“I’m thrilled to have Annabelle join our team,” said Imwalle.  “I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with her on many important community initiatives over the years. Her leadership skills, experience in program development, innovative thinking, and her commitment to create positive community change will be a tremendous asset to the ACTION Council as we continue to explore ways to expand our impact.”

Prior to joining ACTION Council, Ms. Rodriguez served as Manager of the Alisal Family Resource Center in the Alisal Union School District for more than seven years. In that role, she lead the expansion of the center’s programs and services within the community, secured over $7 million in funding for parent education, adult and family literacy, case management, homeless services, and identification and referral services and helped establish the Family Resource Center Network of Monterey County.

Ms. Rodriguez previously worked as Associate Director of the High School Equivalency Program at California State University, Monterey Bay where she developed a county-wide delivery system of adult education and GED programs for farm workers and migrant out-of-school youth. Ms. Rodriguez has a strong history of collaboration, strengthening partnerships, and community engagement.

“I'm delighted to be joining an organization of thought-leaders that serve as a backbone and catalyst to social change through community initiatives and resident engagement,” Rodriguez stated. “The ACTION Council's commitment to collective impact is demonstrated through their focus on solutions, collaboration, and engaging stakeholders in dialogue.”

Ms. Rodriguez's community involvement includes serving as a Director on the Board for the YWCA of Monterey County, Coordinating Council Member for Building Healthy Communities, member of LULAC, HEP Advisory Council, past Board President of the Business & Community Partnership, and Community Advisor for Head Start's Parent & Policy Council.

The ACTION Council and Monterey County Department of Social & Employment Services are pleased to announce the release of the Pathways to Safety annual program outcomes report.

Some of the key program outcomes for the 2011-2012 program year include:

•1,401 families had the opportunity to participate in family support and case management services through Monterey County’s differential response system, and over 73% of these families had a face-to-face follow-up contact.

•25% of all families referred to Pathways to Safety (Paths 1,2,3) voluntarily engaged in intensive case management services. Path 3 cases, newly implemented this year, exhibited the highest level of engagement at 56%.

•61% of families that completed the 90-day program showed measurable improvement on formal assessments. The largest improvements were seen in the  parenting capabilities (36%), family interactions (33%) and child well-being (32%) domains.

Pathways to Safety, is a public-private partnership between The ACTION Council and Monterey County Department of Social & Employment Services designed with the goal of keeping children safe in their homes and out of the child welfare system.

"It's no longer enough to just do good; we need to do good and show real results"

ACTION Council Executive Director Larry Imwalle talks about ways to continue growing impact in the social sector in the new economy.

Recipient of scholarship vows to work toward social change

April 17, 2011

Written by

J. Michael Rivera
For The Salinas Californian

Juan Galletas, a senior at Edward Alvarez High School, found himself caught up in a world of violence and gang activity shortly after finishing the eighth grade. The lifestyle ended up laying the teen out in a coma for two months and turning his legs into “two stumps of dead meat.”

Galletas knows he was lucky the bullet didn’t kill him and has used the traumatic experience to start living a positive life.

As a teenager, Juan Lopez left his parents and two brothers in central Mexico to embark on a three-week journey to the United States. Lopez, who had been painting since he was a young child, had dreams of being the next Diego Rivera and knew opportunities were more plentiful in the North. Eventually he settled in Salinas with his uncle, where he picks strawberries six days a week. On Sundays, Lopez spends his lone day off doing what he is most passionate about: painting.

Galletas’ and Lopez’s tales are only a sampling of the stories attached to the 40 local teens putting together the One Salinas Arts Festival, promoting peace through the arts this Saturday in Oldtown.

“[The teens] get expertise in getting the word out about art,” says Festival Director Trish Sullivan. “There are lots of careers in the arts that don’t require you to be an artist, like an administrator or curator. We guide them and help them but don’t do it for them.”

Edward Alvarez High senior Jorge Carranza first got involved to fulfill his school’s community service assignment, but stayed on board beyond the required hours. The 18-year-old has spent 20 hours a week writing press releases, making posters, creating Facebook and Myspace profiles and building websites in addition to his school workload.

“One of the hardest things is figuring out how to reach people in such a short amount of time,” Carranza says. “The Internet is the best way to go.”

The teen volunteers even wrote and recorded a song for the One Salinas website, called “Just Us in Salinas.”

“The mission is to make the community aware of all the positive things young people are doing here,” Sullivan says. “These kids want to go to college; they want to get good grades. This gives them the chance to learn a skill set, and maybe they’ll find something that they’ve never thought of before.”

The list of the day’s activities continues growing at a rapid rate. Standout activities include: a chalk drawing contest, henna, airbrush tattoos, a Bill’s Wheels booth featuring the art of skateboard decks, origami, Koi Studios Japanese brush painting, bellydance lessons (authentic costumes provided), an improv acting tent, a poetry slam, reptile demonstrations with Jurassic Pets and a visual arts exhibit at Hartnell College Gallery on display through April 15.

In addition to the hands-on art activities and dance, there will be live music all day. This year marks a merger between the annual Salinas music fest Track Stock and One Salinas. The band lineup, curated by Wise Music, includes Tumbleweed, qiensave?, Razorhoof, Grated Earth, Blood Print and Counter Clockwise.

“Like [One Salinas], Track Stock gives young people the chance to do something they haven’t done before, like play in front of a live audience,” Sullivan says. “These teens really just want to show people that they’re interested in contributing in a positive way to their community.”

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2010/2010-Mar-25/a-new-salinas-festival-promotes-peace-through-art-and-music/1/@@index

As we are navigating this tough financial crisis, I wanted to remind you about the Technical Assistance Grant opportunities from the Community Foundation. We interviewed Julianne Leavy, one of our long standing Pathways to Safety partners and Mel Mason from The Village Project. Both shared with us how these TA funds have benefitted their organizational development and ability to connect clients to services more expediently.

As many of you already know, the ACTION Council is now partnering with the Department of Social & Employment Services on another child welfare redesign initiative –Wraparound Monterey County. One of the ACTION Council’s principal roles is in developing a network of service providers to provide support to families with children at-risk of out-of-home placement. If you are interested in more information on how your agency can be a part of Wraparound Monterey County, please contact Jason Hall, Wraparound Administrative Coordinator at 207-8136.

In this Edition
It’s Worth It to Apply for Technical Assistance Grants – In the Spotlight: Harmony at Home and The Village Project
Funding Update
Funding Opportunities & Announcements

1. It’s Worth It to Apply for Technical Assistance Grants – In the Spotlight: Harmony at Home and the Village Project
Harmony at Home has been a Pathways to Safety partner for several years. So far, they have been awarded with three TA Grants from the Community Foundation. The first one, in October 2007, allowed them to upgrade their technology. As expressed by Julianne Leavy, Executive Director: “Prior to this grant we were working on one old and outdated computer and everyone in the office had to take turns. As a result of our improved computer system we can communicate more effectively with our clients and community partners, such as Pathways to Safety. It also allows to process referrals in a more expeditious manner and as a result clients are connected to services faster.” Harmony at Home also received technical assistance for a professional consultant who assisted the organization with setting priorities and goals, defining roles and organizational development to provide services in a more efficient and effective manner. See below for more information on Technical Assistance grants.

Harmony At Home provides counseling to children and families that have been exposed to violence and trauma. They provide counseling in the Alisal Union School District, Salinas City Elementary School District and Community Schools through the Monterey County Office of Education. In addition, family and individual counseling is available on a case-by-case basis county-wide for situations involving domestic violence, child abuse and high conflict divorce. For more information: www.harmony-at-home.org

The Village Project received a $3,625 Technical Assistance Grant from Community Foundation for Monterey County in April 2008. As expressed by Mel Mason, Executive Director: “This grant allowed us to complete a number of projects essential to the development of this agency including Board development, incorporation, strategic planning and establishing the foundation for our initial staffing and programmatic infrastructure. As a direct result of this grant, The Village Project was able to reach its initial goal of outreaching, engaging and providing therapeutic and other essential services to the African American community and other members of historically underserved communities.” See below for more information on Technical Assistance grants.

The Village Project was founded, in part, because of the passage of the Mental Health Services Act and initially focused on offering mental health counseling and therapy. In addition to individual therapy, The Village Project provides therapeutic groups for teens, couples and marriage counseling, a 15-week evidenced-based Effective Black Parenting Class (which has been attended by many non-African American parents), and cultural competency trainings for practitioners working with African American clients. Recently, The Village Project received a grant from AT&T to establish an After School Academy for high school students at risk of not graduating and a grant from the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District to involve elementary school youth in plant propagation projects in parks in Seaside in partnership with the City of Seaside and local schools.
For more information: mel@villageprojectinc.org

2. Pathways to Safety Funding Update
As many of you have experienced first hand, the ACTION Council had to drastically reduce funding of direct contracts. In collaboration with DSES we are working hard to identify and secure funds to sustain the initiative. I will continue to keep you posted on our fundraising efforts and welcome any suggestions or ideas. And of course I hope that you will keep Pathways to Safety in mind when it comes to program and fiscal planning within your own organization.

3. Funding Opportunities & Announcements

Technical Assistance Grants – Request for Proposal
Funder: Community Foundation for Monterey County
Application Deadline: Open, on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are depleted or May 1st, 2010, whichever comes first.
Amount: Up to $4000 (requires 25% matching funds from organization, some of which can be in-kind.)
What: Pathways to Safety community partners can apply for technical assistance funds from the Community Foundation in areas including, but not limited to, professional staff development, organizational development and fund development. Groups have used TA grants to upgrade technology, including donor management software, websites and communications. Other common uses are strategic planning, marketing, board retreats, etc. In the application you will need to show how your proposed use of the funds is connected to the Pathways to Safety initiative. For more information, go to the Community Foundation website: www.cfmco.org and look under Management Assistance.
Contact: Kaki Rusmore, at Community Foundation for Monterey County kaki@cfmco.org or (831) 375-9712

Professional Development Scholarships
Funder: Community Foundation for Monterey County
Application Deadline: No application needed.
Amount: $25.00 - $80.00/person per training event, more with approval.
What: Up to three people from your organization can attend any MAP workshop for free. ACTION Council approval is needed to send more people or attend other professional development events, such as conferences or training from other institutions. View MAP workshops at www.cfmco.org or http://www.cfmco.org/Workshops%20and%20Professional%20Development%20text.doc
Contact: Susie Polnaszek for your free registration code: susiep@cfmco.org or (831) 375-9712. For ACTION Council approval: Larry Imwalle – (831) 783-1244

The program is administered by the ACTION Council of Monterey County, a local nonprofit organization. For program information and applications please visit the Ingram Housing Fund webpage on the ACTION Council website, or contact Libby McMahon, ACTION Council Finance Director,  at 783-1244  or libby@actioncouncil.org.