FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
1 of 9
A. Demonstration of Need
1. The Community and Youth Served: The Northern Alameda County Kinship Collaborative
is proposing to continue to provide a comprehensive citywide summer enrichment program for
80 Oakland children and youth ages 6 – 14 who are being raised by a grandparent or other
relative caregiver. Many of the children served are underperforming in school, experiencing
behavioral problems at school, and/or at risk of abuse or neglect in the home. Services will be
delivered at two sites: in West Oakland at the Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church and in
East Oakland at the High Street Presbyterian Church so services can be easily accessed by the
targeted population.
Over the last two decades the number of grandparents and other relatives raising their kin
children has increased sharply. In California, the number of grandparents taking care of
grandchildren increased by a stunning 50% between 1990 and 2000 (U.S. Census). In Alameda
County, recent figures indicate that there are more than 22,000 children under 18 years of age
who are living in households headed by grandparents (California Agriculture, March-April
2001). In Oakland, high rates of substance abuse, incarceration, and homicide among the city’s
residents have led to very large numbers of grandparents and other relatives having to step in to
raise their kin children. While these caregivers face the challenges of isolation, inadequate
housing, and low incomes, the children of these families often experience numerous problems.
For a child, being moved into a new family situation is usually very traumatizing in itself, but in
most cases, kinship children have had histories of neglect or abuse, or have experienced longterm family instability. The loss of a parent (through death, abandonment, incarceration or other
factors) is extremely difficult to deal with. Kinship children often find it hard to trust and relate
to adults and peers; they frequently “act out” their emotions at home and in school, and
frequently under-perform academically. In a 1999 study by Rachel Pruchno in which over 700
grandparent caregivers were interviewed, more than half of the respondents said their
grandchildren exhibited behavior problems, including mood swings, impulsivity, hyperactivity,
and difficulty paying attention; the study also noted that more than 20% of the children were in
remedial education classes.
Grandparents often find it especially difficult to fully address the needs of the
grandchildren they are raising. Aside from basic financial struggles, most are not familiar with
the current school curriculum and present-day approaches to learning, they often don’t have a
computer and/or know how to use one, and because a large proportion do not have a high school
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
2 of 9
diploma, they often lack the ability or confidence to provide help with homework. Some,
particularly those who are frail or elderly, feel overwhelmed by the task of raising young
children and find themselves unable to impose the structure and discipline the children need. In
2005, Casey Family Programs undertook a survey of 112 Oakland kinship caregivers. These
caregivers identified their families’ most pressing needs as tutoring (77) and recreation and
enrichment (68) for the children in their care, as well as help with school (59) and mentors (53).
On an informal basis, the caregivers currently served through the Collaborative tell us that being
able to offer a safe, supportive environment for their kin children over the summer is extremely
important and they see it as critical to their well-being. Currently, there are not enough summer
programs available and, as a result, many kinship children are left unsupervised and unsupported
during the summer period, during which time their academic skills decline and they are left
vulnerable to high-risk behaviors.
2. How Our Program Meets the Needs of the Children: As stated above, children being
raised by kin caregivers face serious challenges to succeeding in school and developing healthy
relationships with adults and peers. At the same time, their relative caregivers (particularly those
who are elderly) find it challenging to provide the support that their kin children need. In 2005,
with funding from OFCY, FSSBA was able to expand our already established after-school
program and create a summer program for kinship youth. Since then, ongoing evaluations have
shown that our intensive, structured program design increases participants’ competency in math,
reading and writing, engages youth in activities that enhance their communication and leadership
skills, increases their self-esteem, promote physical health, and enhances their connections to the
community. By specifically targeting kinship youth, we are serving an especially vulnerable
population. The program helps break down the shame and isolation felt by many kinship youth in
other situations (such as school) by normalizing their experiences and families, and helping them
build bonds and support among one another. In addition, because the summer program is
provided within the context of a comprehensive kinship program serving both caregivers and
their children, we leverage outside resources, build the stability and overall well-being of kinship
families, and, as a result, have a stronger and more lasting impact on the youth served. The
program operates at two sites simultaneously and has strong linkages with neighborhood-based
organizations serving kinship families.
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
3 of 9
B. Agency History and Capacity
1. Organization History, Mission and Services and Fit with the Strategic Plan
Founded in 1989, the mission of Family Support Services of the Bay Area (FSSBA) is to support
children, youth, families and communities by providing services that make them stronger.
FSSBA’s services are targeted to families with low incomes who face serious challenges in
successfully caring for their children. These include families with children who have mental or
physical disabilities; families taking care of children who are substance exposed or medically
fragile; and families in which grandparents or other relatives have had to step in to care for the
children. FSSBA also works with families in which children are at risk of abuse to help parents
improve parenting skills and ensure that children are raised in safe and nurturing environments.
FSSBA’s programs are delivered in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties. We
reach clients in some of the most underserved communities: over 75% of families served by
FSSBA are families of color, over 62% are headed by a single adult, over 60% live in poverty,
and approximately 33% are headed by parents who speak English as a second language. Last
year, FSSBA served more than 2,000 Bay Area children.
FSSBA has four major programs. Our Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP)
addresses the needs of families in which a relative is raising his or her kin children. Last year,
KSSP served more than 250 families, provided more than 13,600 hours of respite care, and
provided more than 280 activities for 128 youth. Our Respite Program provides intermittent
childcare to families who have children with special needs. Last year, the Respite Program
provided over 78,000 hours of respite care to 1,100 children and 600 families. Our Family
Preservation programs are designed to keep families intact and prevent child abuse by providing
intensive home-based services that help parents improve their parenting, address their children’s
needs, and access services. Last year, our Family Preservation programs provided over 16,000
hours of services to 191 families; of those families, more than 90% showed improvements in
family functioning. The OreMi Mentoring Program provides mentors to over 40 children in
Northern Alameda County who have a parent who is incarcerated.
FSSBA’s Board of Directors and all classifications of staff (management, support, social
work and respite providers) culturally and linguistically represent the populations served. In all
classifications of staff, persons of color represent at least half of the total number of staff in each
classification. Current staff members represent eight different ethnic groups and five languages.
Current board members represent three ethnic groups and two languages.
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
4 of 9
FSSBA’s mission and programs strongly match the mission and goals of OFCY’s Strategic
Plan in that our agency works to ensure that vulnerable families have access to resources and
services so that the children can grow into healthy and contributing members of their
communities. FSSBA targets families that face the most significant challenges and helps
promote social and economic equity by providing access to resources that would otherwise be
unavailable to those families. We help ensure that families are supported so they can nurture
their children and connect children and youth with positive, caring adults, including staff in our
respite programs (who often maintain relationships with children in their care for many years),
the mentors in our OreMi program, and the staff and volunteers in our Kinship Youth program.
Our youth programs help at-risk young people succeed in school, develop social skills, build
self-esteem, and develop community connections.
2. Past Projects and Accomplishments: Since our founding, FSSBA has achieved numerous
accomplishments. Some of the most notable include: i) Almost without exception, FSSBA has
met or exceeded our contracted goals and outcomes and has received consistently high
evaluations from funders. In several cases, this had led to funders requesting our agency to
expand services or undertake new programs. ii) FSSBA’s Respite Program is nationally
recognized. It was selected as one of six model programs in the USA that was highlighted in the
Office of the Inspector General’s Report on Model Respite Care Services. At the request of the
California State Department of Social Services, the respite program developed for statewide use
several training manuals for respite providers who work with children with special needs. And,
in an independent evaluation of our the program, the Family Welfare Research Group of UC
Berkeley determined that FSSBA’s respite services had numerous positive outcomes that
improved family relationships, decreased family stress, and fostered a more positive attitude of
caregivers toward their children. iii) In late 2004, FSSBA was awarded a highly competitive
federal grant to launch our OreMi program to provide mentoring to children with incarcerated
parents. The program targets children living in kinship care and has so far matched over 75
children with adult mentors who have met with their mentees for one hour a week for at least a
year. This program was refunded for 2007-2010. iv) In client evaluations, FSSBA’s services
receive consistently outstanding reviews. Kinship program clients describe the excellent services
we provide and the dedication of our staff.
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
5 of 9
It has been proven through past research that children, especially low-income children, lose
as much as two grade levels during the summer, by the end of the 5th grade (Entwisle and
Alexander, 1992 and Cooper, 1996). For the past two years, FSSBA, through our Kinship
Summer Youth Program (KSYP), has been working successfully to reverse this trend among
low-income children in underserved Oakland neighborhoods. The services provided have
included academic instruction, weekly cultural, environmental, and/or educational fieldtrips,
social skills development, as well as leadership training and mentoring.
Outcomes for KSYP reveal the effectiveness of this program. The client satisfaction surveys
were conducted with the children as well as with the caregivers.

95% of the youths felt they benefited from the program

99% of the caregivers felt the youths benefited from the program

71% of the youths felt they had a better ability to learn new things

86% of the caregivers felt the youth had a better ability to learn new things

73% of youth and caregivers felt the youth improved their leadership abilities

82% of the youth reported that they were better and/or as able to handle school in the fall.

95% of the caregivers reported that the youth were better and/or as able to handle school
in the fall.
The assessments in reading and comprehension as well as in math all indicated some significant
improvements on the part of the children attending the program:

75% of program participants increased or maintained their competency level in reading
and comprehension.

85% of youth at the West Oakland site increased or maintained their competency in math.
Specific feedback from caregivers continue to be positive:

One caregiver expressed that the program is the one thing that is keeping her two
youngest grandchildren from repeating the mistakes of their older siblings who have been
in and out of the juvenile detention/correctional systems. She believes that the program
has given them the best shot at breaking that cycle.

One caregiver remarked that this free program was so much better than all the “fee”
associated summer programs that she could not afford to send her grandchildren to this
summer. She felt blessed to have been referred to the program.
FSSBA

Kinship Youth Summer Program
6 of 9
Many caregivers appreciated our efforts to maintain strong lines of communications with
them with regards to their child’s participation in the program. They felt that this allowed
them to be an active partner in their children’s success.

Many caregivers expressed appreciation of our community service element. One
mentioned that it was “good for her baby to learn that it takes a little work to make things
better and that we all have to pitch in.” She went on to express that because she was
elderly it was harder for her to reinforce that point and she was very pleased that our
program was making a special effort to send that message.

One of our Spanish-speaking caregivers appreciated the friendly, welcoming and diverse
environment that she found at that site. She liked knowing her kids were going to a safe
place where they would make friends with other kids from the community.
The four OFCY performance goals were met by our agency with impressive results. For the
2006 summer, we had a satisfaction score of 89% and delivered 93% of contracted services. The
program succeeded both qualitatively and quantitatively and, as the quotes above demonstrate,
KSYP made a very real and positive impact on Oakland youth and families. While our actual
cost per unit of service was relatively high at $10.48, we believe this is an effective use of OFCY
funds because of our delivery of consistently high quality services to an underserved and highly
vulnerable population. We strive to keep our cost per unit of service as low as possible, yet
providing an intensive program that has a strong academic focus demands more resources and
staff to provide these services. After two years of providing the Kinship Summer Youth
Program with great success, we feel that FSSBA is uniquely positioned to continue to provide a
high-quality program with OFCY funding. We have developed enormous expertise over the last
two years in this specific area and, combined with our agency’s successful track record of
addressing the needs of low-income children, youth and families, and our excellent community
partnerships, we believe we can achieve even more impressive results in future years.
3. The Collaboration: The Northern Alameda County Kinship Collaborative was established
in 2001 to provide comprehensive coordinated services to address the needs of kinship
caregivers and the children in their care. The founding members include: FSSBA (providing
information and referral, case management, respite care, summer and after-school programming
for children and youth, and linkages to other FSSBA programs), Alameda County Department of
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
7 of 9
Children and Family Services (providing core financial support, family referrals, and linkages to
County services), Legal Assistance for Seniors (providing legal assistance on issues of relevance
to kinship families including custody, guardianship and public benefits advocacy), Taylor
Memorial United Methodist Church and Church by the Side of the Road (providing relative
caregiver support groups, family referrals, and space for family gatherings and child care).
In 2004, Casey Family Programs joined the Collaborative. Casey is a private operating
foundation that works closely with numerous Oakland-based providers (as well as providers
throughout the nation) to improve outcomes for children and youth in foster and kinship care.
Casey is working with the collaborative partners to expand the program to serve larger numbers
of families by providing referrals of families, facilitating the planning process, and working to
secure additional resources from the private and public sector. The Collaborative also benefits
from the participation of Alameda County Food Bank, which will continue to provide low-cost
food for snacks. Most recently, in order to provide this proposed expanded summer program, we
were joined by the High Street Presbyterian Church (hosting the program at their East Oakland
site, providing youth referrals, and assistance in recruiting new staff and volunteers), and East
Bay Regional Park District (providing regular outdoor activities, transportation and camping
trips for program participants and caregivers).
Since our founding in 2001, the Collaborative has worked closely together to design and
provide services to meet the needs of Northern Alameda County kinship families. The partners
meet on a bi-monthly basis, share resources, and have submitted several joint funding proposals.
D. Program Design
1. Activities, Units of Service and Timeline: We will provide a comprehensive seven-week
summer enrichment program, operating Monday - Thursday with eight hours of activities each
day, including lunch. The program will serve 80 unduplicated children ages 6 to 14 at two
separate sites (40 at each site). A total of 20,213 units of service will be provided.
The program design has been developed as a result of the Collaborative’s longstanding
experience serving this population, our knowledge of the particular challenges and needs of
kinship youth, and with our 2006-2007 OFCY-funded program experience. As a result, we will
have very high ratios of staff to participants, utilize comprehensive and individualized
assessment tools, and provide time for planning, program assessment and staff development as
the program progresses. We also plan to achieve very concrete and measurable outcomes,
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
8 of 9
particularly in terms of impact upon academic skills, and to carefully track and document our
success in achieving those outcomes.
As noted in the OFCY strategic plan, low-income children’s competency in math and
reading generally declines over the summer period. To help participants maintain and increase
their core academic skills, there will continue to be a very strong emphasis on reading, writing
and math in the program. Upon enrollment, all participants will be assessed for their academic
assistance needs, as well as any behavioral or social challenges. Participants will be required to
bring in their last progress report from school for staff to review, and staff will also discuss with
caregivers what they perceive as their children’s specific needs for academic and other support,
and they will ask the children what they see as their challenges. Using these assessments, staff
will develop an individual plan outlining appropriate level reading materials, math exercises and
writing exercises, as well as any specific areas of challenge that should be addressed. Throughout
the program, staff will work to develop relationships with caregivers by maintaining ongoing,
regular communication to ensure that any problems can be promptly and appropriately
addressed. Positive behaviors, initiative, and engagement will be motivated through a structured
system of rewards in which participants will accrue “K-Cash” that they can “spend” on fieldtrips,
healthy snacks, toiletries and school supplies. K-Cash can also be docked by staff when youth
demonstrate negative behaviors. A healthy lunch and snacks will be provided onsite.
E. Outcomes and Evaluation
1. Anticipated Outcomes and Rationale: We expect to achieve the following major outcomes:

75% of program participants will maintain or increase their competency level in math
as measured on pre- and post-tests in math skills.

75% of program participants will maintain or increase their competency level in
reading and comprehension as measured on pre- and post-tests.

75% of program participants will maintain or increase their communication,
leadership and social skills as measured by self and caregiver assessments.

80% of participants will maintain or increase their community knowledge and
engagement as measured by attendance of community fieldtrips and service projects.
2. Outcome Indicators and Measures: We will administer pre-tests to participants at the start
of the program and post-tests during the final week in order to assess participants’ math and
FSSBA
Kinship Youth Summer Program
9 of 9
reading abilities. Our assessments will also include questions that explore students’ confidence in
themselves as learners and their interest in math and reading, which research has shown to be a
strong potential influence on academic achievement. We will draw from validated instruments to
create the most appropriate survey questions. Results of the assessments administered at the start
of the program will be used to provide staff, caregivers and volunteer tutors with information
regarding participants’ mathematics and reading abilities. At the conclusion of the program, test
results will be compared to determine the KSYP success in helping youth maintain or improve
their skills over the summer.
3. Data Tracking: Staff will track enrollment, keep daily attendance records and track the
activities undertaken. We will keep participant information in individual files kept on-site in
locked file cabinets. All information (enrollment, assessment, participant demographics, pre- and
post-test results, etc.) will be input into FSSBA’s existing database that will be used to generate
reports on participant demographics, outcomes, attendance, etc.