What Are CalWORKs Child Care Vouchers?

Rose Padilla Johnson has served the San Leandro community for over 25 years in her role as CEO of the nonprofit Davis Street Community Center. In 2017, Rose Padilla Johnson received a Community Impact LAB award in recognition of the impact her work and support have had on children and families in need. Today, the Davis Street Community Center is a trusted resource for thousands of parents who are enrolled in CalWORKs and seeking affordable child care.

Participants in California’s welfare-to-work program can qualify for subsidized child care through the CalWORKs child care voucher program. The program is flexible and allows parents to choose the type of care program they want to arrange for their children. The purpose of the program is to help parents secure their employment situation and move towards financial stability. 

Families making less than 70 percent of the State Median Income Level with children between the ages of newborn to 12 years old can qualify for CalWORKs Vouchers. These vouchers can be used to defray the cost of afterschool enrichment programs, center-based daycare, or private home child care. The CalWORKs voucher program also extends care coverage for children who require special accommodations until age 18.

Immigration Policies Impact Children’s Health

Rose Padilla Johnson has served as the CEO of San Leandro’s Davis Street Community Center, one of the most effective family resource centers in the state of California. Since 1991, Rose Padilla Johnson and her team of compassionate and professional mental health care providers have reduced barriers to counseling and outpatient treatment for patients without insurance or documented status.

Many states and nonprofit organizations are enacting special behavioral and mental health programs to address the distinct needs of families facing separation due to immigration status. This is motivated in part by clinical evidence that suggests that changes in federal immigration policy have a widespread impact on the mental and behavioral health of children with immigrant parents. 

After the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) was enacted by President Barack Obama, one study found that the protections it put in place had positive effects on the mental health of DACA recipients' children. Now that the program has been rescinded, hundreds of thousands of families are put into precarious situations, potentially impacting the stability of nearly 6 million children's lives. 

Studies have shown that fear of parental deportation keeps children out of school and disrupts their learning. These children also have a higher risk of developing depression, anxiety, and other stress-related disorders.

Davis Street held a DACA session in the fall, attended by former Senator Ellen Corbett, President of Chabot College, Susan Sperling on to urge Dreamers to submit their applications prior to the deadline.

Nearly one-third of Davis Street clients are undocumented.

David Street Primary Care Clinic Offers Comprehensive Health Care

CEO of Davis Street Community Center Incorporated, Rose Padilla Johnson has transformed the organization into one of the most comprehensive nonprofit social service providers in the greater San Leandro and Central Alameda County areas. Rose Johnson’s organization offers free and affordable medical care services to low-income and minority families through the David Street Primary Care Clinic. 

The clinic provides medical and mental health care to low-income and in-need families and individuals regardless of immigration status. Multi-lingual clinic staff utilize a holistic, safety-net approach that covers an array of services. Services encompass both health care and assistance with other areas that low-income and minority individuals may experience trouble accessing, such as clothing, child care, and food bank and emergency food services. 

Health care services offered by the clinic cover a broad spectrum, from medical care and dental care to mental health assistance. Patients can receive preventive health services and ambulatory primary care, including cancer screening and primary care for acute, episodic illnesses. Staff dentists deliver general and specialty care for all sorts of dental issues. In addition, patients can access short and long-term behavioral health treatments.