11 GROUPS AWAIT GRANT AWARDS CITY COUNCIL TO DECIDE ON ALLOCATIONS.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Eleven organizations, many of them well-known nonprofits that serve disabled or young people, are poised to split a $50,000 pot of city dollars earmarked for pilot community programs.

Tonight, the Santa Clarita City Council will decide who will receive the grants, which are intended as seed money. Single Mothers Outreach, which serves about 1,400 single mothers and their offspring, has sought help launching a health and wellness education program.

``If you have a healthy mom, you're going to have healthy children,'' said Debbie Quick, the group's executive director. ``We want the mom to be educated and make good choices.''

Single Mothers Outreach has sought $6,700 to help defray costs for offering seminars on nutrition, mental health, first aid, breast cancer awareness and financial planning. The money would also help pay for educational books, tapes and videos for the group's clients.

A seven-member committee, which includes Mayor Laurene Weste and Councilman Bob Kellar, ranked the merits of 28 applicants, then decided on the amount of the awards. An organization's ability to fund the program on an ongoing basis was among the criteria.

The grants are intended to pay for operations, maintenance and supplies. They may not be spent on salaries or capital expenses, said Shannon Omessi, an administrator in the community services department.

The city's general fund pays for the one-time awards.

Community service grants entail less red tape than Community Development Block Grants, which are issued by the federal government.

``I deal with a lot of the same nonprofits in the community service grants as the CDBG,'' said Erin Moore-Lay, an analyst in the city's economic development department, who serves on the grant committee. ``(Applicants) like money that's unrestricted. It allows you to be more flexible, more nimble; there is less reporting, a lot less strings. It's simpler.''

Omessi said the city evaluates the effectiveness of the programs at the end of the year to ensure the money was well spent and the goals were met. Four applicants in the arts category are in line to receive awards ranging from $1,045 to $5,000, and seven applicants in the community benefit category could receive awards ranging from $2,500 to $7,500. The maximum program award is $7,500.

The arts applicants are Hart High School, the Santa Clarita Artists' Association, Placerita Junior High School and California Institute of the Arts/Community Arts Partnership. CalArts has sought $5,000 for a teen playwriting project.

Joining Single Mothers Outreach in the community benefit group are Carousel Ranch, the Domestic Violence Center, the Special Olympics, Pleasantview Industries, LETMESAIL Inc. and the University Corporation/Valley Trauma Center.

Carousel Ranch, a therapeutic equestrian program for disabled children, has requested $5,150 for its relocation project, while the trauma center seeks $7,500 for a support program for survivors of sexual assaults and their caregivers.

Among the applicants whose proposals were not chosen were the Child and Family Center, the College of the Canyons Foundation, the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra Fund, the Children's Hunger Fund, the Native American Cultural Center and the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center.

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com