Assessing a family-centered neighborhood service agency: the Del Paso Heights model

The author describes the Del Paso Model, a neighborhood-based integrated services effort underway in Sacramento County, California. Del Paso Heights is a community made up of African American, Asian, and white families on the northern side of the City of Sacramento. The County of Sacramento selected Del Paso Heights as a location to pilot a new family-centered holistic way to serve families under county human services programs in a Neighborhood Services Agency. The Del Paso Heights model demonstrates the power of the neighborhood as a focal point of integration of services and how the neighborhood can be used as a concept to overcome bureaucratic turf. Like many other community initiatives, measuring the outcomes of the Del Paso Heights Model remains an elusive goal.