Welcome to Santa Rosa € s CHOICE
Community Helping Our Indispensable Children Excel
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Background on the City of Santa Rosa Grant Program:
In 2003 the Mayor € s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) and the Mayor € s Advisory Board were created in response to increased gang activity in the City of Santa Rosa. From the beginning there was an understanding that this was not a problem that we could € arrest our way out of € . Gangs are a community-wide problem and require a community-wide response. The community was invited to participate in strategic planning sessions to determine the direction and content of the response needed. There was an outpouring of support. Several committees were formed and much work was accomplished. However, it became obvious that to make real progress, a stable source of funding was needed to provide consistent, long term support and programs for youth and families.
In November 2004, Santa Rosa voters passed a sales tax measure to fund critical public safety improvements in Police, Fire and Recreation & Parks. Expected to generate a total of about $7 million per year for the next 20 years, the sales tax will provide the Recreation & Parks Department with roughly $1.4 million per year to fund crucial youth development programs and other activities designed to address the community € s gang prevention and intervention needs. This includes coordination of the MGPTF Policy Team and Operational Team and start-up and operation of 17 new after-school recreation programs that will provide safe places for children to learn and grow in schools and neighborhood centers throughout Santa Rosa. 35% of the Recreation and Parks share of the revenue each year will fund in-school violence prevention and conflict resolution education, as well as grants to local non-profits providing related services that will enhance youth asset development and reduce risk factors.
The first funding cycle began in 2006 with the release of a Request for Applications seeking services in 5 Target Areas. This 19-month funding cycle began in December 2006, awarding 9 non-profit service agencies to provide 13 gang prevention and intervention programs in four of the five Target Areas.
