February 2021 

With heavy hearts, great admiration and deep appreciation, the Sierra Health Foundation Board of Directors, Executive Management Team and staff bid farewell to Board Member Carol Whiteside, who passed away on Feb. 19.

Appointed to the board on Jan. 1, 2000, and serving for more than 20 years, Carol brought vast experience from many years of public service in community and governmental organizations. Her insights and perspectives were invaluable as Sierra Health Foundation expanded, launched The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and evolved from a small regional philanthropy to become a leading California institution focused on health and racial equity and racial justice.

Carol previously served as founder and president of the Great Valley Center in Modesto, an organization committed to the economic, social and environmental well-being of California's Central Valley. She also served Gov. Pete Wilson’s administration as director of intergovernmental affairs from 1991 to 1997 and served as mayor of Modesto from 1987 to 1991. Prior to becoming mayor, she was a member of the Modesto City Council and served her community as a school board trustee and as school board president.

“Carol’s decades-long career leaves a legacy of leadership and public service that will endure for generations to come,” said Sierra Health Foundation Board Chair Jose Hermocillo.

Those who wish to honor Carol’s memory can do so by donating to the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.

Sierra Health Foundation joined 18 other philanthropic organizations and funders to launch the California Black Freedom Fund, a five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

The first state-based fund of its kind, the California Black Freedom Fund prioritizes investments in the courageous and visionary grassroots advocates and community leaders who are transforming our cities, our state and our world.

Learn more on the California Black Freedom Fund web site.

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, earlier this month announced more than $17.3 million in grants to 110 community-based organizations throughout California to support community engagement and public health education, and to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. Access the news release on the California Department of Social Services web site.

Sierra Health Foundation and The Center are accepting applications for the following positions: director of communications, grants and contracts management associate, and senior program associate. Visit our Employment Opportunities web page to learn about the positions and apply online.

Asthma Mitigation Project Round 2
The Center, in partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services, will award grants up to $350,000 to community-based organizations, local health departments, community-based health care providers or Medi-Cal managed care organizations throughout California to support specific culturally and linguistically appropriate asthma home visiting services, education and environmental mitigation activities. Applications are due by April 20. Access the request for proposals for more information and application instructions.

San Joaquin Valley Health Fund COVID-19 Farmworker Resiliency
The Center will award multiple two-year grants up to $300,000 each that advance farmworker recovery and resiliency through non-lobbying policy and systems change. Current and new San Joaquin Valley Health Fund partners with demonstrated experience working alongside farmworkers to advocate for policy and systems change are eligible to apply. Applications are due by March 12. Access the request for applications for more information and applications instructions.

Tribal and Urban Indian Community-Defined Best Practices
This opportunity from The Center, in partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services, is for eligible Tribal and Urban Indian organizations to support the planning or implementation of community-defined best practices into substance use disorder services for Tribal and Urban Indian communities throughout the state. A total of $1.9 million is available. Applications are due by March 19. Learn more on the Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project web site.

Tribal and Urban Indian Medications for Addiction Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and Psychoactive Stimulant Use Disorder Learning Community
This opportunity from The Center, in partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services, is for eligible Tribal and Urban Indian organizations to develop, operationalize, enhance and sustain substance use disorder treatment services, with an emphasis on the importance of culture in patient engagement, treatment and recovery. A total of $2.5 million is available. Applications are due by March 19. Learn more on the Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project web site.

The Positive Youth Justice Initiative and its partners are working to transform the California juvenile justice system through a multi-year effort to create a more just system grounded in the principles of positive youth development and focused on aligning policy and practice with young people’s developmental stages. In 2017, the initiative shifted its approach by investing in community-based organizations that engage youth and families directly impacted by the juvenile justice system in 11 counties across California.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (now Evident Change) carried out a three-year evaluation of the initiative to learn how it had contributed to the partners’ organizing and advocacy work, document the policy and systems change accomplishments of the partners, and provide recommendations that Sierra Health Foundation, its philanthropic partners and the broader philanthropic field can use to support communities in strengthening local infrastructure for organizing and advocacy toward a healthier youth justice system.

The evaluation shows that community partners and their coalition members made substantial contributions to reforming local policies related to transforming the youth justice system in areas such as improving school climate, reducing or eliminating law enforcement on school campuses, ending the use of voluntary or informal probation for youth, reframing law enforcement’s perception of young people, diverting youth from justice system involvement and ending youth incarceration. Its recommendations include ensuring that youth have the support they need to become advocates, encouraging philanthropy to fund organizing and advocacy efforts like the Positive Youth Justice Initiative, and linking local movements to statewide advocacy efforts.

Access the full evaluation report and the evaluation highlights on the Positive Youth Justice Initiative web page.

Since 2015, the community-driven Black Child Legacy Campaign has worked to reduce deaths of African American children in Sacramento County. Established by the Steering Committee on Reduction of African American Child Deaths, the campaign is rightfully celebrated as a success in Sacramento, not only saving children from dying but also building community capacity to end the generational cycle of trauma and heartbreak.

A new report — Transformative Justice Community: A Countywide Evaluation of the Black Child Legacy Campaign — is the result of a two-year evaluation conducted by researchers at UC Davis and Sacramento State University. It provides evidence of the effectiveness of the strategies in building a sustainable system of support to protect children from preventable deaths. The evaluation findings are backed up by changes in Black child death, with the most recent data showing that the rate of African American child death decreased by 30 percent from 2014 to 2018.

“The Black Child Legacy Campaign draws on the power inherent in Black communities to provide a legacy of health, pride and love to our children. We offer our experience as inspiration to others.”
– Chet P. Hewitt, President and CEO, The Center at Sierra Health Foundation

Access the evaluation report on the Black Child Legacy Campaign web site.

The Build.Black. Coalition this month launched an app to support and uplift Black businesses and entrepreneurs, while also supporting a justice and equity movement committed to building the social, economic and cultural vitality and influence of Black residents and communities — locally and nationally. With the Build.Black. app, consumers can easily find and support Black-owned businesses, artisans and entrepreneurs. App users also can post or find events, connect with groups to teach or learn about issues, post or search for jobs, and find resources on topics such as health and training for entrepreneurs. Black business owners are invited to register on the app, which is available at Google Play and the App Store. Check out the Build.Black. app video on Facebook and the redesigned Build.Black. web site.

According to the COVID-19.ca.gov web site, California is allocating COVID-19 vaccines as they become available to ensure equitable distribution. Vaccinations are prioritized according to age and risk. A portion of the California population can get vaccinated now, and the rest should have access by spring 2021. Every Californian can sign up at myturn.ca.gov or call (833) 422-4255 to see if it’s their turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine. If you’re not currently eligible or if there are no open appointments, you can sign up to be notified when it’s your turn.

According to a new national poll commissioned by the Youth First Initiative, a survey of 1,000 adults found that 77 percent of Americans want to close youth prisons after learning about their lasting harm. This year’s polling shows that the call for closing youth prisons is growing and there is broad, bipartisan support for federal and state criminal justice reforms. Access New Poll Results On Youth Justice Reform on the No Kids in Prison web site.