Kids In Common

KIC's Board of Directors were brainstorming and planning at their annual Board Retreat last weekend! We can't wait to share what we have in store this coming year and are excited to continue to grow with our community. Mary Ann Dewan, Ph.D. Jessica Bautista Fernando Mendoza Mary Cheryl B Gloner Jamie Wang Marlene (Taylor) Zapata Rosemary Tisch Dana Bunnett Joy Murrieta

Meet our board members! We will highlight a different board member each month. Jessica Bautista, MSW Santa Clara Family Health Plan Working in the intersectionality of government and healthcare, Jessica has spent her time in Santa Clara County addressing the healthcare disparities for vulnerable populations, by designing State and Federal funded programs. Through her efforts, she has worked to identify children who meet the highest complex health needs, including children in foster care and children at-risk of homelessness and worked to provide evidence-based interventions. She is a first-generation college graduate and the first in her family to receive a post-graduate Masters in Social Work from University of Michigan (Go Blue!).? Through Kids in Common, she hopes to continue connecting and advocating with community-based organizations to push the children’s agenda forward. Read more about our board on our website. https://lnkd.in/ghQm74gA

1,903,297 people live in SCC; 30% of SCC residents are children & young adults? Of those 236,428 children enrolled in SCC Public Schools:?? 42% are low-income? 12% special needs Read more about this on page 5 in the 2024 Data Book. https://lnkd.in/gUu6-sUe

Registration is open now for the 2025 Santa Clara County Children’s Summit Hope and Connection Thursday, April 24, 2025 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p. m. Villa Ragusa, Campbell We have an amazing line-up of speakers, workshops, panels, and more at this year’s Children’s Summit.? You don’t want to miss it! For information on the program and to register, go to https://lnkd.in/gYJhKsaD Don’t delay! Register NOW! Early Bird Registration Ends April 11!

Our Board of Directors welcomed their new Co-Executive Director, Joy Murrieta, to Kids in Common last month! Key donors and partners were invited to? for the hors d'oeuvres and refreshments at the Los Altos Golf and Country Club on January 22nd, and Kids in Common’s Board and current Co-Executive Director, Dana Bunnett, welcomed Joy and provided updates and news regarding the organization. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it, and we hope to host another event with you all soon!

The Social Emotional Wellness (SEW) Initiative is a structured, data-driven initiative and 5-year action plan that collaboratively addresses the youth mental health crisis through three key pillars of work: Cultivating Caring Communities, Addressing Basic Needs, and Family and Community Education. The SEW Initiative is a workgroup of KIC’s Children’s Agenda, a data-driven, collective impact effort aimed at improving results for our community’s children and eliminating disparities across the life course framework. The SEW Initiative work groups meet once/month throughout the year to collaboratively develop and implement the scope of work for each pillar. ?Contact Kids in Common to learn more about how to join this work! https://lnkd.in/gPw3QeWE Key partners of this group include:? Applied Survey Research, County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services, Bill Wilson Center, California Young World, City of San José, County of Santa Clara Office of Children and Families Policy, Excite Credit Union, FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, Grail Family Services (GFS), Groundwork Social Sector Consulting, Healthier Kids Foundation, KINGDOM FAMILY RESOURCES, Pacific Clinics, Palo Alto Community Child Care, Parents Helping Parents, Pivotal Ventures, County of Santa Clara Probation, Neighborhood Safety Services Unit (NSU), Project Safety Net,? County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency - DFCS, Santa Clara County Office of Education, Santa Clara Family Health Plan, SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF SANTA CLARA & SN MATEO, San José Public Library, South County Youth Task Force, Stanford Children's Health | Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Think Hopeful, Inc., Valley Health Plan, Youth liberation movement, YMCA Project Cornerstone

In a letter of support to the greater county community, 17 school leaders cite the US Supreme Court’s upholding of Plyler v. Doe 1982, which states that all children in the United States have an equal right to enroll and participate in public elementary and secondary schools without regard for their or their family’s citizenship status. Read the full release in the SCCOE Newsroom at https://lnkd.in/g2F6sKqB Santa Clara County School Boards Association Alum Rock Union Elementary School District Berryessa Union School District Cambrian School District Campbell Union School District Fremont Union High School District Los Altos School District Milpitas Unified School District Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Oak Grove School District Orchard School District Sunnyvale School District

Kids in Common (KIC) has cultivated a strong partnership with the Youth liberation movement (YLM), comprised of young adult community leaders in Santa Clara County. YLM’s mission is to liberate young people from generational cycles of trauma and oppression by translating their lived experiences into actionable solutions. Kids in Common partnered with YLM in 2022 to co-create an updated Bill of Rights for Children and Young Adults, grounded on the ideas and wisdom of young people, and remains a cornerstone foundation of the Children’s Agenda Network. Through surveys and group conversations, the Bill of Rights was built on the values, knowledge, and experiences of over 250 Santa Clara County Youth. An updated Bill of Rights was published in January of 2023 and has since gotten the endorsements of hundreds of people, multiple cities, government departments, youth groups and nonprofits. YLM has since also partnered with KIC to co-chair the working groups of KIC’s Social Emotional Wellbeing Initiative—a structured, data-driven initiative program of the Children's Agenda, and 5-year action plan that collaboratively address the youth mental health crisis through three key pillars of work: Addressing Basic Needs, Cultivating Caring Communities, and Family & Community Education. https://lnkd.in/gEbyc5Ym

2023 DATA SNAPSHOT SCC Children Entering Foster Care (Rate per Thousand) Trend: Fewer children are entering foster care. Black children are 14 times more likely to enter foster care (2.9/thousand) than White children (0.2/thousand). At a rate of 0.7 per thousand, Latino/a/x are 3.5 times more likely than White children to enter foster care. Read more about this on page 6 in the 2024 Data Book: https://lnkd.in/gUu6-sUe