Our Impact

2011

Thanks to KIC, Santa Clara County adopted Child Impact Statements to ensure Board of Supervisor communications make the needs of children a primary consideration in budget and other decision-making processes. list and include any relevant information you want to share. Double click to edit the text.

Kids in Common championed implementing a School Readiness Assessment to help us better understand what impacts children’s preparedness for school.

Kids in Common captured the attention of the Aspen Institute for Community Solutions that selected Santa Clara County to be part of the Opportunity Youth Forum, bringing resources to Santa Clara County to build an education-to-career pipeline for our most vulnerable youth who are young parents, experiencing homelessness, or were engaged in the child welfare or justice systems.

Members of the Children’s Agenda Network and Kids in Common championed the adoption of a Children’s Budget by Santa Clara County. This annual budget presents the financial data for all child-and youth-oriented services in the county, illuminating current investments in our children and families.

2013

2018

2019

Overseeing the Summer School Attendance Challenge – A joint project of the SCCOE Education Equity committee and Juvenile Court Aligned Action Network, piloted a summer school attendance challenge that provide Target Gift cards at the beginning and end of the 3-week summer school sessions offered in ESUHSD and Gilroy School District targeting students 15+ credits behind and engaged in the justice system, foster care system and McKinney Vento. We had 96 students participating and a summer school session completion rate of 83%.

Policy Impact

KIC champions policies with elected officials and other policymakers that positively impact children and youth. Locally, some of the policies KIC successfully supported include:

Reinstating a new and improved School-Linked Services initiative.

Improving the juvenile justice system through a policy prohibiting children under the age of 13 from serving time in juvenile hall and preventing the use of pepper spray in juvenile hall.

Ensuring that attorneys representing children and families in the child welfare system have funding to support effective attorney-to-client ratios.

Supporting a declaration of a mental health/substance use crisis in Santa Clara County and the building of an aligned and integrated system of care to address this crisis.

Building out a high-quality, accessible, and early-care education system.

Supporting universal developmental screenings in pediatric healthcare settings.

Supporting the development of the Opportunity Youth Academy to reengage youth ages 16 to 25 who have left high school without a diploma.

Promoting systems improvements that lead to better education outcomes for youth in the justice system.

Why it Matters

Children of color and other marginalized groups in Santa Clara County experience disproportionately high rates of adverse outcomes in education, health, child welfare, and the juvenile justice systems. KIC brings together community members and key decision makers to address these challenges.

50%

Reducing Suspensions:

KIC’s advocacy has contributed to a 50% reduction in school suspensions over the past decade, from 17,591 in 2012 to 8,636 in 2022.

Families Living Below the Real Cost Measure

41% of Black and 50% Latino/a/x households fall below the RCM. Fewer Asian (18%) and White (19%) households fall below the RCM.

18- to 24-year-olds without a High School Credential

Latino/a/x young adults (13%) are more likely to be without a HS credential than Black (4%), Asian (6%) and White (8%) young adults.

82%

Supporting Vulnerable Students:

The 2024 Summer School Attendance Challenge achieved an 82% completion rate for participants from justice, foster, and homeless programs, allowing them to earn credits.

Children on Medi-Cal with a Routine Health Check-Up in Past Year

59% of Latino/a/x children had a routine check-up in the previous 12 months.

Eighth Graders Meeting Math Standard

Far fewer Black (22%) and Latino/a/x (18%) students are meeting the 8th Grade Math Standard compared to White (61%) and Asian (78%) students.