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2007 Winner
Type: City, School, Community Collaboration to Create a Healthy Community
The City has responded to America's health crisis by creating the Healthy Chino Coalition. The mission of the coalition is "to increase healthy lifestyles options and the quality of life for our community". Healthy Chino is comprised of community leaders, schools, businesses, medical professionals, churches, service organizations and dedicated residents working together. The Chino City Council has supported this effort by passing a resolution establishing Chino as a healthy community and has dedicated funding in each of the last three fiscal years. The school district has also passed a similar resolution. The City is developing a Healthy Chino element in the City's General Plan Update, has worked with a developer to develop safe walkable neighborhoods, and created a community garden and a related farmers market. The city has developed the Mental Health Guide for the Chino Valley. Healthy Chino incorporates strategies for nutritional education and access to healthy foods, and increasing physical activity.
2007 Winner
Type: Tolerance and Diversity, City School Community Collaboration
The City of Santa Fe Springs takes leadership and responsibility for teaching tolerance and peace in order to achieve a safe and healthy social environment. The City has a philosophy of tolerance, respect for family diversity, inclusion and advocacy for children built through strategies where "collaboration is a cornerstone". The Interagency Juvenile Task Force is a collaboration of the City of Santa Fe Springs, three school districts, the Chamber of Commerce, the local community college, and non-profit groups. Each year the city holds the Student/Community Diversity Summit to develop greater tolerance and sensitivity to cultural, age, ethnic, social and gender strengths. All day off-campus summits feature education presentations, interactive discussion and workshops followed by action plans for the community, the students and the schools. These plans are monitored for implementation and outcomes during the year and evaluated at future summits. Over 44,000 students 3,000 educators, city staff and members of the business community and 500 parents have participated in the summits.
2007 Winner
Type: Comprehensive Services to Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and Sexually Exploited Minors
The Alameda County Family Justice Center is a one-stop, multi-agency, government/non-profit center serving victims of domestic violence, their children, adult and child sexual assault victims and sexually exploited minors. Prior to the center, victims had to navigate a system of public and private services that were fragmented. The Center brings comprehensive services together in one location with staff from the District Attorney's office, Probation, Oakland Police Special Victims Unit, Public Health, Social Services, and many non-profit providers.. The Center is funded from grants, a surcharge on vital records, a local ballot measure and each participating organization paying their own staff. After two years the county has experienced no costs for the center! Deaths from domestic violence have been reduced from 26 in 2005 to 3 in 2006 and many population previously underserved like immigrant women, and deaf women and children are now receiving comprehensive services. Through a video relay system the center is linked to the entire county so that victims can access its services throughout the county.
2007 Winner
Type: Providing Higher Education to Unserved County, Employment Development
The Amador Learning Center is a collaboration of Amador County, the Amador County Unified School District and the Consumnes River College. The Center provides a community threshold to education and knowledge for the county population. It makes available the opportunity to gain and maintain higher levels of education and vocational training and a sustainable employment base of knowledgeable workers that will improve Amador County's economic development. Prior to the collaborative, Amador was one of only two counties not aligned with a community college district. The Learning Center, which consists of two classrooms located near a high school, provides both on-site and distance learning access. The collaborative has established the Amador Community College Foundation, which is committed to promoting and maintaining a formal community college presence in the county.
2007 Winner
Type: Academic Support for English Learners, Volunteerism
The Pio Pico Academy Volunteer Mentor Program engages adult volunteers throughout the community to provide one-on-one support to English Learners in order to improve their academic achievement in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Pio Pico is located in a densely populate area with 26,000 youth under the age of 18 in the one square mile surrounding the school. The program has been in existence for 11 years. During 2005-2006, 80% of the program participants demonstrated at least one year's growth in reading within five months of participating in the program. This is 20% better than the general population. The program is both results and relationship oriented. The program collaborates with the county, the city, private industry, higher education and community and demonstrates the power of volunteerism. Over 160adult volunteers mentored over 100 students in grades 3-5. A primary source of volunteers is the County of Orange. In 1998 Orange County passed a resolution that allows county employees a flexible lunch in order to volunteer in their local community and has assigned a County Volunteer Coordinator to work with the Pio Pico project. The project began at Pio Pico and has spread to over 50 other schools in the district.
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