Faced with an alarming increase in crime and violence in the early 2000s, the City of Santa Rosa developed a partnership with multiple agencies and community-based organizations to address the unexpected challenge. The violence peaked in 2002 when a Cinco de Mayo gathering erupted in gunfire and chaos. Fourteen years later, violent crime in Santa Rosa has decreased by over 40 percent due in large part to a unique collaborative effort supported by more than 50 diverse agencies and organizations

Placer County’s Adult and Children’s Systems of Care uses a highly collaborative and integrated approach to deliver a continuum of services to children, families and adults in the county. For 26 years, the county has sustained a structural and functional integration of comprehensive services that span multiple disciplines and agencies, using a “no wrong door” approach that allows community members to enter the system through any agency door.

In 2006, Placer County Systems of Care joined forces with consumers of mental health services, community members, school and law enforcement partners, and nonprofit agencies to launch the Campaign for Community Wellness (CCW) to transform mental health services by strengthening the voice of its marginalized populations and sharing the “locus of control” with consumers and community members for decision making around mental health policy and resource allocation.