WSA_Youth and Family Master Plan Phase I - September 2009

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engaged internally in a process of creating a Youth Services Plan that would include implementation tools for several of the key issues facing the city's youth. In particular, this plan called for the creation of a Strategic Alliance of over 30 organizations, a Youth Commission, and a Youth Alternatives Collaborative (YAC).2 At the time the document was created, it was responding to a need for a more coordinated crime-prevention strategy within the City. In 1998, the Project PRIDE, Minnie Community Action Network, the Empowerment Zone and vVeed and Seed were all intensive, long-term interventions and programs heavily funded by the federal government in an effort to reduce violent crime and gang activity in Santa Ana. In the late 1990's the bulk of the attention was focused on the issues of crime and crime reduction with relatively little attention to the park and open space issues facing the community. At that time, the City of Santa Ana park system had expanded to operate 38 park and recreation facilities and had instituted joint use agreements with SAUSD at several school locations. Nonetheless, the open space at the end of the 1990s was continuing on its downward trajectory; it was only 1.15 acres per 1,000 residents. Although the issue of obesity was not on the public radar at the time, that plan- written well over a decade ago- does resonate with some of the key issues identified in today's YFMP: 1) a need for joint use, 2) a desire to keep the focus of interventions on prevention and 3}the role of evaluation in ensuring effectiveness. Background on Youth and Family Master Plan 2006 was a particularly difficult year for the Santa Ana community; news reports highlighted several suspected gang-affiliated killings and the community coalesced around atown-hall meeting to address the violence (Daniels, 2006}. Following that, in 2007, the release of the Orange County Report on the Conditions of Children was touted in the news with the following headline, "County study: Gangs lure more kids." (Miller, 2007). At that time, amongst headlines such as these, the concept for a Youth Master Plan emerged. The hope was that this plan, in conjunction with the creation of a new commission dedicated to gang prevention (Early Prevention & Intervention Commission}, could provide data, policy and program recommendations tosupport asafe and healthy environment for Santa Ana youth. In 2007 the framework for a Youth & Family Master Plan (YFMP) was set into motion during a City of Santa Ana City Council Retreat (February 14, 2007). In early 2007, the Santa Ana Youth Commission began meeting to discuss the conceptual development of what the desired Youth Master Plan would encompass. Through their meetings, the group identified problems facing youth and based on this data, recommended that Phase I focus on the challenges of obesity and gang activity facing youth. The Youth Commission felt that Phase I of the YFMP should provide staff and Council with recommendations of how organized sports and fitness activities for youth can best be supported and enhanced (Youth Commission, 2007). Upon approval of the resolution for Phase I of a Youth & Family Master Plan by City Council in October 2007, the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency (PRCSA) was tasked with working with the City's Youth Commission to develop an RFP for a team to work with the city on the Phase I assessment. In June 2008, Ersoylu Consulting was chosen as the consultant group to support PRCSA in the assessment. The research presented herein is based exclusively on the requirements of the City's RFP and is aligned with the goals and objectives outlined by the PRCSA. The assessment process began in August 2008 and was completed in July 2009. Phase I of the Santa Ana Youth and Family Master Plan 2 A Memorandum of Support was signed to codify the Strategic Alliance in August 1999 by over 30 organizations committed to coordination of resources, interagency referral and coordinated service delivery. The YAC (created as asub-committee to Santa Ana 2000) merged with the Empowerment Zone Youth Development Committee to oversee implementation of the Youth Services Plan. To date, it is unclearasto whetherthe goal of incorporating the Youth Services Plan as an element intothe City's General Plan has occurred.