WSA_Youth and Family Master Plan Phase I - September 2009

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Data collection on Santa Ana youth must be coordinated and shared regularly to guide program creation. Implementation: Further research must be conducted on the number of unduplicated youth served by all programs. At this time, there is no main data-collection center that coordinates metrics from various city and county databases. In addition, a coordinated effort must be made for all organizations serving youth to ensure that they are regularly evaluating their impact on the health and well-being of the youth. Rationale: An investment in mapping the types of physical activity opportunities offered city-wide can provide a clearer picture of where programs are located, who is being served and identify future needs. With increased program oversight and evaluation, organizations can ensure their work is meeting the desired outcomes. There are many organizations providing physical activity and recreation programming for youth in schools, after-school and on weekends and during the summer. Assessing program effectiveness strengthens accountability- of all partners- in the long term. Organizations in Santa Ana with clear demonstrable evaluation outcomes will be best positioned to take advantage of fundraising opportunities and will provide potential partners with a clearer understanding of the impacts of their community-based youth programs. Only 63% of organizations surveyed reported regularly evaluating their youth interventions and programs; this leaves room for improvement. Focus park funding in park-poor communities. Implementation: Direct future park and open space funding opportunities to the areas with the highest need will have a positive impact on the reduction of childhood obesity. There are several key communities identified throughout this study, as well as through the recent TCE HC initiative that can benefit greatly from increased infrastructure and open space funding. Rationale: There is unequal distribution of parks; in Santa Ana, certain communities remain park-poor while other areas have park spaces that are perceived as unsafe by the community. Certain neighborhoods in Santa Ana fall far below the city's own desire to maintain 2 acres of open space per every 1,000 people. The data demonstrates that, to date, targeted funding via CDBG, state grants or other park development funding, has not been directed toward expansion and upkeep of parks in the city's most park-poor communities. In the future, a coordinated effort between PRCSA and the data from the TPL park inequity assessment and the TCE HC initiative can be used to support this effort. In particular, there is an opportunity for the city and community organizations to work together to influence the state and federal funding guidelines for park funds to ensure that resources can be targeted to the areas of highest local need. Focus joint-use and athletic programming opportunities at schools with the lowest Fitness-gram scores. Implementation: Using the TCE HC target area as a pilot, focus new joint use opportunities at the schools where the catchment areas had students with below-average healthy body compositions from the Fitness gram test. Rationale: Santa Ana schools with the lowest Fitness-gram scores pose the greatest needs in terms of public health benefit. Therefore, for schools with 47-55% healthy body composition listed on p.18}, targeted efforts to expand recreation opportunities at school facilities should be made. In particular, for the schools in this category that also lack a community park within ~/4 mile radius, priority should be given. Close the coordination gap in youth programming- especially for teen programming