SUN VALLEY : More Funds Sought for Family Center

Recognizing a critical need for medical services in the east San Fernando Valley, a coalition of schools and community agencies has submitted the first proposal seeking up to $450,000 in state funding to expand an existing family care center for students and their families, it was announced Tuesday.

So great is the need for the expansion of the Glenwood Family Care Center at Glenwood School in Sun Valley that dental and transportation services will begin even if the initial proposal to the state Board of Education for a $50,000 planning grant is rejected, said Paul Palato of the East Valley Partnership Community Council.

The center, which opened in October, provides medical examinations and immunizations for students.

Under the proposed expansion, the center would be renamed the East Valley Family Care Center and would expand its services to two on-campus bungalows.

The new site would expand the medical services to about 5,000 students and their families at the three other schools in the coalition: Roscoe elementary in Sun Valley, and Camellia Avenue elementary and Arminta Street elementary in North Hollywood.

In addition, the site would allow students and their families to gain access to social service programs, recreational activities, and tobacco, alcohol and AIDS education.

At least a dozen agencies throughout the Valley have promised to support the expanded center.

The state is expected to respond to the grant request by mid-April, Palato said. If it is approved, the East Valley Partnership Community Council will file an additional grant request of $400,000 next year to operate the care center for three years.

Regardless of whether the grant is approved, the Rotary Club of North Hollywood will help provide the center with volunteer dentists by May 1, and Valley Youth Gang Services has offered the use of a van for transportation between schools.