227335 Evaluating “First 5” Community Health Efforts and Addressing Health Disparities in San Bernardino County

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Miki Carpenter, MPH, PhD , Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino County, Alta Loma, CA
Inez Denson, MEd , First 5 San Bernardino, Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino County, San Bernardino, CA
Sonia Taddy-Sandino, MPIA , Harder+Company Community Research, Los Angeles, CA
John Pi, MBA , First 5 San Bernardino, Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino County, San Bernardino, CA
The County of San Bernardino in California is home to over 1.7 million residents in a geographic area that encompasses over 20,000 square miles, representing the largest county in the nation. The Children and Families Commission for San Bernardino County (First 5 San Bernardino) was funded in December of 1998, through Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Act. This legislation created a program for the purpose of promoting, supporting, and improving the early development of children from the prenatal stage to five years of age.

In the 2008-2009 fiscal year, First 5 San Bernardino funded over 70 programs totaling over $25.4 million. These programs reached over 41,000 individuals through diverse county-wide programs for children 0-5, their families, and professionals serving these populations.

Evaluation both internally and externally has been an important component of the First 5 program since its inception. The challenges of a multi-program, county-wide evaluation effort are many and solutions and best practices will be discussed. Additionally, approaches to assess health disparities throughout the county and addressing them through funding efforts will also be examined.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice

Learning Objectives:
1. List the key challenges associated with a multi-program evaluation project. 2. Develop a plan to prioritize data needs in program evaluation. 3. Identify the steps to ensure that racial disparities are considered in a community assessment. 4. Compare the differences between internal and external evaluation.

Keywords: Evaluation, Community Health Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I oversee all internal evaluation efforts for First 5 San Bernardino.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4140.0: The Burden of Health Disparities: A Call to Action