Item 08 - Informational Report for the California Department of Social Services Child Care Grant

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California Health & Human Services Agency California Department of Social Services CCD 34 (2/23) Page 16 of 32 Section 3: Children to Be Served (10 points) Using your needs assessment, describe the specific age group(s) you are proposing to serve and how will you use these contract funds to expand services to meet the needs of the community. PRCSA will offer the after school care program to be designed for ch ildren from ages 5 through 12 years old, taking care of kindergarten through sixth grade. We will be able to take the burden off of parents who were unable to enroll their children in the free after school program SAUSD is providing, due to the overwhelming number of families needing this service, causing unprecedented wait lists. PRCSA will continue with our summer camp full day care, focusing on the same ages of 5 through 12. We will be including swim lessons with our summer camp. This will benefit the kids of the SAUSD and all priority 1 level zip codes with FREE swim lessons, something they may not be able to do on their own. Drowning is 100% preventable and we plan on teaching all participants of our summer camps how to swim. This is a new service that expands our standards to the community by including these "Splash Camps" to our residents. In 2020, Santa Ana’s population was 333,000 with a median age of 32 and a median household income of $64,427. The largest ethnic groups in Santa Ana are Hispanic at 75%. In 2020, 2/3 of residents were US Citizens vs. the CA average of 90%. As of 2020, 42% of Santa Ana residents were born outside of the US, which is higher than the nat ional average of 13.5%. The economy in Santa Ana has its largest focus in Manufacturing, followed by Retail Trades and then Food Services. Males in the City earn at a rate of 1.25 times that of female residents. Only 64% of residents over 18 hold a High School Diploma and 17% of adult residents 25 years or older hold a Bachelor’s Degree. Based on the latest LPC Community Assessment Report, 47% of children who enter Kindergarten are not academically or socially assessed at current developmental age. More than 46% of children do not meet the CA Standards for 3rd grade English-Language Arts, furthermore, 42% of students do not meet 3rd grade Math Standards. In 2021, more than 1 in 10 students were considered chronically absent, have far below average attendance. Subsequently, nearly 50% of High School graduates in Santa Ana do not meet basic college entrance academic requirements. Our City has a significant growing homeless and unhoused population, more than 30,000 students meet the criteria for being considered homeless and live highly unstable and often unsafe housing situations. Many children live in cars, motels or communal areas of relatives homes, utilizing gas stations and other spaces for cleaning themselves. The overcrowding was very evident during the 4 Pandemic Waves as COVID affected the City of Santa Ana disproportionately due to highly dense living arrangements. PRCSA, in collaboration with the Santa Ana PAAL Program and TRF will be responding to the unmet needs in the community, limiting gang initiations and exposure to gangs, while engaging children in meaningful opportunities during out of school times.