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Resident Leadership Academies
Resident Leadership Academies (RLAs) are multi-week training programs for San Diego County residents who want to learn how to improve their local communities. Training sessions focus on topics such as community leadership, crime prevention and safety, land use and active transportation, and healthy food systems.
Residents learn skills and best practices to address the issues that most affect their communities, and they work alongside their neighbors to help improve quality of life where they live. Upon graduation, attendees have new knowledge and access to a support network to help them lead community improvement projects.
RLA Updates and Opportunities
Many individuals and organizations are involved in Resident Leadership Academies across the County. The latest updates can be found on social media.
RLA Curriculum
Those who would like to facilitate an RLA can find the Facilitator/Train the Trainer and Participant materials below. The RLA Curriculum consists of a Participant Manual, modifiable PowerPoints, and various templates and handouts. The curriculum covers subjects such as Community Building Principles, Social Determinants of Health, Land Use and Community Planning, and more.
The County of San Diego currently has two approved RLA curriculums available. For groups funded for a particular RLA session or project, the version of the curriculum to be used will be determined by your funder (see links below). For all other groups, either version, or elements from both, may be used for the trainings.
- 1st Edition Curriculum
1st edition curriculum covers resident-driven community improvement efforts, including community building principles, neighborhood assessment activities and strategies for stakeholder engagement. - 2nd Edition Curriculum
2nd edition curriculum expands on the 1st edition to include embedded activities, reflection questions and content on smoke-free environments and climate change.
Additional RLA Curriculum
- Heat Risk Education Curriculum
The Heat Risk Education Curriculum is a set of PowerPoints and facilitator guides meant to support community leaders and residents involved in community engagement work. The curriculum covers strategies for communicating about global warming and heat risk to the community to motivate behavior change, and covers topics such as global warming, heat illnesses, at-risk groups, prevention, and taking action.
RLA Resources & Opportunities
View the Community Health Improvement Partner's Resident Leadership Academy page for the latest on meetings and trainings.
Bi-Monthly RLA Council Meetings
Meetings to provide additional training, discuss RLA updates, and to engage with other RLA practitioners. Anyone in the RLA network (graduates/residents, facilitators, CBOs and agencies supporting RLA) is welcome and encouraged to attend.
Technical Assistance (TA) for RLA Practitioners
TA is provided by the County to any RLA Practitioner involved with RLAs. TA may consist of assistance with planning of future RLAs, and development, refining, and implementation of Community Improvement Projects (CIPs), for example. For groups funded for a particular RLA session or project, the TA provider will be determined by your funder.
RLA Network Supplemental Training Workshops for Current RLA Practitioners
Supplemental trainings are available to anyone in the RLA network (graduates/residents, facilitators). These trainings focus on expanding leadership skills and offering opportunities for current RLA practitioners to engage with one another. The supplemental trainings may cover, but are not limited to, such topics as: Presentation Skills, Meeting Facilitation, and/or Applying for Resources.
New Facilitator Training/Train the Trainer Seminars
Seminar participants attend 3-4 full days of training, which consist of a detailed review of the curriculum, facilitation practice and tips for RLA planning and coordination. One or more new facilitator trainings per year will be offered through 2019.
Contact us for additional information on any of the resources listed above, or to learn about RLAs happening in your community.
RLA Success Stories
Child Welfare Services, San Diego Futures Foundation Give Computers to Resource Families and Foster Youth
By Elisabeth Handley, County of San Diego Child Welfare Services and Alex Aguirre, County of San Diego Communications Office
In December, local families who open their homes to children in foster care, also known as resource families, were invited to pick up free computers. The computers, which were formerly used by County of San Diego employees, are refurbished by the San Diego County Futures Foundation and then given to the families to increase computer and internet access. The annual giveaway is part of the program, Computers for Resource Families, started in 1999.
Hosted by County of San Diego Child Welfare Services and the San Diego Futures Foundation, the Computers for Foster Families Program supports resource families and bridges the digital divide by increasing computer and internet access for some of the region’s most vulnerable children.
"If I didn't have this computer, I'd have to do my schoolwork on my phone and would not get as good grades," said Extended Foster Care youth Aurora who attended the event in December. "I go to community college and work two jobs, but still can't afford the technology I need. I'm accepting all the help I can get."
Aurora was joined by dozens of other youth in foster care to receive 175 refurbished County-owned computers and laptops. Since the program was established, over 4,000 computers have been donated to those in need.
The Computers for Foster Families Program is a drive-through event where resource families drive up and computers are hand-loaded into their cars by Child Welfare Services staff.
“My granddaughter, who I am getting it for, she is just starting in school, and it is going to be a great deal for her,” said Gary Wheeler, computer recipient. “It is really going to help her grow in her education.”
“We all know that for our kids to compete into the future, to get a world-class education, they need to have a computer and they need to have digital skills,” said Supervisor Joel Anderson, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, who has been part of this effort for the last two years.
“It is one of the great events for San Diego Futures Foundation every year to host this alongside the County,” said Kevin Morningstar, President, San Diego Futures Foundation.
The San Diego Futures Foundation offers low cost computers to qualified individuals any time of the year. Learn more at https://sdfutures.org/for-individuals/
They also offer adaptive technology trainings and free digital literacy training year-round. Learn more at https://sdfutures.org/