82
address the needs and assets of Santa Cruz
County relative to youth violence (United Way of
Santa Cruz County n.d.). The YVPTF utilized
CAP data and leveraged the RBA format to
develop its strategic plan, which included
evidence- based strategies to help turn the curve
on youth violence in the county. The strategic
plan continues to ensure that both organizational
partners and community members have a shared
understanding of their roles in supporting the
community’s youth, both now and in the future.
The long-term commitment of the YVPTF’s
members is also emphasized. Prior to establishing the YVPTF, Santa Cruz County had first
gained notoriety for its use of RBA in successfully turning the curve on youth substance abuse.
The initiative, Together for Youth (now
Community Prevention Partners), implemented
strategies that influenced data trends, bending
them toward desired results (Friedman 2015).
Undeniably, change is ever a constant, and the
CAP’s efforts to innovate have hardly stood still
as the years have advanced. In fall 2018, with
continued leadership from United Way, the CAP
unveiled a new product, the Children and Youth
Well-being Spotlight (CYWB). This document
has focused on the most salient indicators impacting the wellbeing of the community’s young people. Remaining mindful of the importance of
social connectedness, these measures are organized under four headings: economic wellbeing,
education, health, and family and community.
While the CAP took steps in past reporting years
to more closely position its efforts beyond the
community level, such as alignment with the
Social Determinants of Health, in similar form,
the CYWB made specific connections to the
aspirations of the SDGs with its release.
Explicit integration of the SDGs into this and
future efforts illustrate how Santa Cruz County
continues to iteratively improve itself and its
partnerships. Moreover, disparities were called
out in the CYWB data. This shined a light on
existing inequities within the county, with the
intended goals of inciting interest, spurring
engagement, and inspiring action. By focusing
on those children and youth who were not at
grade level or who did not earn their high school
diplomas, the report emphasized the necessity of
creating goals that would change trajectories for
more vulnerable populations.
The life course of the CAP project has supported all the conditions necessary to localize the
SDGs, providing solid framework for the CYWB
to build upon. Indeed, this framework allowed
the leadership of the CYWB to quickly mobilize
under shared purpose, developing both an ambitious report and a dynamic, web-based tool to
help improve the lives of all young people in the
county (Fig. 6.4).
Now Santa Cruz County is moving ahead with
the next phase—a natural integration with the
United Nations’ SDGs, which help to achieve
wellbeing for all people. Adopted by Member
States of the United Nations in 2015, the 17
Sustainable Development Goals set forth an
ambitious agenda outlining the path to wellbeing
for all by 2030, importantly recognizing the
interconnectedness of strategies necessary for
accomplishing these goals (United Nations n.d.).
By connecting the work of the CYWB to the
SDGs, the ways in which real and tangible results
are realized locally can be connected back to
global efforts of the UN’s SDGs. Normalizing
the SDGs through named inclusion in CAP products encourages familiarity with the goals themselves as well as with the greater motivation for
their initial establishment—to build a better
world for everyone by 2030.
6.7
Conclusion
This article demonstrates how the United
Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals can be
leveraged to help communities around the world
set workable and equitable goals to help improve
quality of life for their residents. Santa Cruz
County has been progressing for 25 years, thanks
to its Community Assessment Project, which provides a clear overview of community quality of
life, the successes in making positive changes,
and the direction to improve less-than-ideal conditions. By incorporating the UN’s SDGs into its
existing Social Determinants of Health, the
S. Brutschy et al.
address the needs and assets of Santa Cruz
County relative to youth violence (United Way of
Santa Cruz County n.d.). The YVPTF utilized
CAP data and leveraged the RBA format to
develop its strategic plan, which included
evidence- based strategies to help turn the curve
on youth violence in the county. The strategic
plan continues to ensure that both organizational
partners and community members have a shared
understanding of their roles in supporting the
community’s youth, both now and in the future.
The long-term commitment of the YVPTF’s
members is also emphasized. Prior to establishing the YVPTF, Santa Cruz County had first
gained notoriety for its use of RBA in successfully turning the curve on youth substance abuse.
The initiative, Together for Youth (now
Community Prevention Partners), implemented
strategies that influenced data trends, bending
them toward desired results (Friedman 2015).
Undeniably, change is ever a constant, and the
CAP’s efforts to innovate have hardly stood still
as the years have advanced. In fall 2018, with
continued leadership from United Way, the CAP
unveiled a new product, the Children and Youth
Well-being Spotlight (CYWB). This document
has focused on the most salient indicators impacting the wellbeing of the community’s young people. Remaining mindful of the importance of
social connectedness, these measures are organized under four headings: economic wellbeing,
education, health, and family and community.
While the CAP took steps in past reporting years
to more closely position its efforts beyond the
community level, such as alignment with the
Social Determinants of Health, in similar form,
the CYWB made specific connections to the
aspirations of the SDGs with its release.
Explicit integration of the SDGs into this and
future efforts illustrate how Santa Cruz County
continues to iteratively improve itself and its
partnerships. Moreover, disparities were called
out in the CYWB data. This shined a light on
existing inequities within the county, with the
intended goals of inciting interest, spurring
engagement, and inspiring action. By focusing
on those children and youth who were not at
grade level or who did not earn their high school
diplomas, the report emphasized the necessity of
creating goals that would change trajectories for
more vulnerable populations.
The life course of the CAP project has supported all the conditions necessary to localize the
SDGs, providing solid framework for the CYWB
to build upon. Indeed, this framework allowed
the leadership of the CYWB to quickly mobilize
under shared purpose, developing both an ambitious report and a dynamic, web-based tool to
help improve the lives of all young people in the
county (Fig. 6.4).
Now Santa Cruz County is moving ahead with
the next phase—a natural integration with the
United Nations’ SDGs, which help to achieve
wellbeing for all people. Adopted by Member
States of the United Nations in 2015, the 17
Sustainable Development Goals set forth an
ambitious agenda outlining the path to wellbeing
for all by 2030, importantly recognizing the
interconnectedness of strategies necessary for
accomplishing these goals (United Nations n.d.).
By connecting the work of the CYWB to the
SDGs, the ways in which real and tangible results
are realized locally can be connected back to
global efforts of the UN’s SDGs. Normalizing
the SDGs through named inclusion in CAP products encourages familiarity with the goals themselves as well as with the greater motivation for
their initial establishment—to build a better
world for everyone by 2030.
6.7
Conclusion
This article demonstrates how the United
Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals can be
leveraged to help communities around the world
set workable and equitable goals to help improve
quality of life for their residents. Santa Cruz
County has been progressing for 25 years, thanks
to its Community Assessment Project, which provides a clear overview of community quality of
life, the successes in making positive changes,
and the direction to improve less-than-ideal conditions. By incorporating the UN’s SDGs into its
existing Social Determinants of Health, the
S. Brutschy et al.