Today, PICO California, together with California ACORN, Californians for Justice and Public Advocates, released the first statewide survey capturing parent and student voices from low- and middle-income neighborhoods, articulating their priorities for public education reform. The new study, based on the responses of 5,600 adults and young people across California from San Diego to rural Colusa County, makes it clear that parents and students expect their elected officials to begin now to enact the funding and policy changes that will enable all students to obtain the quality education they need and deserve. For more information or to request regional data, please contact Roberta Furger, 510/703-6357 or email Roberta Furger by clicking here.

Click here to read the full report: Now That We Have the Facts

Click here to download the press release

Great news! Nearly 200 schools in California received funding to support teacher home visits through the Nell Soto Parent-Teacher Involvement program, including schools in many of the communities in which PICO affiliates are working. PICO leaders and staff worked with their schools and districts to complete and file an application.

Click here to see the full list of grantees posted on the CDE web site

Second Round Opens:
For all those who were unable to complete the application in time for the first deadline, a second round of funding is now available. The new (and simplified) application was posted today on the CDE Web site:

Click here to download the application

The deadline for this second round of funding is June 4, 2007. Schools will receive the funds for use in the 2007-08 school year.

Schools with an API ranking of 1-5, based on the 2006 Base Scores, are eligible to apply for the grant awards, which range from $15,000-$35,000, depending on the number of students. It is very likely that schools that apply will receive funding, so encourage schools in your district to apply.

PICO California, in partnership with the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project, will be doing outreach around the grant funding.

PICO California affiliates are taking advantage of an historic opportunity to expand healthcare coverage in our state. In January of this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the first governor in California history to express his commitment to achieving universal health coverage.

>Click here to read about PICO California’s plan to push for coverage for all Californians.

For more information on PICO California’s healthcare work, click here or call Kiren Rizvi at 916 447 7959 ext. 19.

Two Bay Area PICO California affiliates fight to create a model fee that will fund local trust funds in two counties. Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA) and Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organizing (CCISCO) have begun an effort to change state law so that San Mateo and Contra Costa County, can create a $25 document transfer fee to fund local affordable housing projects. This pilot project if succesfully ratified is projected to raise over $6 million for affordable housing. Several PICO California affiliates have offered their support as they look forward to possibly using this idea to raise funds for their communities.

Thanks to the Senate Budget Committee’s approval of $50 billion over five years for new funding for children’s health, we have taken a step closer to achieving health care for all children. Learn more about what it has taken to get here and how PICO will continue to fight for kids by watching the video below.
[youtube nyRcbGME2Xs Community leaders push for kid’s health coverage]

LA Voice has recently teamed up with Univisión and other immigrant rights’ advocates from across the region for the ¡Ya Es Hora! (Now is the Time) citizenship campaign. The goal of this campaign is simple: urge the 1,000,000 eligible legal permanent residents in the Southern California region to become citizens and vote.

Just last week, the LA Voice organizing committee at San Francisco Catholic Church held a registration event for parishioners looking to start the process. Over 100 people attended. They are eager to become citizens and active, engaged members of their community. Click here to learn more about the ¡Ya Es Hora! campaign.

[youtube 6Krxaeo80Vc Univision’s video in Spanish]

Four PICO affiliates, UIA, CBC, CCISCO, and PIA launched a joint clergy statement asking the Department of Homeland Security to halt controversial immigration raids that have been taking place in communities across the country. These PICO affiliates have invited concerned clergy throughout the nation to join their call for a moratorium on I.C.E. raids. On May 17th representatives of this campaign will travel to Washington, DC to deliver this letter. Clergy can sign on by visiting http://ga3.org/campaign/stoptheraids

Text of the clergy letter:

As clergy in cities impacted by I.C.E. raids, we object to federal government action that has broken up families, left children abandoned, and traumatized whole communities. Our congregations are committed to protecting those in need, but we should not need to shelter young children asking “Where is my mother? Where is my father?”

While there are different perspectives on how to fix our immigration system, we can all agree that the recent mass raids harmed the stability of our communities and families. This is the wrong way to enforce immigration rules. Those who have been detained and those left behind are mothers, fathers, children, wives, husbands, and others responsible for holding families together. Nearly two-thirds of all undocumented families have children who are U.S. citizens by birth, including many of the children left behind after the recent raids. Our shared respect for humanity and our faith in the promise of a better future calls us to do better.

Faith leaders call for:
1) President Bush to direct the Department Homeland Security to halt the raids immediately and to reunite families; & 2) Congress to hold hearings to investigate I.C.E. behavior.

Let’s honor God’s call to protect children and not make them victims in the fight over immigration policy. If we work together as faith communities we can help find common ground that honors our nation’s commitment to fairness and family.

Clergy, click here to sign on to this letter
Click here to read more about how the I.C.E. raids have affected our communities.

Media Coverage
Religious Leaders Oppose Raids
A Wrenching Choice
California Report - I.C.E. Raid Audio

On Friday March 23, the U.S. Senate approved a budget that includes $50 billion in new funding for reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This funding should provide room for states to offer health coverage to as many as 5 million uninsured children, while protecting the coverage for another 1.5 million who depend on SCHIP.

The floor debate on SCHIP funding, and votes on key amendments demonstrated significant bipartisan support for $50 billion for SCHIP expansion. Twelve Republicans and 46 Democrats supported an amendment by Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) to set aside revenue from an increase in the federal tobacco tax for children’s health.

The fight to cover all children is not over. Congress must still reauthorize the SCHIP program. As part of PICO’s Road Map to Covering All Children by 2012, the PICO network will be organizing to make sure that SCHIP is rewritten to include strong incentives for states to enroll and retain children. PICO will also be fighting for changes in the law that would allow states to provide health coverage to pregnant women and documented immigrant children.

To make sure that states use the new federal dollars, PICO federations are helping to lead state-level campaigns in 10 states to expand coverage for children.

Click here to read more about this historic decision and how PICO will continue to fight for all kids.

A delegation of 40 San Francisco clergy and families along with leaders from across the PICO network met with staff in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in Washinton, DC. Following up on a February 22 press conference with Archbishop Niederauer, the San Francisco Organizing Project and PICO California pressed Speaker Pelosi to speak out publicly in favor of funding in the budget to cover all children. Shortly after the meeting, Speaker Pelosi issued a statement saying that the “budget resolution…debated later this month in the House will contain…sufficient funding to insure all eligible children.” PICO continues to urge Congressional leaders to include adequate funding in the budget to reach all eligible children and support the growing number of states that are moving to expand eligibility.

Media Coverage
Raise healthiest generation, challenges Archbishop

On March 7 PICO held a Faith and Families Summit on Children’s Health, in partnership with Georgetown Center for Children and Families and First Focus, to press Congress to include $60 billion in the budget for children’s health coverage. Senators Menendez (D-NJ) (Budget), Landrieu (D-LA), Kerry (D-MA) (Finance) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) (Budget) and Representatives Dent (R-PA), DeGette (D-CO) (Energy & Commerce), McGovern (D-MA) (Budget) and Aderholt (R-AL) participated in a bi-partisan Congressional Conversation on Children’s Health. Four hundred clergy and parents participated in the Congressional event and a Budget Rally in the Cannon Caucus Room that included testimony from parents whose children are uninsured or depend on SCHIP funded programs. Read More>>

Media Coverage
Children called gift of God, as faith leaders urge U.S. Congress to expand youth health care
Religious Groups Push Health Coverage for Children
Religious leaders join in backing health care for uninsured children

Resources
PICO Road Map to Covering All Children
SCHIP 101
State by State Information

Links
Cover All Children
SCHIP Reauthorization Resource Center at Georgetown University
Faith and Families Congressional Visits

PICO California invited over one hundred faith and community leaders to Sacramento on February 27th to make their voices heard in the State Capitol. Leaders from across the state met with their elected officials in the Senate and Assembly to talk about issues such as children’s healthcare, affordable housing, education, and other local concerns. Leaders also met with Governor Schwarzenegger’s staff to discuss possible healthcare reform.

Despite chilly, wet, and windy weather, nearly 600 people met at St. Joseph’s Church to discuss the health and safety of east Bakersfield. Organized by the East Bakersfield Faith Community Alliance- a network of east Bakersfield congregations and residents- the huge crowd met with newly-elected Sheriff Donny Youngblood to confirm a new partnership between the Sheriff’s department and EBFCA.

After EBFCA delivered their comprehensive, holistic plan to foster health and safety in “Our Neighborhood,” they gained a commitment from Sheriff Youngblood to do the following:

- Commission a Citizens Advisory Task force to address the health and safety issues in “Our Neighborhood.”
- Authorize a Sargent to be a Point of Contact for EBFCA and neighborhood residents to foster mutual information sharing, and build trust.
- Meet with EBFCA in 6 months to measure outcomes.

Media Coverage
Sheriff, residents open dialogue on violence