First 5 Humboldt was excited to hear that we were awarded a “Parent and Caregiver Support Programs and Practices” grant from the California Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). CYBHI is a $4B, five-year, multi-department California set of investments to reimagine the behavioral health systems of support for California’s children, youth and their families. The open, six-round grant program is only one component of a multi-layered approach to transform behavioral health outcomes for children and youth.
CYBHI’s Round 1 two-year grant to First 5 Humboldt is designed to scale an evidence-based parent education model throughout Humboldt, specifically the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). Last year, we received a grant from Humboldt County’s Department of Health and Human Services through their local Mental Health Services Act Prevention and Early Intervention programs to train three staff in the beginning level of Triple P. That local grant allowed First 5 Humboldt to be successful in bringing this highly-competitive CYBHI state funding into our community to expand these supports to Humboldt families.
The CYBHI initiative is a massive state undertaking, and the process of releasing grant applications, reviewing, awarding and implementing is taking far longer than any of us anticipated. But once the state follows completes in contracting process, First 5 Humboldt is looking forward to regularly offering Triple P workshops to families of children birth to 18. We plan to offer these monthly workshops in both in-person and hybrid format so that families in all areas of our county can access these free opportunities. Triple P is recognized by the United Nations as the parenting education model with the strongest evidence base, across 35 years and across countries and cultures. The model has multiple levels to address different parenting needs, from “light-touch” support to parents who might want an introduction to positive parenting, to more intensive levels designed to address more complex concerns about children’s behavior. We are looking forward to expanding these supports throughout Humboldt over the next two years, in both English and Spanish.
Watch for more information and a schedule of workshops soon!