Woodland Youth Council members Jaime Cárdenas and Crystal Gasca with Harlem Children's Zone President and CEO Geoffrey Canada

Below is a partial list of agencies, programs and services that assist Woodland families in meeting the needs of their youth:

MegaSkills Workshops for Parents
Parents with kids grades K-6 will gain great skills through these interactive workshops, a joint project of the Woodland Joint Unified School District and the Yolo Family Resource Center. Come and find out how your children can learn to work with others towards a common goal or purpose, and learn the importance of give and take. Free meals and childcare are provided. Click here for the current workshop calendar in English; click here for Spanish. For more information, please contact Alice Castillo at (530) 406-7221.

Planned Parenthood Teen Success Group
This group is for pregnant or parenting teen women. The main goals for members in this group, which meets at Planned Parenthood's Woodland office at 520 Cottonwood Street #10, are to create a peer support network, complete high school and maintain current family size. Members receive $10 in compensation per week ($100 for every six months completed); free snacks and child care are provided. Members must join before their 18th birthday. All groups meet during after-school hours, usually 4 to 6 p.m. Eligible teens can always call Angie at (530) 662-4646 x108 to sign up or get more information. If a home visitor is referring a teen, staff would need to know the teen’s name, age, phone number and the area in which they live.

Free Summer Lunch Program for Youth
Summer is nearly here and food prices are on the rise. Free, healthy lunches and snacks for children up to age 18 are available over the summer in many communities. Some programs may require proof of income and enrollment, but others may be open to all. Click here to find a list of tentative sites in your area that will be providing free summer lunches and snacks. In addition, many of the summer lunch sites are at recreation centers or parks, and may offer a variety of summer programs for kids.

Yolo County Youth Employment and Training Program
Are you a pregnant or parenting teen, foster youth, youth in a migrant family, youth in a family receiving public assistance, youth offender, school dropout, disabled youth, youth working part-time, high school graduate who is unable to find or keep a job, or a youth desiring to increase basic skills? This program can help you acquire work experience, vocational training andd job search assistance, among other resources. The program can also help you obtain funds for childcare, transportation and school supplies. Click here to download the Youth Employment and Training Program brochure. For more information, please contact Jane Thompson or Edith Solorzano at the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services at (530) 661-2750 x4327 and x4029, respectively.

Yolo County Juvenile Justice Handbook
The members of the Yolo County Juvenile Justice/ Delinquency Prevention Commission hope the young people of Yolo County, and their parents and teachers, find this booklet to be of value. Knowledge of state and local laws can be helpful in making good decisions about your daily activities. A successful future depends upon a person learning to make good decisions when he or she is young. Good decisions make life easier. Bad decisions create grief and cause things to be more difficult. With this in mind, we hope you take time to consider the law and weigh all the consequences each time you act.

Work Ready Certificate Program
A Work Ready Certificate indicates the student's readiness for the school-to-work transition. It reflects important skills, attitudes, and values that are essential for success in the workplace. Readiness indicators are reviewed and approved by the business and education community. The Yolo Youth Opportunity Council, Workforce Investment Board, business leaders, agencies, and educators have come together to develop the standards and criteria for earning this certificate.

Einstein Education Center
The mission of the Einstein Education Center is to offer an alternative competency-based route to a high school diploma for youth who have left school or are not succeeding in traditional high schools. EEC's Diploma Plus model encourages and supports the development of coordinated and collaborative efforts to develop a comprehensive and innovative alternative model that aligns with state academic standards and both University of California and California State University post-secondary programs.

Communicare Health Centers
Communicare's Teen Clinic offers free, confidential, caring reproductive health services for teens ages 12-19, including HIV testing, annual exams (including Pap smear and testicular exams), contraceptive methods and condoms, referrals and health information, pregnancy testing, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and emergency contraception pill (given within 5 days of unprotected sex). Click here to download the Teen Clinic brochure. Communicare's Youth for Recovery program serves youths ages 14-18 who are experiencing substance abuse issues. Youth for Recovery is a four-phase program, and each phase extends a minimum of 60 days. All YFR clients participate in group and individual counseling throughout the program. Services offered by the program include: mandatory random drug testing, individual counseling for the duration of treatment, physical exam, anger management, life skills, gang intervention, family fun nights and parent support group, and family counseling. Click here to download the Youth for Recovery program brochure. For more information, please contact Adolescent Programs Supervisor Karleen Watson at (530) 668-2400 x101.

Pathways to Independence Transition Age Youth Center
The Transition Age Youth Center (825 East Street, Suite 123), funded by Proposition 63 (the Mental Health Services Act), has active programs five days a week, including groups such as career/education, job readiness, life skills, healthy relationships and relaxation, as well as time for arts and crafts, sports, games, etc. A youth council has started up along with a regular newsletter. For more information, please contact Clinical Supervisor Victoria Cruz at the Transition Age Youth Center at (530) 668-6765.

MALDEF College Scholarships List
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund encourages all students to seek private scholarships for their educational expenses. Please keep in mind that in order to qualify for state and federal financial aid, students must be legal permanent residents or citizens. If a student is not yet a legal permanent resident, they should look to private scholarships to help with educational expenses. The majority of the scholarships on this list do not require a social security number, legal residency or citizenship.

Woodland Youth Services
Since 1985, Woodland Youth Services has been a non-profit organization caring for Yolo County's youngest victims of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Children are brought to their doors with physical and emotional wounds and illnesses, with no clothing, with guarded, frightened eyes. At WYS, they find safety, comfort, clean beds and regular meals. They find medical, dental and mental health treatment. Most importantly, they find hope and a chance for happiness and success.

Yolo Children's Fund
The mission of the Yolo Children's Fund, Inc. is to enhance the quality of a disadvantaged child's life by providing funds for a special project, gift, need or opportunity that would otherwise go unmet. Children at risk often become involved with the court system as an abused or neglected child , often as a result of a parent's substance abuse, violence, or other criminality. In cases involving children who are at risk, the court appoints an attorney and/or a CASA Advocate to represent the best interest of the child. The current maximum award is $250.

Yolo County Children's Alliance
The Yolo County Children’s Alliance & Child Abuse Prevention Council is a partnership of parents, youth, consumers, members of the business and faith communities, and over fifty public and private organizations that provide health, education and social services for children.

First 5 Yolo
At First 5 Yolo, "It’s All About the Kids." Their mission statement best describes them: "First 5 Yolo will assist our community to raise children who are healthy and ready to learn. We will assure that our resources are effectively used and all community voices heard." First 5 Yolo is dedicated to serving the needs of Yolo County’s youngest residents. They fund a number of programs across the county as well as work to identify and raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing our increasingly diverse community of children, ages 0-5, and their families. Supporting, promoting and coordinating services to benefit that population is at the heart of their work.