March 2025 Newsletter
2025 Children’s Health Equity Policy and Budget Priorities
We believe that a child is a child. Regardless of their race, ethnicity or place of birth, all children have equal value and potential. Building the foundation for our children’s health in this moment requires us to be bold, engaged and relentless.
We know that every California family wants their children to be healthy and thrive in this country. Families are facing intense stress with federal-level threats of cuts to Medicaid (which funds more than half of Medi-Cal here in California); deportations and immigration enforcement; the ripping away of safety protections for places children live, learn and play; and attacks on food supports and other programs that enable families to support their children’s long-term health.
And this being Women’s History Month – a time to honor the strength, resilience and contributions of women – it’s a reminder of the struggles and sacrifices many women, including immigrant mothers and caregivers, face in making sure their families’ needs are met first, while their own well-being often takes a backseat.
A new study from Children’s HealthWatch highlights the daily challenges immigrant mothers in the United States navigate as they work to keep their families healthy – while dealing with barriers such as financial hardship, unfriendly government policies and discrimination.
As federal attacks on justice, health care access and immigrants increase, California must rise to the occasion and continue to stand up for its children. This moment requires our greatest efforts to double down on resources and opportunities that ensure children’s health is valued today and into the future. With children’s health always at the forefront, these are The Children’s Partnership’s 2025 policy and budget priorities:
Fight for Our Health! Join the Movement
As a children’s health equity advocacy organization, The Children’s Partnership works to ensure all California children have access to the services, programs and resources they need to live healthy, thriving lives. We understand that healthy children also need healthy parents and caregivers to ensure their well-being.
That’s why TCP, along with many other organizations that advocate for health equity, have come together to Fight for Our Health. We are extremely concerned about federal efforts to jam devastating health care funding cuts through Congress. Doing so would risk lives by ripping crucial care away from millions of American children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities – and lead to higher health care costs and worse access for all working people, all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.
TCP is especially concerned with cuts to Medicaid, which covers more than half of all children in California – three-fourths of whom are children of color. Medi-Cal is a lifeline for more than 15 million Californians, providing essential care to families, seniors and children. With more than half of Medi-Cal spending coming from federal funds, slashing Medicaid would compromise the health of millions of Californians and also destabilize the entire health care system on which every Californian depends. The financial well-being of community health clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, children’s hospitals, and other health care providers that depend on Medi-Cal reimbursements will suffer, leading to raised costs and even closures.
Join us in telling our California members of Congress to stand with their constituents, not billionaires. Take action now!
If your organization would like to join the fight, contact Melissa Cedillo at mcedillo@health-access.org.
CALL TO ACTION: Restore Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children
On March 21, 2025, the Trump administration issued a near-total termination of work on its Unaccompanied Children Program, immediately ending funding for legal representation for 26,000 children navigating the immigration system without a parent or guardian.
Legal services are a critical defense against child trafficking and exploitation. They ensure that immigrant children have the necessary support to report abuses and seek appropriate legal protections, such as visas for trafficking survivors or for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected.
Children who have legal representation throughout the immigration process are more likely to attend school, receive medical care, and live in a stable home. Access to supportive legal services helps children overcome barriers to school enrollment, identify low-cost resources within the community, and access protective services.
We urge you to send a letter to your members of Congress and help spread the word! Our partners, led by ImmDef and Florence Project, have created resources that we encourage you to use: a social media toolkit with assets and messaging guidance.
📢 UPDATE: ALL IN for Safe Schools
The Children’s Partnership, Californians Together, and a core team of cross-sector partners are joining forces to support educators in creating safe schools and early learning centers for all! Our ALL IN for Safe Schools campaign will launch in close collaboration with the ACLU of Southern California, California School-Based Health Alliance, Early Edge California, Equality California, and Teach Plus California. We are incredibly excited and honored to work alongside these amazing partners. Together, we aim to better coordinate our collective efforts in supporting educators and early education providers in creating safe schools and early childhood education spaces for children in immigrant families and LGBTQ+ students.
Stay tuned for more! In the meantime, see below for how you can stay connected:
GET INVOLVED!
✅ Go to allinforsafeschools.org for guidance and resources created for K-12 educators and early childhood education professionals to implement safe school policies.
✅ Sign up for updates about our ALL IN for Safe Schools campaign in California, or email allinforhealth@childrenspartnership.org if you have questions.
✅ Monitor and support existing and emerging safe school policy initiatives. Read TCP’s Safe School Policy Explainer for up-to-date information and advocacy opportunities related to safe schools policies.
✅ Join the national Education for All campaign, dedicated to protecting access to K-12 public education for every child in the United States, no matter their immigration status.
✅ Report immigration enforcement actions! The National Immigration Legal Responders Alliance (NILRA) created a provisional NILRA Enforcement Actions Form to capture information on enforcement actions. This form will help map locations and permutations of raids and enforcement actions.
New CHW/P/R Medi-Cal Benefit Fact Sheet
The Whole Child Equity Partnership (WCEP), along with The Children’s Partnership, First 5 Center for Children’s Policy and the CHW/P/R Policy Coalition’s steering committee, have created a fact sheet to help community health workers, promotores and representatives (CHW/P/Rs) and other community health providers better understand the Medi-Cal Community Health Worker Services Benefit.
The goal of the Medi-Cal Community Health Worker Services Benefit is to provide support for underserved communities by bridging the gap between individuals and the health care system through culturally competent outreach, education and support.The benefit includes services provided by individuals known by a variety of job titles, including promotoras, community health representatives and advocates, navigators, and other non-licensed public health workers, such as family navigators and home visitors.
This fact sheet provides CHW/P/Rs, community-based organizations and others with an overview of the Medi-Cal Community Health Worker Services Benefit. We want CHW/P/Rs and other community providers to be informed about this benefit so they can leverage Medi-Cal to build capacity – and so they can use their voice, power and expertise to advocate to improve it!
This fact sheet covers:
- Types of CHW/P/R services covered by Medi-Cal
- Requirements to become a CHW/P/R Medi-Cal provider
- How to get reimbursed by Medi-Cal for CHW/P/R services
- Where CHW/P/Rs can deliver these preventive services
- And more!
This fact sheet is available in English, Spanish, Punjabi, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese and Korean.
We’ve also put together a quick and easy toolkit for you to use that includes resources for CHW/P/Rs, social media posts, and images with key data from the fact sheet. Help spread this important information to your networks!
TCP Visits CA High School Peer-to-Peer Pilot Demonstration Sites
Earlier this month, TCP conducted our first site visits for our Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Health High School Pilot Demonstration, a partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services to support peer support programs at eight high schools across the state, from the Bay Area to San Diego.
Along with the pilot demonstration’s evaluators, the TCP team went on student-led tours of each school, met and spoke with the schools’ program administrators and students, and observed peer support programs in action. Each one of the eight schools offered a perspective on peer support unique to their environment, with goals ranging from lower absenteeism and suspensions to increased well-being for all students.
Students in the programs told us they were grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a peer support program, as they’ve been able to learn valuable skills that they’ll be able to use in college or whatever they choose to do after graduating from high school. These skills include active listening, conflict resolution, self-awareness and boundary setting. Due to the diversity of students who choose to participate in these programs, many students expressed being pleasantly surprised by meeting and getting to know fellow students they normally would never have even spoken with.
Read more about our peer support program from its director, Raven Jones-McKinney.
Meet the TCP Early Childhood Development Team
Our early childhood development advocacy team takes a whole-child approach to supporting California’s youngest residents, taking into consideration all the many factors that contribute to a healthy start in life, from prenatal care to child care opportunities. Here are the passionate individuals who make up TCP’s early childhood development team:
Eva Rivera
Our Advocacy Director of Early Childhood Development, Eva Rivera, leads TCP’s efforts on issues that impact babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. In her work, Eva believes the first five years of life are crucial, and that every child deserves a safe, welcoming space to explore their surroundings, nutritious food to support their growth, and caregivers who nurture their social and emotional development. Eva is also TCP’s lead representative for the Whole Child Equity Partnership (WCEP), a coalition dedicated to making California the best place to have, raise and be a child.
Prior to joining TCP, Eva worked directly with children and families in schools, early care and education centers, and through home visiting programs. She also supported early childhood providers who play a vital role in shaping young minds. An immigrant from Mexico City, Eva holds a Master of Social Work. Eva finds the most rewarding part of her work to be collaborating with passionate colleagues and hearing directly from families.
Sohna Bruce-Oliver
As the portfolio’s Associate Director of Community Engagement, Sohna Bruce-Oliver ensures our advocacy efforts reflect the real experiences, wants and needs of the families we serve. Her work centers on uplifting community perspectives and strengthening partnerships with community-based organizations to bridge the gap between policy and lived experience, and she believes community voices are essential in driving equitable policies to support early childhood development and child health.
Sohna holds a Master of Public Administration and currently lives in Los Angeles. Before joining TCP, Sohna worked as a community engagement manager cultivating relationships and mobilizing communities to drive positive change. Outside of work, Sohna enjoys live music, art and fashion. She loves planning events, whether it’s a big celebration or an intimate gathering, and is always looking for opportunities to bring people together.
Jamila Michael
Jamila Michael is the Policy Associate supporting the advocacy efforts behind the early childhood development portfolio through coalition partnerships, research, community engagement, and advancing policies that create strong, equitable foundations for California’s youngest children and their families. Jamila is deeply passionate about public policy and advocacy, and she believes in the inherent strengths of California’s families and aims to uplift them and their communities.
Jamila is a San Diego native working to complete her master’s degree. Before joining TCP, Jamila worked for many years as a high school AVID tutor and innocence project coordinator for interns and law students, working to train law students, exonerate the wrongfully convicted, and advocate for policies to end wrongful convictions in California. Outside of work, Jamila is a passionate dogsitter who enjoys gaming, challenging herself in the gym, spending time in the sun with family and friends, and trying new restaurants.
Webinar: Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Panel Discussion on Impacts of Accelerated Deportation
In “More Hopeful Futures or Children as Collateral Damage? Potential Implications of Accelerated Deportation,” the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and Brazelton Touchpoints Center are partnering to focus on the children of immigrant families who face accelerated detention and deportation. Recent pronouncements and actions to rescind protections for “sensitive locations” — such as hospitals, schools and houses of worship — raise legitimate concerns and require additional consideration about how to mitigate adverse academic, emotional and developmental consequences for the children of immigrants in schools and child care settings.
TCP’s own Mayra E. Alvarez will be on the panel, along with Wendy Cervantes from the Center for Law and Social Policy, Cecelia Leong from Attendance Works, and Adrián Pedroza from Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors.
April 1, 2025
12-1:30 p.m. PDT
Webinar: Safe Spaces for Immigrant Families in Early Care and Education
The rights, safety and well-being of children in immigrant families are at risk. To protect the futures of all children, early care and education (ECE) providers must create safe, inclusive spaces where every child can learn, grow and thrive.
Join The Children’s Partnership & The Center for Law and Social Policy for an informative webinar on how California’s ECE providers can support children and immigrant families. During this one-hour presentation, providers will learn:
- How immigration policies impact children’s access to early care and education
- Key components of safe spaces policies for early learning settings
- Steps ECE providers can take to support children in immigrant families
- Resources and tools to share with parents and families
Presented in English with live Spanish interpretation. Created in partnership with ALL IN for Safe Schools and the Whole Child Equity Partnership.
April 2, 2025
12 p.m. PDT
Empowering Communities Webinar Series: Guidance On Know Your Rights
Join the National Immigration Law Center for a webinar series to stay informed of our rights and the best ways we can support immigrant communities. NILC’s goal is to empower everyone with the tools they need to defend against increased immigration enforcement.
Each session will provide:
- Guidance on Know Your Rights information
- Frequently Asked Questions (Submit your question to panelists!)
- Live NILC Office Hours
The FAQ segments of the series will be crowdsourced directly from those who register. Please note that NILC does not provide individual legal advice, and this series is meant to cover general questions from the field. Even if you are unable to attend, NILC encourages you to submit your questions to event organizers and receive follow up slides and recordings.
Empowering Communities: Guidance on KYR in Health Access & NILC Office Hours
April 2, 2025
10-11 a.m. PDT
Register today and submit your question
Empowering Communities: Guidance on KYR in Protected Areas & NILC Office Hours
April 10, 2025
1-2 p.m. PDT
Register today and submit your question
TCP to Speak at Head Start Conference in Newport Beach
Liza Davis, advocacy director for children in immigrant families, and Eva Rivera, advocacy director for early childhood development, will speak at Head Start’s 2025 Managers & Directors Institute, whose theme this year is “Rising Together.”
Liza and Eva’s session, “Protecting Children in Immigrant Families’ Access to ECE,” will be featured as a presentation in the Emerging Issues track. The session will provide a snapshot of children in immigrant families in California, an overview of the impact of immigration policies on access to early care and education (ECE), explain how ECE centers and providers can support children in immigrant families, and highlight relevant resources providers can share directly with parents.
California School-Based Health Alliance Annual Conference will feature TCP and its Advocacy
The California School-Based Health Alliance’s (CSHA) statewide School Health Conference in Anaheim April 28-29 is an opportunity for health practitioners, educators, and advocates to connect and learn how to best support students with increased access to health care at school. Participate in innovative and inspiring sessions on the latest trends and developments in school-based health and student well-being.
TCP President Mayra E. Alvarez will be on a panel April 29 to discuss children’s Medi-cal enrollment and concerns regarding attacks on our immigrant families. TCP staff will also have a table in the exhibition to answer questions and provide advocacy resources to attendees.
You can save an additional $200 per person if your organization becomes a member of CSHA. See details and register: bit.ly/CSHAconference. Check if your organization is a member or become a member now.
Alvarez Talks Medi-Cal Importance with KPBS
For a story on the overwhelming support for Medicaid across the country amid threats of cuts to the program, TCP President Mayra E. Alvarez was interviewed by KPBS on the crucial care Medi-Cal makes possible to the hundreds of thousands of children in the San Diego area who rely on the program for their health insurance. “Medi-Cal is a lifeline for nearly 300,000 children in San Diego County. (It covers) everything from emergencies to preventive care to just going to the doctor to get those developmental screenings to make sure your baby’s growing up right. Those are all critical pieces that Medi-Cal provides families, that peace of mind, that security that comes with having health insurance coverage,” she said.
Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Health Pilot Program Highlighted by Inland Empire News
IE Community News covered the opening of Sierra High School’s new student Wellness Center, which will house the San Bernardino school’s peer support program funded by TCP’s Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Health High School Pilot Program, a collaboration with the California Department of Health Care Services.
