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The Strategic Plan provides a shared roadmap for improving the quality of life in Santa Cruz County. Built through extensive community engagement, it aligns County priorities around a common vision and ten measurable goals that will guide decisions, partnerships, and investments through 2032.
The Strategic Plan connects a shared community vision with measurable County action.
Community indicators measure progress, while strategies, operational plans, and County and partner plans work together to achieve lasting results.
The plan reflects broad engagement with residents, County staff, community partners, youth, priority communities, and the Board of Supervisors. Community input shaped the focus areas, indicators, goals, and the way the County will track progress over time.
Across engagement, five themes cut across the work: housing as the foundation, behavioral health as an urgent unmet need, cost of living as a cross-cutting barrier, trust built through specific practices, and the cost of fragmented systems.
Community voice is not a one-time activity. It is the starting point for the plan and a continuing accountability practice as goals, strategies, operational plans, and future dashboards are developed.
Santa Cruz County is a healthy, safe, and affordable community that is culturally diverse, economically inclusive, and environmentally vibrant.
An open and responsive government, the County of Santa Cruz delivers quality, data-driven services that strengthen our community and enhance opportunity.
Equity in action in Santa Cruz County is a transformative process that embraces individuals of every status, providing unwavering support, dignity, and compassion.
Through this commitment, the County ensures intentional opportunities and access, fostering an environment where everyone can thrive and belong.
Our values define how we work with residents, partners, and one another.
They guide how we build trust, remove barriers, make decisions, and hold ourselves accountable for the quality and results of County services.
Building trust, partnerships, and shared purpose.
We work across departments and with community partners to align efforts, share information, and contribute to results that no single organization can achieve alone.
Removing barriers and serving every community member.
We design services and communication so people can understand, reach, and use them, regardless of language, location, ability, schedule, or access to technology.
Equity, transparency, and accountability in action.
We earn trust by being clear about our decisions, using data responsibly, maintaining high standards, and taking responsibility for our actions and results.
The Strategic Plan is more than a list of priorities. It provides a shared framework for how the County evaluates decisions, develops strategies, and allocates resources.
These implementation lenses encourage departments and community partners to ask consistent questions about health, equity, stewardship, and results so that County actions remain aligned with the community outcomes we are working to achieve.
Consider how decisions influence the social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health and wellbeing across Santa Cruz County.
Design policies and services that remove barriers, increase opportunity, and ensure all community members can benefit from County investments.
Make decisions that are sustainable, accountable, and focused on achieving measurable community results.
Select a focus area to see its community result, indicators, aligned plans, and County Goal cards.
County Goal cards provide the right level of detail for this landing page. Each card opens a detail view with the target, why the goal matters, implementation lenses, aligned plans, and a placeholder for future strategies.
Future updates will connect each County Goal with strategies, operational plan objectives, department responsibilities, partner contributions, projects, budget links, and performance dashboards. This placeholder is designed so the landing page can grow without being rebuilt.
Download the full adopted plan, including focus area narratives, indicators, goals, implementation lenses, and alignment with County and partner plans.
The dashboard can be developed as a separate page connected to indicators, goals, strategies, operational objectives, departments, and partner plans.