School-Based Family Clinic Scheduled to Open in Fall

In an area where at least one-third of the students lack medical insurance, school officials on Friday announced the fall opening of a center serving the health and human services needs of 28,000 students and their families in the north San Fernando Valley.

The Kennedy/Monroe Family Resource Center, to be housed at Kennedy High School, will be open free to families from the 28 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s cluster.

With help from the district and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the center includes a school-based clinic with two fully equipped examining rooms staffed by a nurse practitioner, nurse and other workers.

The center also has two counseling rooms and a technology room with six computers for parents hoping to improve their skills and job opportunities. Staff will provide community referrals and help families with transportation and health insurance access.

“The focus is on prevention and treatment,” center Director Benita Chaum said Friday before a dedication ceremony and a tour with Los Angeles school board member Julie Korenstein and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

“The need [for the center] is great,” said Chaum, a school psychologist and district administrator. Although several LAUSD schools have school-based health clinics, Chaum said the center at Kennedy is unique because it offers additional services.

The center will also have a children’s play therapy room with a two-way mirror, providing research opportunities and practical experience for students from Cal State Northridge’s Health Education and Educational Psychology departments.

Operating hours have not been determined, but Chaum said the center will stay open some nights and weekends for health fairs, seminars and other activities.