Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106196

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

Santa Clara County California has developed a countywide Children's Agenda to improve the lives of children and reduce the ethnic disparities in children's health and well being, especially for Latino children. The Children's Agenda is based on a Results Based Accountability framework where baseline data have been collected for five years, shared goals have been set by the community, indicators for success have been outlined, and on-going evaluation will ascertain the degree to which the community attains improved outcomes for children.

The county has one of the most diverse child populations in the country with large percentages of Caucasian (45%), Latino (25%), and Asian (24%) children. Latino children, however, consistently fare worse than children of other ethnicities in the areas of immunization, child abuse, obesity, teen birth rates, and prenatal care, as evidenced by the 2005 Children's Report. These data from the Children's Report on over 27 indicators provided a catalyst for a countywide effort to develop a Children's Agenda so that county agencies, non-profit organizations, child advocates, and elected officials are working together to improve outcomes for children. The Children's Agenda is based on six goals: 1. Children are Physically Healthy, 2. Children are Socially and Emotionally Healthy, 3. Children Live in a Safe and Stable Environment, 4. Children Succeed in School, 5. The Community Supports Children and Families, and 6. Systems Change. Data will be tracked yearly to evaluate how the countywide initiative will contribute to decreasing disparities by ethnicity and income level.

Learning Objectives:

• Creating a countywide coalition to improve outcomes for children.
• Using data as a baseline to encourage political action.
• Setting goals and determining indicators to guide community action.
• Providing on-going evaluation for community efforts to make public policy change.

Keywords: Community Collaboration, Children's Health

Related Web page: www.appliedsurveyresearch.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation