HEALTHY HOMES:

2009: The Coalition, in partnership with the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department, offered a free two-day training in “Code Inspection for Healthier Homes” and a one-day training “Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners” in Spring 2009.

2008-2010: Coalition partner, Northern California Center for Well Being, developed a “Creating a Healthy Home” toolkit for managers of affordable housing and trained affordable housing property managers and tenants in healthy homes practices.  CWB is working with Burbank Housing Development Corp., the largest affordable housing developer in Sonoma County, to institutionalize healthy homes practices at all their properties in the county.

2009-2010: Coalition partner, the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department, collaborated with Coalition staff to develop new Healthy Homes pages on the county’s website. The new pages went live in February 2010. Check them out here.

2010: The Coalition became a member of the Steering Committee of the newly formed California Healthy Housing Coalition and helped in planning the first California Healthy Housing Coalition webinar on June 15, 2010.

2010: The Coalition developed a new brochure “Tips for a Healthy Home” in English and Spanish. Copies have been distributed to housing managers, property owners, service providers, and at health fairs. The brochure is downloadable here.

2010: As part of the CAFA network, the Coalition, with other CAFA members, conducted legislative visits in May to advocate for more effective code enforcement at the State level. Members specifically advocated for changes to the California Health and Safety Code which would help local jurisdictions to more effectively implement and enforce the current codes.

SMOKE FREE HOUSING POLICY WORK:

2009: The Coalition, in partnership with the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Sonoma County, successfully advocated for the City of Rohnert Park to adopt a tobacco ordinance that regulates smoking in multi-unit housing.

2009-2010: The Coalition is currently advocating with the Cities of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa to adopt a tobacco ordinances that will regulate smoking in multi-unit housing.

SCHOOLS:

2009-2010: As a result of a four year partnership with the Coalition to implement asthma friendly schools practices, West Sonoma County Union HighSchool District adopted a district Wellness Plan that includes specific student asthma management practices and a revised 9^th grade health curriculum that includes asthma education.  The district also adopted a green cleaning purchasing practice.  The district received an Asthma Friendly Schools Initiative Excellence Award from the American Lung Association in May 2010.

Asthma education was delivered to students with asthma, to all teachers and staff, and to all 5^th and 9^th grade students at two elementary schools and three high schools in Sonoma County. Two high schools participated in a classroom trigger project, in which students conducted trigger assessments in all classrooms on campus and shared results with teachers who made appropriate remediation.

2010-2011: The Coalition will be implementing asthma friendly schools programs in the Santa Rosa City Schools district and the Napa Valley Unified School district. We will be training students from the Napa Community College Respiratory Health program, and the Santa Rosa Junior College Community Health Worker program to deliver curriculum and facilitate classes for students with asthma at the elementary (OAS: Open Airways in Schools) and middle school level (Kickin’ Asthma).

CLINICAL ASTHMA MANAGEMENT:

2010: The Coalition is partnering with Breathe California, Kaiser Permanente, and Healdsburg Hospitals  to offer training and networking opportunities to asthma health providers in Sonoma and Napa counties.

ASTHMA DATA:

2010: The Coalition produced current report on asthma data in Sonoma County. Downloadable here.

Click here to see previous coalition spotlights

Strategies around a Healthy Homes Ordinance in San Diego continue. Partners such as Affordable Housing Advocates and the Environmental Health Coalition both based in San Diego, have joined forces and engaged community groups.  Our promotora team conducted a Leadership Academy workshop on Healthy Homes to inform San Diego’s Somali community about the importance of healthy housing and the effects that household environmental triggers can have on people with asthma. Approximately 150 residents were reached and feedback from the training suggested they are very excited about having been invited to join us in the Healthy Homes movement.   The goal is to empower these residents to become more involved in the policies that affect their lives on a daily basis.

San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition by-laws and overall structure served as the blue print for shaping the the newly formed California Healthy Homes Coalition. We share the vision of proactive code enforcement, and we hope to gain momentum so critical to the passage of the ordinance.

Outdoor Air Quality Update

On March 16^th the City Council of National City adopted the Westside, or “Old Town” specific plan correcting decades of inconsistent planning.  The Westside evolved in the early 1900s as a community of Victorian homes on tiny lots built for those with waterfront and railroad jobs.

Top leadership at the EPA have called the new project a model for environmental justice history. The San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition worked behind the scenes throughout 2009 and into 2010 gathering evidence on freeway buffer zones, creek protection, balancing height density housing levels, and improving community walkability. Coalition staff met with city officials in providing feedback on EIR and planning documents to end discriminatory land use decisions from the 1950s and 60s that allowed industrial polluters to be located next to homes, schools, and churches.

Port of San Diego

Following the newly passed Drayage Truck Law effective January 1, 2010, the Port of San Diego and stakeholders have created Truck Policy workgroup to reduce diesel pollution from trucks servicing the terminals.  The goal is to increase trucker outreach and promote funding from Goods Movement Emissions Reduction Program (GMERP) as part of the Prop 1B for truck retrofits or replacement.  The Port Commission will convene in June 2010 to adopt a policy for enforcement.

The Environmental Sustainability Policy (ESP) was approved in December 2009. This policy will minimize the Port’s impact on the environment while growing its business. It will serve as the framework by which the Port will make decisions that incorporate a balance of environmental, social and economic concerns.

In June 2009, the L.A. CAFA Collaborative joined with other advocates for health and human rights to host the First Annual South Los Angeles Health and Human Rights Conference. Over 740 community residents and leaders, including County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health. Several international human rights groups also attended. We highlighted local solutions and demonstrated the effectiveness of community-led, place-based, and results-oriented approaches to healthier communities and human rights. Since then, hundreds of community members have convened in workgroups to articulate the barriers to health and human rights and share ideas for addressing them.

In December 2010, on International Human Rights Day, the L.A. CAFA Collaborative and other human rights advocates unveiled the South Los Angeles Declaration of Health and Human Rights, the culmination of the work that began at our June Health and Human Rights conference and continued through months of workgroup meetings. In a moving ceremony on the grounds of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in South Los Angeles, staff and residents unveiled a historic people’s call to action to push for measurable improvements in health and human rights. The Declaration has been placed online at:
www.southlahealthandhumanrights.org/declaration.html.
Over 1,500 people from around the world have contributed to and/or signed the Declaration to date.

The L.A. CAFA Collaborative’s focus on developing place-based, results-oriented approaches to local health and human rights challenges are exemplified in two subsequent activities. First, members of the L.A. CAFA Collaborative, with support from funders, launched the Healthy Homes Healthy Kids program. Through this program, health care providers at St. John’s Well Child and Family Centers are able to screen for substandard-housing conditions, document their health impacts, and link them to home assessments, health education and remediation services by promotoras at Esperanza Community Housing Corporation and tenant rights education and advocacy by organizers at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. By December 2010 this program will have impacted over 4,000 children whose health was threatened by substandard housing.

The second activity is L.A. CAFA Collaborative’s development of a shared online database to facilitate communication, case management, referrals, and advocacy among collaborative partners. This database will allow health care providers, community organizers, and promotoras a chance to more effectively advocate on behalf of and coordinate critical services to low-income residents of South Los Angeles.

The L.A. CAFA Collaborative continues to advance current conversations regarding the connection between slum housing conditions and a number of chronic and acute health conditions impacting children and families in South Los Angeles with the publication of the Shame of the City “position paper” (Slum Housing and the Critical Threat to the Health of L.A. Children and Families, published in April 2007). In October 2008, we released another seminal report, Taming the Perfect Storm, which discussed the health and housing crisis, with particular emphasis on the growing numbers of homeless South L.A. residents. A third report chronicling the health and housing impacts of criminalizing slumlords will be released in April 2010.

The health outcomes of those in South L.A. reflect the underlying epidemic in the social determinants of poor health including food insecurity, slum housing, child and family poverty, job insecurity, uncoordinated health services, and rising rents, evictions and foreclosures.  The recent closure of a majority of the public and private hospitals serving South Los Angeles has compounded a preexisting scarcity of comprehensive, affordable health care and contributed to a perform storm of poor health and chronic human rights violations in South L.A.. While local coalitions, community clinics, hospitals, advocacy groups and nonprofits have pieced together a safety net to address these chronic health inequities, the situation is worsening and requires a systemic and coordinated approach.

The Los Angeles CAFA Collaborative with sponsors such as The California Endowment is seizing an unprecedented opportunity to advance a systematic and coordinated approach to further the health and human rights movement in South Los Angeles and beyond.

For more information about the L.A. CAFA Collaborative please contact:

Jim Mangia
President & CEO, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center
jimmangia@wellchild.org

The mission of the San Mateo County Asthma Coalition (SMCAC) is “to prevent and control asthma in San Mateo County by promoting change and collaboration at the individual, institutional, community and policy level through education, awareness, empowerment, and advocacy.” The coalition has been working towards this mission since 2004 through its childcare, schools, clinical, and community workgroups.

In October 2008, SMCAC hosted a day-long education and network meeting for San Mateo County health care providers to address the goal of improving the abilities of health care providers to identify and address the needs of adults and children with asthma. During the lunch break-out sessions, health care providers discussed barriers to helping patients with asthma. One of the largest barriers they perceived was substandard housing conditions.

Based on this feedback and recent evidence that millions of asthma cases may be due to mold and moisture in the home (Chen, A. 2007), the SMCAC put together educational flyers for property owners about their responsibilities towards mold and moisture control. After receiving feedback from property owner focus groups, the coalition also created English and Spanish educational sheets for renters and general audiences. San Mateo County Environmental Health partnered with the SMCAC to print and distribute these flyers.

In the fall of 2009, SMCAC continued to build its partnership with Environmental Health and co-sponsored two events. In August, over 30 home visitors and outreach workers participated in a housing and habitability training which addressed questions about resources for clients and the legal processes around habitability issues. In October, approximately 30 code enforcement, environmental health, public health and other stakeholders participated in a healthy housing forum. The forum included educational presentations about pest and mold control and a facilitated dialogue about the roles and responsibilities of different agencies to support healthy housing for residents of San Mateo County. The training and forum have led to increased awareness of the interconnectivity of our work and new partnerships.

Currently, the SMCAC is developing strategies to support interdisciplinary collaboration promoting healthy homes. The clinical committee of the coalition is also working on developing a workshop in May that will support patient advocacy efforts among medical providers. To learn more about the SMCAC, please visit smhealth.org/asthma.

Chen, Allan (2007). Berkeley Lab “EPA Studies Confirm Large Public Health And Economic Impact of Dampness and Mold” Retrieved 1/04/10 from http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_57697.shtml

COALITION WEB PAGES

RAMP would like all CAFA coalitions to have a page on our new website that informs those visiting the site about the great work you are doing. To that end, please provide us with the following:

• A description of the coalition (250-500 words or less, single spaced), which includes information that summarizes organizational history, current projects and short and/or long term goals. Please include your logo on this page.
• All contact information, i.e. phone & fax numbers, mailing address, web address and, if applicable, any email addresses your organization designates for public inquiries.
• Full or partial staff listing – at minimum, please list the coalition leadership and any administrative support persons who could respond to public inquiries.
• A link to your website if applicable.
• Any tools/resources you have created. If not already there, we will upload them to our resource section and provide links to them from your page on our site.
• If you have any other images you would like us to consider posting, please send in jpg format.
• Finally, we would like to request that you post a link from your website to ours, please let us know if this is possible.

Please send this information and materials to Candice Francis: candice@rampasthma.org; 510-302-3397.

COALITION MEETING CALENDAR

The Coalition Meeting Calendar (http://www.rampasthma.org/about/event-calendar/) has been set up on our website as a convenient tool for your members and others interested in your work. We will post entries for your regularly scheduled asthma coalition meetings; however, we are unable to post unrelated organizational events. We recommend that you send us your 2010 meeting dates as soon as possible. Please provide a brief description of the meeting including: the date, time, location, a contact name, email address and phone number. Indicate if the meeting recurs on a regular basis for example, the first Monday of the month.

Please submit these details via email to both: Candice Francis, candice@rampasthma.org and Seham Fare, seham@rampasthma.org. 

COALITION SPOTLIGHT

The CAFA Coalition Spotlight is an opportunity for CAFA Network members to showcase on the RAMP website the great work being done at the local level. The Spotlight will update the asthma community about coalition events, policy work, program successes and, in some cases, the work being done with community partners. Spotlight essays are posted for a month at a time.

Go to http://www.rampasthma.org/about/coalition-spotlight/ to view the current Coalition Spotlight. Write your Coalition Spotlight essay in descriptive, third-person, narrative form limited to 750 words. Please proof essays carefully before submission; RAMP reserves the right to make additional edits if necessary.

At the CAFA Annual Meeting, coalitions selected the month when their Spotlights will appear. If you were not at the meeting and would like to schedule a month, please contact Kate Lorenzen at kate@rampasthma.org. Coalition spotlights are posted on the first of each month. RAMP will send a reminder one month in advance and requests that your Spotlight be submitted at least TEN days before posting.

January 2010 – San Mateo Asthma Coalition

February 2010 – Merced-Mariposa County Asthma Coalition

March 2010 – LA CAFA

April 2010 – LBACA

May 2010 – San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition

June 2010 – Asthma Coalition of LA County

July 2010 – Sonoma County Asthma Coalition

August 2010 – San Francisco Asthma Task Force

September 2010 – Alameda County Asthma Coalition

October 2010 – Orange County Asthma Coalition

November 2010 – West Oakland Asthma Coalition

December 2010 – Tulare County Asthma Coalition

January 2011 – Contra Costa Asthma Coalition

February 2011 – Fresno County Asthma Coalition

March 2011 – Solano Asthma Coalition

April 2011 – Napa County Asthma Coalition

May 2011 – CAFA Network Write-up

RAMP DIGEST

RAMP Digest, our e-newsletter, has been redesigned to offer you the quality information, resources and tools you have come to expect. We invite you to submit suggestions for asthma related news, studies and resource information, including job and funding opportunities and upcoming events. While we must respectfully maintain editorial control over submission selection, we pledge to provide content that supports your work and our shared goal to minimize and control the impact of asthma. Suggestions for articles may be submitted at anytime, however, entries that have firm deadlines should be submitted at your earliest convenience.

RAMP Digest will be emailed on the third Thursday of each month. For the time being, we will send a reminder email on the first Thursday that will prompt you to visit our website to check for time-sensitive opportunities. We will also use this communication to inform you of any pending opportunity deadlines.

Please email your suggestions to both: Candice Francis, candice@rampasthma.org and Seham Fare, seham@rampasthma.org

 Sustainability generally and funding specifically are issues with which many coalitions and organizations across multiple advocacy movements grapple, but all too often the struggle comes too late to be successful.  Particularly when an organization has been solely funded by grant funding for a period of time, the day to day work to achieve grant-funded goals and objectives takes precedence and sustainability and fundraising are not addressed.  Typically, the organization does not start discussing its sustainability and funding issues until the grant funding is nearing an end.  Too many movements have seen their progress slowed or even halted due to funding crises that occur because fundraising and sustainability are not addressed fully or soon enough.

Recognizing this issue, RAMP hired M+R to assist the CAFA coalitions in addressing sustainability and funding while there was ample time to be successful in planning for their future.  Diane Pickles of M+R has conducted three in-person training sessions, three “distance learning” sessions via webinar, and one-on-one coaching and technical assistance sessions with the CAFA coalitions.  In addition, Diane has created and disseminated a toolkit of worksheets, information, and other resources to assist the coalitions in their planning and implementation of fundraising strategies.  The training and coaching has focused on diversifying funding sources and securing unrestricted funds.  Among the action steps the coalitions have been coached through are the following:

• Conducting strategic planning processes to narrow and refine goals;
• Identifying specific fundraising monetary goals;
• Building sustainability teams;
• Crafting bare-bones budgets and “triage” budgets;
• Building fundraising and development plans;
• Identifying funding prospects across multiple venues;
• Planning fundraising events.

A great deal of time and energy has also gone into working with the coalitions to create strategies for linking their advocacy activities with their fundraising in order to leverage success and build power simultaneously in both areas.  For example, rather than conducting events as “stand-alone” fundraisers, coalitions have been encouraged to plan events that achieve both an educational/advocacy goal and raise money at the same time.  Whether it be organizational sponsorships, ticket sales, or individual donations, nearly every educational or advocacy community event can incorporate a fundraising component.

There are many challenges the coalitions have encountered as they work to launch fundraising and development campaigns.  While two of the largest challenges are fairly obvious – a poor economy and lack of time and resources to devote to fundraising, there is another common barrier that is less tangible but is perhaps the biggest challenge of all.  This is the struggle to shift the coalition’s culture from a grant-funded entity to a fundraising entity.  This is not an easy feat for many reasons, not the least of which is that coalition members represent their own organizations and cannot, therefore, fundraise directly for the coalition.  Perhaps most significant, however, is that it is just not easy or simple to make fundraising a major priority within a coalition that has never conducted any fundraising at all.  Attempting to go from zero to sixty in a mere six months has been a significant struggle for many of the CAFA coalitions, and they are to be commended for embracing that challenge.

Several coalitions are already seeing significant successes.  These successes include the development of strategic plans with refined, specific advocacy goals, creating diverse funding prospect lists, and planning fundraising events.  Other coalitions are beginning to craft well-thought out “exit strategies” for transitioning off important work to other entities and making plans to scale back or complete their work as a funded coalition.  The next several months will be critically important to all of the coalitions, whether they are actively fundraising, transitioning off their work, or finding ways to continue on without formal funding.  Additional training and coaching will be available from M+R Strategic Services to the coalitions as they embark upon this work.  In particular, M+R will be working with a task force of coalition coordinators interested in working together to create a template for an asthma advocacy fundraising event that will be conducted in several geographic areas.

It should be noted here that the coalitions have demonstrated exceptional resilience and dedication in continuing to work hard and achieve policy, advocacy, and educational successes in the midst of uncertain futures.  While it would be understandable that some of the work might slow or even cease in the midst of such uncertainty, the coalitions have never wavered from their commitment to asthma prevention in California.

 Click here to see previous coalition spotlights

 The Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA) started in 1999 and is a partnership to improve the lives of children with asthma in the Long Beach community. Since its inception LBACA’s membership has grown to include over 70 individuals and organizations that convene at regular bi-monthly meetings. The coalition employs a multi-faceted community based approach to addressing the systems, policies and social barriers to effective asthma care using evidence based models. It examines and addresses factors at every level of influence including self-management, family and the home, provider capacity, schools and after-school support, community awareness and action, environmental measures, and policies.

 Objectives of the Coalition

1. To change the profile of childhood asthma in the most affected areas of the cities of Long Beach, Carson, Wilmington and San Pedro through improved healthcare delivery and quality, outreach, education, support systems, improved living environments and changes in policy at all levels.�
    
2. To improve clinical outcomes including reduction in preventable hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and school absenteeism due to asthma, and enhanced quality of life measures.

 Community Members Speak Out Against the Expansion of Railyards and Freeways in their Neighborhoods: An Update on the Actions of Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA)

 As an advocate for children’s health LBACA is involved in fighting sources outdoor air pollution at multiple levels. Through funding from Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA) the coalition has been able to expand the depth of its advocacy activities related to outdoor air pollution. Long Beach and the surrounding communities served by LBACA are home to the third largest port complex in the world. Combined, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach bring in over 40% of the nation’s goods and contribute to over 20% of the pollution in the South Coast Air Basin.[1] 

 Central to the function of the ports and regional goods movement activity are the I-710 freeway and railyards. The 710 runs through the heart of Long Beach and is the largest infrastructure project in the nation. Railyards in the area include the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF), an existing facility operated by Union Pacific, and the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG), a project proposed by Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Despite the downturn in the economy and decrease in the number of goods being moved in and out of the United States plans to expand both the 710 Freeway and the railyards are already in place.

 Expansion of the I-710 Freeway

 The 710 freeway gained renewed interest on the part of local communities in 2003 when plans for expansion were first announced. LBACA joined with other communities located along the I-710 corridor to form the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice (CEHAJ). Through the efforts of CEHAJ and pressure from community members the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) – decision makers for the project – were forced to incorporate an expanded community participation structure into the planning process. The structure facilitates meaningful community participation and influence in determining the design and implementation of the project’s Environmental Impact Review/Statement (EIR/EIS).

 Despite an expanded community participation framework into the planning process CEHAJ and many of LBACA’s members still face an uphill battle in influencing the MTA and project decision makers to develop a realistic and implementable plan guaranteeing the health of local communities is prioritized. The final stages of the EIR/EIS for the project are set to be completed in the fall of 2010. The 4 items currently being recommended by the community for inclusion in the EIR/EIS are:

 1.  To adopt the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) significance threshold for the evaluation of alternatives before the project begins.

 2.  To incorporate near source modeling into any analysis of air quality and to consider ambient air quality that reflect near roadway concentrations.

 3. To address construction impacts from the project and develop a staging plan to quantify results from any study carried out in a Health Risk Assessment (HRA).

 4. To utilize Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to fully assess the potential health impacts from the project.

 LBACA’s community members have been actively engaged in regular project meetings to urge the consideration of the above recommendations. On October 29, 2009 the Project Committee, a body at the top of the decision making process, voted in favor of using SCAQMD significance thresholds to measure air quality. Their decision was in large part due to a strong community presence – organized by members of CEHAJ. Prior to the October 29^th meeting CEHAJ and LBACA met individually with Project Committee members to educate them about the recommendations and community concerns.  In addition, many LBACA mothers testified at the meeting highlighting the impact of the project on children with asthma.  The remaining 3 recommendations will be discussed in detail at the next meeting in January. In the coming months LBACA will conduct individual outreach to committee members about the importance of the recommendations as well as to local residents likely to experience the direct health impacts of expansion.   

 Railyards in West Long Beach

 LBACA is also working to raise awareness of and address the significant health risks posed by railyard activity in California. A Health Risk Assessment of 18 railyards in California conducted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) found that railyards create significant cancer risks for individuals who live close by and are responsible for 210 tons of diesel pollution a year. Based on research over the last decade it is now well known that exposure to diesel exhaust is associated with asthma, cancer, heart disease and premature birth among other health problems.[2] The proposed expansion of railyards in West Long Beach is especially pertinent to LBACA’s members as the projects are located near 8 schools, representing a population of over 9,400 students as well as churches, homes and other community facilities who will be further exposed to harmful diesel emissions.

 LBACA is working with the Los Angeles Port Working Group to bring the message “We Need to Grow Pollution Free” to policy makers, urging them to oppose the expansion of the ICTF and SCIG and support stricter regulations to reduce already unacceptably high health risks resulting from railyard emissions.

 On September 25, 2009 LBACA members joined hundreds of others representing communities across California at a CARB Board hearing.  The large number of community members and their testimony at the hearing clearly had an impact. The board directed staff to look into imposing stricter standards and regulations for railyards operating in California. Stricter standards will force railroads to comply with regulations and move away from an existing model dependent on voluntary compliance.

 On October 9, 2009, LBACA members as part of the Port Working Group had the opportunity to share their personal concerns about the health impacts of railyards in West Long Beach with members of City Council and their staff in a day of action at Los Angeles City Hall.  LBACA’s Community Outreach Liaisons led efforts to mobilize community residents for the day and organized a Community Art Event attended by over 100 residents where information about ICTF and SCIG was presented. Participants at the event helped to create signs and banners around the slogan “We Need to Grow Pollution Free” used on October 9^th.

 Over 30 members of the public representing communities impacted by railyards in the Los Angeles area attended Action Day at City Hall. During the day community members met with council members and their staff to personally convey the “Pollution Free” message and provide information on the significant harm these projects pose for local port communities. As a follow-up to an “ask” on the part of community members during Action Day LA City Council members and their staff will travel to Long Beach in early November for a tour and meeting to see, firsthand, the effects of railyard activity on local neighborhoods

Voices from Local Communities

The participation of community members in meetings and hearings has been instrumental in influencing decision makers for the 710 freeway and SCIG and ICTF projects. In August, LBACA held a workshop where participants were asked to share their vision for the future through a drawing depicting before and after pictures of the effects of pollution on their community. The workshop was attended by over 50 people, many of them families living in the community. The material produced by the workshop and the messages conveyed in drawings represent the power of community perspective and voice in advocating for change. In the coming months LBACA will continue to carry community perspectives to key decision makers and ensure struggles faced by local communities to raise healthy children in environments overburdened by high asthma rates and unhealthy air are at the center of any expansion debate.   For more information about LBACA, visit our website at http://www.lbaca.org/. 

[2] Retrieved from “The need for Locomotive & Rail Yard Regulations” fact sheet, Eastyard Communities for Environmental Justice (2009).

Click here to see previous coalition spotlights

The CCAC has been successful in working with decision makers and community members to advocate for policy changes to improve respiratory health. During this past year, the CCAC has concentrated its policy interventions in reducing environmental triggers of asthma in West Contra Costa County.

Stationary and mobile sources of air pollution in West County include the largest oil refinery in the Bay Area, two major rail lines, three major highways and a disproportionate number of truck routes through low-income neighborhoods. As such, West Contra Costa has a high level of key risk factors for health problems, which includes significant exposure to environmental risks such as accidental toxic releases and high levels of diesel emissions.

Health related matters are often contemplated after policymakers have already decided how a region of their city or county will grow and develop. However, it is the community that often carries the burden of negative impacts frequently associated with planning where health impacts are a secondary factor. The CCAC has been very active in advocating for the inclusion of health in land use policies as they are being drafted.

Previously the CCAC worked with the Contra Costa County Redevelopment Agency, several community partners and neighborhood residents on the North Richmond Truck Route Study. The purpose of the study was to develop an alternative route that would reduce truck traffic in the residential area of North Richmond and establish a link to major transportation corridors that are nearby. The preferred route was presented to and approved by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors and the Contra Costa County Redevelopment Agency is in the process of securing funds to implement the project.

Currently, the North Richmond area is undergoing a period of significant development. The county is developing a Specific Plan for North Richmond. The Specific Plan will provide a broad vision and platform for policies to guide and direct land use and transportation decisions as North Richmond changes and grows. It is anticipated that the Specific Plan will be finalized by the Spring of 2010.

The CCAC is actively participating in the drafting of the Specific Plan for North Richmond. The CCAC is working with the Contra Costa County Redevelopment Agency to ensure that the approved truck route be included in the Specific Plan and that new projects will be in harmony with the route. The CCAC has also played, and will continue to play, an integral role in this process by providing recommendations for health principles based on current policies and best practices for a healthy built environment and incorporating land use recommendations from regulatory agencies such as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

For more information about the CCAC and its activities, please contact Cedrita Claiborne at cclairbo@hsd.cccounty.us.

Click here to see previous coalition spotlights

A 2008 child care stakeholder meeting convened by a childcare quality assurance group in San Francisco, Gateway to Quality, determined that all participants wanted safer, less toxic commercial products that comply with state childcare licensing requirements for disinfection. California’s Strategic Plan for Asthma also calls for the promotion, education and enforcement of regulations that address asthma management and indoor air quality issues in child care.

The San Francisco Asthma Task Force (SFATF) has made substantial headway in undertaking the challenge of supporting child care providers in reducing the overuse of bleach to meet infection control requirements. The SFATF received funding from CAFA and the San Francisco Foundation to support information gathering and a pilot project entitled “Reducing the Overuse of Bleach & Introducing Alternative Products in Childcare Settings.” The primary goals of the project are to (1) Reduce the overuse of bleach and identify acceptable bleach alternatives for disinfection requirements; (2) Promote sanitizing and disinfecting methods that reduce human exposure to asthma triggers.

With the support of Breathe California, Golden Gate Public Health Partnership, the San Francisco Department of Public Health Children’s Environmental Health Promotion (CEHP) division has taken the lead on this initiative. Two project consultants from CEHP led the effort with childcare operators and coordinated feedback from our stakeholder team. An environmentally preferable purchasing consultant on contract to the San Francisco Department of the Environment investigated alternative disinfectant products. The findings to date are as follows:

–Convened a work group of key stakeholders as partners and obtained consensus on protocols, sites and materials to be used for pilot testing;

–Observed many deficiencies and irregularities in current cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting practices in a representative sampling of childcare settings, including the over-concentration of bleach for disinfecting;

–Analysis of CA Childcare Licensing Regulations for disinfecting, in relation to American Academy of Pediatrics Caring for Our Children Guidelines, ECERS scale used by Gateway to Quality assessors and EPA pesticide registration labels for bleach products such as Clorox brand bleach indicates inconsistent and unclear guidance being provided to childcare operators;

–Identified enhanced methods for accuracy of bleach dilutions that would reduce the overuse of bleach, such as portion-controlled pumps for concentrate and timers for disinfectant dwell times;

–Engaged Department of Public Health Childcare Health Consultant Program nurses in reviewing educational materials to be used for pilot testing, including trilingual training materials (English, Spanish and Chinese), a project orientation slideshow and illustrated placards showing product use within the childcare operation;

–Identified asthma-safe alternatives to bleach that are EPA-registered disinfectants appropriate to the specific applications needed in childcare settings, and are beginning to test their ease of use at 7 sites for childcare operators.

–By the end of this first year we hope to better understand which options are most feasible and practical for child care sites to implement.

The pilot project will have a direct impact on the successful work we are doing with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to support their transition to green custodial cleaning products and practices. With the support of City funds and commitment of SFUSD Custodial management, SFATF procured washing machines and micro fiber mops for over 46 schools who are piloting the use of Alpha HP to replace the majority of their custodial cleaning products. Outcomes of the childcare pilot will allow us to better recommend alternatives to bleach overuse that can support SFUSD’s full transition to green custodial cleaning products for all schools and child development centers.

We look forward to releasing our final report to include recommendations for reducing the overuse of bleach. We will build on that partnership’s momentum and success to create a sustainable model for training child care providers and supporting their implementation of the project recommendations for asthma-safe disinfection practices. Our hope is to expand upon this project and that a broad group of local, regional and statewide asthma and childcare partners will be engaged in advocating for changes in State policy and regulation that will best support asthma-safe disinfection practices in the near future.

For more information and to review materials developed so far from this project please visit our website at //www.sfgov.org/asthma and select “Our Work” and then select “In Child Care Settings.”

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“For asthma sufferers, flare-ups can occur at any place and at any time. That’s why it’s extremely important for parents, for schools, and for primary care providers to have an asthma action plan for each of their patients,” said San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts.

“There is no cure for asthma, but people can control it,” said Dean Sidelinger, M.D., M.S.Ed., Deputy County Public Health Officer. “Every child—and every adult—with asthma should have an asthma action plan. It should be updated every time the patient is seen by their doctor and the asthma action plan should be available at every place the child spends time, whether at home, at school or at grandma’s house.”

City Heights is one of the areas in the county with the highest rates of asthma, asthma deaths, and emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to asthma. In the fall of 2008 a middle school student from City Heights died from asthma complications.

Housing Update
San Diego hosted one of five regional Healthy Housing Symposiums in California leading up to the first “Healthy Housing for California” state-wide strategic planning meeting held in San Francisco. The Healthy Housing Symposium brought together elected officials, health, housing, environmental advocates and the community to understand healthy homes issues and begin discussions on how the San Diego region can work together to improve its housing stock. Besides asthma as a topic of conversation, the health burdens for those who inhabit substandard living conditions include exposure to lead, cancer causing air pollutants and a lack of basic needs such as plumbing and heat. Presentations at a legislative session and a community forum educated participants about healthy homes best practices and laid a foundation for future strategies and collaborative projects to ease these health burdens for residents.

Outdoor Air Quality Update
Westside, or “Old Town”, and National City, located just south of the City of San Diego, is an environmental justice community that is the victim of discriminatory land use decisions made in the 1950s and 60s that allowed industrial polluters to be located next to homes, schools, and churches. Asthma rates in Old Town and throughout National City are significantly elevated. Beyond the health risks associated with air quality, there have been several fires and chemical spills which have caused nearby Kimball Elementary to become a shelter. After a very extensive process, the proposed land-use Specific Plan is coming before the National City Council for a vote in Summer/Fall of 2009. The draft plan calls for a prohibition of all new polluting business, and sets the stage for re-location of polluters currently in the neighborhood.

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We are fortunate to be living in one of the most world renowned, picturesque regions; yet, in the midst of our bucolic setting are some of the most pervasive asthma and allergy triggers that threaten the respiratory health of our local residents, particularly children and school personnel prone to asthma and allergies. Napa County has the second highest prevalence of asthma in California and our County’s lifetime rate of asthma in children and adolescents is 15.4 percent as compared to California’s overall rate of 14.8 percent. The improvement of indoor air quality in the schools and homes of the children who live in Napa County is one of our initial goals.

During Asthma Awareness Month in May, the NCAC received confirmation for funding to launch the California Teachers Association’s “Healthy Air, Healthy Kids” (HA,HKs) program. This program is aimed at improving the indoor air quality for selected K-12 schools and has at its foundation, a coordinated team approach to improving air quality in classrooms. Members of our coalition met recently with representatives of the Napa Valley Unified School District who, along with the District Board, have selected three schools within the District to participate in the program.

Working closely with the Napa Valley Unified School District and identified schools, our coalition will guide the implementation of the Healthy Air, Healthy Kids program with the purpose of increasing awareness of the link between indoor air quality, health and learning and helping teachers identify and reduce classroom triggers with simple interventions. Components of the project will include presentations to teachers and other school personnel and distribution of classroom checklists. In addition, parents will be provided with educational presentations and packets for home use to combat such environmental triggers as dust, pollen, pet fur, strong odors, mold, fragrances, chemicals and smoke.

As a secondary goal, our coalition will focus on improving air quality in homes of students identified with Asthma through in-home visits including the provision of green cleaning products.

Since our inception, we have been fortunate to have ongoing support and generous grant funding from the Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente and First Five.

To learn more about NCAC’s efforts or to get involved with the coalition, please contact Susan Carrington at (707) 251-2015 or visit our Web site at //www.napaasthma.org.

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We realize that Solano County has one of the highest rates of children with asthma in the state of California. Of particular concern is that many children and families may be using their medications incorrectly, not understanding how to properly administer those medications, and may over-utilize the emergency room for asthma related concerns instead of regular follow-up with a primary care provider. The goal of our education program is to address these concerns. We will work hand-in-hand with local emergency rooms and all physicians that care for children to improve the asthma management in our community. The emergency rooms will identify children with a diagnosis of asthma (or treated for asthma symptoms) and they will be enrolled into our education program. We will provide, free of charge, a family oriented asthma education program and make sure that the patients are linked back to a provider in the community. We will then contact these providers who will ensure that the patients are seen in their clinics in the following week. Our group will also provide regular phone follow-up with these families at 3, 6, and 12 month intervals to determine if their symptoms are under control, or if they need to be seen by their primary care provider (and then contact the providers to make them aware that particular patients need to be seen since their symptoms do not seem to be well controlled). We will offer these same services to all local physicians so that they can refer any of their patients to the asthma education program. Through this type of program we hope to decrease over-utilization of the emergency room for asthma care, improve families’ knowledge of asthma and proper medication administration, and link patients back to community physicians in an effort to improve the overall asthma care in Solano County.

Thanks to a Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit grant, SAC is now offering asthma trainings and free asthma trigger surveys to the over 1,200 Child Care Providers in Solano County.

Every May during “Asthma Awareness Month,” the Solano Asthma Coalition hosts their Asthma Challenge Awards. This year we will recognize Dr. Chad Tarter as our Physician Champion for his dedication and enthusiasm to our Coalition, and for his help in implementing our Asthma Education Program. We will also recognize Solano Family and Children’s Services for their expertise and help with our Child Care Provider Program.

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We realize that Solano County has one of the highest rates of children with asthma in the state of California.  Of particular concern is that many children and families may be using their medications incorrectly, not understanding how to properly administer those medications, and may over-utilize the emergency room for asthma related concerns instead of regular follow-up with a primary care provider.

The goal of our education program is to address these concerns.  We will work hand-in-hand with local emergency rooms and all physicians that care for children to improve the asthma management in our community.  The emergency rooms will identify children with a diagnosis of asthma (or treated for asthma symptoms) and they will be enrolled into our education program.  We will provide, free of charge, a family oriented asthma education program and make sure that the patients are linked back to a provider in the community.  We will then contact these providers who will ensure that the patients are seen in their clinics in the following week.

Our group will also provide regular phone follow-up with these families at 3, 6, and 12 month intervals to determine if their symptoms are under control, or if they need to be seen by their primary care provider (and then contact the providers to make them aware that particular patients need to be seen since their symptoms do not seem to be well controlled).  We will offer these same services to all local physicians so that they can refer any of their patients to the asthma education program.  Through this type of program we hope to decrease over-utilization of the emergency room for asthma care, improve families’ knowledge of asthma and proper medication administration, and link patients back to community physicians in an effort to improve the overall asthma care in Solano County.

Thanks to a Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit grant, SAC is now offering asthma trainings and free asthma trigger surveys to the over 1,200 Child Care Providers in Solano County.

Every May during “Asthma Awareness Month,” the Solano Asthma Coalition hosts their Asthma Challenge Awards. This year we will recognize Dr. Chad Tarter as our Physician Champion for his dedication and enthusiasm to our Coalition, and for his help in implementing our Asthma Education Program. We will also recognize Solano Family and Children’s Services for their expertise and help with our Child Care Provider Program.

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The Los Angeles CAFA Collaborative advanced current conversations regarding the connection between slum housing conditions and a number of chronic and acute health conditions impacting children and families in south Los Angeles with the publication of the Shame of the City “white paper” (Slum Housing and the Critical Threat to the Health of L.A. Children and Families, published in April 2007). The health of South LA continues to deteriorate – chronic institutional underfunding of health care services, substandard environmental and living conditions, and lack of necessary health services has contributed to this growing health and human rights crisis. Addressing the fundamental crisis of health and human rights in south Los Angeles has become a key priority of the L.A. CAFA collaborative.

In south Los Angeles there is an opportunity to share lessons and leverage resources for how to create marked and measurable improvements in the health and well-being of children, adolescents and families. On June 5th, 2009, the Los Angeles CAFA Collaborative and other advocates for health and human rights will join forces in a community whose health has been marred by a long history of inequality and neglect, to highlight homegrown solutions, explore transnational partnerships, and demonstrate the effectiveness of community-led, place-based, and results-oriented approaches to healthier communities and human rights.

Conference Purpose and Goals

The purpose of the 1st Annual Health and Human Rights Conference in south Los Angeles is to bring advocates and workers from the grassroots and treetops together in a historic gathering to highlight and push for measurable improvements in health and human rights. On June 5th, 2009, leaders, providers, and advocates from all levels will convene to:

Highlight good work

Catalyze new partnerships

Commit to collaborative action

Amplify our Call to Action in Health and Human Rights

The health outcomes of those in south LA reflect the underlying epidemic in the social determinants of poor health including food insecurity, slum housing, child and family poverty, job insecurity, uncoordinated health services, and rising rents, evictions and foreclosures. The recent closure of a majority of the public and private hospitals serving south Los Angeles has compounded a preexisting scarcity of comprehensive, affordable health care and contributed to a perform storm of poor health and chronic human rights violations in south Los Angeles. While local coalitions, community clinics, hospitals, advocacy groups and nonprofits have pieced together a safety net to address these chronic health inequities, the situation is worsening and requires a systemic and coordinated approach.

The Los Angeles CAFA Collaborative with sponsors such as The California Endowment are seizing an unprecedented opportunity to advance the health and human rights movement in south Los Angeles and beyond.

For more information about the conference please contact:

Jim Mangia
President & CEO, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center
jimmangia@wellchild.org

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World Asthma Day Report to the Community:

In spring of 2008 we released our ”Report to the Community on Housing and Asthma” on World Asthma Day, and the story was covered by KRCB radio, the Rohnert Park Community Voices newspaper, the Press Democrat, the Sonoma West Times, the West County Gazette, and other local media outlets. The report was distributed to 10,000 individuals and organizations in Sonoma County, including doctors, hospitals and clinics, landlords, elected officials, county departments, housing organizations, environmental groups, people with asthma, and others.

Schools:

The Coalition successfully advocated for West Sonoma County Union High School District to change its conventional all-purpose cleaner to the environmentally preferred product, Envirox H2Orange, for the 2008-09 school year.

Taking a page from the EPA Tools for Schools Program, our coalition staff trained high school math students in the West Sonoma County Union High School District to administer environmental assessments using classroom trigger lists in two high schools. Students administered the checklists, educated teachers on identified areas for improvement, and then re-administered the checklists one month later. Students performed statistical analysis on improvements made through the project.

This year we are once again conducting Kickin’ Asthma and Open Airways classes for five West Sonoma County high schools and elementary schools.

In support of our Asthma Friendly Schools Initiative we plan on distributing School Nurse Asthma Toolkits to our Sonoma County School Nurses Association members in the spring of 2009 in conjunction of with an Asthma in-service training sponsored by the association.

Our coalition continues to provide asthma education for our local Sonoma County school administrators, faculty and staff on the connections between indoor air quality and asthma at schools.

Housing:

In 2007-08 staff surveyed local county and city building officials to determine knowledge of relationship between asthma and indoor air quality, and to assess current housing code enforcement practices related to indoor air quality

As a result of our survey the Coalition will sponsor two workshops based on the National Center for Healthy Housing’s course “Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners” in the spring of 2009 targeting local code enforcement officials and environmental health / public health workers.

Sonoma County Asthma Coalition was appointed to the Santa Rosa City Council Advisory Committee on Green Building Policy, which in the fall of 2008 made recommendations to the city council on strengthening and expanding its green building ordinance and programs.

The Coalition has worked closely with California Rural Legal Assistance and Northern California Center for Well-Being to address tenant complaints about mold and second-hand smoke. The groups work together to address the best way for tenants to proceed with complaints (through education and mediation with landlords or with legal options).

Successes:

Successfully advocated for passage of a Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Resolution in 2005 highlighting links between indoor air quality and asthma in Sonoma County and calling upon the Department of Health to work cooperatively in the county to educate property owners and tenants on improving poor indoor air quality.

In collaboration with local advocates for sustainable development successfully advocated for the City of Santa Rosa to adopt mandated green building policies, first adopted in 2007 and revised in Feb. 2009. Currently five of the nine cities in Sonoma County have passed green building ordinances with others in development.

In 2006, successfully advocated with Burbank Housing Development Corporation, the largest developer of low-income housing in the county, to implement three new green building practices in all new developments (improved ventilation systems in units, use of no or low VOC indoor paints, and landscaping with low allergen plants). Burbank Housing continues these healthier practices in all new developments.

In 2007, submitted recommendations to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for the county’s General Plan 2020 revision process. The Coalition’s recommendations focused on improving air quality through the implementation of comprehensive green building standards, improving zoning to allow more walk and bike-ability to schools and in neighborhoods, and supporting existing greenbelt community separator zones to prevent urban sprawl. Final adoption of these changes to the General Plan elements is still forthcoming in 2008-09.

In spring of 2008, the Coalition developed a fact sheet called “Healthy Choices for Landlords & Homeowners: How to renovate and maintain homes using environmentally preferable products & practices” with the City of Rohnert Park that will be distributed in Feb. 2009 as an insert with water utility bills to 43,000 city residents and businesses.

Meet Coalition Staff:

Associate Director Al Lerma chairs our Housing Indoor Air Quality Committee that focuses on policy and advocacy issues for local housing in Sonoma County. He is a member of the Sonoma County Healthy by Design Committee and is the coalition representative to the Accountable Development Coalition, an alliance of local organizations working to ensure that development in Sonoma County is environmentally sustainable, equitable, and accountable to all segments of the community.

Our new Program Manager Kathleen Cortez oversees our school related policy and advocacy efforts including reducing environmental asthma triggers through asthma education, conversion to green cleaning products in local schools, and advocating for school wellness policies that incorporate asthma education and lead to improved IAQ in local schools.

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The year started off with a focus on improving wintertime air in the San Joaquin Valley via the PM2.5 State Implementation Plan (SIP). The Coalition was actively involved in educating the public as well as the regional and state air boards about the importance of breathing clean wintertime air in the San Joaquin Valley for the health of our children and their families. Even with our concerted efforts, both the local and state air boards voted to extend the clean up dates for PM2.5. On the bright side, staff and members attended community meetings and submitted verbal and written comments that ultimately supported the move to a more stringent fireplace rule adopted by the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) on October 16, 2008.

While taking steps that would achieve cleaner outdoor air, the Coalition members were reminded that indoor air quality can be just as bad, if not worse than, outdoor air. Poor indoor air quality is compounded by cigarette smoke. With the help of Mercy Medical Center Merced and Catholic Healthcare West, the Coalition received funding to train 20 facilitators who would offer the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking® courses. These courses were offered to anyone who was ready to quit smoking. Finding additional sources of funding has helped staff branch out in other Indoor Air Quality directions, such as the Green Buildings Grant.

With the expertise staff gained from the EPA’s Tools for Schools Program, implementing a Green Buildings Grant for Community Health Clinics became almost second nature. With the Green Buildings Grant funding, Golden Valley Health Centers, the Coalition’s Fiscal Agent and primary partner, was able to become a “healthier” Health Clinic as the connection was made between patient health and the environment (indoor and outdoor). Leadership at Golden Valley Health Centers supported the pilot program at the Merced site and subsequently supported spreading the program Clinic-wide to all GVHC sites in both Merced and Stanislaus Counties. In fact, GVHC was presented with the Healthy Air Living award by the SJVUAPCD for implementing an “Environmentally-Friendly Policy”, flying the Asthma-Friendly Air Quality Flags at all sites and mobile units, posting anti-idling signs around the campus as well as employee carpool signs, and finding ways that not only save money but set in motion new practices to save the planet while raising awareness among patients, staff, and neighborhood residents. GVHC also formed an employee-volunteer group called the “Green Team”. Even though funding for the program has run out, the Green Team continues to sustain itself. The Green Buildings Grant became a sustainable program through the dedication of GVHC leadership, Coalition staff, and the interest generated by GVHC employees.

News of the Green Buildings Grant seemed to spur excitement even within Merced’s City Hall. In April 2008, the City of Merced voted to approve the Asthma-Friendly Air Quality Flag Program at six city buildings which included: Police Department – Main Campus, Fire Department – Headquarters, Public Works, Senior Center, and the City Hall. A lot of energy was generated from what at first seemed to be a small act.

In May, the Coalition focused on our first World Asthma Day Celebration hosted by Merced College and their Volleyball program. In past years, the coalition participated in World Asthma Day by hosting a press conference, inviting creative thinking through the World Asthma Day Poster Contest and spreading the message, “Asthma CAN be controlled” through Public Service Announcements. In 2008, thanks to funding from the California Endowment, The Coalition published its very own “Merced County Asthma Report Card”. The Report Card became the focus as coalition members and volunteers from the greater community were on hand to provide asthma education at the “Asthma Circuit”, as well as fun activities such as Volleyball, Football and face painting for kids. Within the Circuit, best practices of asthma management were highlighted and opportunities provided for Spirometry testing allowed many to be screened for asthma for the first time. Many members of the public were surprised to learn so much about Peak Flow Meters, Asthma Action Plans, Symptoms and Triggers and our favorite – Spacers! For many attendees, traveling through the Asthma Circuit was the first time they had heard about the various aspects of asthma control. The World Asthma Day Celebration also highlighted the work and organizations Coalition partners are involved in: Sierra Club, US EPA, Moms Clean Air Network, Merced Bike Coalition, Dr. Sunit Patel’s Asthma & Sleep Center, Golden Valley Health Centers, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Merced Medical Supply, the Stop Wal-Mart Action Team, Roots & Shoots, and the Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth.

The Merced/Mariposa County Asthma Coalition members have actively participated in the Merced County General Plan Update influencing the County and its consultants to propose an updated General Plan that plans for a sustainable future. As residents of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the dirtiest air basins in the country, we have to consider our planning actions as it pertains to our natural resources: air, water, and land. Coalition members are educating policy makers on the connection between health and land-use. Approximately 30 members have been involved in the general plan update process so far in 2008.

2008 was also a good year legislatively. In September, the Governor signed SB 1548 (Florez) that outlined the selection process for the additional city seats added to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board by the 2007 bill SB 719 (Machado). SB 719 also added the much needed health perspective on the Valley air board. In 2008, the goals of SB 719 were realized when Dr. John Telles, a cardiologist from Fresno, was appointed by the Governor as the physician representative and Dr. Henry Forman, a UC Merced professor, was appointed to the board as the scientist representative. San Joaquin Valley residents were also very fortunate to have AB 2522 pass in both houses which will allow the local air district to raise the DMV fees up to $30.00 to fund projects that will clean the air sooner in the Valley.

On the regulatory front, December 12th became the momentous day that the California Air Resources Board passed the historical Diesel Truck & Bus Fleet Rule. More than 25 Asthma Coalition members submitted comments online or came to Sacramento in person to demonstrate their support for a strong rule with no exceptions for individual industries. It will now be the Coalition’s responsibility to watch how the rule is implemented and give input where appropriate in order to have a clean diesel truck fleet throughout California.

Happy New Year! May 2009 be one of CAFA’s best years yet!

Meet Coalition Staff:

Program Manager, Mary-Michal Rawling, is the Chair of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District’s Citizen Advisory Committee, a member of the California Asthma Partners board as well as the Co-Chair of Merced County Public Health Department’s “A Community Countering Tobacco” Coalition.

Melissa Kelly-Ortega is the Program Associate for the Coalition. Melissa was recently appointed to the Merced County Association of Governments’ Community Advisory Committee and serves on the SJVUAPCD’s Environmental Justice Advisory Group.

Anna Sanchez-Garcia was hired in December 2008 as the Coalition’s Community Liaison and will be the first bilingual staff the coalition has had. Anna was instrumental in providing powerful and passionate testimony at the California Air Resources Board Diesel Truck Rule Hearing December 12, 2008. In fact, her testimony about her daughter and family members suffering from asthma was so moving she was interviewed by media all over the State.
To see her in action visit ABC news: //abclocal.go.com/kgo/storysection=news/state&id=6553654.

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CAFA began as an initiative of The California Endowment (TCE) in 2002, in which they funded twelve local coalitions across the state and various technical assistance providers and state level coordinators. The exact structure, number, and type of funded partners has changed at various points throughout the last seven years. But, a couple of things have remained unchanged—1) CAFA’s mission to reduce environmental triggers of asthma through policy change; 2) the role and importance of local asthma coalitions.

CAFA is comprised of local asthma coalitions that bring together diverse constituents, including health care providers, schools, public health organizations, environmental health and justice groups, and community residents to collectively address the problem of asthma in their communities. Collectively, the coalitions constitute the CAFA Network, which mobilizes the voice and experience of the local communities to shape asthma policies at all levels.

In recent years, the CAFA Network has had many policy successes at local and state levels. With these successes under our belts, as well as the wisdom, experience and strength gained over time, CAFA has evolved into an entity of its own – a true leader in reducing the burden of asthma, moving beyond a TCE Initiative to become a large and powerful Network.

We just completed the 8th Annual CAFA Meeting, bringing together coalitions from across the state to work collectively on our state policy agenda and to provide support for the great local work being conducted in communities across the state. This year was particularly exciting because there was a large emphasis placed on broadening the network. In addition to the 10 funded coalitions, 4 new coalitions (or, new to CAFA) participated in the conference and will likely become formal members of the CAFA Network. Additionally, many partner organizations participated, largely as allies in our policy work, such as the California Pan Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), the California School Boards Association (CSBA), the Ethnic Health Institute, the Sacramento Mutual Housing Association, California Teachers Association (CTA), and both asthma programs within the California Department of Public Health, to name a few.

As we grow in size, our ability to influence policy change also grows. During the Annual Meeting, we spent time refining our policy priorities and then meeting with legislators and their staff to share information about these priorities. In focusing CAFA’s state level policy work, the following are priority areas:

Outdoor Air Quality
The quality of the air we breathe is a major determinant of lung health. The more pollutants and particles in the air, the more likely we are to develop respiratory conditions such as asthma. As a result, improving outdoor air quality (OAQ) is a significant part of the strategy to reduce asthma, especially in California, home to 9 of the 10 most ozone polluted counties in the country.

Most of the asthma triggers in our outdoor air comes from emissions from human industry, including factories, cars, trucks, and other forms of transportation. As such, considerable focus has been placed on smokestacks and tailpipes for reducing harmful emissions. While this is an essential approach, cleaning emissions alone will not result in significantly cleaner air when the number of vehicles and factories continue to grow. As a result, asthma and other air quality advocates have turned their focus to many of the broader decisions that determine the need for more vehicles and factories in the first place. Influencing where highways are placed, how goods are transported, where housing is built, where public transit travels, and where industry is located are fruitful new approaches to combat dirty air.

Schools
Asthma is a major problem for school-aged children. One in every six children in California has been diagnosed with asthma. It is the leading cause of school absences due to chronic disease in the country, costing children their education and schools resources in lost attendance-based funding. All too often, students and school staff with asthma are confronted with poor air quality from malfunctioning or from under maintained ventilation systems, air pollutants, nearby freeways or railyards, dust, mold, pests, and chemical fumes and residues from cleaning products, pesticides, furnishings, and building materials that trigger and exacerbate their asthma while at school. Studies have demonstrated that the reduction of asthma triggers in school facilities has a positive impact on student achievement and staff well-being. Leadership in addressing school health problems is clearly needed.

Creating healthier school environments starts by recognizing that every child and school employee has the right to a safe, clean school environment that does not make them ill. Schools around the country have successfully incorporated comprehensive asthma management into their Coordinated School Health Program, prohibited bus and vehicle idling on or near school grounds, implemented integrated pest management practices, and switched to less toxic cleaning products to help reduce environmental triggers to asthma on their campuses. Creating healthy schools requires strong leadership with commitment, flexibility, and resourcefulness from a variety of school stakeholders. Most importantly, working together, education and health advocates can demonstrate their leadership in creating State policies that encourage the creation of healthy schools so that students can learn and teachers can teach without being distracted or debilitated by health conditions like asthma.

Housing
Far too often the homes people live in contribute to the problem of asthma. Pet dander, cleaning products, infestations, mold and even the materials used to build the house are common asthma triggers that can be addressed through repairs and improved cleaning and maintenance practices. In many of our communities across the state, however, renters have the added challenge of uncooperative landlords. Because of this reality, CAFA is focused on state policies that improve the quality of housing and increase the rights of renters to live in safe, healthy housing. Recognizing that the chronic lack of affordable housing in communities across the state is a significant factor that “pushes” people into substandard housing, CAFA also supports policies that expand access to quality affordable housing.

What’s Next?
CAFA is led by the Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP) Initiative, in partnership with the National Latino Research Center (NLRC), and we are at a very important point in our history. We currently have a wonderful opportunity to expand CAFA’s membership, its reach, and its impact on reducing the burden of asthma in the coming years.

We are placing a strong emphasis on expanding the Network to include those coalitions across the state who share CAFA’s mission, but have not yet been formally involved. Information on membership can be found at //calasthma.org/about_cafa/membership/.

As the CAFA Network grows, our ability to influence policy change will also grow. In the coming year, the CAFA Network, and its partners, will be working on specific policy objectives related to the priorities described above. Brandon Kitagawa, RAMP’s Policy Associate, is the contact person for any policy-related questions and can be reached at brandon(at)rampasthma(dot)org.

Finally, RAMP, in partnership with NLRC, will continue to provide coordination for this Network, which includes convenings, the website, the e-newsletter, enhanced communications, and sustainability efforts. Any additional questions about CAFA can be directed to Kate Lorenzen, RAMP’s Senior Program Associate, at kate(at)rampasthma(dot)org.

We look forward to working with all of you in pursuing the mission of CAFA!

The Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA), started in 1999, is a partnership to improve the lives of children with asthma in the Long Beach community and surrounding areas of Carson, Wilmington and San Pedro, California. A program of Miller Children’s Hospital of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, LBACA was one of 7 sites in the US and Puerto Rico awarded grants under the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation’s Allies Against Asthma program and one of 10 sites in California awarded grants under The California Endowment’s Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA) program.

What are the coalition’s current activities?

LBACA’s activities include a community health worker home visiting program, an asthma resource center, Physician Asthma Care Education training to improve physician asthma management skills and training medical assistants to provide asthma education to patients at provider sites. LBACA is also teaming up with schools, after-school programs, parks and recreational centers to develop asthma-friendly environments and policies; and mobilizing the community to respond to air quality issues, both indoors and outdoors.

To view our 2008-2010 Strategic Plan visit: //www.lbaca.org/pages/strategicplan.htm

What are the coalition’s CAFA-related activities?

LBACA has the pleasure of introducing two of its new staff members, Elena Rodriguez and Martha Cota, who were formerly volunteers as part of its Neighborhood Assessment Team or “A-team”. Elena and Martha will be leading LBACA’s community engagement in its Policy and Advocacy work under CAFA III by setting up a strategic plan for our Health & Housing committee, a committee of community volunteers interested in housing and outdoor air pollution issues. For an overview of our policy activities and community empowerment and engagement activities visit: //www.lbaca.org/PolicyFormation/main.html

To view our new staff biographies, visit:
//www.lbaca.org/pages/staff.htm

For more detailed information about LBACA’s activities, visit us at
//www.lbaca.org

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Upon receiving initial funding from The California Endowment in 2002, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center’s Ethnic Health Institute (EHI) established Oakland/Berkeley Community Action to Fight Asthma (OB-CAFA) with the mission to reduce environmental asthma triggers for school-age children in Oakland and Berkeley through local and regional policy/systems change. In order to most effectively work towards this mission, OB-CAFA worked with three pilot schools during its first three years of funding to produce policy change that could be used as a model for broader systems change at the district level. This approach enabled OB-CAFA to work with principals and school staff, to form a solid base of support for change, and to build skills and credibility before approaching district staff. Subsequently, over the past three years, OB-CAFA has worked to pass and implement district-wide policies.

The OB-CAFA project is supported by an Advisory Board consisting of 15 members representing a broad constituency of individuals from community-based organizations, public health departments, health plans, community members, schools, and other government agencies. The Board members are key in advising OB-CAFA staff on its strategic plan, advocating for OB-CAFA’s policy goals, and serving as a voice for OB-CAFA in the community. The Advisory Board meets every other month and the role of each member is to contribute their experience, expertise, perspective and key external relationships to the thinking and planning of the project. OB-CAFA staff actively participates in numerous organizational and community meetings, which continues to build critical awareness around the asthma issue in our community and which further builds OB-CAFA’s reputation as a convener, catalyst, and advocate for policy change.

Over the last six years, through its work with the advisory board, schools, and a broad range of community partners, OB-CAFA has developed and strengthened relationships with key individuals to further its policy objectives. Relationships have been built and continue to evolve specifically with representatives from community organizations, the Alameda County Public Health Department, the City of Berkeley Public Health Department, administrative and educational leaders at Berkeley and Oakland Unified School Districts, as well as staff from the State of California Department of Health Services. Due to the strong network afforded by its diverse relationships, OB-CAFA has achieved a variety of accomplishments in schools.

Summary of Accomplishments in Schools

OB-CAFA has become a trusted, well-known local resource. By producing the Tools for Schools promotional DVD, “What’s in Your Air? Creating an Asthma-Friendly Environment in Your School,” OB-CAFA was able to draw important attention to the need to address asthma and indoor air quality (IAQ) in Schools while promoting EPA’s Tools for Schools Program. The DVD was created in collaboration with students and staff from Madison Middle School in East Oakland, where OB-CAFA sponsored a celebration and film premier of the DVD. The Tools for Schools video is now posted on the EPA’s Region 9 website at //epa.gov/region09/air/indoor/index.html, and to date a total of 1,092 DVDs have been distributed to schools, community members, and other partners.

In the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where asthma prevalence/incidence is among the highest in the county and where OB-CAFA has had the most success, the OB-CAFA Coordinator supported the adoption of an asthma policy by providing public comment on asthma rates in Oakland to OUSD School Board members and the State Administrator. In June 2005, the OUSD Asthma Policy was successfully adopted. In addition to the asthma policy, OB-CAFA has been a key player in the broader development of the OUSD Wellness Policy. The OB-CAFA Coordinator has worked to develop and amend administrative regulations for the wellness policy and advocated for incorporating IAQ components into the policy, while participating on the Safe and Healthy School Environment Committee. The OUSD Wellness Policy was adopted in June 2006.

Subsequently, the OUSD Coordinated School Health Council (CSHC) was formed to implement the Wellness Policy. OB-CAFA participated in monthly CSHC meetings to advocate for the implementation of the IAQ components of the Wellness Policy. The OB-CAFA Coordinator submitted and presented a proposal to CSHC to develop an IAQ classroom tool. This proposal was subsequently designated as a Wellness Policy priority and OB-CAFA staff formed an IAQ Implementation Ad Hoc group to develop IAQ guidelines for the classroom.

OB-CAFA developed two versions of IAQ guidelines for classrooms and distributed a total of 2,863 posters to schools, community members, and other partners. One version was created for OUSD classrooms to highlight and expand upon key IAQ portions of the Wellness Policy with the goal of making the policy language universal and easy to implement in classrooms, while another version was created for other school districts and community partners to use as an outreach tool and to help improve IAQ.

Additionally, the OB-CAFA Coordinator has led an effort to pilot one school in OUSD to leverage Williams Settlement Emergency Repair Program (ERP) funds for facility repairs in order to reduce environmental asthma triggers and improve indoor air quality. Over the last year, OB-CAFA utilized its strong network and expertise to convene a group of stakeholders to discuss coordination and sequencing of planned site modernization plans, repairs, and submission of a Williams Settlement ERP application for Oakland High. The application was submitted to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) and the district is currently waiting to hear the grant outcome.

More recently, OB-CAFA partnered with Alameda County Public Health Department’s Community Assessment, Planning and Education (CAPE) Unit to develop an asthma report card– data from which will be crucial in continuing outreach and awareness activities. The report card can be found under the data and reports section at //www.acphd.org.

In order to be effective and successful in building strategically upon these prior efforts, OB-CAFA will narrow its focus to work specifically with OUSD over the next 20 months. This has been OB-CAFA’s primary focus area since the project’s inception, the area in which the project has developed the most expertise, and the area that most effectively builds upon the momentum of the project’s recent accomplishments. OB-CAFA will build upon and expand its key contacts within schools, make use of lessons learned working in the school environment, and work to sustain the years of educational and policy work carried out within the district.

Moving forward, OB-CAFA’s overall policy goal will be to take the implementation of the IAQ components of the OUSD Wellness Policy to the next level in order to institutionalize district-wide efforts to reduce environmental asthma triggers. The OB-CAFA Coordinator will work with the new OUSD Program Manager of Coordinated School Health on the following objectives:

• Guide and support the infrastructure development of the CSHC so that it establishes a clear purpose, structure and goals;

• Establish a permanent IAQ Subcommittee of the CSHC; and

• Assist in the formation of a school-site based council dedicated to Wellness Policy implementation and ongoing monitoring.

For more information, please contact Mindy Landmark, OB-CAFA Project Coordinator, at 510-869-8226 or landmam@sutterhealth.org.

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–Helping asthma-related organizations to learn from each other, coordinate their services, and enhance the level of care,

–Promoting public education and programs that reduce health disparities and are responsive to the needs of the community, and

–Advocating for improved local, state, and federal asthma-related programs, policies and legislation.

The CCAC continues to work diligently to improve outdoor air quality. Activities include advocating for regional emissions reductions and working on land use and transportation issues.

In 2007, Contra Costa Health Services received a planning grant from CalTrans to assess the transportation of freight in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. This effort entitled, Project 12898 has been working to inform residents in West Contra Costa County about how land use decisions related to the transportation of freight through their communities affect their health and quality of life.

Freight transport is projected to increase significantly statewide, regionally, and locally. Contra Costa Health Services, the CCAC, Neighborhood House of North Richmond, Pacific Institute, and West County Toxics Coalition joined together to work with the community to address current impacts and mitigate potential future impacts of the growth in freight transport.

The transportation of freight can heavily influence land-use and transportation decisions and it has the potential to increase diesel air pollution. In either case, the community must be at the table to voice their concerns as efforts to expand freight transport are underway. Within the last year, Project 12898 has made great progress.

Project 12898 conducted a survey of 163 residents surveyed from July to September 2007. Over 70% of the respondents said noise, vibrations, congestion, pollution, or health or safety hazards from truck and train traffic impacted them. Only 1% of those surveyed wanted to see more trucking facilities or railroads in West County. Survey results confirmed that West County residents contend with a multitude of health, safety, and quality of life impacts from living in close proximity to the Port of Richmond, two rail yards, the UP and BNSF rail lines, the Chevron Refinery and other industrial facilities, several distribution centers, and other freight transport-related land uses. Community workshops have been held using the information collected in the surveys as a basis for topics covered in the sessions. In addition, working groups have been established to develop solutions for major residents concerns. The Active Living, Community Health & Air Quality and Emergency Response workgroups have met and are establishing recommendations for mitigation measures.

Project 12898 also advocated on behalf of residents regarding a rail expansion project proposed by the Port of Oakland. This proposal had the potential to increase train trips in West County. A letter was sent to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) outlining community concerns that would result from the project. The letter included mitigation measures recommended by residents to address potential increases in impacts, such as grade separations at key locations with a history of rail crossing-related accidents or deaths, and retrofitting train engines to minimize diesel pollution. The letter also pointed out the importance of having members of the community participate in the process and asked the MTC to convene a public forum with affected residents.

In April 2008, a regional coalition of environmental health and justice groups working to reduce diesel pollution, the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative (DDDC), held a meeting with Port of Oakland staff to discuss the status of community engagement in their proposed expansion projects. At this meeting, members of the Project 12898 team relayed concerns about the project expressed by residents and urged for the convening of a community forum in West County as soon as possible to discuss the project proposal with affected residents.

Ultimately the funding need for the full rail expansion project was not approved and a smaller version that does not add more tracks in West Contra Costa will be pursued. In the meantime, a commitment was made to hold public forums with the impacted communities to keep them informed on the progress of the project because of the number of trains moving through West Contra Costa might still increase.

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Community Asthma Report reveals stark disparities among San Francisco neighborhoods; highlights risks posed by city schools and housing

The San Francisco Asthma Task Force presented the findings of its Report to the Community on Asthma at a World Asthma Day event on May 6th at the Port of San Francisco. The Report revealed significant disparities in asthma hospitalizations and emergency room visits among San Francisco’s neighborhoods, and highlighted the risks posed by current housing and school conditions. According to a 2005 California Health Interview Survey cited in the report, 26.2 percent of San Francisco’s school-aged children (ages 5-17) had been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives, far outpacing the state rate of 18.0 percent. The Task Force called for several policy changes to address these threats and reduce environmental risk factors for asthma.

The Task Force was able to use mapping technology to illustrate:

· the number of per capita code violations for housing safety and habitability in the past year;

· the number of children 0-13 years and capacity of licensed childcare (centers and family homes)

· the difference between the number of children eligible for childcare and the number of childcare subsidies available

· the distribution of public health facilities relative to population density, and the proportion of households living in overcrowded conditions.

These can all be contributing factors for the high asthma prevalence, hospitalization rates and emergency room visits in the city.

In light of its findings, the Task Force called on San Francisco policymakers for a renewed commitment to improve the condition of city housing and schools. Most notably, the group recommended that:

- the San Francisco Unified School District fully implement and staff the Tools for Schools Indoor Air Quality program at all school sites as well as adopt a policy that would mandate that green and asthma-safe custodial products are used on campus to eliminate asthma risks.

- the Board of Supervisors amend specific San Francisco Health, Housing and Building codes to raise healthy housing standards for all residential buildings. These higher standards – which include improved ventilation for kitchens and bathrooms, and better maintenance of heating systems and their filters – would particularly help protect low-income residents from asthma risks in their homes.

At the press conference the San Francisco Asthma Task Force honored the following organizations for their partnership in reducing the impact of asthma in San Francisco:

California Pacific Medical Center Community Benefits Program. CPMC provided crucial grant funding to allow the Asthma Task Force access to asthma patients and medical providers to determine their needs towards fostering more coordinated systems of care for people with asthma.

Health Education and Community Health Studies Department of City College of San Francisco – recognized for formally integrating the All About Asthma curriculum developed by Breathe California into their accredited Health 11C and First/Aid CPR courses for child care providers.

Kaiser Permanente – recognized for it’s continual support and leadership in the area of asthma and serving as founding members of the Asthma Task Force.

San Francisco Unified School District Custodial Services Department – recognized for embarking on a joint venture with the Task Force and other city agencies to pilot Environmentally Preferable cleaning products to eventually replace the district’s supply of cleaning products to ensure that children and staff are not exposed to harmful toxic chemicals.

The San Francisco Unified School District’s School Health Programs Department has been instrumental as an active participant on the Task Force and has carried forward key priorities of the Task Force established by School Board policies that were advocated for by the Task Force to improve asthma management and improve the indoor air quality of the classrooms and buildings for the sake of all students and staff.

San Francisco Department of Public Health, Tom Waddell Health Center – recognized for being a model program for asthma services in the city.

To learn more about asthma, the Task Force or its Community Asthma Report, please contact Anjali Nath at BREATHE CALIFORNIA at (650) 994-5868 or visit //www.ggbreathe.org and //www.sfgov.org/asthma.

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Founded in 1999, the San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition is a collaboration of over fifty diverse agencies and individuals including local health and social service agencies, health care providers, health plans, school districts, community-based organizations, local businesses and individuals with asthma. The current mission of the coalition is to provide leadership in identifying, developing, mobilizing and coordinating resources to prevent asthma and positively impact the lives of people affected by asthma in San Diego County.

Asthma Report Card:

In May the 2008 San Diego County Asthma Report Card was released in conjunction with Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month. The Report card was made possible thanks to CAFA and also San Diego County Supervisor, Ron Roberts who provided additional funding for its printing and distribution. The document provides a summary of asthma statistics, programs and goals in reducing the burden of asthma in San Diego County. Areas the Report Card identifies as needing improvement include interventions for at- risk populations, cost of treating asthma and use of personal asthma action plans. An area at which San Diego County excelled was in smoking ban legislation in public places, providing a leadership model for partnering regions.

Some statistical data from the report revealed 17.2% adults missed work and 24.9% kids missed school in the last 12 months due to asthma in San Diego County, thus imposing an economic burden attached to lost productivity. San Diego County hospitalizations have declined from 2003-2005 and we hope that through quality sustained programs, this trend will continue in future years.

The 2008 San Diego Asthma Report Card can be accessed online at: //asthmasandiego.org/pdfs/2008Asthma%20ReportCard.pdf

Hardcopies of the Report Card can also be mailed out upon request by contacting Melissa Stephens at (619) 683-7514 or mstephens@alac.org.

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Approximately 22,000 reports were distributed as inserts in the Valley Voice Newspaper, with an article that went into the paper one week before its distribution, preparing readers to look for it in the next issue of the Valley Voice. An additional 21,000 reports were distributed in the Foothills Sun-Gazette. K-JUG Radio aired commercial’s explaining the purpose and importance of the report. For the entire month of May K-JUG radio placed our TCAC logo on their website which provided a direct link to the document. Dave Daniel’s, K-JUG’s morning Radio personality has also decided to announce on the radio, the Air Quality Index reports daily during the morning rush of traffic time. Coalition members are encouraged to pick up stacks of the report card and distribute throughout the county.

We are partnering with K-JUG at their Family Jugfest, June 7th, 2008 at Plaza Park in Visalia. The event is expected to bring 10,000 people to the park. The coalition is sponsoring the Kid’s Zone and will host an Asthma Adventure Fair, along with bounce houses, craft and food booths, and musical entertainment all day long. Members are encouraged to volunteer their time at this fantastic event. We will take this opportunity to distribute our Report Cards to let our community in Tulare County know about their asthma statistics, quality of our air and recommendations encouraging policy change. This is an excellent opportunity for the community to learn more about us and our on-going diligence to improve the places we live, work, and play.

There continues to be active involvement in policy work by coalition members. We have representation on the Bicycle and Walk-ways Sub-Committee formed after Measure R passed, to assure the funds and plans decrease air pollution. Two coalition members sit on the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Air Pollution Control District’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) recently formed an air district policy for Environmental Justice. This was a very large policy accomplishment and Christine Foster (TCAC Member) is an original document writer. Most recently they formed the Environmental Justice Advisory Group (EJAG) made up of community members that will report to the three CAC groups: 1. Environmental; 2. Agriculture; and 3. City Government.

The Air District has been working the support of the CAC to get a bigger portion of the Prop 1B money, and $250 million was awarded of the $370 million that was requested. CAC next intends to make sure the money is spent in a way that will get maximum air pollution reductions per $1 spent. Members feel it is important to sit on such committees and set goals to improve the policy work of TCAC.

–Ability to have a voice at the Air District.

–Provide up to date and accurate information to members.

–Knowledge of public hearings and Action Days of the Air District so members can participate to voice opinions.

–Provide accurate and up-to-date information to coalition members and the community on issues that pertain to them such as: school bus rule approval, environmental justice documentation, ozone plan, and any other issues that may arise.

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For years, Solano Asthma Coalition has attempted to work with Solano County school districts to improve school indoor air quality. SAC hosted a TfS workshop and classroom walkthrough as well as a green cleaning products educational workshop on the harmful effects of commonly used toxic cleaning products for all school districts. SAC has also conducted numerous asthma inservice trainings for front office personnel and teachers in four school districts.

At the 2006 CAFA Annual Meeting, Janis Nielsen, Program Manager for Teachers for Healthy Kids, announced CTA had received a grant from The California Endowment for their Healthy Air, Healthy Kids (HAHK) program linking the California Teachers Association (CTA) and local teacher associations with other stakeholders to advance school indoor air quality policies and practices. This collaboration was very exciting news for SAC, but unfortunately it was one more year of phone calls before our first meeting with Fairfield-Suisun Unified Teachers Association (F-SUTA) President Melanie Driver. Melanie has asthma and taught in a classroom with indoor air problems. With Melanie’s buy-in, we presented TfS at a site rep meeting. As a result of the presentation, seven teachers completed classroom checklists. Acting on this positive response, Melanie scheduled a meeting with the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District (FSUSD) Superintendent and all key stakeholders. At that meeting, we presented to Custodial and Facilities personnel the classroom checklists identifying some of the most common asthma triggers found in classrooms (e.g., lack of dusting and vacuuming). Within hours, the problems were addressed by Custodial and Facilities staff. Additional problems listed on the checklists will be addressed this summer – damaged carpet in one classroom will be replaced and new roofs at two schools will be installed over the summer.

The enthusiastic response to improving indoor air quality in FSUSD has resulted in the District creating a Strategic Plan, an IAQ Team, and a Sustainability Plan. SAC will honor FSUSD as our “Model IAQ School District” and Melanie Driver as our “2007-2008 Asthma Champion” at our May 28th Fifth Annual Asthma Challenge Awards luncheon.

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Community Action to Fight Asthma – Summary

Contra Costa Asthma Coalition

Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma

Los Angeles Asthma Coaliton

Merced/Mariposa County Asthma Coalition

Oakland/Berkeley Community Action to Fight Asthma

San Francisco Asthma Task Force

Solano Asthma Coalition

Sonoma County Asthma Coalition

Tulare County Asthma Coaltion