SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Board of Directors of the Rosenberg Foundation in September approved grants totaling $477,000 to support seven organizations throughout California, supporting innovative initiatives aimed at reducing prison rates for women, enhancing services for child victims of violence and creating pathways to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals.

The Foundation awarded $100,000 to the East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy (EBASE) to advance economic and social justice for working families in the East Bay region through policy advocacy, research and organizing.  EBASE intends to take advantage of major development projects, such as the redevelopment of the massive Oakland, Calif., Army Base, to ensure high quality job opportunities for area residents, with a priority on employment for the formerly incarcerated.

In addition, the Foundation awarded $65,000 to the Family Violence Prevention Fund to begin a multi-year initiative to prevent children’s exposure to violence and promote services to child victims. The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder estimates that up to 35 percent of urban youth exposed to community violence have PTSD. Data from the Justice Policy Institute shows that between 75 and 93 percent of youth incarcerated in America have experienced at least one traumatic experience.

The Women’s Foundation of California received $60,000 to plan a multi-year communications and policy campaign to reduce the number of women prisoners in California and strengthen public support for alternatives to incarceration, such as reentry and rehabilitation. California has the largest population of women prisoners in the country.