HEALTHY START: Funding Gives San Joaquin County New Centers

A spate of grants will go towards new and expanded Healthy Start centers for three school districts in the San Joaquin Valley, the Stockton Record reports. The $39 million state-funded program serves disadvantaged youths by providing them with "medical care, social services, education and other assistance." San Joaquin's grants from the this year's program include:

$400,000 over three years to Stockton Unified's El Dorado School for a new Healthy Start center, to open in October. The grant "also will pay for a nurse to spend more time at the school."
Funding to add a medical center to Stagg High School's three-year-old Healthy Start center, to be completed by January.
$50,000 to Edison High School's health center, which previously did not receive Healthy Start funding
$400,000 each to Lodi Unified School District's Clairmont, Heritage and Lawrence schools to establish new Healthy Start centers.

According to the Record, more grants may be in the works for several middle schools in the area. For a school to be eligible for a Healthy Start grant, "at least half the students must be eligible for a federal program that provides impoverished students with a free or reduced-cost lunch." According to Gayle Asuncion, Stockton Unified School District's administrator of health services, schools can tailor services with input from "parents, health professionals and educators on how to best meet the needs of students and their families." She added, "That's what makes them successful. ... It's not a cookie-cutter approach" (Hannah, 8/18). Click Healthy Start to read past CHL coverage of the program. This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.