The AIA is excited to provide community assessment assistance through the 100% Community model by Katherine Ortega Courtney, Ph.D. and Dominic Capello.

(Source: www.communityfoundationofsouthernnewmexico.org/working-together/anna-age-eight-institute/.).

100% Communities Alaska provides a framework for assessing the availability of the ten vital services needed for well-being.  There are five vital services that no one should do without, which we call “surviving services.”  These include safe housing, secure food, transportation, medical care, and behavioral health care.  In addition to the “surviving services,” we know well-being is optimized when community members have access to “thriving services.”  These “thriving services” include early childhood learning programs, community schools, job training, youth mentorship, and parent supports.

The goal is to improve accessibility to each vital service until we reach 100% accessibility for all Alaskans.  As each community in Alaska works through its 100% Communities Alaska assessment and action plan, the AIA will create and display a community dashboard of their plan along with their learnings and progress.  The combination of local 100% Communities Alaska plans creates a statewide work plan for improvement in these 10 vital service areas.

“We know that by investing in strong local systems of care, safety, and education, we can decrease health disparities along with adverse childhood experiences, trauma, substance misuse, violence, and untreated mental health problems.” – Katherine Ortega Courtney Ph.D. and Dominic Capello.

• Communities interested in conducting a 100% Communities Alaska assessment contact the AIA to receive implementation support.
• The community identifies and gathers a backbone team that represents one or two key stakeholders in each of the ten vital service areas (or as many areas as they want to assess).
• The AIA works with the community Backbone Team to design and conduct a survey for their community that assesses current accessibility to the ten vital services.  The AIA provides Qualtrics survey tools and design support.  The survey results identify an accessibility baseline for the community’s plan.
• The survey results are shared with the community via gatherings or other communication channels.  Community members are invited to provide feedback, identify barriers to vital services, and volunteer for the Action Teams they are interested in.  Action Teams represent the advocates and professionals leading the work in their vital services area. A community may have existing coalitions that operate as their Action Teams.  The goal is not to duplicate efforts but to bring together teams working on individual vital services within a community for a more holistic community wellbeing plan.
• The community Backbone Team creates a list of providers for the ten vital services in the area.  The AIA adds these providers to the vital services resource page here.
• Vital services providers assist the Backbone Team in identifying policies and programs that can potentially improve accessibility in their community.
• The AIA provides training and coaching for Action Teams as needed.  These trainings include best practices for community convening, effective leadership, and sustainable implementation.
• The community Backbone Team and the AIA conduct ongoing support and evaluation of each Action Team’s plan and progress.  These learnings become part of the 100% Communities Alaska dashboard.
• The AIA hosts an annual 100% Communities Alaska Sharing Progress Summit so that community Backbone and Action Teams can gather and learn from each other.

To find out how your community can utilize the support of the AIA for your 100% Communities Alaska assessment, contact charity@alaskaimpactalliance.com.