By Adam Shapiro

The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program supports voluntary, evidence-based home visiting for expectant parents and families with young children, particularly in communities facing greater barriers to positive maternal and child health outcomes.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ agency Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently announced more than $525 million in fiscal year (FY) 2026 Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program awards to 56 state and jurisdiction recipients — the largest federal investment in the program’s history.

There are examples of the program success across the country. For instance, in Florida, Tracy says she gained the confidence and support to overcome challenges and achieve her goals. With the guidance of her home visitor, she strengthened her parenting skills, prioritized her well-being, and advanced her career. Today, Tracy continues to set goals for herself and her family and says, “This program has provided me with the tools to not just survive but to thrive.”

In California, Faraha said “I became pregnant and…I knew I wanted to make a difference in my life and that of my child. The home visiting program not only helped me as a mom, but also with my growth to….better myself, and now I’m in a position that I’ve always wanted to be in.” Faraha is currently employed and pursuing a master’s degree to become a licensed counselor.

HRSA Administrator Tom Engels announced the new awards in Columbus, Ohio, on Child Health Day. The awards will expand access to evidence-based home visiting services that improve maternal and child health, promote healthy child development, and connect families with the support they need during pregnancy and early childhood.

“MIECHV reflects a simple idea: supporting parents early gives children a stronger start. Parents are a child’s first and most important teacher, and by giving them the tools and support they need, we help create a strong foundation for children to thrive,” said Administrator Engels.

The MIECHV program reaches families where services are needed most, including those who are rural, low-income, and at greater risk of poor health outcomes. Trained home visitors meet regularly with expecting mothers and families with young children. Decades of gold-standard scientific research show that voluntary home visits during pregnancy and early childhood can help prevent chronic disease and child abuse and neglect, promote school readiness, and boost families’ economic self-sufficiency.

These awards include both base and matching grants. Base grants provide foundational support for evidence-based home visiting programs in every eligible state and jurisdiction, while matching grants help recipients expand services and reach more eligible families. In FY 2026, 55 of the 56 award recipients applied for and received matching grant awards, reflecting the continued commitment of our state partners to expand evidence-based home visiting services in communities across the country.

Since its reauthorization in 2022, the MIECHV program has served 15 percent more parents and children and delivered 23 percent more home visits. In FY 2025, the program provided more than 1 million home visits to more than 158,000 parents and children across one-third of all U.S. counties, helping connect families with services that support healthy pregnancies, positive parenting, child development, and family economic well-being.

As home visiting services expand, a strong and well-supported workforce is essential to meeting the needs of more families.

By Richmond Standard Staff

Seventeen California public school districts, including West Contra Costa Unified (WCCUSD), have joined a purchasing cooperative to pool their buying power and expand access to organic food in school meals.

The nonprofit Conscious Kitchen recently announced the launch of the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative. Its founding districts serve more than 300,000 students combined.

The cooperative partnered with food distributors UNFI and Sysco to expand the organic products available to participating districts. Combining schools’ purchasing demand helps distributors plan with suppliers while creating more dependable markets for organic farmers and food makers, according to Conscious Kitchen.

Other eligible California school districts can access the cooperative’s products and pricing through its existing contracts without conducting their own bids. Mt. Diablo Unified School District serves as the lead district for the cooperative’s grocery bid.

Other districts involved include: Alameda USD, Albany USD, Berkeley USD, Capistrano USD, Cupertino Union SD, Hayward USD, Laguna Beach USD, Lagunitas Elementary SD, Mt. Diablo USD, North Monterey County USD, Pajaro Valley USD, San Leandro USD, San Ramon Valley USD, Santa Clara USD, Sausalito Marin City SD, Tahoe-Truckee USD and West Contra Costa USD.

Barbara Jellison, WCCUSD’s executive director of food services, said the cooperative builds on years of work bringing fresh, organic food into school kitchens.

“The next challenge has always been how to make that possible for more districts,” Jellison said. “The Co-op gives schools a way to take what we have learned and move it to a completely different scale.”

By Oakland Post Staff

The Alameda County Democratic Party has voted to endorse Measure EE, the Oakland Charter reform measure on the November 2026 ballot. The party’s endorsement is announced alongside a broad coalition of organizations spanning labor, business, faith, and community advocacy, including Oakland Rising Action that are also supporting the measure.

Those supporters include:

• League of Women Voters of Oakland
• AFSCME Council 57
• SPUR
• Bay Area Council
• Black Women Organized for Political Action
• Faith in Action East Bay
• Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• Oakland Rising Action
• Revitalize East Bay
• Empower Oakland

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s hybrid governance system by establishing a strong-mayor structure, making the mayor the city’s chief executive, responsible for delivering effective, efficient services.

The measure would also reform and expand responsibilities of City Councilmembers.

Measure EE would create clearer lines of responsibility for the performance of city government, allowing voters to evaluate the mayor based on how effectively the city delivers services and produces results.

Along with clearer executive responsibility, the Charter reform would also create new checks and balances, including an independent Budget and Legislative Analyst office, City Council confirmation of key appointments, expanded council hearing and subpoena authority, and give the council the ability to override a mayoral veto with six votes. 

“Oakland voters deserve a City Hall where they know exactly who’s responsible when something goes wrong and exactly who to credit when it gets fixed. Measure EE puts that responsibility squarely with the mayor, backed by real checks and balances, so Oakland can finally move as fast as its problems demand. That’s why the Alameda County Democratic Party is proud to stand behind it,” said Igor Tregub, chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party. 

Oakland Rising Action, a collaboration of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations, has also issued a press statement explaining its support for Measure EE.

Measure EE “represents a critical opportunity for residents to clarify the governance role of the Oakland Mayor and City Council, so we, as residents, know who to hold accountable for the execution of voter-approved and budgeted services within city departments,” the statement said.

Measure EE would reform Oakland’s Charter, which is the city’s Constitution, strengthening “the role of the mayor as the CEO of Oakland, with the city administrator being hired and managed by the mayor explicitly.”

The measure would also strengthen oversight of city departments by mandating reporting directly to the City Council and provide the mayor with veto power in approving policies and the budget.

Measure EE was placed on the ballot by the Oakland City Council in June 2026. For more than half a year, the mayor’s working group on Charter reform engaged residents and elected officials on the options for governance of Oakland, which led to Measure EE. 

“Oaklanders need clarity about who is responsible for the management of our city departments, our tax dollars, and our voter-approved ballot measures,” said Pecolia Manigo, executive director of Oakland Rising. 

“The average resident believes that we already have a strong mayor system,” she continued. “However, this is simply not the truth in our City Charter. It is time for us to stop talking about the Charter changes Oakland needs. This is the first of many Charter reforms that are needed to improve conditions in Oakland, especially the flatlands. It’s time all voters start paying attention to who is making decisions for Oakland. This election allows us to say how we believe Oakland should be governed.”

A proposed mixed-use development at 338 Carlson Blvd. could bring hundreds of homes and support services for military veterans to South Richmond.

Led by the Richmond-based Veterans Resource Program in partnership with Eagle Environmental Construction & Development, the proposal covers an approximately 2.3-acre property the nonprofit acquired in 2018.

The proposal features a multi-building residential development with various apartment sizes, though city documents and developer materials cite conflicting totals ranging from 226 to 268 units.

The proposal also includes approximately 40,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, about 200 parking spaces, and an entrepreneurial training and job-development component intended to connect veterans with economic and workforce opportunities.

According to the development team’s presentation, the project has an estimated total cost of nearly $158 million. The presentation outlines five phases encompassing entitlement and construction documents, community outreach, soil remediation and utility work, podium and building construction, solar technology integration, and interior buildouts.

Founded in 2011, the Veterans Resource Program provides housing assistance and other services to veterans, including those experiencing homelessness or transitioning from incarceration.

The proposal aims to advance Richmond’s affordable housing goals while connecting veterans with housing and supportive services. Details of affordability and veteran eligibility remain to be clarified.

The Richmond City Council was scheduled to receive an informational presentation on the project at its Oct. 6 meeting, following a continuance from Sept. 22. The item does not seek project approval or city funding. Any future request for city financial assistance or other public resources would require separate consideration and approval.

By Ken Epstein

Mayor Barbara Lee, speaking this week to Oakland residents and elected leaders in City Council chambers, delivered the annual mayoral State of the City Address, highlighting the city’s accomplishments as well as the challenges Oakland is facing going forward.

Lee began her remarks praising city workers, who picketed outside City Hall before the meeting, and are currently negotiating with the city for a wage increase and ending understaffing that leaves many departments shorthanded.

“We are working very hard (not) just to get a contract, but to get a fair contract,” she said. “I know that our City Council and myself are working constantly toward that end.”

The mayor also praised Councilmember Carroll Fife for her legislation for a 45-day moratorium on data center construction, which passed unanimously at the council meeting Tuesday following Lee’s presentation.

Speaking bluntly, she said, “Oakland continues to be a city on the move, (but) I want to tell you the truth about the state of our city.”

“We have made real progress, and we still face real challenges.”

She said the city has balanced its budget but has a structural deficit, which is decreasing, and must operate within the context of federal funding cuts.

“Too many Oaklanders are unhoused, too many families are struggling with the cost of living, and too many neighborhoods still need basic services that they deserve, and too many people are living in fear,” Mayor Lee said.

“We’re not sweeping these realities under the rug,” she continued. “We are being intentional and transparent about how we must face these challenges, but we will not ignore our progress.”

Substantial progress includes:

• Bringing crime down;

• Building affordable and deeply affordable housing;

• Cleaning the streets and fixing the roads;

• Helping small businesses.

“We are bringing new investment to Oakland,” she said. “We’re making City Hall work better. There’s more to do, but make no mistake, Oakland is on the move.”

Speaking broadly about the city’s public safety initiatives, she said that crime continues to decline. Burglaries fell by 26%, and violent crime fell by 17%.

In recent years, homicides and shootings have fallen by double digits, and gun violence has dropped by more than 50% in the last 33 months.

“These aren’t just statistics: these are lives. These are families. These are people who never made it home,” Mayor Lee said.

She talked about what to expect now that federal court oversight of the Oakland Police Department ended last week after 23 years. “Ending federal oversight does not mean ending accountability; quite the opposite,” she said. “Accountability and civilian oversight must remain our standard. Community trust must be our standard.”

Mayor Lee also emphasized that Oakland remains a city of refuge.

“We do not work with ICE; we do not cooperate with ICE; our police do not cooperate with ICE; we will not be militarized,” she said.

The mayor also emphasized that investing in youth is a top priority of her administration and should be considered a public safety strategy.

“We advocated for almost $2 million to restore the mayor’s youth summer employment program,” she said. “We connected youth with Oakland businesses to develop skills that will support them for years to come, and that’s a big deal.”

To create a police force that better serves and protects Oakland, the city is working toward the goal of reaching 700 sworn police officers, she said. These steps include recruiting from Oakland, holding academies, reinstituting a cadet program, and increasing foot patrols.

The city also is strengthening other programs, including the Department of Violence Prevention and Ceasefire, she said. “We must have this comprehensive public safety strategy, because we must also prevent violence before it happens.”

Continuing, Lee said public safety is connected to unsanitary conditions in city neighborhoods.

“Illegal dumping is unacceptable, and it’s a moral disgrace,” she said. “No child should have to walk past piles of garbage on their way to school; no senior should have to live next to it; no small business should have to clean it up outside its door.”

She said the city is changing the way it fights illegal dumping, securing a $9.2 million investment to develop a new strategy. “We’re not just cleaning it up; we’re working to stop it before it starts. We have the three E’s – Eradication, enforcement, and education,” she said.

Focusing on the continuing crisis of Oakland’s unhoused residents, she said, “We consider housing a basic human right, and homelessness remains one of Okland’s greatest challenges.”

“There are two things we must do: keep people from becoming unsheltered and help people who are unsheltered get back into housing with services that they need,” Lee said.

Since 2024, homelessness in Oakland has fallen by 20%, she said. In the past year prevention programs helped keep 1,000 families in their homes, and over 1,300 affordable homes opened over the past two years.

Addressing community tensions over encampments, she said, “We should never have to choose between compassion for people experiencing homelessness and the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”

“A strong city has to deliver both,” she said. “That’s the work we’re advancing through Oakland’s new homelessness strategic action plan.”

Money will support small businesses, public safety, transitional housing, and community partners

Mayor Barbara Lee recently announced that the City of Oakland and local community partners will receive more than $14 million in direct investments from California’s new 2026-27 state budget.

Securing $4.25 million for city programs and $10 million for local community organizations, these state funds were backed by state Senator Jesse Arreguin and Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks, with support from Governor Gavin Newsom.

The goal of securing state and federal funding and bringing in outside resources to address the city’s most pressing needs continues to be a top priority for Lee.

Direct state investments in city programs can revitalize Oakland’s commercial corridors and foster economic growth, strengthen community violence prevention strategies, and expand transitional housing, while supporting cherished community spaces, according to a city media statement.

“Thank you so much to Senator Jesse Arreguin, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and Gov. Gavin Newsom for investing in Oakland,” Lee said.

“We are fortunate to have strong, dedicated leaders representing Oakland in Sacramento who consistently deliver for our residents and businesses,” she said. “This critical funding directly addresses some of our most pressing challenges, including supporting our small businesses, building vibrant neighborhood corridors, advancing violence intervention, and housing our unsheltered neighbors.”

How the $4.25 million will be spent for city projects:

• $2.5 million will be used for the Facade and Tenant Improvement Grant Program to support small businesses;
• $1 million for the Department of Violence Prevention to enhance staffing and program capacity; and
• $750,000 for the Holland transitional housing facility, providing resources to help unhoused residents.

• How the $10 million for Oakland community groups will be spent:

• $5 million for Children’s Fairyland for essential infrastructure, accessibility, and facility upgrades.;
• $3 million for the Juntos Fruitvale Cultural Arts Center to create a multi-use space for performances, exhibitions, workshops, neighborhood meetings in the Fruitvale neighborhood; and
• $2 million for Samuel Merritt University to grow its nationally recognized Human Trafficking Prevention and Response Initiative.

“State investments in Oakland’s nonprofit and educational organizations highlight their deep value not just to our city, but their importance to the entire state,” said Lee. “Oakland has long served as a hub for inclusive arts and culture and as a community that protects its most vulnerable members.”

Said Arreguin, “This investment is a commitment to Oakland’s health, safety, and future. In partnership with my state colleagues, Mayor Lee, and our community partners, we are strengthening our response to human trafficking and gun violence, to create safer neighborhoods, and improve the quality of life of all Oakland residents.”

“Investing in Oakland means investing in California’s future. I’m proud to be a voice for the beautiful people of Oakland in the State Capitol and to deliver real funding wins that ensure our shared safety, expand housing opportunities, and preserve the artistic and cultural legacy of Oakland,” said Bonta.