Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions

In 2008, we commissioned an innovative two-year study with the UC Davis Center for Regional Change to analyze youth well-being in the nine-county Sacramento Capital Region. Titled Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions, the study also was supported by The California Endowment. Study findings and recommendations were released in July 2011 and document the connections between improvements in youth well-being and regional prosperity.

Researchers from multiple disciplines examined four critical areas that affect youth well-being: education, health, employment, civic engagement and the built environment. The study produced information to support the strategic efforts of policymakers, funders, nonprofit organizations and businesses to reduce youth disparities and improve youth well-being in the region, and to promote long-term economic, social and cultural health.

"We hope this study will provide the information needed for sectors throughout our region to determine where investment in young people is needed to ensure their health and well-being, which in turn will allow them to contribute to the region's ability to remain competitive and prosperous in the global economy," said Sierra Health Foundation President and CEO Chet Hewitt.

Download the Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Executive Summary (PDF).

Download the Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions Report (PDF).

Learn more about the Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions study and download the study's 12 working papers on the UC Davis Center for Regional Change web site.

Read the UC Davis news release online.