Communities demonstrate what it takes to make joint use work

Introduction: Many communities across California lack safe, accessible places for community members to be physically active. Access to no- or low-cost public spaces for physical activity plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of obesity and overweight. Schools often provide the only space for recreation and physical activity for students, families, and the community, yet school gates are often locked during non-school hours. Joint use allows schools to share use of their recreational facilities during non-school hours with community members when no other options are available for physical activity. Methods: Five organizations in low income, low resource communities in California received Communities Putting Prevention to Work funding over 18 months to advance joint use of school facilities. Funded agencies received training and technical assistance to build their capacity to work with local school district and community leaders to develop and adopt district joint use policies/agreements. Evaluation consists of pre and post surveys of grantee leaders, post-surveys for trainings, tracking of grantee policy development and adoption, key informant interviews, and a state-wide policy survey of key community leaders to determine supports and barriers for joint use. Results: Preliminary evaluation findings suggest improvements in participants' knowledge and capacity to advance joint use practices. Evaluation findings point to common barriers and supports for advancing joint use and partners needed to adopt and implement joint use policies. Conclusions/Discussion: Joint use of school facilities policies/agreements optimize resources and provide expanded opportunities for school-community partnerships.