The Children's Initiative

11/25/2025

The Children’s Initiative was proud to support San Diego County Probation in hosting The Old Globe’s Globe for All Tour at the Youth Transition Campus this year. The Julius Caesar performance received wonderful feedback from the youth and partners!

Young men and women at Probation’s Youth Transition Campus were treated to a special traveling production of “Julius Caesar,” a William Shakespeare tragedy on political conspiracy and civil war.

09/18/2025

Interested in being apart of San Diego EMS Corps? Learn more about the program and get any questions answered at the EMS Corps Career Event! Scan the QR code below to RSVP.

09/16/2025

The Lived Expert Action Partners work group has transitioned to a focus group format for their meetings. Please scan the QR code below for meeting dates, topics, and locations. Lived experts who would like compensation, please submit the form available through the QR code.

08/11/2025

Being part of the Youth Workforce initiative means turning vision into action.

Our grant will support paid internships and apprenticeships that put youth on the path to economic stability. This means a more inclusive and brighter future for San Diego’s next generation through boosted earning potential.

Learn more about how we are empowering young people in our community at https://www.thechildrensinitiative.org/.

07/14/2025

We were proud to be recognized as a Music Connects Partner by the San Diego Symphony during a recent event at The Rady Shell!

The Children's Initiative is honored to collaborate with the Symphony to bring enriching experiences to San Diego’s justice impacted youth. Together, we're expanding access to the arts and supporting the well-being of youth throughout the region.

Partnerships like these help create lasting impact — thank you to the for your commitment to community and connection!

02/10/2025

🚀 Explore the New Live Well San Diego Data Hub! 🌟

For 15+ years, The Children’s Initiative has provided vital insights with the Live Well San Diego Report Card on Children & Families. Now, we've taken it to the next level!

📊 Check out our interactive, web-based Data Hub—your gateway to explore 25 key health and well-being indicators like Early Prenatal Care and Child Mortality.

🔍 Dive into the data, uncover strengths, and pinpoint areas for growth. Together, we can create a healthier, brighter future for children and families in our community.

👉 Visit today and join the movement for change!

10/29/2024

Mark your calendars for this year’s TMSF conference! All ASES, 21st CCLC & ASSETs funded expanded learning program staff are invited. Come learn about best practices and tips to make your program even better! Register today!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/touching-minds-shaping-futures-###vi-conference-tickets-1000807300577?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

09/05/2024

🌟✨ A Victory for Afterschool! Thank You to Our Senate Champions! 🌟✨

We extend our deepest gratitude to Senator Mike McGuire, Senator Monique Limón, and Senator Josh Newman for their unwavering support of AB1113. Their commitment to strengthening ELO-P and protecting afterschool programs for kids and families has been instrumental in this significant legislative victory. 🌈

📣: California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance - CA3 and Partnership for Children and Youth

05/06/2024

What could California look like if we invested in girls and gender-expansive youth’s freedom instead of their incarceration?

For decades, directly impacted young people have shined a light on solutions that can help transform communities and end incarceration. These solutions target the root causes of incarceration and the structural inequities that criminalize girls and gender-expansive youth, particularly those of color.

Read Institute of Justice and ’s new report to learn more about how we can end girls' incarceration in California:

05/01/2024

San Diego has received $700,000 to spend on enrichment and extracurricular activities for children and youth in foster care. If you are, or were formerly, in foster care, please join us on May 8th to discuss what these funds should be used for and how we should set up access to the funds. Please RSVP.

11/02/2020

Hi all,

On behalf of the Children’s Initiative, I am announcing a grant opportunity through the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. Please view the attached PDF, Notice of Funding Availability, for more information.

Deadline to apply: Monday, November 30 at 5:00 pm
Amount of available funds: $433,367
**Southern District of California’s PSN Task Force will make between 2-4 subawards from the total available funds.
Important to note: All applicants must submit a program narrative, budget detail worksheet, and complete certified assurances on TCI’s website: https://www.thechildrensinitiative.org/copy-of-southern-district-of-ca.
**Non-profit organizations are exempt from completing both the certification of compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and questionnaire with DHS and ICE.

Focused program funding areas for the Southern District of California’s PSN are limited to:

Targeted Intervention, Prevention, Outreach, and or Reentry:
• Prevention programs that break the cycle of crime and keep youth and adults from becoming involved in gangs and crime. This may include reentry, prevention, mentoring, instructional, or other programs that provide services that prevent or rehabilitate gang members.
• Prevention programs that place special emphasis on law enforcement mentors working alongside credible messengers who are former gang members.

Law Enforcement
• Law enforcement programs that will curb gun and gang violence and the availability of weapons in high-risk populations and high crime areas. This may include targeting gangs and violent street groups, geographic hot spot areas, felons in possession, and/or chronic violent offenders.

For more information about this grant opportunity or technical assistance needs please contact me by email or at my direct line.

Thank you,

Jessica Brown
Grant Compliance Specialist/Grant Writer
Direct line: 858-256-6569
Email: [email protected]

The mission of the Children’s Initiative is to help San Diego County’s low-income children, youth and families thrive and prosper.  For more than 20 years, the Children’s Initiative has served as an advocate and custodian for effective policies, programs, and services that support the educati...

09/02/2020

The Children’s Initiative would like to express our gratitude towards McDonald's for their donation of 600 “Happy Meal Readers” to support San Diego’s students.

These Readers are collections of activity books suitable for kids of all ages. This year’s collection, pictured below, was created in partnership with Universal Studios as they launch the new Netflix series, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous on September 18th. This non-fiction Happy Meal Readers collection we received is filled with fun facts and includes two different books: Armored Dinosaurs and Big Dinosaurs .

Free learning resources such as these will create an avenue for families to come together through reading as they embark on the new virtual school year.