Community Impact Progress Report

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UNITED WAY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY Community Impact Progess Report - December 2008

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In 2008, United Way took bold new steps to advance the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all residents of San Diego County. Advancing the common good is less about helping one person at a time and more about changing systems to help all of us solve the region’s problems at their root cause. Your donations are already working to bring this kind change to the community in three critical areas. Below is an update on how we are investing your dollars in a number of proven, innovative programs to stop child abuse and neglect, promote financial stability, and end chronic homelessness in San Diego.

Stopping Child Abuse and Neglect

This is one of the most serious issues facing our community. In 2007, approximately 10,000 substantiated cases were reported in San Diego County, which holds a higher rate of child abuse than the state average. Child abuse and neglect negatively impact a child’s health and well-being, including their ability to learn. Crime, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and increased high school dropout rates are all risk factors for abused and neglected children. Through June 2009, United Way is investing more than $1 million dollars in results-driven programs that attack the problem from different angles:

  • $50,000 to sponsor the first Camp Connect West for youth in foster care. This camp reunited 60 brothers and sisters that live apart in foster care. For siblings that can’t be placed together due to family size or special needs, maintaining relationships with their siblings is critical, generating positive effects in school as well as their foster care placement. United Way funding made the camp and other year-round, sibling-connection activities possible. The Child Abuse Prevention Foundation served as fiscal agent, and a partnership with County Child Welfare Services made the camp a reality. Learn more about the camp by visiting uwsd.org and typing keyword: Camp Connect.
     
  • A minimum of $600,000 for an innovative program called SafeCare®, which has proven to reduce child abuse and neglect in other U.S. cities by up to 70%. South Bay Community Services and their agency partners, Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) and The Chadwick Center at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego are conducting the program throughout the south and central regions. Trained staff has already implemented SafeCare, teaching intensive parenting and child health skills to about 90 families around the region serving nearly 200 children. By June 2009, 175 families will have received some services in the 4- to 6- month program.
     
  • Up to $250,000 by June 2009 to The Period of PURPLE Crying® for Shaken Baby Syndrome prevention. Created by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, this program protects babies by educating parents about infant crying and how to handle frustration. United Way contracted with San Diego Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program (SANDAPP) to provide training to implement the program.

    Your donations will help educate 15,000 new parents, served by at least 10 different agencies. Recently, United Way and SANDAPP received an award for excellence from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome for their efforts to reach parents/caregivers who are at higher risk for child abuse and neglect. United Way has also been recognized as a pioneer in Shaken Baby Syndrome education by the State of California and is a standing member of the statewide task force.
     
  • $100,000 was invested to establish The United Way Child Abuse and Neglect Fellowship, created at Rady Children’s Hospital through the Chadwick Center for Children and Families. The fellowship will provide highly specialized training for one board certified pediatrician to become a certified Child Abuse and Neglect specialist. The fellow will conduct research into treatment and prevention, treat children, and provide community education and training to spread knowledge to other providers throughout the County.

Promoting Financial Stability and Independence

United Way chose this as one of its critical focus areas due to a serious lack of standardized financial skills training across the region. High-quality training in this area is critical to helping people learn how to handle their finances and maintain stability and independence. Those who have no financial skills or whose behavior has led them into financial difficulties are particularly at risk. With the downturn in the economy, United Way’s efforts to help families and individuals learn how to handle money is even more critical to the financial health of our communities.

  • United Way is investing over $900,000 this year in a financial skills improvement program that teaches four core standards – budgeting, redit and debt, taxes and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and checking and savings. United Way has funded six local organizations to conduct the program: Home Start, Center for Community Solutions, Second Chance, North County Lifeline Legal Aid Society, and Community Housing Works.

    At the end of the 16-week training period, these organizations will assess the changes in their clients’ knowledge and behavior. They will ensure individuals have paid the same bill on time over a three-month period; established or maintained a checking or savings account in good standing over a three-month period; had a 30% increase in knowledge over the 16-week period; and received at least 16 hours of financial education in both a group and one-on-one setting.

    A pilot program to provide onsite education to employees in large companies was launched in September at NASSCO. Over a month-long period, employees participated in weekly 90-minute classes to learn about budgeting, credit and debt, checking and savings, and taxes and EITC. United Way will be expanding the program to other companies throughout the county and is accepting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from providers who will teach this course.

    In December, United Way issued a second RFP for community agencies to provide financial education to underserved and/or marginalized youth, ages 13-24. Target populations and programs could include foster youth, formerly homeless youth, and economically disadvantaged youth. Funding is scheduled for February 2009.

    View the Apply for Funding page to learn more about the RFPs.
     
  • United Way has assumed the leadership role in the local Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) coalition and is investing over $100,000 into the EITC initiative this year. This past tax season, the coalition prepared 19,296 federal tax returns for San Diego County residents, generating $7.3 million in EITC refunds – more than 30% increase in the number of returns prepared and the total EITC dollars brought back to the region over last year. United Way is expanding the scope of the program by funding financial education services for nearly 400 individuals who have received free tax preparation services. The organizations providing these additional financial education services are Home Start, Interfaith Community Services, MAAC Project, North County Lifeline, Social Advocates for Youth (SAY), South Bay Community Services and International Rescue Committee (IRC).
     
  • United Way is investing $100,000 with the San Diego Housing Commission to match Individual Development Accounts (IDA) – a matched savings account for individuals. The Housing Commission was able to leverage the $100,000 grant from United Way to obtain an additional $100,000 in federal IDA funds. A federally funded IDA must be used by individuals who are saving toward the set goal of secondary education, homeownership, or micro-enterprise. For every dollar an individual saves, it will be matched by $2.

    We’re also investing $65,000 in IDAs with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a non-federal IDA program. These IDAs will be used by individuals who are saving toward asset goals like personal computers, education, debt repayment, and down payments on automobiles.
     
  • United Way is spending $75,000 to continue implementation of a personal finance curriculum in the San Diego City and County schools. 8500 high school seniors will learn about money management, using a curriculum that covers everything from checkbook balancing and income taxes to investments and credit. Funding this initiative will increase our reach into the youth population with the goal to impact young people before they reach adulthood, when the stakes are much higher. 

Homeless Outreach and Prevention

United Way collaborated with government officials, homeless advocates, service providers, and volunteers to create The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in the San Diego Region (PTECH). The plan has been endorsed by the City of San Diego and 16 other cities in the region. In July 2008, PTECH finalized its first-phase goals. In its first year, the number-one goal was implementation of a pilot program that will serve 200 chronically homeless individuals.

  • Various committees, listed below, work on specific areas of importance to this issue:
    • Data and Outcomes Committee
    • Resource Committee 
    • Outreach & Case Management Committee
    • Discharge Planning Committee
    • Justice System Committee
    • Intake Committee
       
  • This initiative—which advocates permanent housing to the homeless first, followed by supportive services—is based on a model that has already succeeded in reducing chronic homelessness by up to 70 percent in other major U.S. cities.
     
  • The San Diego City Council Permanent Homeless Facility Task Force has asked United Way to recommend services and space needed for a permanent intake facility. Our seat at the table ensures our continued leadership role in solving this community issue.
     
  • In 2007-2008, United Way contributed $200,000 to keep emergency homeless shelters in San Diego and North County. These shelters provided over 600 beds and served more than 2,000 homeless men, women, and children last season. We recently announced funding of $70,000 to help keep the North County shelters open from December 2008-March 2009.

So far in 2008-2009, United Way has contributed to the following initiatives that support the continuum of homeless services:

  • Point-in-Time Count (The Regional Task Force on the Homeless): $50,000 will enhance the annual count of homeless persons in various ways, such as increasing the number of volunteers who conduct the count. This tally helps determine how much federal money the County will receive to combat homelessness.
     
  • Neil Good Day Center (St. Vincent de Paul Village): $50,000 over two years will support the Center’s operation so that it can be open on the weekends. 
     
  • Permanent Supportive Housing Program & Financial Modeling (Corporation for Supportive Housing): $17,350 to develop a 10-year model outlining the resources needed for the development of permanent supportive housing in San Diego.
     
  • North County Regional Winter Shelter System (Alliance for Regional Solutions): $70,000 will provide supportive services to the hundreds of homeless individuals and families that access this shelter system.

View our “Community Impact Dashboard” to follow our progress and see how we measure success.

For the latest news and funding announcements, visit the News section of our website.

 

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