CHAPTER 14. Community Challenge Grant Program [18993. - 18993.9.]

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC 14.
in effect

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993. Section 18993.

There is hereby created the Community Challenge Grant Program in the State Department of Health Services to provide community challenge grants to reduce the number of teenage and unwed pregnancies.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.1. Section 18993.1.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) One in three children in California is born out of wedlock. (b) As many as 70,000 children were born to teenagers in each of at least the last two years and nearly 25 percent of these were born to teenage mothers who have previously had children. (c) Children who grow up without fathers are five times more likely to be poor, twice as likely to drop out of school, and much more likely to end up in foster care or juvenile justice facilities. (d) Girls raised in single-parent families are three times more likely to become unwed teenage mothers than those girls raised in two-parent families. (e) Boys without a father in the home are more likely to become incarcerated, unemployed, or uninvolved with their own children when they become fathers. (f) The consequences of teenage pregnancy and fatherlessness are significant and far-reaching. (g) Teenage and unwed pregnancy are problems that affect community health and success. (h) Government can best solve the problems of teenage and unwed pregnancies in partnership with local communities, parents, and families. (i) Communities should decide what prevention strategies will work and be acceptable. (j) Parents and families should be included in the teenage pregnancy prevention strategies.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.2. Section 18993.2.

(a) The State Department of Health Services shall administer grants for purposes of this chapter that shall be awarded pursuant to a request for application process. (b) Grants shall be awarded to existing and new community-based nonprofit organizations and county and local governments for purposes of implementing locally developed prevention and intervention strategies designed to do the following: (1) Reduce the number of teenage and unwed pregnancies. (2) Reduce the number of children growing up in homes without fathers as a result of these pregnancies. (3) Promote responsible parenting and the involvement of the father in the economic, social, and emotional support of his children. (c) Grant funding shall not be used for clinical services and shall target, but not be limited to, the following populations: (1) Presexual adolescents. (2) Sexually active adolescents. (3) Pregnant and parenting adolescents. (4) Parents and families. (5) Adults at risk for unwed motherhood or absentee fatherhood. (d) The department shall provide outreach and training to potential grantees to increase the number of agencies and groups that may be able to successfully compete for the grants. (e) The department shall issue periodic reports that describe the projects that have been awarded grants pursuant to this chapter.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.3. Section 18993.3.

(a) An advisory committee of 10 members shall be appointed to advise and consult with the department regarding the Community Challenge Grant Program in the following areas: (1) The broad goals of the program. (2) Effective strategies for implementing the program. (3) Elements of evaluating the effectiveness of the program grantees. (4) Strategies for engaging nongovernmental resources and expertise in the implementation and success of the program. (b) Six members shall be appointed by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, two members by the Speaker of the Assembly, and two members by the Senate Committee on Rules. (c) The advisory committee shall reflect a broad constituency and multidisciplinary approach to the problem of teenage and unwed pregnancy, including persons that represent corporations and foundations, the religious community, parents, teenagers, the education and academic community, community-based organizations, and public health organizations.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.4. Section 18993.4.

Grant applications shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Plans for community collaboration with parents, local agencies, businesses, school leaders, community groups, and private organizations. (b) Measurable objectives selected by the applicant. (c) Evidence of the applicant’s capability to effect proposed changes. (d) A needs assessment. (e) A comprehensive description of the population or populations proposed to be served. (f) A project description, a work plan, and budget justifications. (g) A project evaluation and a process for data collection to facilitate the department’s ability to conduct a statewide evaluation.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.5. Section 18993.5.

(a) Criteria for grant selection shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) Degree of community input and collaboration in the project. (2) Degree of involvement of parents and families within the community. (3) Degree of involvement of nongovernmental organizations. (4) Degree of need for the project in the local community. (5) Geographic, economic, population, and ethnic diversity. (6) Feasibility. (7) Cost effectiveness. (8) Degree to which project outcomes can be measured and evaluated. (b) The department shall provide an explanation for the reasons why an applicant is not funded.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.6. Section 18993.6.

(a) Grantees shall be required to match a portion of the grant awarded under the Community Challenge Grant Program with either dollar or measurable in-kind contributions as provided by this section. (b) Grantees shall provide a match of not less than 10 percent for the first year of the grant, not less than 15 percent for the second year of the grant, and not less than 20 percent for the third year of the grant. (c) The match required by this section shall be supplemental to the funds appropriated for the Community Challenge Grant Program and shall be from nongovernmental sources.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.7. Section 18993.7.

(a) The costs for state administration of the Community Challenge Grant Program may be up to 5 percent of the total appropriation for the program. The Legislature shall be notified of the administrative costs of this program pursuant to Section 28 of the Budget Act of 1996. Indirect costs for grantees shall not exceed 10 percent of the grant amount. (b) The department may use local assistance funds allocated for the program to provide training to potential grantees authorized by subdivision (d) of Section 18993.2. (c) The department may use local assistance funds allocated to the program for the evaluation of the program required by subdivision (b) of Section 18993.8.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18993.8. Section 18993.8.

The department shall conduct a statewide independent evaluation of the program, assessing the program’s effectiveness in achieving stated outcomes as established by the department. The evaluation shall be performed only when for this purpose funds are appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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