Children and Families Commission of Orange County Approves $500,000 in New Funds for Seven Programs to Assist County's Children.

News Editors/Health/Medical Writers/Education Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2004

Funding Includes Proposal to Establish New Local "211" Phone Number

The Children and Families Commission of Orange County announced the approval of $500,000 in new capacity building grants to develop seven programs designed to benefit Orange County's young children and families, including a proposed plan to establish a local "211" phone number as a universal access point for Orange County community information and referral services.

"This new round of funding presented the Commission with several excellent programs for consideration, all of which deserved serious consideration as part of our efforts to promote the health and early education of the County's young children," said Kimberly Chavalas Cripe, chairperson of the Children and Families Commission. "We are pleased to fund these seven programs, especially the effort to launch a new 211 number that will provide parents and caregivers immediate access to Orange County community information and referral services."

As part of its action, the Commission allocated $75,000 in funding to Info Link Orange County to develop a service plan to expand the existing Information and Referral system as part of the national "211 Call Center" initiative. The initiative, currently under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission, calls upon the FCC to set aside the 211 phone number across the nation so that eventually all communities can call 211 to seek social service help.

The Children and Families Commission also approved funding for seven capacity building projects for a one-year term. In addition, the Commission set aside $113,900 of the total $500,000 in funds available for programs related to the Commission's priorities areas: Children's Mental Health, Child Welfare Redesign and Diabetes Education & Outreach for Child Care Providers. New programs using the set-aside funds are subject to future approval by the Commission.

The Commission received 43 applications for capacity grants, which assist local agencies in planning and developing new services and collaborative opportunities. In addition to Info Link Orange County, the six other applications approved for funding include:

-- Family Support Network, which will receive $20,000 to develop

a service plan for special needs children;

-- Joseph's Hope, allotted $51,100 to develop a sustainability

plan for a Center that provides Therapeutic Day Care and

Family Support Services for family under the supervision of

County Social Services;

-- Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, awarded $66,000 to develop a

plan to implement a Therapeutic Day Care program;

-- PHFE Management Solutions WIC Program, awarded $70,000 to

improve on the resources WIC centers provide that address the

prevention of childhood obesity;

-- El Puente Community Development Corporation, which will

receive $29,000 to develop a business plan for a licensed

preschool program;

-- Colette's Children Home, awarded $75,000 to pilot a project

that will provide housing, recovery services and case

management to women released from jail and their children,

aged 0-5 pilot.

The Children and Families Commission of Orange County is funding these projects and was created as a result of Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Act of 1998. The proposition added a 50-cent sales tax on tobacco products sold in California and requires that funds raised be used to support education, health and childcare programs promoting healthy early childhood development from the prenatal stage to age five. The Children and Families Commission of Orange County is responsible for overseeing the allocation of tobacco tax revenues received annually from the State Commission. For more information about the Commission, please visit the website at www.occhildrenandfamilies.com.