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National Links

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Community Access Program (CAP)
Examples of successful community initiatives to provide health care for uninsured residents, including:

• creating networks to share uncompensated care more fairly among local health providers;
• linking hospital and clinic services through state-of-the-art data systems that share information and create seamless transitions for uninsured patients; and
• funding managed care networks for the indigent through local tax increases.

Universal Health Care Action Network Resources
UHCAN is a national resource and strategic center to help build the capacity of the movement for health care justice and facilitate the development of strategies to create a U.S. health care system that is universal, comprehensive, high quality, affordable, and publicly accountable. Includes description of strategies and campaigns and hands-on resources for local community organizing.

ORGANIZING FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

National Family Support Mapping Project
The NFSM Project maintains a national database of information on family support programs. This site identifies and links to Arizona family support projects.

Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health
Seeks to build the organizational capacity and sustainability of parent and other community-based organizations working to eliminate children's environmental health threats, such as lead poisoning, in communities at highest risk.

Children's Defense Fund (CDF)
CDF works to improve practice and policies that affect large numbers of children (rather than just helping families on a case by case basis). Strategies include: meeting children's needs, preventing poverty, advocating for children, and engaging faith communities.

Child Health Toolbox - Measuring Performance in Child Health Programs Access, Quality, and Health Service Delivery
An online resource to help state and local policymakers and program directors answer questions about measuring health care performance in child health programs. Includes tips and tools for evaluating Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Title V, and other health care service programs for children.

Annie E. Casey Foundation
AECF promotes public policies, improved human services, and community supports to help states, cities, and neighborhoods do a better job of supporting children and families. Includes numerous publications and information about AECF initiatives in Child Welfare, Neighborhood Development, Welfare Reform, Education, Fatherhood, Government Reform, Health, Juvenile Justice, Research/Evaluation, and Youth Development. Links to successful community development projects, including tools, resources, and implementation guidelines.

KIDSCOUNT
A national AECF initiative to track the educational, economic, social, and physical well-being of children in the United States.

Plain Talk: The Story of a Community-Based Strategy to Reduce Teen Pregnancy (1999)
Plain Talk is a neighborhood-based initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation aimed at helping adults, parents, and community leaders develop the skills and tools they need to communicate effectively with young people about reducing adolescent sexual risk taking. Includes Plain Talk Starter Kit and information and resources from five successful community programs.

Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERNet)
Information related to Child, Youth, Parent and Family, Community, and Evaluation. Includes information and links to strategies for building family resiliency.

HEALTH PROMOTION AND PREVENTION INITIATIVES

Healthy People 2010 Toolkit - Field Guide to Community Planning
Toolkit provides technical tools,and resources to help states, territories, and tribes develop successful Healthy People 2010 plans and other local health-planning projects. Includes seven major "action areas":

• Building the Foundation: Leadership and Structure
• Identifying and Securing Resources
• Identifying and Engaging Community Partners
• Setting Health Priorities and Establishing Objectives
• Obtaining Baseline Measures, Setting Targets, and Measuring Progress
• Managing and Sustaining the Process
• Communicating Health Goals and Objectives

Using Performance Monitoring to Improve Community Health: Conceptual Framework and Community Experience
How performance monitoring can be used to promote improvements in community health. Includes community interventions to improve health, selecting health issues and performance indicators, and descriptions of five community performance monitoring projects.

GENERAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND TOOLS

Community Tool Box
Contains "how-to" tools related to community health and development issues, including leadership, strategic planning, community assessment, advocacy, grant writing, and evaluation . Includes guidelines, examples, checklists, and training materials.

University of Illinois Community Development Toolbox
An online environment where rural people pursuing community development goals are empowered to make better decisions as they solve problems facing their communities. Information and tools for community benchmarking, community planning, and community surveys.

Virginia Organizing Project - Organizing Toolbox
Links to a variety of grass-roots organizing tools for developing strong community organizations.

EMPOWER: Enabling Methods of Planning and Organizing within Everyone's Reach
A software program to assist health educators and practitioners in planning and implementing community health programs. EMPOWER illustrates how models and interventions for health promotion or community health programs can be integrated systematically.

The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD)
Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research - Practical resources and tools for to help community builders identify and mobilize neighborhood assets. Includes numerous workbooks for community mobilization and change, a community capacity inventory, links to other community capacity-building resources, and an Electronic Discussion Group - for community builders to share their experiences and ideas.

Community Organizing Toolbox: A Funder's Guide to Community Organizing
A guide to help grantmakers and funders learn about community development and how to undertake community organizing grantmaking.

Community Engagement: Definitions and Organizing Concepts
Information from the Centers for Disease Control about community engagement, coalition-building, and capacity-building - concepts and key elements for success.

Handsnet
Online resource to help the human services community integrate online strategies and strengthen program/ policy work on behalf of people in need. Includes WebClipper service to facilitate information exchange and collaboration among nonprofits and offers a training program of classes, management seminars and strategic planning workshops for nonprofit professionals.

Outcome Measurement Resource Network
Resources and Initiatives of United Way of America. Includes Online Resource Library, with program outcome measures and resources for targeted community interventions - strategies, tools, methods, and case studies.