Staffed by a team of Family Advocates, the Family and Children's Services Family Advocacy Unit works with children and families enrolled in the program to provide supportive services, which address quality of life issues. These services fall in three categories: Child Health and Developmental Services, Family and Community Partnerships, and Program Governance.

  Child Health and Developmental Services

Family and Children's Services' commitment to wellness embraces a comprehensive vision of health for children, families, and staff. The objective of this service area is to ensure that all child health and developmental concerns are identified, and children and families are linked to an ongoing source of continuous, accessible care to meet their basic health needs. Specific activities include:

• Assistance in applying for health care insurance
• Vision and hearing screening
• Health Fairs
• Health and Wellness workshops
• Immunization Assistance

  Family and Community Partnerships

Family and Children's Services offer parents opportunities and support for growth, so that they can identify their own strengths, needs and interests, and find their own solutions. The objective of this service area is to support parents as they identify and meet their own goals, nurture the development of their children in the context of their family and culture, and advocate for communities that are supportive of children and families of all cultures. The building of trusting, collaborative relationships between parents and staff allows them to share with and to learn from one another. Specific activities include:

• Development of a Family Partnership Agreement
• Parent Workshops and Conferences
• Resource and Referral
• Employment Opportunities and Job Readiness Training
• Numerous volunteer opportunities

  Program Governance

Family and Children's Services recognizes that parents are the first and most important educator of their child. The program governance aspect of our program allows parents to provide input into and make decisions about the nature and operation of the program. Parent meetings, which are parent led, are held monthly at each site with the goal of allowing staff and parents to work together to plan an optimal program for the children enrolled there. At the parent meeting, Policy Council Representatives are elected. These representatives are a voice for all the children and families of their site and share in program-wide decision-making with the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and the senior management staff.