PRESS RELEASE:

Mayfair Improvement Initiative Selected to Receive $662,000 Grant Award from FIRST 5 Commission of Santa Clara County
Funds will be used to link families of Mayfair and
Arbuckle neighborhoods with children ages 0 – 5
with school readiness resources of FIRST 5’s EAST Initiative

(San Jose , CA) -- The Mayfair Improvement Initiative announced today that it has been recommended by an independent review panel of the FIRST 5 Commission to be the agency to receive a $662,000 grant for providing the Care Management services of EAST Initiative for the period May 2004 – June 2005. On Wednesday, March 10, the FIRST 5 Commission formally accepted the panel’s recommendation, thus clearing the way for FIRST 5 and Mayfair Improvement Initiative (MII) to enter into final contract negotiations. Pending annual performance reviews, MII will also be eligible to annually receive $497,000 in continued funding for the delivery of the same services during the period July 2005 – June 2007.

The Care Management system will serve as the central hub for coordinating and linking the comprehensive set of strategies of FIRST 5’s EAST Initiative. These strategies will be targeted at ensuring that children in the Mayfair and Arbuckle neighborhoods are well prepared to enter Kindergarten fully ready to learn. Strategies of the EAST Initiative will include Care Management, Infant/Toddler Behavioral Health, Family Literacy, Dental Health, and Kindergarten Transition services to up to 1,200 neighborhood families.

To implement Care Management, MII will adapt the Promotor model that is increasingly used by health service agencies to maximize the effectiveness of their community outreach work. The Promotor model utilizes lay health educators that are members of the communities in which they work. This approach successfully overcomes the distinct cultural differences that often inhibit communication and trust between neighborhood residents and service agencies. “The use of the Promotor model really is based on the premise that we ourselves, neighbors and members of the same community, can be the most vital asset in a successful campaign to ensure our children enjoy the solid foundations that are necessary for success in school and ultimately in life,” says MII Associate Director, Jaime Alvarado.

Joining the MII in this effort are four partners that bring deep commitment and strategic expertise to the EAST Initiative–O’Connor Hospital Parish Nursing Program, Parents Helping Parents, Santa Clara Family Health Plan, and Santa Clara Family Health Foundation. The partnership with these agencies will provide MII’s Care Management team with enhanced expertise and resources in working with Special Needs families, providing clinical health services and education, and health insurance enrollment and utilization. MII and its partners will field a team of Care Managers that are competent in working with English, Spanish, and Vietnamese-speaking families.

For more information about the Mayfair Improvement Initiative, please visit http://www.mayfairneighborhood.org.

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