Focus on Current Projects

A component of the IPH’s Office of Violence Prevention contract with S.D. County’s Health & Human Services, Raising The Bar is dedicated to developing a county-wide system of care to serve children exposed to violence in San Diego County. Raising The Bar is utilizing a public health model of prevention to address the needs of children exposed to violence. The components of the continuum of care include: Awareness, Prevention, Identification, Screening, Assessment, Treatment/Intervention, and Evaluation.

Raising The Bar will host dialogues in five regions throughout San Diego County: South, East, Central/North Central, North Coastal, and North County Inland. The goal of the dialogues is to build a comprehensive system of care for children exposed to violence. Through a series of facilitated meetings, each region will create a profile of current and desired services for children and families. Services and activities will be identified in the context of the Model Continuum. Barriers to service will also be addressed, and a comprehensive plan will be developed to meet the specific needs of children exposed to violence.

In each geographic area, ‘key contacts’ will be identified to assist with planning, coordinating, and co-facilitating the Regional Dialogues. Their knowledge of the regions, as well as experience with working with community members, groups, and collaboratives, will be invaluable to the success of the regional dialogue. Information gathered from Regional Dialogues will contribute to the development of a county-wide system of care dedicated to serving children exposed to violence with the goal of developing services specific for each region as identified by regional representatives. The model will recognize various points of contact for reaching children and their families, emphasize evidence-based and best practices, and support current activities and successes achieved throughout the county.

IPH is serving as a contractor to achieve these objectives through the Health & Human Services Agency’s Office of Violence Prevention. In this second year of the project, efforts are currently focused on developing community partnerships, hosting interactive dialogues, and building regional continuums.

Focus #1 | Focus #2 | Focus #3

Posted: 09/23/08