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Ms. Curry presented the statistics chronicling the success of the Healthy Start Program: 180 families assisted in the Family Resource Center, over 180 families were provided with financial assistance with the help of a benefits analyst helping them to access services; a pediatric clinic on site, intensive crisis intervention and drop in services to over 40 families, 33 student support groups, English as a second language, counseling and the Mano a Mano program, and 100% immunization for entering students. She used a slide to show the number of children and parents who were in case managed services, who significantly improved students' reading and math scores. Ms. Curry said the Program is expanding, and is meeting its goal of keeping the community in the foreITont. She said there are two more programs scheduled to begin at Hoover School and Fair Oaks, and they are working on a Healthy Start family resource network. Beth Ross, Redwood City 2000 Coordinator, said the Healthy Start program expanded to Hoover and Fair Oaks without additional resources ITom the State. She said they wanted to do even more for children in the community, and so they conducted a needs assessment with over 500 parents, community members and teachers ITom Hoover School. Coordinator Ross described the process and said that medical and dental services, gang prevention, English language instruction and counseling headed the list of needs. She said the results accurately reflected the demographics of the school She said that after the surveys were tallied they hosted a parent meeting with 85 parents and 25 students in attendance, and they were asked to clarify their survey answers. Coordinator Ross said the parents expressed support for better recreational services that supported their children's cultural development to help combat gang influence, and more after school supervision. She said they recognized the need for parent education classes both as their childrens' first teacher and for their own needs. Coordinator Ross said adult education classes held at Fair Oaks and Hoover fill up immediately. She said the results of the Fair Oaks needs assessment listed gang prevention, dental services, counseling, medical services and English language instruction as the top priorities of the 126 parents that responded. Coordinator Ross said there was an extreme need for crime prevention services in the community. She said those who responded said they felt safe going to adult education classes at the school in their neighborhood, but not others in the City. She said although the Fair Oaks meeting was smaller with only 31 parents, it was a successful one. Coordinator Ross said the parents suggested it would be helpful to set up a neighborhood watch program, which one of its partners, the Sheriff s Department will facilitate. Coordinator Ross said they had an independent evaluation done, and it showed that the Healthy Start Program made measurable changes in the lives of students and families working together. She asked the members of Redwood City 2000 and Healthy Start to stand and be recognized. Curry asked the supporters and participants in the Healthy Start and the Peninsula Partnership to stand up and be recognized for their success. They received a loud round of applause. . REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 MARCH 2,1998 MINUTES Page No. 310 PAGE 16