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For more information on Healthy Start, contact the School Health Connections/Healthy
Start Office, at (916) 319-0914. Additional information is also available on the Healthy
Start Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/hs.
The California Healthy Kids Survey
The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is a comprehensive youth self-report data
collection system that provides essential health risk assessment and resilience
information to schools, districts, and communities. This survey is required for districts
receiving Title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities and Tobacco-Use
Prevention Education funding. The CHKS is easily customized, confidential, voluntary,
and anonymous. Targeted at grades five through twelve, it enables schools and
communities to collect and analyze valuable data regarding local youth health risks,
assets, and behaviors. The survey is designed to be part of a comprehensive datadriven
decision-making process to help build more effective health, prevention, and
youth development programs.
At the heart of the CHKS is a research-based core module that provides valid indicators
of drug use, violence, crime, and physical and mental health. The core, together with
the Resilience and Youth Development Module, is used to collect all the student data
needed for compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act and allows comparison with
state and national data. In addition, there are five supplementary modules to choose
from at the secondary school level that ask detailed questions on specific topics.
Individual modules assess tobacco use; drug use and violence; diet, physical activity,
and general health; and sexual behavior and HIV/AIDS risks. There is also a custom
module incorporating additional questions targeting topics of local interest.
Beginning with the 2004-05 school year, schools began administering the Staff School
Climate Survey. Its purpose is to obtain staff perceptions of student behavior and
attitudes, school programs and policies, and the overall school climate. The survey
deals with such issues as truancy, safety, harassment, substance use, school
connectedness, and learning supports.
For more information on the California Healthy Kids Survey, contact the Safe and
Healthy Kids Program Office at (916) 319-0920, or e-mail Robin Rutherford at
rrutherf@cde.ca.gov. More information is available on the California Healthy Kids
Survey Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/yd/re/chks.asp.
Youth Development
Youth development provides youths with the critical supports and opportunities needed
to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally even when they are challenged by risk
and adversity. Youth development strategies are gaining increasing support as new
research demonstrates that “school connectedness” is the primary school-related factor
that consistently protects students from engaging in unhealthy behaviors. School
connectedness is fostered when students feel a sense of belonging at school and find
teachers to be fair and caring.
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