Over the years, YCCA has led many advocacy efforts at both the state and local level. Looking back, it’s nice to see how our efforts add up! While there’s always more work to do, we’d like to take this moment to thank our many diverse partners; we’re so thankful for our ongoing affiliations and growing relationships, all of which contribute to the health and wellbeing of Yolo County families in one capacity or another. Our continued advocacy work on behalf of Yolo County families has resulted in the following partnerships and program enhancements:

• YCCA thanks County Medical Service Program Governing Board for supporting us to assist families to enroll in and retain MediCal coverage. So far this fiscal year, we’ve assisted with 89 MediCal enrollments and 345 Re-Enrollments!
• YCCA thanks California Family Resource Association and The California Endowment ‘Health Happens Here’ program for their support of the Youth Promotores program
• YCCA thanks Sierra Health Foundation for funding a semester of advocacy, organizing and leadership training for the Youth Promotores Program
• YCCA thanks County of Yolo for helping us spread the word about CalFresh and for doing a fantastic job of partnering with us to get applications processed. We thank California Association of Food Banks for supporting our enrollment and retention work. Since July 2014, we’ve enrolled 95 people and re-enrolled 113 people into the CalFresh program!
• YCCA thanks United Way California Capital Region for funding a full-time Reading Coordinator to oversee the STAR Readers Program at Westfield Village Elementary School, which helps 70 kids read at grade level.
• YCCA thanks California Coverage and Health Initiatives (CCHI) and the State Navigator Program for giving us the tools we need to get the word out about Covered California and educate youth, families, and other hard-to-reach populations about their health insurance options.
• YCCA thanks the West Sacramento Foundation for supporting our weekly West Sacramento fresh fruits and vegetable distribution, where we serve approximately 450 unique families over the course of the year, rain or shine.
• YCCA thanks Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region and Rotary Club of Davis for supporting us in our capacity as the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Yolo County.
• YCCA thanks Yocha Dehe Community Fund for sponsoring health insurance premiums for 30 kids living in rural Yolo County who would otherwise have no health insurance at all.
• YCCA thanks Kaiser Permanente Community Benefits and First 5 Yolo for supporting our all-encompassing Family Resource Centers (FRCs) in West Sacramento and Clarksburg. In addition to providing enrollment assistance for health insurance, CalFresh and Calworks, FRC’s connect clients to other resources related to mental health, housing, jobs, childcare, and immigration process. FRCs offer concrete support to families through weekly food distribution, weekly Playschool Experience school readiness classes for parents and children, developmental screenings, and tax return preparation assistance.
• YCCA thanks to Yolo County, Bank of America and First 5 Yolo for strengthening our advocacy work as lead of the Yolo Community Health Initiative, which assisted 199 families to enroll in health insurance and assisted 368 families to retain and utilize health insurance.
• YCCA thanks First 5 Yolo for providing program funding for the Step by Step/Paso a Paso Home Visiting Program, which supported 89 first time parents through healthy pregnancies and positive parenting experiences.
• YCCA thanks Wells Fargo, City of West Sacramento and Northern California Construction Training program for partnering with us to completely revitalize a major pedestrian/bike thoroughfare in the Broderick-Bryte neighborhood, allowing a safer route for the 400 children who attend Westfield Village Elementary School.
• YCCA thanks Sacramento Region Emergency Food and Shelter Board and the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program for supporting us to bridge the gap for more than 150 families with emergency food and diaper vouchers during their time of need.
• YCCA thanks Target for sponsoring $2,000 worth of books to promote early literacy with parents in the Step by Step/Paso a Paso Home Visiting Program and families at our West Sacramento and Clarksburg Family Resource Centers.

Together, we’re making a real difference in the lives of children and families in Yolo County. Here’s to a healthy, happy 2015!