This special report originally appeared in the September-October 2001 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Prop. 10: Weaving a web of support for young children and families

Ask the parents

Parents often know more than anyone else about their own children. That's why the state Prop. 10 Commission urges counties to involve parents in their plans. But "parent involvement is hard with this age group of children," says Jennie Tasheff, executive director of the Sonoma Prop. 10 Commission. "They're exhausted from the daily demands."

"If you really want parent involvement you have to spend a lot of time planning, creating, structuring," says Rory Darrah of the Alameda County Prop. 10 staff. Counties came up with some strategies.

Getting Parent Input

Surveys: Debbie Lerma, an outreach worker for the Santa Cruz Prop. 10 Commission, says that before the county wrote its Prop. 10 plan, "we went everywhere-flea markets, grocery stores, school festivals, apartment complexes-to do surveys, asking what people thought we should do with the money."

Parent meetings or focus groups: "Where people felt most comfortable," says Santa Cruz Prop. 10 Executive Director Rafael Lopez, "was meeting in small groups with neighbors." In Monterey, says Commissioner Carole Singley, "We picked places where we thought parents would come and provided food and child care." In Marin, a Prop. 10 meeting was held in a church after Sunday mass, so undocumented immigrant parents would feel safe.

Building in parent views

"There was a large effort to ask community groups to hold focus groups for the planning stage," says Ethel Seiderman, executive director of the Parent Services Project. "Now they have to figure out how to keep parents in the loop."

Parents as decision-makers: In Monterey, a parent advisory board to the Prop. 10 Commission includes one parent served by each agency funded by Prop. 10. In San Francisco, a 12-member Parent Action Selection Board reviews applications to the Parent Action Grant program.

Mini-grants to parents: Several counties, including San Francisco, Solano, and Contra Costa, provide "mini-grants" to groups of parents who want to start their own programs. In Solano, one group received a mini-grant to create a store where they could barter for children's clothing and toys, another to purchase playground equipment.

Taking suggestions: "Many of the things we funded were initiated by parent interest, especially the parent mini-grants," says San Francisco Commissioner Dr. Lucy Crain.

Next Steps

San Francisco's Civic Engagement Coordinator Krystal Robinson says, "We are thinking about training and funding parents as 'Parent Ambassadors' to train other parents about resources. Several county commissions are considering changes in their structure to include parents as members or advisors."

-Elizabeth Gilman

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The Civic Engagement Project

In eight counties, including six in the Bay Area (Contra Costa, Monterey, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz), the Civic Engagement Project (CEP) has helped to create broad public participation in the Prop. 10 planning process by supporting outreach staff, community surveys, public meetings, and services such as interpreters and child care. The CEP is a project of the Miriam & Peter Haas Fund, the Walter & Elise Haas Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Peninsula Community Foundation.

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