LFCV awarded a “Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence” grant to expand services in Patterson and Winton Unified School Districts
La Familia Central Valley (LFCV) has been awarded a highly competitive grant for $999,981 through the Department of Justice’s “Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence” program. This three-year grant will allow LFCV to add new mental health treatment services to schools in two Central Valley school districts: Patterson Unified School District (PUSD) and Winton Unified School District (WUSD). This grant is part of LFCV’s established program, Un Paso Adelante (A Step Forward), which is already serving Delhi USD and Hughson USD through a FY22 BJA STOP Grant.
PUSD, located in Stanislaus County, serves over 6,000 students and had 855 separate suspensions and expulsions last school year, with a suspension rate almost double the County average and 132% higher than the state average, and an expulsion rate more than double California’s. WUSD, located in Merced County, serves 1,904 students and has concerns over the rapid rise in suspension and expulsion rates since COVID shutdowns, rising 44% and 200% respectively since the 2018-19 school year. PUSD and WUSD were selected because of significant risk factors for school violence, which include increases in school and community violence, gang violence, access to weapons, bullying, and community demand for culturally relevant mental health services.
“In its first year, Un Paso Adelante has received 81 referrals, provided 370 mental health services to students, and trained 34 school staff in Youth Mental Health First Aid in Hughson and Delhi Unified School Districts. We are humbled and excited to expand this successful program and provide students and parents in Patterson and Winton with the needed services and resources to increase their resiliency and well-being.” says Juan Perez, La Familia Central Valley’s Clinical Director.
Through this grant LFCV will train school personnel, educate students and families on common mental health concerns and violence indicators, and hire two school clinicians to provide intensive services to the most at-risk students to decrease school violence, divert students from justice involvement, and increase staff and community ability to recognize and intervene in mental health crises and secure treatment.
LFCV operates in nine school districts serving 16 schools. Many of their trainings, including El Joven Noble and Cara y Corazon, tailor services to Latinos, who are historically under-served and struggle with biases and cultural norms that often prevent them from accessing needed services. Programs like Un Paso Adelante, that focus on prevention and invest in school-based programs– in full partnership with local school districts– have been shown to improve the mental health and emotional well-being of children at low cost and high benefit. LFCV is proud to provide much needed support to these two rural districts at the heart of the Central Valley community.