California: Advancing Safe Routes to School Programs through Coordination of National, State and Local Efforts

This presentation describes three levels of SRTS programming in California; the nationally sponsored efforts including the SRTS National Partnership, the National Center for SRTS and the School State Network Project, the California Department of Public Health and WALKSacramento. The individual roles of each level of programming and methods used to optimize program impacts through collaboration will be described.

National Support: The National Safe Routes to School Program provides significant and varied types of support. The National Partnership focuses on advocacy, the Center for Safe Routes to School provides program implementation support and the State Network Project leverages SRTS resources by creating state level stakeholder networks.

State Support: California Department of Public Health received funding to establish the SRTS Statewide Technical Assistance Resource Center (STARC). STARC includes the development of a coordinating task force, state and local level technical assistance to funded grantees and those seeking to submit applications and coordination of infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects within regions.

Local Support: WALKSacramento has partnered with school districts and Sacramento county in writing SRTS grants for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects, have secured two SRTS planning grants including the Sacramento County Safe Routes 5 E's Project.

WALKSacramento will continue to use state and national resources to grow local Safe Routes efforts. State and national partners will provide assistance with the first Sacramento Safe Routes regional conference.

Opportunities to expand collaboration within other states will be explored. Time for interaction with session participants to share their state's efforts will be included.