Community Capacity for Children, Youth and Families Robert Chaskin The University of Chicago

No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone, and anyone who feels that he can live alone is sleeping through a revolution. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is the world as it is. This is where you start. - Saul Alinsky

Overview Community as an organizing principle Defining community capacity Strategies for building community capacity Promise, limitations and challenges

Why community? Where needs and circumstances come together

Why community? Where needs and circumstances come together Manageable scale

Why community? Where needs and circumstances come together Manageable scale Assets and influences: –Built environment –Organizations and institutions –People and relationships

Community Influences on Family Functioning and Child Well-Being

Compositional factors –Poverty –Crime, safety, physical disorder –Racial isolation –Residential stability

Community Influences on Family Functioning and Child Well-Being Compositional factors –Poverty –Crime, safety, physical disorder –Racial isolation –Residential stability Processes and mechanisms –Social ties and value consensus –Institutional resources –Routine activities and resource use

Orientations to community

As context

Orientations to community As context As target of intervention

Orientations to community As context As target of intervention As unit of action

Community Capacity The interaction of human capital, organizational resources and social capital that can be leveraged to solve collective problems and improve or maintain the well-being of a given community

Community Capacity Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources

Community Capacity Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources Levels of Social Agency Individuals Organizations Networks

Social Networks

Community Capacity Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources Levels of Social Agency Individuals Organizations Networks Functions Planning, decision making, and governance Production of goods and services Information dissemination Organizing and advocacy Conditioning Influences Safety Residential stability Density of acquaintance Structure of opportunity Patterns of migration Race and class dynamics Distribution of power and resources Strategies Leadership Organizational development Organizing Organizational collaboration Other Outcomes Better services Influence on decision making Economic well-being

Strategies Leadership

Strategies Leadership Organizational development

Strategies Leadership Organizational development Interorganizational collaboration

Strategies Leadership Organizational development Interorganizational collaboration Community organizing

Challenges and Limitations People versus place

Challenges and Limitations People versus place Contested ground

Challenges and Limitations People versus place Contested ground Limitations of the local

Promise Context of opportunity Addressing basic needs Connecting to broader spheres Foundation for action, planning and advocacy