Child Development Associate Program
PFS has launched our Early Learning Child Development Associate (CDA) Training Program in early 2022, and have gone through the first cohort. We are exiting the pilot phase and now planning our second cohort for the fall.
The purpose of the CDA program is to support individuals with a pathway to a rewarding career working with children and at the same time to increase our teacher pipeline. Graduates will earn not only their CDA Certification but will also be eligible for an Associate Teacher permit.
One-to-One Financial Coaching 
Living in the Bay Area is expensive, and money is a constant stress. Even for people with financial goals, unexpected costs can alter the best-laid plans. Car repairs, medical emergencies, and other contingencies all contribute to an ongoing sense of instability and stress. Participants try to save money for long-term aspirations, but savings are often unexpectedly drained by unforeseen circumstances, setting back personal goals.
We have pivoted to providing more in depth one-to-one financial coaching to empower people to move beyond basic budgeting and learn how to apply skills to their individual challenges.
Peer Counseling
We are retiring the term “Senior Peer Counseling” and moving forward with an aging positive “Peer Counseling” Program.
For the first time since before COVID-19, PFS has trained five new Spanish speaking Peer Counselors called “La Esperanza Vive” that will be matched with five people in need of peer support.
Veronika Park, PFS Peer Counseling Coordinator- Latinx, led the training alongside a professional Clinical Supervisor, to make a comfortable and confidential environment so that questions and concerns could be openly discussed.
“Heavy topics such as grief, mental health, Alzheimer’s, and domestic abuse are discussed at length with the peer counselors. Throughout the training, the group empathy was very apparent. Some of these topics, like grief, is something we could all relate too. The support everyone displayed proved to me how well they would all do as counselors.” Said Veronika.