COACH Donates $110,000 for Children!

Earlier this month, CDF board members hosted a dazzling benefit for CDF-California sponsored by COACH at Bad Robot Studios in Santa Monica. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood were in attendance. But the brightest stars of the evening were our five Beat the Odds Scholarship winners, who have succeeded academically despite immense personal challenges. Watch their documentaries to learn more about their incredible achievements.

We would like to thank COACH for their generous donation, CDF Board members Ruth-Ann Huvane and Katie McGrath for hosting, and J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk for allowing us to hang out at Bad Robot Studios.  

Youth Speak Out Against School Violence

On March 25^th, concerned citizens, advocates, public officials and youth convened at Oakland City Hall for the CDF-CA sponsored School and Community Safety Forum to highlight the innovative work being done across the East Bay Area to make classrooms and streets safer for youth. A panel representing a broad cross-section of advocates discussed the role policy and systemic change plays in reducing instances of school and community violence, and youth panelists from Richmond and Oakland spoke candidly about personal encounters with school violence and offered up unique solutions of their own.

The discussion was varied, but on one point all were unanimous: more armed guards are not the answer. Philip Johnson, president of the youth division of the NAACP explained, “school police breed tension between law enforcement and students,” and often cause more harm than good. Advocates instead called for more investments in programs and efforts like restorative justice, and more school counselors. "We just need someone to talk to,” said one student.  

Learn more about the forum and view our photo album.

Students Launch "Every Student Matters" Campaign

Hundreds rallied at Cesar Chavez Park in Long Beach on March 30^th to kick off the "Every Student Matters" campaign (ESM), a student-led effort to promote alternatives to harsh school disciplinary policies in Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD).  Community leaders, parents, advocates, educators, and students packed into the community center to learn about the severity of the school push out problem in LBUSD and explore potential solutions. Student panelists and participants were full of emotion as they described the impact suspensions and expulsions had on their academic and personal lives. Their testimonials were corroborated by a report that highlighted alarming school discipline data from LBUSD. Among the findings were:

• One LBUSD student is suspended every 19 minutes that school is in session.
• One in five LBUSD high school freshmen will not graduate with their classmates four years later.
• Only 42% of students who do graduate will have completed the coursework necessary to enroll in a California 4-year university.
• 152 students surveyed have been arrested on or near school grounds. 

The panel was followed by a celebration to honor Cesar Chavez, and featured a traditional Aztec dance, musical performances by youth bands, a poetry slam, and a dance contest. Visit the Building Health Communities Long Beach website and ESM’s Facebook fan page to learn more about the campaign and to get involved.

CDF-CA Co-Sponsored Bill Clears First Hurdle

We are excited to report that Assembly Bill 814 passed out of the Assembly Human Services Committee on Wednesday! The bill, authored by Assemblymember Bradford, will help families to achieve self sufficiency by eliminating the double penalty for student truancy that is disproportionally penalizing the state’s poorest families. 

CDF-CA is also co-sponsoring statewide legislation to ensure that schools are the safest places for our children. Assembly Bill 549, by Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer, will create clear guidelines about the roles of adults on campus, and will encourage schools to prioritize the use of positive behavior supports, mental health and counseling services, and restorative justice programs. The bill is set to be heard in the Assembly Education Committee on May 1^st.

Visit our legislation webpage for an updated list of the bills CDF-CA is supporting.

Take Action to Expand Medi-Cal

The clock is ticking for California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  Our state emerged as a national leader in development of the health insurance exchange, Covered California. But action has stalled on a critical piece of Obamacare: expanding the Medi-Cal program. If California acts now, over one million currently uninsured Californians will have access to insurance through Medi-Cal, fully funded by the federal government for three years, and federally funded at 90% thereafter. Take action and call or email Governor Brown to tell him you are counting on him to expand Medi-Cal as soon as possible – California’s children and families can’t afford any more delays! 

New Faces

We’re thrilled to welcome Caroline Kim as the newest member of the CDF family! Caroline joined our Los Angeles office this month as a development associate. She will oversee all of CDF-CA’s fundraising, administrative and financial management, including managing budgets for all CDF programs. Visit our staff page to read more about Caroline and the rest of the CDF-CA team. 

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