Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Initiative

July 04, 2011

Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions

Authors: Jonathan K. London, Nancy Erbstein, Patsy Eubanks Owens, Chris Benner, Michael Rios, Mindy Romero, and jesikah maria ross.

The study (2008-2011) focused on the assessing the well-being of young people ages 12 to 24 in nine counties of the Sacramento region. It was the first study in the nation to examine youth health and well-being on a regional scale and across multiple issues (physical and mental health, education, employment and civic engagement). It documents disparities in resources and opportunities available to the region’s youth based on their geographic location, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, immigration status and other factors.

To answer this question, we must look carefully at the well-being of young people who now inhabit the Capital Region’s nine counties. As go today’s young people – tomorrow’s workers, parents, neighbors, and leaders – so goes the region.

Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions is a collaborative partnership between the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, Sierra Health Foundation and The California Endowment documenting the connections between improvements in youth well-being and regional vitality and prosperity in California’s nine-county Capital Region. Researchers from multiple disciplines examined five critical areas that affect youth well-being: education, health, employment, civic engagement and the built environment. The initiative has produced unique information to support the strategic efforts of policy-makers, funders, nonprofit organizations and businesses to improve both youth well-being and regional success.

Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions employed a mixed-method, multi-disciplinary, and multi-scale approach to understanding the inter-dependence of youth and regional health and well-being.

Final Report

London, Jonathan and Nancy Erbstein, et al. (2011). Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions: Informing Action for the Nine-County Capital Region and its Youth. Davis CA: UC Davis Center for Regional Change

Working Papers on Specific Topics

The HY/HR team developed twelve "working papers" that explore specific topics in much more detail. There are two-page executive summaries and full length reports. The Working Papers approach built on the expertise of each team-member, further promoting cross-team/cross-disciplinary learning, and producing innovative and well-developed analyses at the regional scale.

London, Jonathan K., David Campbell and Michelle Kuhns. 2010. California’s Capital Region: A Place in Progress. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Full Report

Burciaga, Rebecca, and Nancy Erbstein. 2010. Challenging Assumptions, Revealing Community Cultural Wealth: Young Adult Wisdom on Hope in Hardship. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Benner, Chris, Gloria M. Rodriguez, Bidita Tithi, & Cassie Hartzog. 2010. Cost of Dropouts in the Capital Region. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Breslau, Joshua, Gloria M. Rodriguez, Nancy Erbstein, Rebeca Burciaga, and Cassie Hartzog. 2010. Educating for Equity: An Analysis of the Capital Region Educational Pipeline. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Rios, Michael, David Campbell, and Mindy Romero. 2010. Imagining the Spaces of Regional Action: Framing Youth Problems and Solutions. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis

Full Report

Geraghty, Estella, Nancy Erbstein, and Teri Greenfield. 2010. Index of Youth Vulnerability. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Geraghty, Estella, Cassie Hartzog, and Nancy Erbstein. 2010. An Analysis of Youth Well-Being in the Capital Region. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Putting Youth on the Map: A Pilot Instrument for Assessing Youth Well-Being.

Benner, Chris, Gideon Mazinga and Ganlin Huang. 2010. Race, Space and Youth Labor Market Opportunities in the Capital Region. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis

Erbstein, Nancy, Rebeca Burciaga, Gloria M. Rodriguez. 2010. Regional Matters: Through Young People’s Eyes. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Geraghty, Estella M. 2010. Understanding Youth Health in the Capital Region. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis

Romero, Mindy, Jonathan London, with Nancy Erbstein. 2010. Opportunities and Challenges for Youth Civic Engagement. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

Eubanks Owens, Patsy, Alyssa A. Nelson, Amanda Perry, and Kindra F. Montgomery-Block. 2010. Youth Voice Matters: Toward Healthy Youth Environments. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.

London, Jonathan K., Nancy Erbstein, Chris Benner, Patsy Eubanks Owens, Gloria M. Rodriguez, Michael Rios, Mindy Romero, Rebeca Burciaga, Kindra Montgomery-Block, Anne-Marie Flynn. 2011. Multi-Disciplinary Research Methodology for Healthy Youth Healthy Regions. Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Working Paper. Center for Regional Change, UC Davis.