Title
Receive an oral presentation on the new award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Monterey County STRYVE: Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere Initiative to prevent both youth violence and teen dating violence.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors Health & Human Services Committee:
Receive an oral presentation on the new award from the CDC to the Monterey County STRYVE Program to prevent both youth violence and teen dating violence.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The purpose of the new funding from CDC is to further expand the Monterey County Health Department’s (MCHD) capacity to prevent youth violence (YV) and now, teen dating violence (TDV). This opportunity is timely as Salinas, the area of interest in the grant, continues to show a significant decline in violent crime and youth victimization. Violence persists at high levels however, forcing parents to keep their kids indoors, while gang members shoot in broad day light. With the additional funding, our STRYVE initiative will be able to expand and enhance existing prevention strategies to new target populations and areas of Salinas; as well as add a new strategy, Safe Dates.
While YV has declined significantly, crime data related to domestic violence among youth, ages 10-24 remains unchanged over the last six (6) years. MCHD’s STRYVE Team continues to leverage its experience along with their collaborative partners and existing strategies to similarly impact TDV. The continued funding will support our existing coalition, the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP), to embrace the work of agencies focusing on domestic violence and developing healthy teen relationships, with a new understanding of the link between youth violence and teen dating violence.
By 2021, we expect to see decreased rates of TDV victimization and perpetration, and a continued decrease in the rates of YV victimization and perpetration, in the City of Salinas. The STRYVE program will accomplish these long-term outcomes by addressing the shared risk and protective factors of reduced violent social problem-solving, increased family support/connectedness, improved neighborhood support and cohesion, and reduced witnessing of violence at home, in school and the community.
The STRYVE’s role is to ensure quality implementation, evaluate strategies, track their reach and number of TDV and YV activities, and provide technical assistance on sustainability, using performance measures to guide the work. Additionally, the STRYVE program will achieve increased reach to middle school youth by expanding Olweus beyond elementary schools and add a Cyber Bullying prevention component. Safe Dates will be provided in 3 high schools, as well as a target population of students in non-traditional high schools, involved in the juvenile justice system. To increase the safety of residents and the neighborhoods themselves in the higher crime area of Alisal, this proposal seeks to expand Strengthening Families to new sites in the Alisal; and to expand CPTED by incorporating that strategy into the development of the City’s Alisal Vibrancy Plan.
Monterey County Health Department’s STRYVE Program appreciates the County Board of Supervisors’ ongoing support of public health efforts to prevent both youth violence and teen dating violence.
This work supports the following Monterey County Health Department 2011-2015 strategic plan initiatives: 1) Empower the community to improve health through programs, policies, and activities; and 2) Enhance community health and safety by emphasizing prevention. This work also supports one or more of the ten essential public health services, specifically: 5) Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
City of Salinas, Community Safety Division is a partner in implementation of STRYVE.
FINANCING:
There is no impact to the General Fund resulting from receipt of this oral presentation.
Prepared by: Linda McGlone, Senior Health Educator, 4619
Approved by: Elsa Jimenez, Director of Health, 4526