Single Parent Households Subcommittee Meeting Minutes
Vineland Prevention Policy Board
Single Parent Households Subcommittee
Meeting Minutes
December 17, 2010
Members Present: D. Cooper, V. Balaguer, D. Rieti
Absent: J. Lombardo-Melchiore, D. Angeline, L. Togno, A. McGriff, J. Desparrois, K. Rodriguez
1. Revised Single Parent Household Objectives
– see attached work plan
– revisions/action in red
2. Discussed research needed in areas of service information sheets, youth activities available, transportation availability.
3. Next steps:
Three month pilot-Mini agency conference for community
- Layout time line for mini agency conference
- Reach out to three schools to host the conference.
- List and secure agencies to attend all three conferences.
Extensive discussion about all the resources, programs and transportation currently available to families through different agencies. The driving theme is families, and agency to agency, are not aware of what is available when they have specific and personalized needs. A big focus as the subcommittee moves forward will be getting information out to the community and inter-agency about what is currently available, tracking increases in usage of current services, then evaluating future needs.
Single Parent Households
#1
Goal: Increase accessibility to social services for single parents and their children.
|
Objectives |
Policy, Practice or Program |
Notes |
Who to Partner with |
Timeline |
Specific Evaluation Tools |
|
Enhance the hours of services available to reach working single parents.
|
Have all agencies in one place once a month, such as at the Sabater School. |
To accomplish this goal, do research on existing services and their hours. |
Use three Vineland Schools as pilot. |
|
Number of new families enrolled in social services. Develop evaluation /survey forms as feedback tool. One form to be completed by adults, one for children. |
|
Facilitate child/student activities during monthly community agency conferences |
|
Research potential funders to provide admission fees for families who can’t afford to pay. |
Boys & Girls Club, PAL, YMCA, |
|
Have students/children complete evaluation/survey form of what they would like to have available to them as activities and barriers to those extracurricular activities. |
Changed objective two so it relates to objective one allowing families to participate in monthly agency conferences as a family but providing adults with childcare/activities while adults are getting information and services.
|
Educate community on public transportation services available and how to use them to increase public transportation usage.
|
Provide mini workshops to the community on how to read a bus schedule. |
-Broadly advertise the following programs for this particular purpose: o NJ Transit o Access Link o To and Fro o Sparrow o Faith Based Organizations’ vehicles o Discount cards for taxis o Senior buses used for other purposes |
Transporta-tion Services; Agencies to hold the mini workshops.
|
|
Increased enrollment in services.
Number of new families accessing these services. |
|
Expand the number of after school programs, the number of available slots, and their affordability.
LONGTERM GOAL |
|
-To accomplish this, we must find funding. Agencies can either work together to apply for grants.
-Identify potential funding sources including: Pepsi, Foundations, Private Sector, Verizon, South Jersey Electric, and AVON, amongst others.
-Secure a meeting with the Mayor with the Pascal Sykes Foundation,
-Apply to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for Funding. |
Mayor; Funders; Afterschool Programs |
|
Number of youth enrolled in after school programs. |
Single Parent Households
#2
Goal: Increase community awareness of social services for single parents.
|
Objectives |
Policy, Practice or Program |
Notes |
Who to Partner with |
Timeline |
Specific Evaluation Tools |
|
Increase knowledge of services available to single parent households and how to access those services.
Provide information to empower families to use services already available as the need arrives. |
Partner with 211 to specifically advertise and refer single parents to available services. |
|
Laura Zink Marx, 211; Public Advertising Spaces- buses; Local News Media; Comcast; Clear Channel; School District; Faith Based Orgs.
|
|
Number of single parents and their families taking advantage of social services.
Have agencies ask the question, who referred you to us or how did you hear about us? |
|
Advertise 211 on “services night”. Conduct demonstrations on how to navigate the phone call and the website. |
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Advertise services and resources on buses, on Vineland TV stations, in Hispanic newspapers, through handouts and by word of mouth, through the Vineland Pre-K social worker, on the school board website, and with electricity bills. Additionally, have churches relay information to their congregations about available services. Utilize currently published service information sheets such as HELP sheet provided by Cumberland County Freeholders. |
|
Single Parent Households
#3
Goal: Increase parental involvement and stability in the lives of their kids.
|
Objectives |
Policy, Practice or Program |
Notes |
Who to Partner with |
Timeline |
Specific Evaluation Tools |
|
Incentivize parental involvement in their children’s extracurricular activities.
|
Waive/Reduce fees for youth-oriented extracurricular activities in exchange for increased parental involvement. Identify activities and fees; provide any waive fee policies in existence for programs |
Research parental training and involvement programs/ incentives and implement best practices in the community. |
Extracurricular activities.
Schools with School Based Youth Services Programs, YMCA, Boys & Girls, Vineland Public Library, Private programs such as Karate schools, |
|
Number of single parents actively involved in their children’s extracurricular activities.
|
|
Provide mentoring for single parents
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Place each single parent with a mentor or life coach. |
Compile a list of life coaches in Cumberland and see who would be willing to donate services to single parents. Then match each mentor/ life coach to a single parent. |
Life coaches; Adult mentoring services; Parents Anonymous; Family Success Centers. |
|
Number of single parents successfully connected to mentor. |
Single Parent Households
#4
Goal: Reduce teen pregnancy.
|
Objectives |
Policy, Practice or Program |
Notes |
Who to Partner with |
Timeline |
Specific Evaluation Tools |
|
Increase education and awareness about teen pregnancy.
Research current teen pregnancy programs. Provide social service agencies with information for distribution.
|
Work with SAFE program in schools to educate teens on the consequences of teen pregnancy. |
Research a hot line number for teens to call and ask questions about pregnancy, clinic providers etc. |
SAFE programs; School District. |
|
Teen pregnancy rate.
Utilize stats from current programs as evaluation of teen pregnancy rates. |
|
Work with SJHS on their newly awarded grant to promote education and awareness surrounding teen pregnancy. |
|
SJ Health System. |
|
Individuals in attendance:
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Arianne Hegeman, VP of Programs
Boys and Girls Club of Vineland
Beth Marks, Case Manager
Center for Family Services
Gina Ridge, Program Director
Maida Baez, Program Coordinator
Cumberland County Judiciary
Raymond Marcolongo
Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center
Sherilyn Clark, Social Worker
Cumberland County Probation Office
Curtis Hurff, Assistant Chief
Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office
Mark Anderson, Community Justice Coordinator
Kevin Guinan, Assistant Prosecutor Juvenile Unit Team Leader
Division of Youth and Family Services
Eladia Gonzalez, Local Office Manager,
Cumberland East
Family Success Center of Vineland
Donna Cooper, Site Coordinator
Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC)
Victor Balaguer, HSAC Chair
Juvenile Justice Commission
David Cruz, Senior Parole Officer
Rick Bird, CPS
Robin’s Nest
Jennifer Farside, Program Director
Rutgers University—Bloustein School
Michael Simmons, Research Assistant
SODAT NJ Prevention Services
Kerri Panichello, Prevention Coordinator
The Southwest Council, Inc.
Evelyn Scholl, Director of
Communications
Vineland Police Department
Al Vargas, Police Officer
Timothy Codispoti, Chief
Gary Holden, Chaplain
Vineland Public School District
Gabriel DiTomasso, School
Psychologist, VHS North
Vineland Health Department
George Sartorio, Director
Walter Rand Institute (WRI)
Alex Kremstein, Research Project Assistant
Dana Simone, Project Assistant
Tracy Swan, Senior Project Coordinator
WIB/ One Stop
Dante Rieti, Executive Director
Youth Services Advisory Council (YSAC)
Polly Viventi, Administrator
Those Invited, But Not in Attendance:
ASPIRA Inc. of New Jersey, Cumberland Center - Youthbuild
Samuel Mercado, Program Manager
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Danielle Angeline, Director of High School Mentoring
Community Volunteer
Jill Lombardo-Melchiore
Those Invited, But Not in Attendance (Continued):
Cumberland County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Services
Kim Rogers, Municipal Alliances
Coordinator
Cumberland County Board of Social Services
Kathy Rodriguez, Acting Director
Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center
Tammie Pierce, Superintendent
Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office
Linda Lawhun, Executive Assistant Prosecutor
Rita Carr-Volpe, Victim/Witness Advocacy Unit Coordinator
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
Dennis D’Augostine, Under Sheriff
Liz Hoffman, Sheriff Officer
Division of Youth and Family Services
Kathi Way, Area Director
Vineland Health Department
(Have Furlough on Fridays)
Emma Lopez, Health Educator
Dale Jones, Health Director
Vineland Public School District
Dina Elliott, Assistant Superintendent
Single Parent Households
#4
Goal: Reduce teen pregnancy.
|
Objectives |
Policy, Practice or Program |
Notes |
Who to Partner with |
Timeline |
Specific Evaluation Tools |
|
Increase education and awareness about teen pregnancy.
Research current teen pregnancy programs. Provide social service agencies with information for distribution.
|
Work with SAFE program in schools to educate teens on the consequences of teen pregnancy. |
Research a hot line number for teens to call and ask questions about pregnancy, clinic providers etc. |
SAFE programs; School District. |
|
Teen pregnancy rate.
Utilize stats from current programs as evaluation of teen pregnancy rates. |
|
Work with SJHS on their newly awarded grant to promote education and awareness surrounding teen pregnancy. |
|
SJ Health System. |
|