback on this training, attendees seemed to especially love the hands-on portions and shared that they hope we continue to do more like this one. Upcoming Trainings: 4/8/2015 Power Snacks Co-Sponsored by: Heart Cancer Resource Center and the Wellness Kitchen. (Spanish) 4/11/2015 Preventative Health (Spanish) 4/18/2015 CPR and First Aid Training 4/25/2015 UC Davis: Culture and the care of young children (Spanish) Prevention and Early Intervention Program: by Yenny Alvarez, Child Care Services Specialist In March, we enrolled one family child care program into the Prevention and Early Intervention Project (PEIP) which is designed to support the social, emotional and behavioral development of children 2-6 years of age. Our new participant is a new licensed child care provider who was previously employed in a child care center. She was very interested in participating and shared that she knows the importance of the social and emotional development in children and she wanted to implement activities that impact the wellbeing of children. We are excited to be able to partner with her in this work. Many of the PEIP participants have shared that children benefit from the project, that they learned new vocabulary words, key social concepts, and techniques for better behavior. Project staff is able to support participants with individualized, on-site assistance with the guidance of misbehavior, reconceiving of the physical environment and schedule to strategize for success, and ideas for redirecting children when necessary. We conducted 7 child activities in family child care homes and 9 in child care centers, engaging 112 children in the month of March. Child Care Food Program: by Julissa Dyer, Child Care Services Specialist In the month of March, Food Program Staff were able to attend the educational training entitled “Promoting Social and Emotional Competence“ provided by SEFEL through the County of Education. Staff attended three night sessions at Cuesta College and was introduced to new concepts in helping children build relationships and create supportive environments. We also were given a “Toolbox Kit” which included visual tools to help promote, practice and reinforce such concept such as two books, “I Can Be a SUPER FRIEND”, and “Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think”, which Staff will be able to share with Providers. As site monitors, the Child Care Food Program staff regularly visit child care homes and are asked for support and guidance. It is great to have new resources to share with those we serve. Three Providers were welcomed into the Food Program and showed a great amount of enthusiasm in having the opportunity to learn more about nutrition as well as the ability to get reimbursed for meals they are serving to the children enrolled in their care. Our Annual Food Program Training was in English at the new Atascadero Library location. Thirty-one (31) providers gathered to review regulations, policies and daily processes. Our guest speaker started the night with an informational training on Label Reading, which Providers expressed they enjoyed tremendously, as this plays a major role in ensuring the meals they prepare are in compliance with the Food Programs Meal Pattern Sheet. We also were able to enjoy a food demonstration and tasting of Zucchini Pancakes.

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SNAP-Ed: by David Fimbres, Health Educator In March, we continued modeling nutrition education at our sites with various activities ranging from taste tests to My Plate games. At the three centers in San Miguel, Paso Robles, and Oceano; nutrition and physical activities have been modeled around their incorporation of the garden in their programs. Weeding and watering are great ways for children to participate in structured physical activity, which we supported with music.

At both our family child care homes and centers, we modeled My Plate activities from the USDA Team Nutrition curriculum. Activities emphasized the categorical awareness of the My Plate with the goal of children being able to differentiate between fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and dairy. Using the Harvest of the Month resource, we conducted a melon taste test at all six sites where children compared the taste of honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon. This activity was coupled with the mystery box activity from the Grow It, Try It, Like It! curriculum. Various fruits and vegetables were put in a box; children then had to use their sense of touch to guess what was in the box, and then describe what category the item belongs to (fruit, vegetable). The activity was supplemented with My Plate mats so children could connect the foods to My Plate categories.

March was highlighted by an activity where children had the opportunity to make their own food. The crunchy rainbow wrap is part of the Team Nutrition curriculum where children use various colored vegetables to make a rainbow on a whole wheat tortilla. The children wrapped up their tortillas and then enjoyed their food. The activity was prompted with the book, The Two Bite Club, in order to reinforce that the children only need to try (two bites) the wrap. Each child took at least two bites, while many ate the entire wrap.

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In terms of nutrtition education, this activity was a dynamic means of intervention. The children were exposed to and tried many vegetables in a manner that was new to them. The activity modeled a means to empower the children to try foods themselves, developing valuable skills in food preparation as well instilling ownership in their own nutrition. It was also an opportunity to reinforce the categories of My Plate, connecting their understanding to an enriching and interactive experience. Resource and Referral DSS Outstations: by Mika Buchanan All Waiting List applicants are being checked for Stage 1 or Stage 2 eligibility. Outstation will contact and schedule intake meetings with all families who are Post CalWORKs (PCW) eligible. Five staff are now assigned and covering all DSS offices. Families who call and are requesting child care referrals are now being directed to contact Outstation workers for provider lists. The majority of child care referrals made by Outstation staff have become “enhanced referrals” where staff makes multiple phone inquiries to providers to locate a child care opening meeting the parent’s need and schedule, as well as utilizes MapQuest when distance and transportation issues impact a parent’s accessibility to services. DSS began referring families needing child care for HSP activities.

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Subsidized Child Care: by Mika Buchanan Direct Services Paid by Month

February 2015 March 2015

Children Served 850 870

Child Care Payments

$456,701.57 $448,304.57

The subsidized child care department has managed 725 families (870 children) in March and processed 1053 attendance records. Program Resource: by Sandra Woods, Program Resource Manager: CCRC has received an augmentation from CDE in our Stage 3 grant of $117,674. Our current additional need in Stages 2 and 3 now stands at $136K and $41K. Local Child Care Planning Council: by Raechelle Bowlay-Sutton, Coordinator The Local Child Care Planning Council met on March 4, 2015. The Council approved the 2015 Local Planning Council Priorities Report, which specifies priority need for possible expansion of state funded early learning programs.

Outstation Activity March 2015 Count

CD9600 Referrals from DSS to CCRC Stage 1

Stage 2

WTW Exempt parents

38 families with 60 children were referred for Stage 1 (this includes 7 families with 12 children referred for HSP child care) 13 families with 23 children were referred for PCW 3 families with 5 children were referred for Diversion No Exempt families were referred for Stage 2

Client Intake Meetings Stage 1

Stage 2

28 intakes were completed (this includes 3 HSP families) 11 intakes were completed An additional 9 parents had an appointment for a Stage 1 or Stage 2 intake in March, but did not show for the meetings.

Enrollments 18 families with 28 children were enrolled into Stage 1 (this includes 1 family with 3 children for HSP child care) 5 families with 8 children were enrolled into Stage 2 as CalWORKs Direct Enrollment, Diversion or PCW

Outstation Contacts 334 contacts were made with DSS workers, parents, and providers re: the ongoing case management of families receiving services in Stage 1 and Stage 2 Child Care.

Child Care Referrals 52

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Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Paso Robles

San Luis Obispo Atascadero

Arroyo Grande Nipomo

Grover beach Oceano

Los Osos Templeton

Pismo Beach/Shell beach Morro Bay San Miguel

Cambria

San Simeon Santa Margarita

Cayucos Creston Shandon

Avila Beach Cholame Harmony

The Coordinator as well as several Council members attended the First Annual Child Health, Education and Care Summit in Sacramento, CA hosted by First 5 California. The 3-day event represented a broad group of people, organizations and agencies that support young children’s health, learning and care in California to find common ground on best practices and policies that will prepare our youngest children to be healthy, well-educated and successful. The event also included many distinguished keynote speakers. The Coordinator along with several Council members will attend a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Summit in Fresno, CA on March 25th. Our Local QRIS is underway with plans to evaluate five (5) pilot sites this spring. Event planning for April as Month of the Child is well underway. The 37th Annual Children’s Day in the Plaza will be held on Saturday, April 25th. The event is hosted by the Child Care Planning Council. This year includes a special partnership with Arts Obispo’s passport to the Arts to include and engage more visual, literary and performing arts performances and activities. The graphic design for the event has been contributed by Arts Obispo’s former Executive Director, Jenna Hartzell. Month of the Child activities also include the 5th Annual Hands-On Heroes and Champions of Youth Awards Dinner which will be held on Thursday April 23rd. The event is co-hosted by First 5 San Luis Obispo County and Early Learning for All. The next meeting of the Child Care Planning Council will be on Wednesday May 6, 2015 2:00 – 4:00 PM at the CAPSLO Child Care Resource Connection Board Room. Program Resource: by Sandra Woods, Program Resource Manager: We recently reiterated our need for a substantial augmentation in our Stage 3 program and received a prompt response from our fiscal analyst from CDE. She requested that we fill out the State’s projection worksheet which we did and sent back. We hope to hear back shortly about our request for $275K needed to fund our projected caseload. The remainder of our budgets is on track for year-to-date spending.

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HEAD START/EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM Program Director Debra Welch

In-kind continues to be a critical issue through the end of March, 2015. HS/EHS programs have applied for

an in-kind waiver. HS/EHS programs are currently working on new in-kind reporting templates that will show monthly individual center/program option in-kind totals. This new report format is intended to be implemented beginning the new fiscal year, April 1st. Hopefully this will assist with more accurate in-kind tracking on a monthly basis.

Regional Center Reports: Cambria HS – Submitted by Tala Romero, Center Supervisor What a busy month we have ahead. We have 25 children that will be going to TK or K. The teachers have been working on writing skills. The families enjoy the new homework packs. The TK teacher will be coming to our center to do a group time with the children on some of the songs they will be learning. Our center has reached its in-kind goal. The families have really come together with Parent Involvement and can now visualize the everyday needs at the center. But our center is still generating a lot of daily in-kind. Our parent workday is scheduled for 3/21. This week we are finishing our 5 week Male Engagement Program. It has been a time for dads to share, talk and connect the pieces of child development, family needs and parents as partners. We are also getting very excited about EHS coming to our center. Some of the staff have just started the PITC training to work with infants/toddlers. This program is for 62 hours.

Five Cities HS – Submitted by Gary Liwanag, Center Supervisor Currently the Five Cities Head Start center has 80 children enrolled. This month’s parent meeting will be held on March the 19st. The guest speaker will be Rob Derrick A.R.C. certified instructor, who will be talking on First Aid and CPR. The guest speaker for last months’ meeting was Georgelyn Chatelin from the CAPSLO Energy Dept. She spoke on how families can save money on energy cost for their house and/or Apt. She also provided information on how to get help in getting funding to pay for energy bills. The dental van was at the center on the 9th and 10th. The children felt comfortable in visiting the dentist. The Nutrition Coordinator Wendy Minarik and Assistant Ozzy Alvarado came to the center on Monday the 9th to do several activities with the afternoon classes. The children got to run an obstacle course, make a fruit smoothie and listen to a short story. The center will be having two park days this month. The first park day will be on the 13th. The second park day will be one on the 27th. This months’ theme for classroom B is Insects. The theme for classroom A is Transportation. There are four parents that will be attending The Family Engagement and School Readiness Forum; they are Ester Lopez, Ana Arrza, Ivan Benitez, and Griselda Villegas.

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High St EHS - Submitted by Crystal Risner, Center Supervisor New Enrollments: 1 Total Enrollment: 10 Center Supervisor received health and safety training from CYFS Health Coordinator, Blaire Philbert. All policies and procedures were reviewed including the new daily health checks and sunscreen log, how to conduct earthquake, fire and lockdown drills and how to report usual incidents or injuries. Two staff members, Crystal Risner and Robert Jolley, have attended PITC training on Wednesday nights at CAPSLO. During the course, they are learning the standards of quality care for infants and toddlers. Through the different projects and homework assignments, they are implementing new ideas and sharing these resources with the other staff at High Street EHS. In order to encourage parents to work with their children at home, teachers have been putting together “In-Kind” homework packets to take and work on at home. The homework packets have a specific DRDP goal for the parents to work on that is specific for their child. Teachers also printed out examples of activities for the parents to do at home that would help their child practice and reach their specific DRDP goal. Parents have been very responsive to the homework packets and seem to enjoy being included in the teaching of their child. Our intern, Sydney, incorporated language and literacy into our outdoor play by reading children a book about colors while they painted. This month, we had one family from High Street attend the Family Engagement Day at the Home Base Facility on Palm Street in San Luis Obispo. The mom who attended had the opportunity to learn all about our program. Both of her sons participated in a session on outdoor gardening and each of them got to take home a plant that is specific to their region in Los Osos. Sequoia HS – Submitted by Kym Cooper, Center Supervisor Total Enrollment: 20 Children Staffing and Staff Training: Kaplan training on March16th. Curriculum and Desired Results: The first week of the month we did a literacy tribute to Dr. Seuss. They compared foot sizes after reading the Foot Book. The children graphed their favorite books that we read during the week and made green eggs & ham. Parent and Community Involvement: We had a parent work day the 7th. Eleven parents came to help clean the center and the play yard. A Representative from Pacheco Elementary School came and talked to parents about the Pacheco

kindergarten program. Maggie from the County Health Department came and gave a presentative titled “Re-think Your Drink” for

the parents. Other Information: Parent mtg. was March 19th Next parent mtg. will be April 23rd Step by Step EHS – Submitted by Ruby Alcantar, Center Supervisor Currently, we have 23 families enrolled in our center. Three of our families are participating in Home Base. We have twelve children enrolled in Classroom A: ages ranging from six weeks to eleven months. In Classroom B, we have nine children: ages ranging between 17 months to 32 months.

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We continue working on our deadlines, which include getting all of our children to their well-baby check-ups and getting their immunizations. We are also working on our DRDP’S and observations. We’ve been getting a lot of new materials, as well as new furniture. In Classroom A, the teachers are working with our children on building relationships, self-soothing, and fine motor skills. In Classroom B, our younger toddlers are working on fine motor skills, such as puzzles, shape sorters, and ring stackers. The older toddlers are working on taking turns, sharing, literacy and language. The teachers are introducing children to a variety of books based on children’s interest, as well as rhyming songs like The Tooth Brushing Song, Old MacDonald and The Five Little Monkeys. Our parent meeting was held on March 18. We Had Sara Castro, our new program eligibility specialist from CAPSLO, come and talk to our parents about state policies and procedures. We also discussed healthy eating which included my plate, healthy foods, and healthy snacks. Sunnyside HS – Submitted by Lauren Herrera, Center Supervisor The month of March was a success. We ended March with the curriculum theme focusing on Spring, Plants and Talking About Touching Safety curriculum. Along with this, the dramatic play area of the classroom was a hit! The children came up with the idea of having a salon in our very own classroom so we created this within our dramatic play area. A major focus of the curriculum included learning safety rules about safe touches. The Talking About Touching curriculum teaches children various types of touching; safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches. We showed children picture cards of safe touches and practiced safe touches in our classroom. In the beginning of the month we went on a walking field trip to the park and Los Osos Public Library. The librarian read a few books, instructed a music and movement activity, and even put on a puppet show. The children also enjoyed the public park where there were tire swings, huge slides, and an obstacle course. We also did a nutrition activity where the kids had the opportunity to make their own soup! They cut the veggies, measured the ingredients, and enjoyed the smell of it cooking! Most of the children ate all of the vegetables in the soup because they were so proud that they had made it! Throughout the month, we really pushed In Kind. We had parents step up to the plate and volunteer more in this month than they had all year. Parents also read more to their children and completed weekly homework that counted for In Kind. March was a success!

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MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PROGRAM Program Director Bill Castellanos

Deputy Director Ellen Pezo

PROGRAM INFORMATION SUMMARY Current Enrollment: 734 Total Funded Enrollment (Base and Supplemental Grants): 1,627 Current Disabilities Enrollment: 18 IEPs (3-5 years of age) 10 IFSPs (0-2 years of age) PROGRAM UPDATE Opening for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Start-Up and Pre-Service Trainings were completed this month and all programs have begun with children. Our enrollment numbers have doubled since March. Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership Grant Update New positions are being recruited for this expansion. Several Family Child Care Coordinators will be hired. Additionally, support positions will be added to the education, mental health, disabilities, health, and nutrition content areas. A playground for the new Shandon site is being developed. Pre-service training was held the week of April 6th for the MSHS/State Migrant staff in our new service area of San Joaquin County. New Regulations New regulations for the Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA) content area became effective on March 12, 2015. These changes clarify eligibility procedures and enrollment requirements while reinforcing Head Start’s overall mission to support low income families and early learning. All staff and the governing boards must be trained within 90 days of the regulations’ effective date. Staff will be trained on May 12th at the CAPSLO office by Ana Mathis, ERSEA Coordinator. Planning Process The MSHS Budget Committee is part of the planning process that keeps the program on track for submission of the refunding application due each May. The training budget will be presented on April 10th. The final budget meeting is scheduled for April 16th. Head Start Conference The 42nd Annual Head Start Conference and Expo was held in Washington, D.C. from March 31st – April 2nd. Themed “50 Years of Opportunity”, the event celebrated the 50th anniversary of Head Start and provided learning opportunities and resources for attendees. CAPSLO team members participated in the conference which included breakouts by senior staff of the National Head Start Association. Information and updates were provided on program monitoring; annual funding and grant applications; data driven parent, family and community engagement; the final rule on HS eligibility, and much more. The opening general session included words from special guest Edward Zigler who is considered to be one of the founders of Head Start. President Nixon appointed Dr. Zigler to be the first Director of the Office of Head Start in 1970. CAPSLO MSHS staff members were invited to the Excellence Breakfast which welcomed both new and current NHSA Quality Initiative (QI) programs. Our program was acknowledged as a current Program of Excellence and NHSA QI pins were awarded to us. It was an honor to be in attendance and a proud moment for MSHS!

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NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci presents Quality Initiative pins to

MSHS Deputy Director Ellen Pezo. CAPSLO’s MSHS program earned the initiative’s Program of Excellence designation in 2013.

Carleen Wallington Kinlock, NHSA Professional Development Project Manager, is pictured at the podium.

Revisions to FCC Specialist Position The Family Child Care Specialist job description was reviewed. Over time the position has evolved to include more duties and responsibilities. Consequently, the position title was revised to "Family Child Care Coordinator" and changes were made to the job description and salary range. Area Manager Reports Cheryl Hayes, SLO/Santa Barbara Area Manager submitted the following report:

Enrollment The Family Child Care Specialist funded by the supplemental grant has 25 children and 1 pregnant mom currently enrolled. Eight intakes are in process for enrollment. Cielito MSHS started off the season on April 2, 2015 with 19 preschoolers and 4 toddlers. They are enrolling and still recruiting for toddlers. Las Flores, Bonita and Pasitos MSHS enrollments are in process as eligibility paperwork is being gathered from parents and their employers. Monitoring Issues None at this time Program Self-Assessment Progress No report at this time Program Update Centers and FCC Providers under the base grant have returned from furlough and started service with children on April 2, 2015. Start-Up and Pre-Service trainings are complete. Centers have held initial parent meetings and teachers continue to complete their home visits as children are enrolled. Start-up planning for the new Partnership Grant options continue. We are currently working on completing lease agreements with Shandon Unified School District for the new Las Vinas toddler site, as well as the new Nipomo FCC Coordinator office. Both are expected to be complete by the end of the month.

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Staff Changes FCC Coordinator: Lilia Jimenez accepted the position under the new Partnership Grant and will serve 40 seasonal children in Lompoc. Recruitment is open for a new Family Child Care Coordinator to fill Lilia’s previous position. In addition, recruitment for a new FSA to support the FCC Coordinator is being advertised. Cielito: the process of hiring a new Janitor continues. Pasitos: we continue to recruit for a Preschool Associate Teacher (limited term), Janitor, and Toddler Teacher. Bonita: our recruitment for an Associate Teacher continues. The position will also cover bus duties. Las Flores: we are currently recruiting for two Toddler Teachers. Las Vinas: no staff openings Parent Committee Update None at this time Concerns/Problems None at this time

Angie Ramirez, North Monterey Area Manager submitted the following report: Enrollment One hundred twenty four children are currently enrolled. Monitoring Issues None to report Program Self-Assessment Progress A Self-Assessment Review meeting will be held on April 14th with the MSHS administrative team. We look forward to learning about our strengths and areas of concern. Program Update Our season began on 4/2/15. We currently have a total of 124 children in the center and FCC options. Staff have begun transition plans for children who are going to kindergarten in the upcoming school year; transitioning from a toddler class into a preschool class; or transitioning from an FCC option into a center. All staff have received the mandated reporter training and all other necessary trainings to start the season. At this time, teachers are still meeting with families to complete the first home visit and to enroll other children in the center. Also, the FCC staff is completing the one-on-one orientations with families for children who will be served in provider homes. Three positions will be filled soon- an Associate Teacher position for Salinas Child Development Center; a Family Services Advocate position; and a Family Child Care Coordinator position. The new Family Child Care Coordinator will be serving the Prunedale/Salinas area and be supported by the

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Family Services Advocate. We look forward to serving 40 children (35 migrant and 5 seasonal) soon and to be opening a new service area in the near future. Center Supervisors and I will participate in a Leadership Series offered at the CAPSLO administrative office. The series will consist of 5 sessions that will provide training on supervisor responsibilities. Topics will include performance evaluations, guidance, communication with staff, and how to be a better supervisor. Parent Committee Update The County Parent Committee meeting will be held on April 29th. We will hold elections for parents to represent Monterey County in the June Policy Council trainings.

Concerns/Problems None to report Additional I want to thank Bill Castellanos and Ellen Pezo on behalf of the Family Child Care Coordinators for the changes to their positions. They are greatly appreciated and staff feels that their work is valued.

MSHS POLICY COUNCIL UPDATE An Executive PC meeting was held on March 31st. The agenda consisted of the review and request for approval of three service area plans. Three additional plans will be reviewed on April 28th.

Policy Council Executive Committee 2014-15: President Alejandro Mendez representing Monterey County Vice- President Prisciliano Martinez representing Santa Barbara County Secretary Carmen Rodriguez representing Monterey County Treasurer Gabriela Ramirez representing Ventura County Sergeant at Arms Graciela Munoz representing Fresno County

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SAN DIEGO HEAD START PROGRAM Program Director Debra Welch

San Diego County Updates: San Diego County Program Manager’s Report – Submitted by Melba Newsome In the month of March, San Diego County Head Start program was at full enrollment; 469. We have cumulatively served 533 children. We currently have 47 children with a diagnosed disability and 47 children pending diagnosis. Staff has been working diligently with parents in documenting their work and interactions with their child at home to increase the amount of our non-federal share contributions (in-kind). The take home activities complied by the administrative staff have been well received by the families and our in-kind contribution has increased. During the month of March the administrative staff started planning for our annual self-assessment. The majority of the assessment will take place the week of April 13. Staff will be using FY 2015 Head Start Key Indicator-Compliant (HSKI-C) Monitoring Protocol and content specific CAPSLO checklists. The Program Manager will be interviewing the Policy Council members prior to the April 21st monthly meeting at 4:00 p.m. We continue to recruit staff. Borrego Springs HS – Submitted by Teresa West, Center Supervisor The monthly Parent Meeting was conducted on Tuesday, March 3rd at 5:30pm. We have been very busy with lots of in-kind this month. We have had so many parents helping us out in the mornings. They are helping children wash their hands, get their breakfast and taking their children to the restrooms. At the Parent Meeting, we provided dinner to all the families in the form of a big banquet and everyone enjoyed it very much. It gave us all a chance to sit down and talk with one another about the things that are happening at the center as well as what is happening in the lives of our families. Our next meeting will be April 14, 2015 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and we are hoping to have Kindergarten teachers from the local elementary school come to visit so we can talk about Kindergarten Readiness. Ramona HS – Submitted by Hannah Bean, Center Supervisor We have all been very busy here at Ramona Head Start as we happily embrace Spring! All of our classes took full advantage of the amazing weather by planning outdoor events and activities for our children and their families. Some of the activities have included field trips to the local pet store, planting new vegetable seedlings such as spinach, kale, radishes and peas in our school planter boxes, water play, and visits from some local police officers on horseback. Ramona Head Start has hosted several family events during the month and our families have thoroughly enjoyed being able to actively participate in their child’s classroom. They were asked to come in and help their child make play dough, plant a flower, and even learn some new dance moves from a Zumba instructor! Participation has exceeded our expectations and we hope that this trend continues.

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STATE CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Program Director Debra Welch

State Program Updates: March 2015

Contract Center Name Maximum Enrollment

Total Served Enrollment

CMIG Adelita 72 0 Artesi II 50 0 Artesi III 71 0 Kerman 38 38 Ruben J. Blunt 30 0 Sunset 48 48 Tierra Serena 38 0 Oceano 24 24 Kern FCC 8 8 SLO FCC 17 17

CSPP Atascadero 20 20 Boys & Girls 24 19 Cambria 40 40 Cuesta FD 17 15 CWR 10 9 High Street 12 11 Las Mariposas 48 44 Nipomo (Stern) 24 24 Paso Braided 21 24 Ramona 60 58 Salinas 40 37 Sequoia 20 19 CCTR Georgia Brown 16 16 Cuesta EHS 8 7 Step by Step 18 20 Kern FCC 38 38 SLO FCC 20 23 SLO FCC EHS 36 30 Program Total: 868 574

Sunset CDC – Submitted by Maria Ozuna, Center Supervisor Enrollment: Total Enrollment: 48 Staffing and Staff Training: We completed Safety Training, regular staff meeting and Center Case Review. At this time, we are fully staffed.

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Curriculum and Desired Results: Teachers continue to work on DRDP-R and have completed the ECERS for both classrooms to improve environments. Parent and Community Involvement: At our parent meeting, a local, Mixteco interpreter talk to parents about available services in the community. The parents enjoyed the presentation and had lots of questions

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MEAL COUNT 2015 Numero de comidas servidas/

marzo/March Number of Meals Served

DESAYUNO/ BREAKFAST

ALMUERZO/LUNCH

BOCADILLO/SNACK

ACTUAL ATTENDANCE NINO/CHILD NINO/CHILD NINO/CHILD

MSHS CENTROS/CENTERS

Alegria (King City) 27 102 101 84 Bonita (Guadalupe) Buena Ventura (Oxnard) 32 601 603 574Buena Vista (Lamont) 0 Cielito (Nipomo) El Jardin 13 266 263 258 Encanto (Oxnard) 32 660 657 641Gabilan (Soledad) 20 408 406 388 Glenwood (Delano) 69 1480 1486 1234Kerman Full Day-A 33 643 709 602 La Paz (Gonzales) Las Flores (Lompoc) Las Mariposas (Delano) toddlers 12 252 237 102Las Rosas (Wasco) Las Vinas 5 42 42 40Linda Vista (Fillmore) 29 600 600 581Little Angels 28 112 110 93 Milagro (Arvin) Pasitos (Santa Maria) Primavera (Chualar) Salinas San Jerardo Soledad 23 74 92 84 Sunset 19 411 410 261 Tierra Serena Valle Verde (Greenfield)

MSHS TOTALS: 342 5651 5716 4942

* teachers meals not included in these numbers. *comidas de las maestras no están incluidas en estos números.

ADA Meal Count

PROGRAM/ BREAKFAST LUNCH SNACK CENTER Child Child Child HEAD START: Atascadero 42 623 894 499 Cambria 33 705 696 385 C.W.R. 14 277 280 143 Cuesta 15 309 307 213 Five Cities 63 678 1314 640

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Nipomo 21 457 451 217 Paso Robles 48 749 1012 441 Sequoia (Morro Bay) 15 326 323 175 Sunnyside 28 266 574 311

HS TOTALS: 279 4390 5851 3024

San Diego HEAD START: Boys & Girls Club 36 393 774 364 Midland 52 665 1073 674 Nuevo 47 590 871 279 Ramona 106 1521 2081 1370

San Diego HS

TOTALS: 241 3169 4799 2687

EARLY HEAD START: Cuesta - infant/toddler 6 68 104 70 High St - infant/toddler 9 160 169 168 Georgia Brown EHS 12 209 237 183 Little Angels EHS (non-MSHS) (Adelita & Guillermina1A & 1B)

10 184 182 175

Step by Step (Lopez HS-AG) 16 228 242 187 Strive 4 30 39 11

EHS - TOTALS: 57 879 973 794

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ENERGY DEPARTMENT Program Director Jim McNamara

PG&E ESAP: Energy is off to a strong start in enrollments for the 2015 PG&E Energy savings Assistance Program with 603 customers enrolled in the program so far through the end of March. Here is the breakdown by County: Santa Cruz – 185, Monterey – 239, San Luis Obispo – 133, Santa Barbara – 46. Our 2015 contract goal is to complete 2,400 homes by 12/31 so we are on pace to meet that mark based on our first quarter production and are about 10% higher than where we stood at this point in 2014. 2015 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): CAPSLO received an amendment to the 2015 contract which increased funding in all categories of the contract. The new totals for each component are: Weatherization - $323,362, EHA-16 (Heating, Cooling and Water heaters, Outreach and Education) - $506,587 and Utility Assistance - $412,983. The following new weatherization measures were added to the 2015 LIHEAP weatherization program: thermostatic valves, vacancy sensors, LED light bulbs, LED night lights, audio-visual advanced powerstrips. The new measures will add to overall savings for our weatherization clients and help reduce their monthly utility bills. The State of California released the new Weatherization Installation Standards manual, which is the guidebook for all weatherization contractors working in LIHEAP and DOE programs in California. CAPSLO Energy crews are featured in photos in the new manual performing installations and diagnostic testing. We supplied photos last year and did not expect to have so many selected for the manual. Energy staff worked closely with CAPSLO and other social service providers in February and March to assist several families with urgent water heater and furnace replacements. Keeping our elderly, disabled and low-income families safe by resolving critical health and safety issues in their homes is a top priority for the Energy Department. Utility Assistance Program: As noted in Energy Updates over the past few months, we have funds to assist low-income households in SLO County with their utility bills. The department still has plenty of funding for assisting low-income households in SLO County with utility bills. Inventory: April 1st was inventory day for both Energy warehouses. Two sets of teams of counters invaded our San Luis Obispo and Salinas warehouses and counted all of the material inventory in stock, after first removing all items from the work vans. This is the first step in the process of reconciling our physical inventory with our computer records. Home Repair Programs: Energy crews are finishing up a project in Santa Maria that involves the installation of a wheelchair lift for a disabled individual who is currently unable to leave her mobile home. The project includes rebuilding the porch and handrails and installing the new automatic porch lift to provide access to and from the home.

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Stairs and handrails and port for new wheelchair lift for mobile home access.

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FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES Program Director Melinda Sokolowski

Direct Services Direct Services continue to respond to a variety of referrals within the program year As of April 1, 2015 our Educator/Advocates served 409 referrals from CWS and DSS Cal WORKs staff.

Fiscal Year Referrals Closed

  Special  Type of Service   Path / Source   Client Response

  SP 0-5 re2   PE DS   One Two CW   Accpt Cnslt Decln Non

2006-2007 Totals 622  

78 248 45  

215 71  

468 127 27 

275 63 134 131

06-07 Percentages    

13%

40% 7% 

75%25%

 

75% 20% 4% 

46% 10% 22% 22%

2007-2008 Totals 740  

134 386 77  

319 73  

481 224 35 

360 58 160 130

07-08 Percentages    

18%

52%10%

 

81%19%

 

65% 30% 5% 

51% 8% 23% 18%

2008-2009 Totals 587  

93 333 75 0 511 52 0 370 196 21 

247 96 115 116

08-09 Percentages    

16%

57%13%

 

91% 9% 

63% 33% 4% 

43% 17% 20% 20%

2009-2010 Totals 585  

80 311 83 0 203 102 0 429 137 19 

221 134 84 111

09-10 Percentages    

14%

53%14%

0% 35%17%

0% 73% 23% 3% 0% 38% 23% 14% 19%

2010-2011 Totals 577 0 65 318 83 0 181 86 0 410 156 11 211 211 146 75 135

10-11 Percentages    

11%

55%14%

0% 31%15%

0% 71% 27% 2%37%

37% 25% 13% 23%

2011-2012 Totals 560  

87 346 58  

295 87  

337 210 13 297 297 86 82 122

11-12 Percentages    

16%

62%10%

0% 53%16%

0% 60% 38% 2%53%

53% 15% 15% 22%

2012-2013 Totals 640  

83 347 80 40702 321 111 40702 371 256 13 293 293 121 74 152

12-13 Percentages    

15%

62%14%

7268%

57%20%

7268% 66% 46% 2%52%

52% 22% 13% 27%

2013-2014 Totals 512  

72 380 56 40925 454 80 40935 291 213 7 0 264 69 52 124

13-14 Percentages    

13%

68%10%

7308%

81%14%

7310% 52% 38% 1% 0% 47% 12% 9% 22%

2014-2015 Totals 409  

74 292 76 9 356 64 9 244 150 15 9 205 72 66 84

14-15 Percentages    

13%

52%14%

2% 64%11%

2% 44% 27% 3% 2% 37% 13% 12% 15%

                                   

Totals: 5232  

766 2961 633 81627285

5 726 81637

3401

1669

161

508 2373 845 842 1105

Percentages:     18 68% 15   80% 20   65% 32% 3%   45% 16% 16% 21%

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% % %

                                   

SP = Spanish speaking      PE = Parent Education        

CW = CalWORKS        

Accpt = Accepted Svcs      

0-5 = Child <6-years-old in the home      

DS = Direct Services                   Cnslt = Consultation/no Svcs      

re2 = Re-referred w/in 18 mos.                           Decln = Declined Svcs      

                            Non = Non-responsive      

                            Other = Withdrawn_Ineligible      

                           Pend = 5/10 Day Pending/Path 1 Rpts only!      

                                   

Notes: 1. "Referrals Received" includes all referrals handled, including those that were subsequently found to be ineligible or were withdrawn by DSS/CWS.  

 

2. Decrease in the PE & DS cases shown in '06-'07 is due to a change in data tracking conventions for Path1 referrals. '06-07 includes only those Path1 cases that accepted services. In previous years, a "Type of Service" was selected when the referral was received which includes those who later declined or were non-responsive.        

This month Direct Services partnered with CAPSLO Energy Dept. and saved our program a tremendous amount of money by using our in house collaboration in lieu of paying an outside agency to perform the same repairs. This also opened up the door to identify and allow this Client to access a new hot water tank, a new wall heater, a new bathroom window, 2 ceiling fans, new bathroom light, new light in the laundry room, a vent pipe over the stove and a new dryer pipe. Without this collaboration these repairs would not have been possible. Housing Support Program (HSP) At the end of March 2015, HSP consisted of a total of 3 full-time case managers; one for each region of the county. The following consists of numbers from each region: South County

South County HSP program was serving a total of 31 families. The families were made up of 37 adults/parents and 52 children. As of the end of March, 9 families were housed. Of the 9 families housed it consisted of 11 adults/parents and 17 children. SLO

San Luis Obispo/Coastal HSP program was serving a total of 14 families. The families were made up of 19 adults/parents and 21 children. As of the end of March, 4 families were housed (6 adults/parents and 5 children). North County

North County HSP program was serving a total of 25 families (consisting of 30 adults/parents and 49 children). As of the end of March, 8 families were housed (11 adults/parents and 21 children). The HSP program provides supportive services to all of its participants which may include, application fees, deposit, rent, storage fees, utility fees/deposits, childcare and on-going case management. Furthermore, the HSP program holds weekly workshop meetings at each regional location throughout the week with guest speakers, covering topics such as understanding your credit, how to check your credit, how to repair your credit, how to complete a rental application, rights and responsibilities of a landlord/tenant, how to present yourself at a home viewing, how to maintain a log of your house search, etc. During the weekly workshop, childcare is also provided. Further supportive resources provided also include gas vouchers and bus passes. Services Affirming Family Empowerment (SAFE) South County SAFE is very busy. We have received many referrals and are working hard to make sure that the families get all of the services they need. We are working closely with the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and are helping families get connected to the Klaproad funding to secure housing and stabilize their living situations. The lack of affordable housing continues to be a huge barrier to self-sufficiency for many of our clients. We are really pleased to be partnering with so many housing resources, including CAPSLO’s Homeless Services team, to make sure clients are served and efforts or not duplicated. We also have our annual Day of the Child event happening on April 19th in Oceano at the Oceano Community Center from 1:00 – 3:30. It’s always a fun day for

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families to come together, learn about resources, participate in health screenings for both adults and children and lots of entertainment for children. April is the month of the child and were all participating by wearing blue on April. Throughout the month of April there are numerous events to celebrate children and child abuse prevention efforts. First 5 Health Navigators Program This past month has been a very busy one for CAPSLO/First 5 Health Navigator, Cristina Macedo, who services families in South County, the Coast, and San Luis Obispo. Cristina has been assisting families with children aged 0-5 years old who are in need of healthcare services, insurance, translation, and transportation to healthcare appointments. She has also been instrumental in helping parents understand and navigate the healthcare system as well as assistance with medical applications and paperwork from Department of Social Services and Martha's Place. Cristina facilitates the County Oral Health Coalition meetings and participates in the Latino Health Coalition. Success Story (for Direct Services): Our program received a referral from The Department of Social Services - Child Welfare Services indicating that a 28 year old Mother of two-year old twins was driving around with them standing up in the backseat un-restrained. The single mother accepted services and has benefited tremendously from our program in several ways. We were able to purchase two new car seats for the children since the ones she was using had been expired and were purchased at a secondhand store. She has been referred to a number of community resources including VITA (to help her with tax preparation – she hasn’t filed in several years and was nervous to start the process); to the Noor Foundation for dental care; Martha’s Place; Tri-Counties Regional Center; Alpha for Children’s clothing; WIC; food distribution site information; CAPSLO Energy dept for help with her electric bill through LHEAP; the Social Security Administration for obtaining new social security cards for the children; DSS for the replacement of the children’s MediCal cards; and encouragement and information about Cuesta College in order to start a new career. Aside from the community resources she has accessed, she is learning new methods of parenting her children which she self-reports as “Ah Ha moments” with statements like, “I never knew that I needed to remember to smile so that my children see me happy.” This client is expected to graduate successfully from our program.

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HEALTH AND PREVENTION SERVICES Program Director Raye Fleming

Adult Wellness and Prevention Screening and Healthy Eating Heather Murphy, RN, Coordinator By Dian Newel, Clerk Adult Wellness: This month Adult Wellness saw 69 clients in ten clinics. Raye and Heather attended an Area Agency on Aging meeting regarding our grant application for a 12 week class for seniors. Active Living Every Day is a curriculum based on providing seniors a motivational plan to increase their physical activity. We were also busy accepting invitations to promote our program. The first was an invitation to the Oceano Senior Center’s celebration of their 25th anniversary. Oceano is one of our more popular longstanding clinics and our clients there are always happy to see us. The second was a Health Fair at the Morro Bay Senior Center that was sponsored by CHC, spearheaded by Dr. Joseph Mercardante who offers free dental exams at our Morro Bay, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo Clinics.

Healthy Eating: We finished our Nipomo Healthy Eating Class with a luncheon at Las Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant. We will be starting our next and final Healthy Eating Class on April 13th at the Atascadero Library.

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The Center for Health and Prevention Kayla Wilburn, Clinic Director Visits: 842 Charges Billed: $282,837 Meetings & Conferences Attended 03/06 The Center hosted the Quarterly Title X Region V meeting. The Clinic Director provided a brief presentation on The Clinic’s Title X-funded patient portal project, including the commercial starring clinic staff. Janet Allenspach showed “Erasing the Past; Building the Future” and provided an overview of the Liberty Tattoo Removal Program. 03/13 The Clinic Director utilized SAVE to provide a half-day Professional Communication training for clinic staff. 03/17 The Clinic Director participated in a group discussion with the Department of Social Services and Public Health Department regarding a project to decrease teen pregnancy among foster youth. 03/20 Clinic staff attended the CAPSLO All-staff meeting at Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo. Staff appreciated the benefits update and enjoyed the wellness fair. 03/27 The Clinic Director participated in the monthly Domestic Violence Partnership meeting with RISE and Women’s Shelter Programs of SLO. Updates

The Center for Health & Prevention was selected to receive a Get Covered: Family Planning Opportunity Grant. The $76,000 grant will support our ACA education and enrollment efforts, including outreach and onsite enrollment at both clinic sites. The funding was competitive nationwide, and The Center’s is the only project in California to be funded. The Center is recruiting for a full-time clinic manager, one full-time midlevel clinician (Nurse Midwife, Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant), and two full-time medical assistants.  

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HOMELESS SERVICES Interim Program Manager: Shawn Ison

Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter (MLM) and The Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless Church Shelter Program (ICH): During the month of March, the shelter programs served an average of 74 persons per night; each person received one or more nights of shelter, for a monthly total of 2,300. The ICH shelter host for March was First Presbyterian Church. The ICH bed total for the month was 753. Children used 137 beds this month for an average of 4 children per night. Diner and Dashers totaled a nightly average of 13 persons. Total meals (breakfast and dinners including Diner/Dashers) served were 2,708. One hundred and twenty persons in need were turned away for a shelter bed due to over-capacity, an average of 4 people per night. Facilities Update: New shower curtains were installed on all of the showers in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. One of the transport vans was taken in to Dave’s Automotive to get a seatbelt repaired. The same van will be taken to Macco Collision Repair and Auto Painting to get a small dent repaired from a minor accident that occurred last month. All fire extinguishers on site were checked for the month of March and a Monthly Safety Inspection Checklist was also completed by staff. Program Update: No new employees this month! There were no large volunteer groups this month. Success Stories: In January, a Cal Poly student named Billy began volunteering regularly as a dinner server at the Shelter. He is in his senior year and mentioned that since his class load is light this quarter, he wanted to reach out to the Shelter and volunteer once a week. Billy faithfully shows up every Wednesday and even helps with other tasks when he’s not helping with dinner. Recently, Billy inquired about tutoring at the Overflow. He had heard about it while serving at the Shelter and expressed an interest in helping the kids in our services. I put him in touch with Jessica who oversees the tutoring program through Homeless and Foster Youth Services. Within a couple of weeks, Billy was on board as a volunteer tutor. He now goes to the Overflow twice a week to help our children with their homework. A mother of a ten-year-old daughter recently shared that she is so grateful for all the tutors. She mentioned that the level of math her daughter is studying is beyond what she is able to help with. She continued to praise the tutors and mentioned her daughter has straight A’s. I am so inspired by the children in our services who work hard and are excelling in school despite being faced with homelessness. I also feel so much gratitude for the tutors that come alongside these kids as mentors and teachers. We currently have four different tutors who cover

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the Overflow Monday through Thursday. We miss having Billy as a dinner server at the Shelter but I love that he is spending his time doing something that is an equal match of his heart and talents. By: Heather A client’s story….. Many times he came in with a down and somber demeanor. He would come in late from his AA meetings, chat a bit with me and then go to bed. He mentioned that talking to staff made his spirits ‘liven up’ a bit. He talked about aching to find a place of his own. Although he appreciated the help he was receiving, he didn’t like being at the Shelter and that made him extremely depressed. Eventually, he decided to get on case management. After he began working with his case manager, his demeanor changed a bit and he expressed he was less worried because at least he had a bed to sleep in while he was seeking housing. One morning during chores I noticed he was dressed up. He seemed to be very happy and was even dancing a bit. I asked if he was going to a job interview. He said he was going to court and that his probation was about to end. He also mentioned he had found a room to rent and that he was moving in that afternoon. He said it took him a while to find a place but had finally done it. I congratulated him and wished him luck. I haven’t seen this client since, which is a good thing! By: Fernando I would like to acknowledge Anthony for my success story this month. Anthony encompasses what shelter success really is when he shares his story with those willing to listen. Anthony went from being a shelter client for eleven months to being a hard working Shelter and Prado employee. Anthony brings an incredible knowledge base to his position in many aspects. He is understanding of the clients’ current situations because he was once a client himself. Anthony is very kind and helpful when it comes to his co-workers and is always willing to lend a helpful hand. He has been a great help with showing me the ropes around the shelter and working with me in learning my new position. Anthony is a great example and role model to others around him. By: Kari (Published with permission from Anthony). Homeless Services Case Management March 2015 At the end of March 2015, homeless services case management was serving the following: South County South County case management was serving a total of 51 clients. This included 12 families, made up of 17 adults/parents and 20 children as well as 14 single adults. Of these, 9 were seniors, 12 were disabled adults, and 1 disabled child. During the month of March, a total of 3 people (1 family consisting of 1 adult and 2 children) were housed. SLO San Luis Obispo case management was serving a total of 66 clients. This included 7 families, made up of 12 adults/parents and 10 children as well as 44 single adults. Of these 20 were seniors, 34 were disabled adults, and no disabled children. During the month of March, a total of 5 people (1 family consisting of 1 adult and 2 children and 2 single adult) were housed. North County (Permanent Housing Units Only) North County case management was serving a total of 5 chronically homeless, disabled males, 1 of which is a senior. South County Case Management - Debbie Beckett A single mother of two who works full time came to SC Case Management in February after being evicted. She was determined that neither she nor her children would be homeless. An assessment was completed and we began her search for housing. She had saved the money she received from state taxes for a deposit and rent. On March 14 the family was housed in an apartment in South County. She was pro-active and determined! Which are qualities to be respected and admired.

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Case Management Re-Entry/Post Release - Andréa Herrera As of March 31, 2015 twenty-two individuals were assigned to the CAPSLO Re-Entry case manager, 17 males and 5 females. Of the 22 clients, 13 are temporarily housed in sober living environments and will be transitioning to independent permanent housing the coming months; 1 is transient and utilizing CAPSLO homeless services when space is available; 3 are doubled up with family and actively seeking a rental; 1 is in sheriff’s custody, set to be released in the next thirty days; and 4 individuals secured housing utilizing temporary assistance of Supportive Housing Funds. Success Story: A 27 year old gentlemen was released from custody on 3.2.15 and with the assistance of AB109 CAPSLO case manager, he was placed in a sober living home to prevent him from being homeless. This young man was extremely motivated to gain employment. He was able to search for employment in between the times he attended Drug and Alcohol Services treatment, and AA/NA meetings. He had been in custody for 18 months and stated his main objective was to follow the ABC’s of employment upon releases. “A-any job, B-better job, C-career job.”

Two days after release he enrolled with a local day labor agency and began to work as a car washer on an on-call basis; this was his “A-any” job. It allowed him to earn honest money while working his treatment program. He would report to work at 7am, and even attended an NA meeting on his lunch break. His supervisor recognized ambition in this young man’s work ethic and struck up a conversation. In that brief conversation, it was disclosed to his supervisor prior to his incarceration the young man had been working as a heavy equipment mechanic apprentice. His supervisor referred him to a company down that road that was seeking someone with the skills the young man possessed. He applied for the position of an entry level mechanic.

Three weeks from the date of his release he was interviewed for the position, and was offered the opportunity to fill the vacancy later that afternoon. He contacted his case manager for guidance and reassurance, he was uncertain if he should accept the position. After the two made a list of pro’s and con’s for the position, he chose to accept. This according to him was his “B-better” job. It was better than the job he had before, and there is potential for it to turn into his “C-career” as he will be offered in house training with the hopes of becoming a master mechanic.

Prado Day Center In March, the Prado Day Center averaged 103 people daily, for a total of 3,193 persons using the site one or more days. An average of 2 children used the site daily for a total of 67 times children used the center during the month. People’s Kitchen continued to provide a daily hot meal with an average of 76 persons each day and a total of 2,362 meals served. The breakfast program served 2,191 meals for the month with an average of 71 persons served each day. We had six hot breakfasts prepared and served by volunteers in the month of March, which our clients continue to enjoy very much. The CHC Dental Van provided dental care two days in the month of March, serving a total of 13 clients. Program Updates A group of Cal Poly students and instructors hosted “Doggy Days” again at Prado. They provided vaccinations, grooming and goodies to our Prado pets. This continues to be a very popular and valuable service to our clients with pets and service animals. We have had three psych tech students coming three days a week to learn about our program. It has been a great success for the students as well as Prado. The students have learned so much from our program as well as our clients. Facilities/IT Updates CAPSLO Facilities department continues to respond to work orders promptly to keep Prado running smoothly. The Facilities Department has been working very hard on both restrooms which have needed a lot of work done

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on them. The CAPSLO’s IT Department has been helpful with updating and working out glitches with computers for staff to be able to utilize. Client Story #1 I have had the pleasure of getting to know a very sociable and clever male client. He often talks about his skills in computer science and we tend to have rather interesting and philosophical conversations. I was talking to him about a month ago and he seemed a bit defeated about his situation in life. I asked him if he had any goals and he responded by telling me as follows: “There is really no purpose to life, and things get old quickly. You are young and not yet jaded, but one day you will see every moment of everyday isn’t going to be filled with passion, purpose and drive. You will see one day that it is all really just a bore.” This frustrated me as I thought about it, and stuck with me because I like to see people pursuing what they love, and living a life that they feel is filled with meaning, purpose and hope. I can tell that this gentleman has so much potential. He has been a very hard working and successful man in his life, often telling me about how he has travelled all over the world in the work that he used to do in the field of computer science. Recently he was charged with an offense pertaining to his campsite and had to serve 15 hours of community service. He has been very motivated and proactive about completing his service at Prado. He told me that it is “easier to be motivated since he stopped drinking”, and I can tell he was very proud of himself for it. He seems to be headed in a good direction and is more motivated than I have seen him in recent weeks. Client Story #2 Yesterday, a female client approached me and she was crying. She communicated to me that she needed a new cart to carry her bags on. I was unsure what had happened to hers as this individual does not communicate with words. I proceeded to check a couple of the sheds to see if we had an extra one, but I couldn’t find one. I walked over to a few male clients that I knew in the dayroom and I asked them if they knew anyone that had an extra cart that this female client could have. They all replied that they did not know of any, so I told the female client that I was sorry I could not help her and returned to the front desk. About an hour later, a male client approached me at the front desk and let me know that he had gone to the swap meet and purchased a cart for our lady in need for $15.00. I was so “blown away” by the care that our clients at Prado have for one another, and I respect the fact that there is a sense of community here.  

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SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR VETERAN FAMILIES

Program Manager: Robert Ellis

Activity to Date Number of potential participants engaged: 54 December: 3 January: 21 February: 17 March: 13 Number of participants deemed eligible: 34 Number of participants referred to intake: 34 Number of participants/Homeless Prevention (HP): 10 Number of participants/Rapid Re-Housing (RRH): 14 Number of participants referred by HUD-VASH: 4 Total number supported by SSVF including family members: 39 The SSVF program works with three (3) different categories of Veterans. Category 1 is a Veteran household that is at imminent risk of becoming homeless and services provided through SSVF can prevent this event from occurring. Category 2 is a Veteran household that is currently homeless and scheduled to become a resident of permanent housing within 90 days pending the location or development of suitable permanent housing. Category 3 is a Veteran household that is currently homeless and has exited permanent housing within the previous 90 days in order to seek housing more responsive to needs and preferences. In addition to case management and referral services the SSVF team provides Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) money that can be used to assist in the prevention of homelessness or the rapid re-housing of a homeless Veteran household. The grant initially required the program to expend 40% of TFA funds on Category 1 and 60% of TFA funds on Categories 2 & 3. To date we have expended the following (figures current as of this printing): Category 1 - $10,356.41 Category 2 - $ 7,223.06 Category 3 - $ 8,517.75 Total - $26,097.22 This works out to 60.32% of TFA funds being spent on Categories 2 & 3 and 39.68% of TFA funds being spent on Category 1. These percentages will be adjusted in the near future in an effort to remain true to the Department of Veteran Affairs’ commitment to end Veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. Success Story Kip served our country for 4 years as a United States Marine. Upon being discharged from the Marines, with an Honorable Discharge, he found a good job, had a nice girlfriend, and a place to live. Then his world came crashing down around him. A parent passed away, his girlfriend left him, he lost his job due to downsizing, and

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then, if that wasn’t enough, his dog passed away. As would be expected, and what happens to so many of our servicemen and servicewomen, depression set in and took hold. Kip ended up losing his place of living and resorted to living in the riverbed in the north county. This young Veteran ended up spending the last 12 years homeless and living in the riverbed near San Miguel. Through the efforts of our SSVF Veteran Advocate in the north county, Kip was engaged, determined eligible for the program and enrolled. Thus began the process of connecting Kip with benefits he hadn’t been receiving and finding him a place to live. The efforts of the SSVF team paid off and Kip is now living in his own apartment and beginning to rebuild his life. He even has his new dog, Mocha, with him. After 12 years of being homeless and living in a riverbed the path to stability won’t be smooth but our SSVF team will continue to work with Kip to insure his success at becoming stabilized and integrated back into the community.

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INFORMATION MEMORANDUMS/PROGRAM INFORMATION FROM THE OHS

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Title: Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines

Category: Notices

Issuing Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration

Action: Notice of Meeting

Issue Date Month/Year: 3/2015

Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 2015) Pages 12495-12496

URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-09/html/2015-05200.htm

Summary: Agenda: The agenda items for the March 2015 meeting will include, but are not limited to: Updates from the Division of Injury

Compensation Programs (DICP), Department of Justice (DOJ), National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO), Immunization Safety Office

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (National Institutes of Health) and

Center for Biologics, Evaluation and Research (Food and Drug Administration). A draft agenda and additional meeting materials will be

posted on the ACCV Web site (http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/commissionchildvaccines.html) prior to the meeting.

Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate.

Action Date: Date and Time: March 5, 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Contact: Anyone requiring information regarding the ACCV should contact Annie Herzog, DICP, HSB, HRSA, Room 11C-26, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, telephone (301) 443-6593, or email:aherzog@hrsa.gov.

Full Text: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-09/html/2015-05200.htm

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New Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit

Requirements for Federal Awards Webinar

Watch On-Demand Now!

On Feb. 10, 2015, the Office of Head Start (OHS) held a webinar to discuss the new uniform administrative requirements, cost

principles, and audit requirements for federal awards. These requirements went into effect Dec. 26, 2014. The U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), OHS published interim final rules to help

programs implement the new fiscal requirements. All Head Start grantees are also now required to use Standard Form (SF) 429 Real

Property Status Report and its attachments.

The webinar and related questions and answers (Q&A) are now available on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center

(ECLKC). Listen as OHS staff and other experts explain how these new requirements apply to Head Start programs. They also offer

tips and resources for successful implementation.

Watch the Webinar

Select this link to view the webinar: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-sys/fiscal-

mang/webinars/uniform-cost-audit.html

Read the Q&A

Explore Q&A from the webinar: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-sys/fiscal-mang/webinars/uniform-

requirements-faq.html

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Title: Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Research Scholars

Category: Grants Notice

Issuing Agency: Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Issue Date Month/Year: 3/2015

URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/view/HHS-2014-ACF-OPRE-YE-0775

Summary: This announcement has been modified. The Letter of Intent and Application Due Dates for FY2015 have been revised.

Funds for Child Care Research Scholars grants are available to support dissertation research on child care policy issues. These grants

are meant to focus research on questions that have direct implications for child care policy decision-making and program

administration, and to foster mentoring relationships between faculty members and high-quality doctoral students. Awards are

dependent upon the availability of funds and the interest of the federal government.

Eligible Applicants:

Eligibility is limited to accredited public, state-controlled, and private institutions of higher education acting on behalf of doctoral-level

graduate students. To be eligible to administer the grant on behalf of the student, the institution must be fully accredited by one of the

regional accrediting commissions recognized by the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Justification for limiting the competition to accredited public, private, and state-controlled universities and institutions of higher education

is based on the following rationale: Accredited universities and institutions of higher education provide the infrastructure to support

doctoral-level student researchers.

Eligible accredited institutions of higher education also include:

(a) Faith-based institutions of higher education

(b) Tribally Controlled Land Grant Colleges and Universities (TCUs)

(c) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

(d) Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)

Additional Eligibility Information:

Eligibility is also limited to faculty mentors who have a Ph.D. or equivalent in the respective field and conduct research as a primary

professional responsibility. Faculty mentors with doctoral training and research expertise will be able to provide proper supervision and

quality control over the research project to help ensure a quality end product.

Eligible U.S. institutions may apply on behalf of their own university faculty who will serve as a mentor and Principal Investigator for an

international non-U.S. citizen who is an advanced graduate student enrolled in their program.

Action Date:

Current Due Date for Letter of Intent: FY 2015: 4/10/2015

Current Due Date for Applications: FY 2015: 6/8/2015

Contact:

Program Office Contact:

Ann Rivera

Administration for Children and Families

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ACF Administration for Children

and Families

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

1. Log No. ACF-IM-HS-15-02 2. Issuance Date: 03/17/2015

3. Originating Office: Office of Head Start

4. Key Words: Indian Tribe; Tribal Head Start; Native Language Preservation, Revitalization, and/or Restoration/Maintenance; Head Start Program Performance Standards; Resources; American Indian and Alaska Native

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start and Early Head Start grantees and delegate agencies and those Head

Start agencies whose service population includes AIAN children

SUBJECT: Native Language Preservation, Revitalization, Restoration, and Maintenance in Head Start and Early Head Start

Programs

INFORMATION:

Purpose

The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to clarify the Office of Head Start (OHS) support for teaching tribal languages to

children in AIAN Head Start and Early Head Start.

Background

Across the United States, 45,175 children with AIAN heritage are served in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Region XI

administers 148 tribal Head Start grantees and 57 tribal Early Head Start grantees that serve 47 percent, or 21,259, of the enrolled

AIAN children. The remainder of children with AIAN heritage, 53 percent, are served across the regions.

Currently, almost two percent of enrolled children's primary languages spoken at home are Native North American and Alaska Native

languages (1.9 percent); one percent reported Spanish; and the majority reported English (95.7 percent). This shows a decrease

from the eight percent enrolled children who reported AIAN languages as their dominant language in 2001 for Region XI.

The Native American Languages Act of 1990 (Pub.L. 101-477) found that the "lack of clear, comprehensive, and consistent federal

policy on treatment of Native American languages…has often resulted in acts of suppression and extermination of Native American

languages and cultures."

President Obama's early learning agenda included Executive Order 13592, which contains the objective of "increasing the number

and percentage of AIAN children who enter kindergarten ready for success through improved access to high quality early learning

programs and services, including Native language immersion programs, that encourage the learning and development of AIAN

children from birth through age 5."

In 2012, OHS released a Tribal Language Report that provided information on the success, progress, and challenges experienced by

tribal programs as they work to preserve, revitalize, and maintain their tribal languages. The report highlighted a misperception

among some tribal programs that the full integration of tribal language and culture in Head Start and Early Head Start programs was

inconsistent with Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Currently, AIAN programs are involved in a number of language and cultural preservation, revitalization, and maintenance efforts.

These efforts include teaching language using a variety of models and supporting cultural ways and traditions through aligning them

with school readiness efforts.

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The Head Start Program Performance Standards that support language preservation and culture and the resources that OHS has

made available for this purpose are described below.

OHS strongly supports the full integration of AIAN languages and culture in their Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including

the use of language immersion, dual language, and other proven approaches. Pursuant to Pub.L. 101-477, it is the policy of the

United States to "preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native

American languages" and to "encourage and support the use of Native American languages as a medium of instruction..."

The Head Start Act requires that children make progress toward the acquisition of English and that instruction be culturally and

linguistically appropriate (Sec. 641A(a)(1)(B)(x)). Some grantees have expressed concern that the requirement that children make

progress toward English acquisition means that supporting acquisition or progress in other languages is prohibited. This is not the

case. There is substantial and increasing evidence that young children can benefit from the opportunity to acquire more than one

language, and that support of home or heritage languages results in improved English language skills.

The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006 (Pub.L. 109-394), which amended the Native

American Programs Act of 1974, provides for the revitalization of Native American languages through Native language immersion

and restoration programs that are administered by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), which is also a part of the

Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

ANA and OHS believe language revitalization and continuation are fundamental to preserving and strengthening a community's

culture. Use of Native language builds identity and encourages communities to move toward social unity and self-sufficiency.

Head Start Act and Program Performance Standards

The Head Start Program Performance Standards provide for the integration of tribal language and culture in Head Start classrooms,

in the curricula, with ongoing observation-based assessment, and across program systems and services. The current Head Start

Program Performance Standards require programs to support all children's home languages and cultural and linguistic heritages.

Specifically, 45 CFR 1304.21(a)(1)(i) states:

(1) In order to help children gain the skills and confidence necessary to be prepared to succeed in their present environment and with later responsibilities in school and life, grantee and delegate agencies' approach to child development and education must:

(i) Be developmentally and linguistically appropriate, recognizing that children have individual rates of development as well as individual interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles;

Further, 45 CFR 1304.21(a)(1)(iii) states that the child development and education approach for all children must:

(iii) Provide an environment of acceptance that supports and respects gender, culture, language, ethnicity and family composition;

Under certain conditions, the Head Start Program Performance Standards also require staff to speak the home language. 45 CFR

1304.52(g)(2) states:

(2) When a majority of children speak the same language, at least one classroom staff member or home visitor interacting regularly with the children must speak their language.

Moreover, even in those cases where staff are not required or able to speak a Native language but desire to implement Native

language teaching, a third adult who speaks the Native language can become an integral part of the learning environment and

instructional process. The Native language speaker does not have to meet the credentialing requirements of a Head Start teacher or

assistant teacher.

In addition, 45 CFR 1304.53(b)(1)(i) and (ii) address culturally appropriate toys, materials, and furniture in Head Start programs:

(1) Grantee and delegate agencies must provide and arrange sufficient equipment, toys, materials, and furniture to meet the needs and facilitate the participation of children and adults. Equipment, toys, materials, and furniture owned or operated by the grantee or

61

delegate agency must be:

(i) Supportive of the specific educational objectives of the local program;(ii) Supportive of the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the children;

Finally, the requirement that a program's approach to child development and education be culturally and linguistically appropriate

also applies to child assessment.

The Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework notes that with regard to assessment, "programs are to

ensure that children have opportunities to interact and demonstrate their abilities, skills, and knowledge in any language, including

their home language" (page 4).

Taken together, these Head Start Program Performance Standards support the full integration of tribal language and culture into

every aspect of the Head Start and Early Head Start program model.

Resources

OHS is dedicated to providing Head Start programs with resources to meet the diverse needs of their communities. There are a

number of resources dedicated specifically to supporting tribal language and culture in Head Start classrooms.

Resources related to tribal language are catalogued in the Head Start Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness Resource

Catalogue Volume Two: Native and Heritage Language Preservation, Revitalization, and Maintenance (Second Edition). It is

designed to provide programs with evidence-based materials, research, promising practices, and other information to help develop

culturally and linguistically responsive systems and services. The catalogue includes books, articles, videos, and other useful

resources, most of which are available free of charge.

In addition, OHS has released Making it Work! It is a tool and training manual for AIAN programs to connect traditional cultural skills,

values, beliefs, and lifeways to the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. It can be used to create and

individualize cultural lessons to promote school readiness; to engage families and communities in planning, implementing, and

expanding on lessons; and to support any curricula. The tool recognizes that traditional lifeways, language, and cultural heritage are

important components of young children's school readiness. Making It Work! supports AIAN early childhood staff to meet school

readiness goals as they teach their traditional cultural skills, values, beliefs, and lifeways.

Grantees should review this IM and resources and direct any questions or recommendations regarding this IM to their OHS Regional

Office.

Thank you for all you do on behalf of Head Start children and families.

/ Ann Linehan /

Ann Linehan

Acting Director

Office of Head Start

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Title: FY16 Farm to School Grant

Category: Grants Notice

Issuing Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Issue Date Month/Year: 3/2015

URL: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

Summary: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) amended Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch

Act (NSLA) to establish a Farm to School Program in order to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in

implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. To fulfill the farm to school mandate in the

HHFKA, $5 million is provided to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on an annual basis to support grants, technical

assistance, and the federal administrative costs related to USDA’s Farm to School Program. This request for applications (RFA)

provides additional details regarding the grants component of the USDA Farm to School Program. The USDA Food and Nutrition

Service (FNS) is charged with implementing the Farm to School Program. In this funding cycle, USDA anticipates awarding

approximately $6 million in grant funding to support efforts that improve access to local foods in schools. Beyond the $5 million in

funding provided in the HHFKA, in fiscal year (FY) 2016 USDA anticipates the availability of an additional $1 million, subject to

appropriation, in grant funding to support placement of volunteer service members (e.g. AmeriCorps, VISTA, local service corps

programs, etc.) in schools throughout the country to build or maintain school gardens, incorporate nutrition education into the schools’

culture, and support school food service personnel in procuring or promoting local and regional products for the school meal program.

The Secretary of Agriculture was also directed through the HHFKA to ensure geographical diversity and equitable treatment of urban,

rural, and tribal communities, as well as give the highest priority to funding projects that, as determined by the Secretary – (a) Make

local food products available on the menu of the eligible school; (b) Serve a high proportion of children who are eligible for free or

reduced price lunches; (c) Incorporate experiential nutrition education activities in curriculum planning that encourage the participation

of school children in farm and garden-based activities; (d) Demonstrate collaboration between eligible schools, nongovernmental and

community-based organizations, agricultural producer groups, and other community partners; (e) Include adequate and participatory

evaluation plans; (f) Demonstrate the potential for long-term program sustainability; and, (g) Meet any other criteria that the Secretary

determines appropriate. Authorizing language also states that as a condition of receiving a USDA Farm to School Program Grant, each

grant recipient shall provide matching support in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, and agree to cooperate in an evaluation of the

program carried out using grant funds.

Eligible Applicants:

Eligible schools;

State and local agencies;

Indian tribal organizations;

Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers;

and, Non-profit entities

Please see page 15 of RFA for further explanation

Current Closing Date for Applications: May 20, 2015

Contact: Farm to School Team farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov

Full Text: To access the complete notice, please open this link or paste it into your browser:

Final Rule on Head Start Eligibility Webinar

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Watch On-Demand Now!

On Feb. 10, 2015, the Final Rule on Head Start Eligibility was published in the Federal Register. It codifies statutory eligibility requirements revised in the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 and strengthens procedures programs use to determine eligibility.

The Office of Head Start (OHS) recently hosted a webinar for grantees to review this rule. It served as a refresher around OHS requirements regarding the determination and documentation of a family’s eligibility for Head Start services. The webinar and related questions and answers (Q&A) are now available on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).

Watch the Webinar

Select the link to view the webinar or download the presentation: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-sys/ersea/eligibility-webinar.html

Read the Q&A

Explore answers to common questions around the eligibility final rule: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-sys/ersea/faq.html

64

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Administration for Children and Families. Office of Child Care.   The Office of Child Care (OCC) has posted responses to a selection of frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the Reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The FAQs can be found on this page of the OCC Web site.   Since the law was reauthorized in November, many questions have been submitted, including through the OCC CCDF Reauthorization e-mail address, through OCC Regional Offices, and during meetings and webinars. We know that the FAQs that we have posted do not address all the questions that have been raised, but they cover a wide range of topics; we believe that they will help CCDF grantees as they continue the work of implementing the new law.    Through guidance, upcoming meetings, and ongoing technical assistance, OCC will continue to support our grantees in implementing CCDF Reauthorization. You can continue to find resources and guidance on both the OCC CCDF Reauthorization page and the Child Care and Technical Assistance Network Reauthorization resources page.   We look forward to our continued partnership with States, Territories, and Tribes as we all work to improve child care systems for children, families, and providers.    OCC heart logo.   Office of Child Care Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Aerospace Building, Fifth Floor East 370 L’Enfant Promenade, S.W. Washington, DC 20447 General office number: (202) 690-6782 Fax: (202) 690-5600 General e-mail: occ@acf.hhs.gov Web site: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ

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Two Federal Register notices from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service are included here. The first announces new income eligibility guidelines for child nutrition programs. The second notice pertains to new income eligibility guidelines for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Title: Child Nutrition Programs – Income Eligibility Guidelines

Category: Notices

Issuing Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Action: Notice

Issue Date Month/Year: 3/2015

Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015) Pages 17026-17027

URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-31/html/2015-07358.htm

Summary: This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining

eligibility for free and reduced price meals and free milk for the period from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. These guidelines are

used by schools, institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch Program (and Commodity School Program),

School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service

Program. The annual adjustments are required by section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The guidelines are

intended to direct benefits to those children most in need and are revised annually to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index.

Effective Date: July 1, 2015

Contact: Vivian Lees, Branch Chief, Operational Support Branch, Child Nutrition Programs, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA,

Alexandria, Virginia 22302, or by phone at

(703) 305-2322.

Full Text: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-31/html/2015-07358.htm

Title: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Income Eligibility Guidelines

Category: Notices

Issuing Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Action: Notice

Issue Date Month/Year: 3/2015

Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015) Pages 17027-17029

URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-31/html/2015-07359.htm

Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture ("Department") announces adjusted income eligibility guidelines to be used by State

agencies in determining the income eligibility of persons applying to participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC). These income eligibility guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the WIC

Regulations.

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Welcome the New Office of Head Start Director

On April 2, 2015, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced that Dr. Blanca Enriquez has

been appointed to lead the Office of Head Start.

Dr. Enriquez reflects on her new appointment in the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center blog post:Honor Our History,

Carry on the Legacy. Linda K. Smith, the deputy assistant secretary for Early Childhood Development, welcomed this announcement

with the following text on ACF’s Family Room blog: Welcome the New Office of Head Start Director -

Dr. Enriquez will be leading one of our nation’s most essential early care and education programs, and one in which she has been

deeply involved for almost 28 of those years. I am confident she will prove to be an inspirational leader for children and families.

Dr. Enriquez brings with her an energy and passion for childhood education that started when she was teaching English as a second

language to kindergartners and first graders in the El Paso, Texas school system. She has been involved in early care and education

since the early 1970s in various positions throughout her home state. She has been an administrator and supervisor of Head Start

programs, elementary schools, and bilingual education programs since 1973. Most recently, she has served as the executive director of

the Texas Education Service Center Region 19 Head Start program, based in El Paso, with an annual budget of $32 million. During that

time, the program has grown from 1,200 preschoolers at 10 sites to more than 4,000 children at 30 sites and has won many local, state,

and national awards.

Dr. Enriquez holds a master's of education degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a doctorate of philosophy in education

administration from New Mexico State University. She has served as a member of the Texas State Secretary's Advisory Committee on

Early Childhood Education and was appointed by former President George W. Bush as an advisory board member for the National

Institute for Literacy. She is a member of the National Head Start Association, the National Association for the Education of Children,

the Texas and National Associations for Bilingual Education, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

As we welcome a new director, I want to offer my appreciation and thanks to Ann Linehan, who has been serving as acting director of

Head Start since December 2013. Ann has devoted more than 30 years to this program and her knowledge and leadership have been

valuable. She is truly one of Head Start’s biggest champions. Ann will resume her position as Deputy Director of the Office of Head

Start when Dr. Enriquez begins at ACF.

I know you all join me as we welcome Dr. Enriquez to the ACF team as our new director of the Office of Head Start.

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Title: Solicitation of Written Comments on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's Draft Report and Draft Recommendations for

Consideration for Addressing the State of Vaccine Confidence in the United States

Category: Notices

Issuing Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, National Vaccine Program

Office

Action: Notice

Issue Date Month/Year: 4/2015

Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015) Pages 18424-18426

URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-06/html/2015-07778.htm

Summary: …Recognizing that immunizations are given across the lifespan and there are likely to be important differences in vaccine

acceptance at different stages of life, in February of 2013 the National Vaccine Advisory Committee accepted an initial charge from the

Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) to report on how confidence in vaccines impacts the optimal use of recommended childhood

vaccines in the United States, including reaching Healthy People 2020 immunization coverage targets. Focus of such a report may

include understanding the determinants of vaccination acceptance among parents, what HHS should be doing to improve parental

confidence in vaccine recommendations and how to best measure confidence in vaccine and vaccination to inform and evaluate

interventions in the future.

Through a series of teleconferences, electronic communications, presentations and public discussions during the NVAC meetings, a

working group identified a number of draft recommendations to further understand and address issues of vaccine confidence in the

United States.

On behalf of NVAC, NVPO is soliciting public comment on the draft report and draft recommendations from a variety of stakeholders,

including the general public, for consideration by the NVAC as they develop their final recommendations to the ASH. It is anticipated

that the draft report and draft recommendations, as revised with consideration given to public comment and stakeholder input, will be

presented to the NVAC for adoption in June 2015 at the quarterly NVAC meeting.

Action Date: Comments for consideration by the NVAC should be received no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2015.

Contact: National Vaccine Program Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services;

telephone (202) 690-5566; fax (202) 690-4631; email: vcwg@hhs.gov.

Full Text: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-06/html/2015-07778.htm

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Two grant notices are included here, both from the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and

Families. They announce grants pertaining to the Region XI American Indian Alaska Native (AI/AN) Collaboration Office and the Region

XII Migrant and Seasonal Worker (MSHS) Collaboration Office.

Title: Region XI American Indian Alaska Native (AI/AN) Collaboration Office

Category: Grants Notice

Issuing Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families

Issue Date Month/Year: 4/2015

URL: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

Summary: The Region XI AI/AN Collaboration Office will use the funds made available under this cooperative agreement to enhance

coordination and collaboration between the OHS Region XI AI/AN Office, the OHS Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) system,

Head Start grantees, other providers of early care and education, and stakeholders that provide services related to the development

and learning of low-income AI/AN children and families. Under the direction of the Collaboration Director, the Region XI AI/AN

Collaboration Office will promote partnerships with child care; analyze data routinely collected from Region XI AI/AN agencies in order

to identify trends and priorities; support the expansion and access of high quality, workforce and career development opportunities for

staff; work with school systems to ensure continuity between Head Start and school system goals; and, support other regional office

priorities such as family and community partnerships; and, health, mental health, and oral health.

Eligible Applicants:

County governments

State governments

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

City or township governments

Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Private institutions of higher education

Independent school districts

For profit organizations other than small businesses

Small businesses

Special district governments

Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

OHS limits this FOA to the listed eligible entities not including current Region XI AI/AN agencies or their delegates and federally

recognized tribal governments. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive

awards under this funding opportunity announcement. Faith-based organizations are encouraged to review the ACF Policy on Grants to

Faith-Based Organizations at:http://www.acf.hhs.gov/acf-policy-on-grants-to-faith-based-organizations. Applications from

individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from

funding under this announcement.

Current Closing Date for Applications: June 5, 2015

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Contacts:

Program Office Contact:

Sharon Yandian

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Head Start, State Initiatives Division

Portals Building, 8th Floor

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20024

Email: OHSTech@reviewops.org

Office of Grants Management Contact:

David Kadan

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Grants Management

Aerospace Building, 6th Floor East

360 L'Enfant Promenade, SW

Washington, DC 20447

Phone: (202) 205-8562

Email: ACFOGMREGE-grants@acf.hhs.gov

To access the complete notice, please open this link or paste it into your browser:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/view/HHS-2015-ACF-OHS-HC-R11-0997

Title: Region XII Migrant and Seasonal Worker (MSHS) Collaboration Office

Category: Grants Notice

Issuing Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families

Issue Date Month/Year: 4/2015

URL: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

Summary: The Region XII MSHS Collaboration Office will use the funds made available under this cooperative agreement to enhance

coordination and collaboration between the OHS Region XII Office, the OHS Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) system, Head

Start grantees, other providers of early care and education, and stakeholders that provide services related to the development and

learning of low-income migrant and seasonal worker children and families. Under the direction of the Collaboration Director, the Region

XII MSHS Collaboration Office will promote partnerships with child care; analyze data routinely collected from Region XII agencies in

order to identify trends and priorities; support the expansion and access of high quality, workforce and career development

opportunities for staff; work with school systems to ensure continuity between Head Start and school system goals; and, support other

regional office priorities such as family and community partnerships; and, health, mental health, and oral health.

Eligible Applicants:

Special district governments

Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on

Eligibility"

City or township governments

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Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

Independent school districts

Small businesses

State governments

Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Private institutions of higher education

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

County governments

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

For profit organizations other than small businesses

Region XII Migrant and Seasonal grantees or delegates are not eligible to apply for funding under this funding opportunity

announcement. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this

funding opportunity announcement. Faith-based organizations are encouraged to review the ACF Policy on Grants to Faith-Based

Organizations at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/acf-policy-on-grants-to-faith-based-organizations. Applications from individuals

(including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding

under this announcement.

Current Closing Date for Applications: June 5, 2015

Contacts:

Program Office Contact:

Sharon Yandian

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Head Start, State Initiatives Division

Portals Building, 8th Floor

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20024

Email: OHSTech@reviewops.org

Office of Grants Management Contact:

David Kadan

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Grants Management

Aerospace Building, 6th Floor East

360 L'Enfant Promenade, SW

Washington, DC 20447

Phone: (202) 205-8562

Email: ACFOGMREGE-grants@acf.hhs.gov

To access the complete notice, please open this link or paste it into your browser:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/view/HHS-2015-ACF-OHS-HC-R12-0994

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Title: Tribal Consultation Meetings

Category: Notices

Issuing Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start

Action: Notice of Meetings

Issue Date Month/Year: 4/2015

Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 7, 2015) Pages 18627-18628

URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-07/html/2015-07958.htm

Summary: Pursuant to the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Public Law 110-134, notice is hereby given of three

1-day Tribal Consultation Sessions to be held between the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and

Families, OHS leadership and the leadership of Tribal Governments operating Head Start (including Early Head Start) programs. The

purpose of these Consultation Sessions is to discuss ways to better meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native children and

their families, taking into consideration funding allocations, distribution formulas, and other issues affecting the delivery of Head Start

services in their geographic locations [42 U.S.C. 9835, Section 640(l)(4)].

Action Dates:

June 16, 2015, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

July 30, 2015, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

August 17, 2015, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Locations:

June 16, 2015 – National Indian Head Start Directors Association, Hyatt Regency, 1209 L Street, Sacramento, California

95814

July 30, 2015 – Oklahoma Indian Head Start Coalition Conference, DoubleTree at Warren Place, 6110 South Yale Avenue,

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136

August 17, 2015 – Northwest Indian Head Start Association Conference, Holiday Inn Grand Montana, 5500 Midland Road,

Billings, Montana 59101

Contact: Robert Bialas, Regional Program Manager, Region XI, Office of Head Start, email

Robert.Bialas@acf.hhs.gov or phone (202) 205-9497. Additional information and online meeting registration is available

at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/calendar/tc2015.

Full Text: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-07/html/2015-07958.htm