Recorded presentation

Susan Brutschy, BA, Applied Survey Research, P.O. Box 1927, Watsonville, CA 95077, 831.728.1356, susan@appliedsurveyresearch.org

Over the past nine years, a consortium of public/private agencies and organizations in Santa Cruz County, California, have sponsored the annual Community Assessment Project to measure quality of life. A primary purpose of CAP is to encourage collaborative community action to positively impact community goals. Particularly successful accomplishments are: -An initiative to identify effective strategies to keep children safe in their families and communities. One of these efforts involved a two-year evaluation study to assess the effectiveness home visiting, family resource centers and youth development and recreation. -Two other efforts were funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation: the development of a system to collect countywide data on children who witness domestic violence, and the collection of data through focus groups and school-based surveys to assess youth preferences and needs for after-school activities. -Other community initiatives include the development of a comprehensive prevention plan to reduce teen alcohol and drug use; -The establishment of a collaborative focusing on the achievement of CAP goals within the Latino community; -The commissioning of an in-depth Homeless 2000 Census and Needs Assessment. The report data was critical in securing additional funds and other resources to further study and service homeless persons.

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