Oak View money in jeopardy
Andrew Wainer
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The Oak View Family Center is set to receive $80,000
from Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenues, but the well will dry up if
Proposition 28 passes Tuesday.
Oak View is one of six sites in Orange County to receive Proposition 10
funds totaling more than $1 million. Proposition 10 was approved by
California voters in November 1998. It added a 50-cent tax on each pack
of cigarettes sold in the state to support health programs for children
and infants.
But the money, which will be used in the city to attend to the basic
health-care needs of low-income families, is in danger of being
eliminated by Proposition 28, which seeks to repeal the tax.
“Prop. 28 would eliminate the tobacco tax and the opportunities community
centers have to receive much-needed funding,” said Dan Pfeiffer,
spokesman for the No on 28 campaign.
Family center coordinator Tessa Charnofsky said Oak View plans to use its
Proposition 10 funds primarily to staff programs for families with young
children.
“We will use the money to hire a full-time public health nurse and to
offer seminars and workshops,” Charnofsky said.
Services will include home visits to help residents of the low-income
neighborhood cope with issues such as diabetes and teenage pregnancy,
Charnofsky said. Educational programs on nutrition, exercise and child
development will also be offered.
She said the program will begin as soon as the staff positions are
filled.
“We are hiring right away,” she said.
Oak View’s money is part of a $48-million Proposition 10 package approved
by the Orange County Children and Families Commission late last month.
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