Blue Shield of California Foundation Announces $5 Million in Fourth Quarter Grants

New funds will enable California to prepare for health reform and help domestic violence organizations address rising demand for services

San Francisco, December 10, 2009 - Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) today announced more than $5 million in fourth quarter grants to help to meet the opportunities and challenges of a changing policy and economic landscape. This brings the Foundation's total grantmaking for the year to $28.9 million.

With Congress closer to passing comprehensive health reform than any time in the last 50 years, the Foundation's fourth-quarter grantmaking includes more than $1.2 million to help California capitalize on new opportunities to expand coverage to uninsured families.  

"No state has as much to gain from health reform as California," said Crystal Hayling, president and CEO of BSCF. "Leaders throughout our healthcare system have to be ready to work together if health reform passes - or risk wasting precious time and resources playing catch-up."

BSCF is also launching a major initiative to strengthen the capacity of domestic violence service providers at a time when many are suffering from serious budget challenges. In addition, the Foundation is enhancing its effort to prevent and address violence in military families.

Laying a Foundation for Health Reform

The latest BSCF grant awards reflect the belief that the state cannot afford to wait until the outcome of federal health reform legislation to plan for change. With that in mind, the Foundation is targeting new money for nonpartisan research and stakeholder outreach so that California has the information and the capacity to move forward effectively to adapt to a changing health policy landscape. 

Among those new grants are the following:

$665,000 to New America Foundation to continue educating policymakers and other stakeholders about strategies to improve health care in California, including state-level cost containment approaches and the implementation of federal health reform legislation.

$575,000 to Center for Governmental Studies' Insure the Uninsured Project to conduct and disseminate nonpartisan policy analysis that will help key stakeholders improve healthcare programs and coverage options at the state and county level. 

Meanwhile, BSCF continues to find innovative ways to meet healthcare needs of an increasing number of low-income and uninsured Californians. One key strategy for expanding coverage will be restructuring and expanding the Health Care Coverage Initiatives created under the auspices of California's existing Section 1115 Medi-Cal waiver. The waiver provides federal funds for the development and implementation of pilot programs in selected counties to expand services to low-income, uninsured adults not otherwise eligible for Medi-Cal.  BSCF will provide $200,000 to Community Health Councils to support planning efforts to better integrate public and private healthcare delivery networks in south Los Angeles, including community clinics, in order to maximize the impact of future waiver funding. 

Strengthening California's Domestic Violence Field

"California's economic and budget crises have taken a particular toll on the state's network of domestic violence prevention organizations," said Hayling. "That has made it even more imperative to invest in strategies that enable those groups to survive today's challenges and also thrive in the future."

The flagship program in that effort is Blue Shield Against Violence's new "Strong Field Project," which is projected to be a four-year, $7 million commitment to build a stronger domestic violence field in California, by building a critical mass of organizations and leaders through leadership development, capacity grants, and network building.  

 Specific grants for this effort awarded in this quarter include:

$670,000 over two years to CompassPoint Nonprofit Services to develop and implement a customized leadership program for domestic violence leaders. 

$1,902,442 over two years to Women's Foundation of California to disburse up to 15 "organizational strength" grants to build stronger organizations and new models for the field. 

Meanwhile, a grant of $155,000 to Nonprofit Finance Fund will provide tough times financial consulting to domestic violence organizations, and a grant of $110,975 to W.O.M.A.N., Inc. will plan for improving access to domestic violence crisis services. 

Support for Military Families

In 2009, the Foundation identified an approach to prevent violence in the homes of military families, recognizing the large number of Californians providing service to our military and the challenge they and their families face after multiple tours of duty.

 The Foundation announced three new grants in this quarter:

$250,000 to Swords to Plowshares to provide training and resources to domestic violence advocates, police officers, and veterans' service providers in order to raise awareness of and prevent family violence.

$70,000 to Blue Star Families to facilitate a national dialogue for military family stakeholders, including the Obama administration, and to implement a family survey to examine the impact of deployment and combat stress on military spousal and partner relationships.

$250,000 to National Center on Family Homelessness to pilot a sustainable intimate partner violence prevention model for veteran families in the Antelope Valley in Southern California, as part of a national prevention initiative. 

About Blue Shield of California Foundation

Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the largest healthcare grantmaking organizations in California. For more information, visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org. The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.4 million members, 4,700 employees and 20 offices throughout California. For more information about the company, please visit www.blueshieldca.com.