A Summary by Jakob Schmall, SPI Graduate Assistant, 2023 MPH Candidate
The Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative’s recent webinar, “Advancing Child Well-being and Creating a Vision for Tomorrow,” provided an overview of program activities allowable under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA):
- In-home skill-based parenting program
- Substance abuse treatment
- Mental health treatment
FFPSA is unique in that it also allows for counties to apply funding towards primary/secondary/tertiary prevention activities.
The goal is to leverage FFPSA funding to build a continuum of prevention services and utilize cross-sector collaboration to create a community pathway that allows children, youth, and families to access resources in the community. It would shift the responsibility of child and family well-being to the community and allow children and families to access services that can prevent them from entering the system. Many counties in CA are looking to establish programs funded through the FFPSA and will submit their comprehensive prevention plans by the State’s deadline of July 31, 2023. Learn more here and view California’s recently approved 5 year Prevention Plan here.
All Children Thrive (ACT) presented about their recent strategic planning and equity advisory group sessions, which convened to update short and long-term goals and re-visit their mission and vision. Since 2020, ACT has been working with 16 funded projects across CA, and 2 more are currently beginning their first year. ACT has plans to grow an additional 12 ACT-funded projects.
These projects cover 5 main community action areas:
- Creating protective environments
- Promoting healthy child development
- Access to safe and stable housing
- Strengthening economic supports
- Youth development and civic engagement
Finally, the EfC Initiative’s CDPH staff covered the successful initiatives they have worked on, including their subcommittees on data, equity, and policy. The committees have completed several toolkits, reports, and webinars that have been highly impactful for community development of safe practices.
