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Associated Press
30-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Cal Coast Cares Foundation Awards Over $200,000 in Scholarships to Local Students in 2025
San Diego, CA June 30, 2025 --( )-- In a significant boost for higher education in Southern California, the Cal Coast Cares Foundation has awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships to 82 local students, including 32 current or former foster youth, reaffirming its commitment to supporting academic excellence and community leadership. The non-profit foundation provides these scholarships to help college-bound high school seniors, foster students, and current college students pursue their educational goals. Recipients were chosen for their dedication to academics, leadership, and service. Foster students who meet academic requirements will be eligible for additional support in their second year. A full list of this year's scholarship recipients can be found at 'This scholarship means so much to me,' said Charlotte Lourey, a senior at Valhalla High School in El Cajon who will be attending UCLA. 'It will allow me to follow my dreams of studying history, literature, politics, and philosophy, and help me to eventually attend law school and focus all my energy on higher education. The foundation's investment in students reflects its long-standing mission to empower young learners through financial support and mentorship. 'Providing scholarships is more than financial aid – it is an investment in their future, their potential, and the positive impact they will make in our community,' said Penney Newell, Cal Coast Cares Foundation Manager. Beyond scholarships, the foundation also supports educators, awarding $75,000 in grants earlier this year for innovative classroom projects in the STREAM fields (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math). Since its inception in 2015, the Cal Coast Cares Foundation has awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to ensure that local students and educators have access to resources that foster academic success. The Cal Coast Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides vital support to students and educators. To donate or learn more about its mission, visit About California Coast Credit Union Founded in 1929 by San Diego teachers, California Coast Credit Union is the county's longest-serving financial institution, boasting more than $3 billion in assets and nearly 200,000 members. As a not-for-profit organization, California Coast provides financial education and remains committed to improving the lives of community members across seven Southern California counties. For more information, visit or call (877) 495-1600. Contact Information: California Coast Credit Union Robert Scheid 858-636-5132 Contact via Email Read the full story here: Cal Coast Cares Foundation Awards Over $200,000 in Scholarships to Local Students in 2025 Press Release Distributed by
Associated Press
11-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Hawaii foster system in crisis: Kids still sleeping in offices, hotels
A toddler, age 2, spent the night in a government office on Kauaʻi. A 13-year-old slept on an Oʻahu office futon for almost two months. And a 15-year-old lived for more than three months out of offices and hotel rooms on Hawaiʻi island. For some Hawaiʻi foster youth, government offices and hotels are a home of last resort. What used to be a rare occurrence has become a trend that was first reported by Civil Beat two years ago. And it has persisted. In the last two years, more than two dozen children have slept in offices or hotels when families, guardians and the foster system were unable to meet their basic needs, according to the latest data from the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services. Though the numbers are small, they represent the extreme of a system struggling to serve young people experiencing complex mental health issues, behavioral challenges and developmental disabilities. For children to be sleeping in these conditions is just one symptom of a system in crisis, said Venus Kauʻiokawēkiu Rosete-Medeiros, president and CEO of Hale Kipa, a nonprofit youth shelter. 'To me, it represents a profound failure in our collective kuleana to protect and uplift our vulnerable children,' she said, using the Hawaiian word for responsibility. The state apparently agrees. Amid inquiries from Civil Beat, the newly installed director of DHS, Ryan Yamane, ordered the formation of an internal task force last week to explore solutions to the problem. 'We're going to be working together trying to figure out how we can best address this issue here in Hawaiʻi,' DHS Social Services Division Administrator Daisy Hartsfield said. The state data sheds light on the issue. One Big Island 17-year-old stayed overnight in state offices three different times, for spans ranging from two weeks to two months. When children sleep in offices or hotels, it sends them a message, said Carla Houser, executive director of RYSE, a youth shelter in Kailua. 'Kids are super smart, and they know that it's not a place meant for human habitation,' she said. 'And so if the system can't put me in someplace clean and safe, why do I trust you? Because I know I ain't supposed to be sleeping here.' Some Families 'Can't Handle' Troubled Youth Hawaiʻi tries to exhaust all other options before consigning a child to sleep in an office, according to Hartsfield. But she said there is a placement crisis — in Hawaiʻi and nationally – for foster youth, who are given up by their families or taken away from them for reasons including abuse, neglect or because their parents are put in jail or prison. Indeed, other states, including Kansas and Tennessee, have made headlines for housing kids in offices, and the practice triggered a state audit in Kentucky. The governor of Virginia signed child welfare reforms last month, noting that he was inspired to do so after learning that 100 of his state's foster children were sleeping in social services offices, the Virginia Mercury reported. This is happening as national forces are converging, Hartsfield said. For years, there has been a shift away from institutionalization of young people, with experts recommending placements in community settings — but there aren't enough community placements for kids, Hartsfield said. During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, some foster families stopped taking kids in, further reducing the number of potential placements for children in need. In Fiscal Year 2023, the monthly average stood at 843 foster homes for 1,225 foster youth, according to the state's human services annual report. More recent statistics were not publicly available and DHS did not respond to requests for updated figures. Making matters worse, the isolation and disruption of the pandemic triggered a national emergency in youth mental health. So even as the number of foster children in Hawaiʻi has steadily declined in recent years, Hartsfield said, they are exhibiting more severe behavioral issues. 'We get a whole lot more calls from grandma who's like, 'I can't handle him,'' Houser said. Some children lash out with disruptive behavior or even violence, but there is a lack of mental health facilities to treat them. At least half of the children who have stayed in office spaces have had run-ins with the juvenile justice system, according to Elladine Olevao, administrator of the Child Welfare Services branch of DHS. Many are known to skip school or run away, Olevao said, and some are suspected trafficking victims. 'We know the office is not the best place for them,' Olevao said. Sometimes even the emergency shelters can't take on a high-needs child. Hale Kipa has eight beds for boys and eight for girls at its ʻEwa Beach facility. But the provider has to make tough calls when faced with hosting a young person with especially demanding behavioral issues, Rosete-Medeiros said. Bringing in one particularly high-needs individual could mean that staff isn't able to safely supervise the others and would have to leave some beds empty, Rosete-Medeiros said. 'We can't keep them on,' she said. 'It becomes an unsafe environment in our shelters.' The nonprofit would welcome state funding to pay for staff that is specially trained to handle these cases, Rosete-Medeiros said, such as an on-site therapist. But there are no immediate plans for that. Hale Kipa has therapeutic foster homes with support for foster parents 24/7, she said. That program is funded through the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Rosete-Medeiros suggested the Department of Human Services start up a similar program of its own so that the state's foster parents feel better equipped to take on tougher cases. How To Get Involved If you are interested in becoming a foster parent – what the state calls a resource caregiver – visit Some child advocates, including Houser and Rosete-Medeiros, argue the disparity between foster homes and foster youth is a sign that the state takes children away from their families too hastily. Both said more could be done to support families while keeping them together. But DHS officials said they already strive to keep families together. If paying the rent or covering the cost to fix a broken down car is the difference between a family staying together or children being taken, DHS can help out, Olevao said. 'There's a pathway to do that, and that's been excellent,' she said. 'It's been working really well.' No Quick Fixes After several high-profile deaths of former Hawaiʻi children, the state formed the Mālama ʻOhana working group to explore solutions. Following recommendations from the group, Gov. Josh Green's office proposed two reforms at the Legislature this year. House Bill 1079 aimed to boost training for child welfare staff, and Senate Bill 952 would've created a five-year pilot program meant to divert children from the child welfare system by better supporting families. Lawmakers didn't pass either one. Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, cited a lack of funding for the Senate bill's failure. Amid costs for the Maui wildfire settlement and major federal spending cuts, she said the Legislature's fiscal stewards wanted to preserve a cushion. At the same time though, she acknowledged the status quo isn't cheap. When children sleep in a government office or hotel, they are supervised by at least two adults who ensure they are safe, fed and make it to school on time, social services officials said. A DHS summary document shared with San Buenaventura shows overtime for one teenager's January stay cost $954 for one night. 'It gets pretty expensive,' San Buenaventura said. If Hawaiʻi wants to improve its child welfare system, Hartsfield said the state needs to fortify services that support families. 'There are no short term fixes for this,' she said. 'If we really want to address the problem, we've got to get to the root cause.' ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
First lady Melania Trump welcomes children to White House for work day celebration
First lady Melania Trump welcomed a number of children of White House employees to The People's House on Tuesday afternoon. The "White House Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" featured an array of activities scattered around the complex for children of all ages to take part in the fun. The first lady greeted children in the East Garden, assisting the kids with decorating American flags. Children drew on the wooden flags with red and blue markers. They also added star stickers as well as small and fluffy red, white, and blue pom-pom balls. The first lady was seen donning a white button-up blouse along with a floral pencil skirt. Many children were seen sporting "Gulf of America" Navy hats with "45-47" embroidered in red on the side. On Monday, President Donald Trump signed the Take it Down Act alongside the first lady, who has been championing the issue since her husband's inauguration. The bill punishes internet abuse involving nonconsensual and explicit imagery. The first lady also scored a big win for her "Be Best" initiative, securing a $25 million foster youth investment to be included in the president's 2026 fiscal year budget. Mrs. Trump has been very active in hosting a variety of recent events at the White House. Ahead of Mother's Day, the first lady honored military moms by hosting moms serving the nation in uniform, the mothers of service members and mothers whose spouses serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. The first lady also paid tribute to the late Barbara Bush in a stamp dedication ceremony, hosting former Bush staffers along with family and friends. "The unveiling of this commemorative stamp honors Barbara Bush's contributions as first lady and her enduring impact on our nation," Melania Trump said at the time.
