Who is involved with California Alliance for Prevention?

The California Alliance for Prevention (CAP) program is a collaborative model that involves key state and county partners, AmeriCorps members, and a host of other agencies and organizations. The Governor's Office on Service and Vounteerism (GO SERV) and the state Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), in partnership with the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento and Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services have developed the California Alliance for Prevention. This statewide initiative utilizes AmeriCorps members to enhance child abuse prevention efforts in local communities. Currently, 230 CAP AmeriCorps members serve in 17 counties. For the 2004/05-program year, CAP AmeriCorps members will increase to 377 members.

What are the statements of need for California Alliance for Prevention?

The California Alliance for Prevention effort is based on several core principles:

• Child abuse is caused by multiple factors. For comprehensive prevention programs to be effective, it is essential to gain the commitment of the entire community as well as to obtain sufficient resources to fund prevention programs.
• AmeriCorps members come from and live in the communities they serve. AmeriCorps members and the residents of the community benefit. This helps strengthen communities by improving the lives of community residents.
• Effective prevention programs empower community residents and families. Comprehensive prevention programs address how service needs are identified and how services are structured and delivered. Therefore, it is imperative for community residents and their partners to be involved in these programs.

What are goals and objectives for the California Alliance for Prevention?

Based on our belief that the use of AmeriCorps members will strengthen prevention efforts, beginning in August of 1999, the CAP partnership developed three specific objectives for preventing child abuse:

1. Home Visitation: to provide Home Visitation support for families with children between 0 and 5 and to establish and expand the kind of family outreach mentoring that prevents child abuse.
2. Family Resource Centers: to strengthen communities and families by enhancing the range and depth of services provided by Family Resource Centers.
3. Healthy Start programs: to strengthen and support families with school-aged children by enhancing the range and depth of services provided by Healthy Start sites.

Home Visitation Programs--How can I utilize AmeriCorps Members?

As an ancillary to other trained Home Visitation staff, AmeriCorps members can support preventative Home Visitation programs, and can, depending on their skills, assist in providing information about, and linkage to, other community resources. They can provide routine home visits to families that already have a preventative Home Visitation plan in place as well as providing follow-up to ensure that families receive the services to which they have been referred. We encourage applicants to look at their own Home Visitation strategies and see how AmeriCorps members can reinforce the county's efforts. Family Resource Centers--How can I utilize AmeriCorps Members? AmeriCorps members can assist in the development of Family Resource Centers, involve themselves in public information efforts, provide preventive outreach to families in order to reduce family isolation, and increase awareness of family support resources in the community. AmeriCorps members can also teach parent education classes at Family Resource Centers and provide child development activities to Family Resource Center participants.

Healthy Start Programs--How can I utilize AmeriCorps Members?

Under the direction of professional staff, AmeriCorps members can further the effort to extend and enhance Healthy Start Home Visitation services; can provide linkages between school sites and Healthy Start services through mentoring and tutoring; and can help families access needed dental, health, mental health, employment and social services. Helping families to enroll in the health insurance program for Healthy Families would be another excellent way for AmeriCorps members to contribute.

AmeriCorps members could also be involved in assisting community residents to become engaged in the local planning efforts required for State, Federal and Proposition 10 funding, as long as these services are part of a comprehensive approach to prevention.

Overall, AmeriCorps members can be utilized in diverse ways, depending on the strategies developed locally by your county's prevention effort.

What are the outcomes for the California Alliance for Prevention?

Second year evaluation by Minicucci & Associates for the California Alliance for Prevention discovered the following outcomes:

• Reduction in substantiated child abuse and neglect by 69% during program participation and by 44% after program completion.
• Savings in child welfare services costs of potentially $10 million during the second program year.
• Increase in local services through Family Resource Centers and decrease in demand for government services because of collaboration between county agencies and grassroots, community-based organizations.
• Increased organizational capacity of small and grassroots, community-based organizations.
• An expressed commitment to lifelong community service among AmeriCorps members as a result of AmeriCorps training and development.