Statment of Need

Community Profile
Mothers’ Club serves families with children ages 0-5 who struggle with poverty, language barriers, low-education levels, inadequate and over-crowded living conditions, lack of job skills and vocational opportunities, unreliable transportation, and many other challenges that so often characterize low-income, marginalized communities.  Our services are focused on Northwest Pasadena, one of the most densely populated areas of Los Angeles County.  Of the population in our service area:

• 49% of adults 25 years and older do not have high school diplomas;
• 40% of families with children under five years old live below the federal poverty level;
• 62% of families are among the working poor;
• 64% is Hispanic, and 65% of the population over 5 years old speaks Spanish in the home;
• 28% is Black/African American; and
• The median family income is $27,355(1).

Research has shown that children from low-income and minority families who participate in quality early childhood education programs with intensive parent participation greatly increase their chances for succeeding in school and avoiding the many pitfalls that prevent at-risk youth from reaching their potential. Mothers’ Club reaches families when they're young and promotes long-term change in order to break the cycle of low-educational attainment, which down the road breaks the cycle of poverty.  Two-generation learning models are proven to achieve this because by increasing the education levels of parents, you increase learning outcomes in children(2).  Studies have shown that this strategy is particularly effective for immigrant populations where parents are less likely to enroll their children in ECE programs due to language barriers and cultural biases(3).

Who We Serve
In the 2005-06 operating year Mothers’ Club served 72 parents and 84 children.  65% of these families have been at Mothers’ Club for 2 or more years.  Of these families,

• 91% of children were living in poverty, with 48% being classified as homeless because they were living in a shared household due to economic hardship;
• 62% of parents did not have high school diplomas, with 47% having less than a 9th grade education;
• 71% spoke a language other than English in the home, including Spanish, Arabic and Korean;
• 95% of families had an annual household income of less than $32,000.

Call to Action
In addition to census data, the 2002 City of Pasadena Quality of Life Index confirms the need in our neighborhoods:

• 64% of children in the Pasadena Unified School District are living in poverty, and over 35% of all the children in the district live in northwest Pasadena;.
• While the report cites that a rich learning environment in the preschool years has been linked to later success in school, good programs remain out of reach for a significant portion of the population because there are not enough high-quality programs, costs for quality programs are very high, and there are not enough public subsidies for low-income families.
• 47% of adults over 25 living in northwest Pasadena have literacy levels of 1 and 2(4), meaning that they are not able to read a bus schedule or write a brief letter explaining a billing error. 
• Finally, the report calls the Pasadena community to take the following action – coordinate community literacy programs to eliminate gaps for students learning English as a second language and those just learning to read and write.

At the same time, the United Way’s 2006 Latino Scorecard provides information on five key areas, including education, for Latinos in all cities of Los Angeles County.  Updated from their 2003 Scorecard, the report confirms low levels of achievement in math, reading and language; high dropout rates in high school; and low rate of high school graduates completing college preparation classes.  The scorecard sets out agenda items for 2006-2008, including:

• Increase the availability of quality preschool education, including family literacy programs
• Strengthen parent involvement to improve children’s school performance and preparation for higher education
• Increase the educational attainment of Latinos at all levels by offering more CBO, vocational, and after school training as well as career based small learning academies.

We also fill a critical gap in FREE, high-quality preschool for low-income children in our community.  While Head Start is available for children living at or below the federal poverty level, it is NOT available for children living in poverty or those among the working poor(6) .  The average private preschool in our community costs between $4,000 and $8,000 per year, and although some private programs do have scholarships, they are limited and highly competitive. 

Removing Barriers to Adult Education Opportunities
There are many barriers that prohibit adults from furthering their education and acquiring skills that will help them move their families out of poverty.  The first is language and culture.  The many immigrants in northwest Pasadena need programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for families caught between two cultures.  Another is transportation.  Many families are without cars or access to public transportation, therefore preventing them from attending classes at Pasadena City College’s Community Education Center, located on the opposite side of the city.  The most significant barrier for the parents we serve is childcare – they have no one to care for their young children while they attend classes.  Mothers’ Club removes these barriers in the following ways:

• Our program is culturally sensitive to the needs of immigrants;
• We provide door-to-door transportation to and from our site; and
• We bring adult education opportunities directly to our clients and provide a quality child development program for their children while they attend on-site adult classes.

Answering the Call
In 2007, Mothers’ Club will open its new facility and significantly expand our services, thereby answering the call for increased educational opportunities from not only the Pasadena Public Health Department, but also the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, First 5 Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Children’s Planning Council.
 
We will be able to remove even more barriers to education opportunities by offering a variety of programs at various times throughout the day and evening.  In addition, as a licensed child care center, parents will be able to confidently leave their young children with us to attend specialized adult education opportunities, including GED preparation classes, offered through our community partners, including Pasadena City College’s Community Education Center.  We will continue to break down the transportation barrier by utilizing our van to assist parents in accessing classes and other resources.

@ 2006 Mothers' Club Family Learning Center
526 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
Office: (626) 792-2687 Fax: (626) 793-1832