Awarded to Live Oak School District, Santa Cruz Community Health Centers
Santa Cruz Community Health Centers (SCCHC) and the Live Oak School District have been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Center for Care Innovations (CCI) and Blue Shield of California Foundation to continue the Cradle to Career Initiative.
Together, SCCHC and Live Oak School District are advancing a model of care that goes beyond the confines of a clinic and the classroom to address the needs of high-risk children. By coordinating team care across pediatrics, behavioral health and child psychiatry with teachers, the school nurse and school counselors, comprehensive support and treatment wraps around the child and the family for improved social outcomes.
“We are taking the next step to envelop high-needs kids with coordinated care, so all kids are thriving,” said SCCHC Executive Director Leslie Conner. “It sounds simple, but Santa Cruz Community Health Centers collaborating with Live Oak School District is a sea change in comprehensive care for the Live Oak community. We are thankful for this grant in further supporting our partnership.”
Through the Innovation Lab grant, a CCI program in partnership with Blue Shield of California Foundation, the grant is aimed at supporting new partnerships and new approaches, like the Live Oak Cradle to Career Initiative, to learn how to innovate health care practices for lasting change in our California communities and beyond.
Launched as a pilot program in 2014, Live Oak Cradle to Career has been transformative in a primarily underserved Latino community. Unprecedented parent leadership and community involvement have combined to invert the traditional way to approach issues by placing families and their children at the center of care.
“Cradle to Career is connecting our education and health care in ways that empower teachers, families and our kids,” said Live Oak School District Superintendent Tamra Taylor. “All too often, educators are called upon to address health, social and emotional needs of our children and families. Now we have a true partner to help us in our endeavor who shares our educational goals as natural extensions of health care goals.”