In April Governor Rendell appointed the 43 member Governor’s Commission on Children and Families. The Commission was established to gather information and ideas about how local and regional communities and the state can advise the Children’s Cabinet and best support the health and well being of families and children across Pennsylvania.
More specifically the Commission was charged with:
- identifying barriers to efficient service delivery for children and families
- proposing reasonable solutions
- identifying success stories in which cross-system coordination is successful
- suggesting control areas where state leadership and cross agency collaboration is needed to address systemic problems
- understanding these questions as they relate to seven outcomes areas: Prenatal and Infant Health, Children Succeeding in School, Healthy Child Development, Stable and Self-sufficient Families, Healthy Youth Development, Safe Families and Communities, Children Ready for School
Alice Yoder and Bob Haigh, the two local members of the Commission representing Lancaster County, offered to initiate and host one of the first local meetings aimed at answering the above questions.
On October 28, 2004, 77 stakeholders gathered for half a day to share their ideas and wisdom. This diverse group of participants included a wide range of agencies and organizations serving youth and families, executive directors and direct supervisors, volunteers, health professionals, law enforcement, and elected and appointed officials.
Further, in order to facilitate a discussion, several local agencies and collaboratives created and displayed poster boards highlighting local best practices (see the appendix for specifics). The participants were honored to have Shelly Yanoff, the Chair of the Commission, present to listen to their ideas and concerns.
Within the next two months focus groups of Lancaster families will be convened to gather their front line input on these same issues. That report will also be provided to the full commission.
The following Summary includes:
- Key Themes
- Recommendations For the State
- Conclusion
- Appendix
Governor's Commission on Children & Family Services (pdf format)
Roster - Governor's Commission on Children & Family Svcs. (pdf format)