Michelle Robyn Castaneda, EdM¹, Virginia R Chomitz, PhD¹, Henrietta Davis, MSP MPA², David Link, MD³, and Karen Ann Hacker, MD, MPH¹. (1) Institute for Community Health, 119 Windsor St., Ground Level, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617-665-3807, vchomitz@challiance.org, (2) City Council, City of Cambridge, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, (3) Department of Pediatrics, Cambridge Health Alliance, 1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

The Healthy Children Task Force (HCTF) is a coalition devoted to promoting children’s health in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Co-chaired by the Chief of Pediatrics for the Cambridge Health Alliance and a city councilor, the task force draws from elected officials, school personnel, public health care providers, and community organizations to develop innovative solutions to shared priority health issues. The goal of the task force is to use prevention strategies and existing community resources to enhance and link programs in areas such as mental health, dental health, violence prevention, asthma management, and other pressing issues. Local graduate students often staff these efforts.

HCTF discussions have culminated in many successes, including healthy weight promotion. Successful grant applications include: Growing Healthy- a school garden and food service program, BASH- a home-based non-caloric beverage intervention, and PEP- enhanced physical education programming. Policies and programs have been developed, such as: a school-based height, weight, and fitness surveillance and reporting project and healthy eating policies for school snacks and vending machine foods. Community resource guides include: “Cambridge Moves,” a directory of physical activity programs for children, and the “Overweight Programs in Greater Boston” handbook.

With thirteen years of successful partnerships, HCTF continues to bring together diverse agencies in a neutral, collaborative environment. A new task force initiative for focusing community assets and engaging grassroots partners is the development of parent forums for input on priority areas. With plans to continue outreach, HCTF looks forward to another decade of linking and enhancing resources to community needs.

Learning Objectives:

• 1)Describe a model of collaboration that catalyzes project successes with minimal resources.
• 2)Recognize the value of networking and community collaborations to propel programs and reduce duplication of efforts.

Keywords: Child Health Promotion, Community-Based Partnership

Related Web page: www.icommunityhealth.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.