261274 California Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center: A Model for Safe Routes to School Program Promotion

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Kristin Haukom, MPH , Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, CA
Background: The California Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center (TARC) is a statewide program that provides Safe Routes to School (SRTS) technical assistance to local schools and communities, especially those that are low-income and rural, in order to promote walking and biking to and from school as healthy and safe ways for children to get their daily physical activity. TARC is a product of an innovative partnership between the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). It is the first time that a state department of public health and a state department of transportation have joined forces to address children's health and safety through SRTS. Purpose: TARC staff work with local schools and communities throughout California to improve their ability to compete for SRTS funds and establish and maintain successful SRTS programs. Significance: Since TARC was established in 2009, significant improvements have been made in the way Caltrans has implemented the SRTS program statewide, including: 1) Favoring SRTS programs that emphasize the promotion of walking and biking to school and incorporate pedestrian/bicycle safety education; 2) Improving the competiveness of low-income and rural communities to obtain SRTS funding; and 3) Establishing tools and resources for schools and communities to grow and maintain successful SRTS programs. Conclusions/Recommendations: A review of the TARC model will help towns, cities, counties, and states learn how they can establish a similar SRTS technical assistance program in order to support SRTS programs in their communities.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
1) Explain how public health and transportation can work together to promote walking and bicycling to school; and 2) Describe ways to implement a Safe Routes to School technical assistance program to promote safe walking and bicycling to and from school.

Keywords: School Health, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am one of only four California Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center (TARC) Regional Coordinators and have been a part of TARC since its inception. I plan and implement TARC strategies and objectives. In addition, I have a masters in public health and over 10 years of public health experience working and presenting at both the state and local levels.
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.