Para LOS ninos will provide early childhood mental health services and family supports, including technology to provide telehealth services. - para LOS niños (PLN) operates seven quality early…

Para LOS ninos will provide early childhood mental health services and family supports, including technology to provide telehealth services. - para LOS niños (PLN) operates seven quality early education centers, serving ages 0-5, leading to kindergarten readiness. The goal of this proposed effort is to improve the learning and behavioral outcomes of children 0-5 in early education with increased capacity, assessment training, and direct services provision. Currently, 91% of PLN clients are latinx and 7% are african american. Spanish is the primary language for 69% of clients and 41% of parents have no high school diploma. Approximately, 92% of the families served by PLN fall below the federal poverty level (FPL) and live in areas of concentrated poverty in LOS angeles county service planning areas (spas) 4 and 6, including downtown LA/skid row, westlake, pico-union, boyle heights, lincoln heights, cypress park, east hollywood, and south LOS angeles. Students have significant needs for mental health counseling and additional wraparound support. This community project request would increase PLN's capacity to dedicate three new staff solely to our vine early head start, western early head start, and hollywood head start locations in the district to support staff, children, and parents. The three positions include a mental health clinician, a child development specialist, and an occupational therapist. This effort will serve 141 children ages birth to five years old and their families with expanded capacity through the hiring of three additional staff, a project coordinator and mental health clinician, an occupational therapist, and a child care specialist; increase individual staff member's capacity through training and technical assistance to support children, families, and classroom teachers; and provide necessary and quality assessments and services, as determined by para LOS niños staff.