Health & Wellness Newsletter – Reintroducing Our Priorities
October 28, 2025
At the California AfterSchool
Network (CAN), we’re committed to advancing health and wellness
for youth, families, and communities across California.
Our state is home to the nation’s largest Expanded Learning
system, with more than 4,500 programs serving over 900,000
children and youth each year. With strong connections to medical,
mental health, and substance use prevention systems, these
programs are uniquely positioned to promote Whole Child Health
and Wellness, building on a strong foundation of positive youth
development.
We’ve updated our Promoting Health & Wellness webpage to highlight our priorities:
- Health Care: Medical, dental, and vision care.
- Mental Well-Being: Mental health, social services, and substance misuse supports.
- Physical Well-Being: Food security, nutrition, and physical activity
- Positive Youth Development: Programs as prevention.
Through clearer language and a renewed focus, we aim to continue sharing information, resources, promising practices, and legislative updates to support the out-of-school time field in creating healthier futures for all.
Our revamped Health & Wellness newsletters will be shared quarterly—stay tuned for updates from our School-Based Mental Health, Physical Health & Wellness, and other wellness-focused initiatives.
In This Newsletter:
Impact of Federal Government Shutdown on CalFresh (CA SNAP) Benefits
November CalFresh Benefits (California’s SNAP benefits) will be impacted due to the Federal Government Shutdown.
Millions of children will lose all or some of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of November, which total about $8 billion. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its shutdown contingency plan initially planned to tap $5-6 billion in multi-year contingency funds in the event the shutdown continued into November, the agency issued a memo on 10/24/25 stating that it will not use the contingency funds for this purpose. On 10/28/25, twenty-five states, including California, filed a lawsuit challenging USDA’s decision not to tap its contingency funds or other available resources to provide SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
See below for additional updates as of 10/28/25. Things are changing daily so be sure to check state websites for the most current updates.
Curious about Wellness Coaches?
Learn more and get certified today!
Wellness Coaches provide non-clinical mental and behavioral health support in schools, community organizations, and health care settings. Becoming certified is a great way to grow your skills, enhance your current role, or open new opportunities to support mental health in your community.
The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) makes it simple to get started. Eligible individuals can self-certify quickly, and there are educational pathways to help others qualify. Since the program launched in 2023, over 3,000 Californians have become certified. Visit the HCAI website to learn how you can join them and help close the mental health access gap for young people across the state.
Already certified? We’d love to hear about your experience using these skills, especially in Expanded Learning settings! Participate in the poll below:
Youth Mental Wellness Survey
Complete by Friday, October 31, 2025
The Biz Stoop, CA Youth Rising, East Bay Community Foundation, the California Endowment, and Urban Strategies Council invite you to participate in the 2025 Youth Mental Wellness Community Survey, a collaborative effort to shape the future of youth mental health in California. This survey is open to:
- Youth ages 8–17 (with parental consent)
- Young adults 18–35
- Adults 35+ who are parents, educators, or community allies of youth
Your responses will help inform youth-led and community-driven mental health initiatives. Topics include access to mental health services, diversity in care, and awareness of crisis support resources.
Participation takes about 10–15 minutes. Participate today!
Lights On, Lights Off: A Restful Leadership Virtual Gathering
November 5, 2025; 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
ASAPconnect in partnership with the RAGE Project and the Restful Leadership Framework, is hosting a leadership virtual gathering that offers space to pause, breathe, and reconnect with what lights you up as an educator and leader. Through the theme Lights On, Lights Off, they’ll explore balancing the energy we give to others with the rest and restoration we need for ourselves, cultivating sustainable leadership through both action and renewal.
Event Details:
When: November 5th, 2025 from 10 AM -12:00
PM
Where: Virtual (Zoom link provided upon
registration)
Who: Expanded learning professionals, site
coordinators, and community educators committed to leading with
intention and care
Expanded Learning & OST Community Space
Nov 12 & Dec 9; 12:00 - 1:00 PM
We invite you to join us in our remaining community spaces for the year:
As we continue to experience threats to education, liberties, and the safety of our communities, ASAPconnect, CalSAC, the California AfterSchool Network, Expand LA, and the Partnership for Children & Youth recognize that those working in Expanded Learning and OST need safe spaces to reflect, connect, restore, and engage in thought partnership.
If you are feeling the effects of societal unrest, uncertainty in your role, or the broader state of the world, we invite you to join our upcoming Community Spaces.
BrightLife Kids & Soluna
FREE Behavioral Health Support for Youth & Families
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has launched two free web and app-based platforms, BrightLife Kids and Soluna, to provide confidential behavioral health support for youth and families across the state.
Part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), these platforms offer services such as one-on-one coaching, care navigation, and peer support without insurance or referral requirements.
- BrightLife Kids serves children ages 0 to 12 and their caregivers
- Soluna is designed for teens and young adults ages 13 to 25
Since their launch in January 2024, the platforms have delivered thousands of coaching sessions and referrals, helping bridge gaps in access to mental health care across California.
Key Learnings from the Youth Sports Equity Systems Change Framework
Resource
A new paper from the Systems Action Group introduces a unified framework for transforming youth sports equity. It emphasizes moving beyond individual programs to address systemic barriers rooted in education, economics, and culture.
The framework focuses on dismantling the pay-to-play model through collective action and outlines a three-phase implementation strategy centered on translation, measurement, and visibility of existing change work.
Promoting Protective Factors in California’s Afterschool Programs
June 2021
This report was created by WestEd and commissioned by the California AfterSchool Network.
The report, drawing on data from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), examines the extent to which afterschool programs* may help foster more protective factors among its participants compared to their peers who were not program participants.
Below are some excerpts from the report that outline the Protective Factors Framework and key findings.
Check Out CAN’s Other Newsletters!
Access the CAN newsletter archives to view past newsletters today! You may be interested in some of our other newsletters as well: