 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Sandra J. Martínez, MPH and Nicole J. Jones, MPA. The California Wellness Foundation, 6320 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1700, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
This session will provide an overview of The California Wellness Foundation’s (TCWF) Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI), a ten year $60 million strategic grantmaking program. The goal of the VPI was to improve the health of Californians by reducing violence against youth through a range of statewide prevention efforts. Because youth were and continue to be disproportionately represented as victims of violence, the VPI focused on young people up to the age of 24. In late 1992, the Board of Directors of TCWF approved the first phase of the VPI and grantmaking began the following year. The board authorized the initiative for a 10-year period and allocated $30 million for its first five-year phase. The second phase of the VPI and its allocation of $30 million received final approval in September 1997.
When the VPI began, homicide was the leading cause of death for youth in California. Responses to this issue at that time were largely criminal justice in nature, and there was limited support and funding for programs that viewed this problem as a public health issue. The VPI approached the issue of violence from a public health perspective and supported individuals, organizations and programs to address violence in this manner. The session will review the overall grantmaking program, the lessons learned, and the role that VPI and its grantees had in addressing policy, impacting community norms, and developing the leadership and capacity of practioners to prevent violence against youth.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Violence Prevention, Youth
Related Web page: www.tcwf.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The California Wellness Foundation
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment at The California Wellness Foundation