In this brief, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research summarizes information from their evaluation of the 2024 Parks After Dark (PAD) program in Los Angeles County, including innovative “spotlights” that made PAD unique. PAD was a county initiative led by the Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with other county departments and community-based organizations. In its 14th year, PAD programming — including sports, entertainment, activities, and more — was offered for eight weeks on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 34 parks between June and August 2024.

Findings: Evaluators found that PAD continued to make significant progress in achieving its goals by providing quality recreational programming in a safe and family-friendly environment. PAD provided programming for participants of all ages with a more recent focus on Youth and Seniors.

While ensuring participants’ sense of safety at parks while attending PAD events, PAD also encouraged meaningful collaboration between participating county departments and community-based organizations. PAD contributed to participant’s feelings of well-being, family togetherness, social cohesion, and involved a diverse range of participants in community-driven programming in a meaningful way. PAD may have also helped to reduce the burden of disease for those that engaged in sports and exercise activities.
 

Researchers identify collaboration strategies used to integrate health, behavioral health, and social services for Medicaid members in California's Medi-Cal Whole Person Care Pilot program (WPC). Data were collected as part of the statewide evaluation of WPC. Authors analyzed qualitative data to examine strategies used by pilots to integrate care, network data to identify pilots that improved cross-sector collaboration (i.e., strengthened density or multiplexity of cross-sector ties) following WPC implementation, and comparative case analysis to identify strategies that differentiated pilots that improved collaboration from those that did not.

Findings: Pilots used multiple strategies to facilitate the integration of care. Network analyses identified 10 pilots that significantly improved either density or multiplexity of cross-sector ties, and one pilot with high cross-sector collaboration prior to WPC. Compared to pilots that did not improve cross-sector collaboration, these pilots meaningfully engaged partners in program design and implementation, used braided funds, and leveraged WPC to support broader systems change. These pilots also reported fewer challenges in developing and managing contractual relationships and ensuring meaningful use of data-sharing infrastructure by frontline staff responsible for care coordination.

Data sharing is necessary but not sufficient for systems alignment. Collaboration strategies focused on addressing financial barriers to integration and strengthening normative and interpersonal integration are also needed.

In this infographic brief, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research summarizes information from their evaluation of the 2022 Parks After Dark (PAD) program in Los Angeles County. PAD is a county initiative led by the Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with other county departments and community-based organizations. PAD programming — including sports, entertainment, activities, and more — was offered for eight weeks on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 34 parks between June and August 2023.

Findings: Evaluators found that PAD has made significant progress in achieving its intended goals through the provision of quality recreational programming in a safe and family-friendly environment. Besides ensuring participant’s sense of safety at parks while attending PAD programming, evidence indicates that PAD may have reduced crime in PAD parks and their surrounding areas since its inception in 2010. In addition, PAD encouraged meaningful collaboration between participating county departments and community-based organizations; contributed to participant’s feelings of well-being, family togetherness, and social cohesion; and involved a diverse range of participants in community-driven programming in a meaningful way. PAD may also have reduced the burden of disease for those that engaged in exercise opportunities.

Summary: In this report, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research provides information from their evaluation of the 2023 Parks After Dark (PAD) program in Los Angeles County.

PAD is a Los Angeles County initiative led by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) in partnership with other County departments and community-based organizations. Thirty-four DPR parks hosted PAD between June and August 2023. PAD was offered three nights a week for eight weeks, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. In 2022, PAD expanded to include one-day events around spring and winter school breaks.

Select 2023 evaluation findings include:

• Difference-in-difference (DD) analysis indicated a reduction in crime rates in PAD parks after implementation of PAD when compared to similar parks that did not implement PAD, with 74 fewer Part I crimes and 43 fewer Part II crimes between 2010 and 2023 in all PAD parks. As indicated in 2023 PAD participant surveys, among PAD attendees who expressed not feeling safe in their neighborhood, 64% felt safe at PAD.
• In key informant surveys, PAD partners strongly agreed that PAD improved collaboration between County departments and community-based organizations (9.3 of 10).
• In 2023 PAD participant surveys, attendees overwhelmingly reported that PAD increased quality time with family members (96%), provided a sense of belonging within the community (96%), and improved their relationship with their neighbors (94%).
• Of attendees who did not meet the recommended activity guidelines for their age, 76% participated in physical activity at PAD. Using a modified version of the Integrated Transport and Health Impacts Model (ITHIM), the level of physical activity at PAD, if sustained year-round, would primarily reduce stroke and ischemic heart disease and lead to an overall decline of 20 years of life lost, 20 fewer years of disability adjusted life years, and avoidance of two premature deaths for the entire PAD population in 2023.
• A vast majority of attendees expressed high levels of satisfaction, with 97% saying they would attend PAD again and 97% also said they would recommend PAD to others. 

The 2023 evaluation findings demonstrate that PAD has made significant progress in achieving its intended goals through the provision of quality recreational programming in a safe and family-friendly environment. Evidence indicates that PAD may have reduced crime in PAD parks and their surrounding areas since its inception in 2010, while also ensuring participant’s sense of safety. Findings further indicate that PAD encouraged meaningful collaboration between participating County departments and community-based organizations; contributed to participant’s feelings of well-being, family togetherness, and social cohesion; and meaningfully involved a diverse range of participants in community-driven programming (including youth and seniors). PAD offered sports, entertainment, and other activities for children and adults with no barriers to participation and may have reduced the burden of disease for those that engaged in exercise opportunities. Overall, participant satisfaction levels at PAD remain high each year.

Read the Publications: 

• Evaluation Report: Parks After Dark Evaluation Report, May 2024
• Appendix A: Evaluation Methods
• Appendix B: Additional Data
• Appendix C: Service Use in ZIP Codes around PAD Parks
• Evaluation Brief: Parks After Dark Evaluation Brief, May 2024

Previous years:

• Parks After Dark Evaluation Brief, July 2023 
• Parks After Dark Evaluation Report, July 2023 
• Parks After Dark Evaluation Brief, July 2018 
• Parks After Dark Evaluation Report, July 2018 
• Parks After Dark Evaluation Brief, May 2017 
• Parks After Dark Evaluation Report, May 2017