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 Results Statement: Child well-being and family life is supported throughout the community.
The positive youth and family development area recognizes three critical points:
- Families are the cornerstones of a healthy community,
- Our youth represent our future, and
- All community members should be involved as youth role models and mentors, because "it takes a village to raise a child."
This area focuses on children from birth through adolescence and on the roles of parents, professionals, and other adults in fostering positive youth development.
Partnership Staff Contact:
Lexi Schafer
410-871-7648
LSchafer@carrollhospitalcenter.org
Click on the organizational chart items to view the details of each.
Positive Youth & Family Leadership Team
(Local Managment Team)
Maryland State Law establishes a multi-agency, community-based "Local Management Board" in all jurisdictions to monitor trends and coordinate actions related to children and families. The Carroll County Local Management Board has agreed to serve as The Partnership’s leadership team for this Core Health Improvement Area. The benefits of this arrangement are efficiency and a connection with state and national benchmarks…a win-win for all.
Mentoring Connections (Carroll County Public Schools)
From 2003 to 2008, The Partnership worked to identify a best-practice model for mentoring in the county, developed goals and strategies, and researched sustainable funding sources for a county-wide school-based mentoring program. This team was known as Mentoring Connections. In 2009, Mentoring Connections became a program now established in Carroll County Public Schools, funded through a U.S. Department of Education Grant which the Mentoring Connections Committee was instrumental in obtaining. Mentoring Connections assures that at-risk Carroll students in all county public schools have access to support in either a student-to-student or student-to-adult mentoring relationship. Click here to learn more.
Brainy Babies
In 2008, an action team called “Brainy Babies” was formed to improve kindergarten readiness in Carroll County public school students. The team put together an interactive educational display for the 2008 Maryland’s Largest Baby Shower in Carroll County. The display focused on how parents can help develop their baby’s brain and foster learning capacity during the first years of life.
Also in 2008, a United Way of Central Maryland grant was given to the Partnership to improve and expand the display and to fund a child development speaker for the 2009 Baby Shower. Dr. Michael Vogel from the University of Maryland was the speaker and Courtney Hundertmark from The Judy Center in Carroll County followed his presentation with practical, everyday tips for increasing school readiness. Over 75 moms-to-be attended - many with a friend or family member who will also help to raise the new baby.
This team plans to continue providing resources, information, and encouragement to the expectant families who attend Maryland’s Largest Baby Shower in Carroll County each spring, as well as to other locations and events, with a goal of increasing our community’s performance on the kindergarten assessment tests.
Youth Event Action Team
In past years, the Partnership has sponsored an event for youth ages 11-18 years old. Held first as “Party in the Park,” and later as “Teen Scene,” the event provides a safe, drug-free, alcohol-free, tobacco-free, and violence-free environment where teens can spend time with friends, access resources, and enjoy food, exhibits, activities, and music.
The goal of The Partnership’s youth event is to keep youth safe in our community by providing an age-focused event, and to allow them to demonstrate their talents and access support.
No youth event was held in FY2009; however, plans are underway to have a teen-focused event in FY10. Please contact the Partnership if you would like to be involved in planning.
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