Helping People, Changing Lives.

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County was awarded a $5,000 grant by the Central Coast Funds for Children (CCFC) to support the Teen Academic Parenting Program (TAPP).  TAPP is a voluntary program that promotes the well being of pregnant and parenting teens and their children in San Luis Obispo County. TAPP accomplishes this by advocating and encouraging self-sufficiency through goal setting in the areas of health, education, positive parenting and life skills. This year alone, a total of 168 teens and 155 children received services from TAPP.  Paso Robles enrolled 50 participants, Atascadero with 22, Nipomo with 21, Grover Beach with 18, Oceano with 17, Arroyo Grande with 14, San Luis Obispo with 17, Los Osos with 6, San Miguel and Santa Margarita with 2, and Cambria, Creston, Morro Bay and Templeton with one participant.

With current challenges in receiving funding, TAPP director, Tracy Lang Wood anticipates to utilize the generous funding awarded by the CCFC by supporting their services in one-on-one case management, education support, assistance to access health services (prenatal, pediatric and family planning), home visits in relation to child development and parenting education and support groups with the focus being children.  The success of the program is largely attributed to the highly trained TAPP Case Managers who provide these services. They identify and assess client risk factors and set collaborative and attainable goals with clients. The TAPP Case Management Model strives to establish a trusting relationship between the client and case manager enabling clients to be open to suggestions which foster goal setting and behavior changes.

Central Coast Funds for Children (CCFC) is a publicly supported non-profit organization composed of 35 employees that raise funds for children in need in San Luis Obispo County. Funds are raised through private and business donations, dues and special fundraising events such as golf tournaments, luncheons and fashion shows.  These funds are granted to local non-profit organizations (through a grant application process) to benefit children's programs. CCFC was established in 1994, and since that time has awarded $1,133,120 in grants to agencies in San Luis Obispo County.  This year alone, CCFC granted $108,500 to local agencies.

In line with the goals of the CCFC to fund support services that help teens, according to CCFC Grant Review Chairman, Chris Poe of San Luis Obispo, Community Action Partnership was chosen because of their understanding of the importance to help teens work toward self-sufficiency, improve on their parenting skills, and successfully graduate from high school. In California, drop out rates among teen mothers is 70 %, making pregnancy the primary reason young women drop out early and with the proven success of TAPP clients’ graduation rates far above the nation’s average for pregnant teens, this became a determining factor among the selection of grant applicants.

For more information about the Teen Academic Parenting Program, please contact Tracy Lang Wood at (805) 544-2484 ext. 720 or tlangwood@capslo.org.

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County is a non-profit agency that focuses on helping people and changing lives through serving nearly 40,000 persons across Central and Southern California. We are committed to eliminate poverty by empowering individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency and self-determination through a comprehensive array of community-based programs.

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