PICO California creates innovative solutions to pressing community issues; translates faith into action; builds a legacy of leadership; and raises a new vision for California.

THE LATEST PICO NEWS

PICO Leaders Meet with Top Education Officials
to Address California’s High Dropout Rates
More than 250 PICO leaders from throughout California– including over 100 youth leaders - met with top state officials on Feb. 25 to discuss education and youth issues. Their message: California must address our state’s high dropout rate and provide better opportunities for our youth to succeed in school and beyond. The leaders shared the challenges faced by youth in their own congregations and families as well as a number of local strategies they’ve developed to encourage stronger high school graduation rates. As part of the day’s events, leaders met with Secretary of Education David Long, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, State Senator Darrell Steinberg, State Director of Gang and Youth Violence Policy Paul Seave and dozens of state legislators and staff representatives.

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PICO Congregations Dismayed by Failure of Health Care Reform Proposal
PICO congregations throughout the state were dismayed when the California Senate Health Committee failed to pass a historical health care reform package that would have expanded health coverage to over 70 percent of California’s uninsured, including all of the state’s children. Because of the actions of the committee and Senate Leadership, California has lost the best opportunity for broad-based expansion and reform of health coverage in the foreseeable future.

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PICO Affiliates Get-Out-the-Vote
PICO California and 10 PICO affiliated organizations continued their efforts to increase voter participation among infrequent voters in California. PICO California and their affiliates knocked on more than 9,500 doors and spoke with more than 3,000 infrequent voters in the weeks and days leading up to the Feb. 5 Presidential Primary election in California. As part of this effort, PICO California and local affiliates trained more than 500 volunteer leaders from 45 member congregations to develop and carry out this plan.

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Hmong No Longer Considered Terrorists
Central Valley Hmong leaders affiliated with PICO succeeded in their efforts to change the PATRIOT Act’s classification of Hmong as “terrorists.” More than 1,800 PICO leaders and community members gathered at the Stockton Civic Center Dec. 5 to demand that Congress change current language in the PATRIOT Act classifying Hmong as terrorists. As a result of this and numerous other similar local and national actions, President Bush signed HR 2764 into law Dec. 26 which states that "appropriate groups affiliated with the Hmong…shall not be considered to be a terrorist organization on the basis of any act or event occurring before the date of enactment of this section."

Thousands of Hmong recruited by the CIA to fight during the Vietnam War and members of their families had been classified as terrorists by the PATRIOT Act. This classification had caused a number of Hmong families serious difficulties in obtaining employment, citizenship status, driver's licenses, and other vital documents. The PATRIOT Act classifies as terrorists anyone who has fought as guerilla soldiers against an established government. The PATRIOT Act also classifies anyone who aided or abetted guerilla soldiers as terrorists. However, the PATRIOT Act did not distinguish those who fought for the United States as the Hmong did.

Click here for the Sacramento Bee article on the event
Click here for full language of HR 2764


Evaluation Shows Benefits of Home Visits to High School Students
A recently completed evaluation documents the powerful impact home visits can have on high school students and their families. In the summer of 2006, school staff from Hiram Johnson and Luther Burbank high schools in Sacramento visited the homes of 340 incoming juniors who had not passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as sophomores. The pilot provided a rare opportunity for educators, parents, and students to discuss their mutual goals for high school and beyond. Nearly ten years ago, PICO affiliate Sacramento Area Congregations together developed the Parent-Teacher home visit model as a way to encourage relationships between schools and families. The program has since grown into a statewide strategy adopted by hundreds of schools throughout California.

Click here for the full evaluation