WSA_Youth and Family Master Plan Phase I - September 2009

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Coordination Coordination is an issue at the internal level- coordination of city and leagues. The leagues do not have a system to allocate fields to the leagues based on the location of the youth in the league. Although the city has implemented a GIS tracking system for the players, the goal of locating a league at a field where the highest percent of youth live nearby has not been fully realized. This is because the preference of the league does not necessarily align with the geographic preferences of families. Leagues choose their fields based on their individual preference and their perception of whether the field is `a good field' or not. Coaches and league administrators base critical league and team decisions on skill and division of play rather than proximity of fields to the players' homes (therefore impacting ease of parental transportation which 46% of parents identified as the primary barrier). As the parent survey demonstrated, the location of league games and practices is a constant concern, so this issue could potentially increase coordination and ease the burdens on families, allowing more youth to play regularly. V. Implications & recommendations The analysis conducted for Phase I of the Youth & Family Master Plan has identified recommendations that will also be informed by the overall program goals of the City of Santa Ana Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency. These are: / Increase places for youth to play sports, with expansion of joint-use areas as a key approach. / Increase the effectiveness of programming on existing recreational space. / Encourage healthy eating at parks and recreation facilities. / As part of the Safe Active Living United Districts (SALUD) program: o Encourage healthy life styles at all Santa Ana homes. o Maintain public safety at all parks and recreational facilities. o Keep all parks green, clean and beautiful. The recommendations fall into two categories: community opportunities and soccer program opportunities. Each recommendation is listed below and followed by a rationale that links that recommendation to supporting data. This is followed by a table connecting these recommendations with relevant outcome areas of the California Endowment's Healthy Communities initiative. When we examine the implications of the Youth & Family Master Plan within the framework of the California Endowment's Healthy Community Initiative (TCE HC), it is clear that implementing the recommendations can support the TCE HC 10 year objectives within Santa Ana. Several recommendations are aligned with the TCE HC initiative outcomes, specifically outcomes #3- #10: 3. Health &family-focused human services shift resources toward prevention. 4. Residents live in communities with health promoting land use, transportation and community development. 5. Children and their families are safe from violence in their homes and neighborhoods. 6. Communities support healthy youth development. 1. Neighborhood and school environments support improved health and healthy behaviors. 8. Community health improvements are linked to economic development. 9. Health gaps for young men and boys of color are narrowed. 10. California has a shared vision of community health. Community opportunities