Countywide : County to Consider Grant Proposals

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider giving grants to eight community groups offering social services such as job placement, emergency shelters and volunteer advocates for abused children.

The grant proposals, which seek sums of $1,000 to $5,000, are for money from the county’s Social Programs fund, which is used to subsidize nonprofit groups. The groups being considered are:

* The Boys and Girls Club of Tustin, which is requesting $1,000 for its endowment fund. Club membership has increased 50% in the past year, jumping to 1,735, and the money would be used to help pay for a variety of activities, such as computer assisted education, a program for latchkey kids and a military outreach effort.

* Family Solutions of Orange, which is requesting $1,000 to support its services for physically and sexually abused children. Family Solutions operates 13 group care and 10 foster care programs that strive to reunite families when feasible and to provide a substitute family support system.

* The Friends of the Court Appointed Advocates, a group that supports advocacy programs for abused, abandoned and neglected children, is requesting $5,000. The group, based in Orange, focuses on children who need community trained volunteers to speak on their behalf during investigations and court proceedings.

* The Homeless Intervention and Shelter House in Placentia is requesting $1,000 to assist its shelter program for families. The agency provides temporary shelter to homeless families and provides counseling to help them find permanent quarters.

* The Orange County Chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is requesting $2,500 to support its efforts to help the families of missing children and to aid in the agency’s community crime prevention and education ventures aimed at curbing the victimization of youngsters. The group is based in Orange.

* The Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter of Costa Mesa is requesting $1,500 to cover operational expenses. The program provides emergency shelter to homeless families and also food, clothing, counseling, tutoring and health-care referrals. The shelter last year provided 28,000 bed-nights and 75,000 meals to more than 1,600 homeless people.

* Paint Your Heart Out Anaheim is requesting $1,000 to assist its continuing efforts to help residents of homes in disrepair. The money would help provide materials for the hundreds of volunteers who participate in painting and repairing properties of low-income residents.

* Youth Employment Services of the Harbor Area is requesting $1,000 to help with its job education efforts. The Costa Mesa-based program teaches youths between ages 14 and 22 how to develop their talents and how to seek and interview for jobs.

Meetings of the Board of Supervisors are public and include a segment inviting input from residents. The board meets Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the Board Hearing Room, on the first floor of the Hall of Administration, 10 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana. For more information about agenda items or meetings, call (714) 834-3100.