Agenda - 09-16-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 Identify focus areas, coordinate partners, locate funding, and recommend 2 implementation plans 3 Prepare for future private, state and federal funding opportunities 4 5 Next Steps 6 1. Finalize Budget — June 7 2. BOCC Approval of Advisory Board — June 8 3. Hire Program Coordinator — July 9 4. Finalize Community Snapshots - August 10 5. Convene first Advisory Board meeting — August 11 6. Select neighborhoods — October 12 7. Begin Project - October 13 14 Colleen Bridger said the percentage of poverty is increasing in Orange County. She 15 said the majority of indicators related to child wellbeing are going in the wrong direction. She 16 said we do have a problem with children living in poverty, and parent's income affects the 17 factors related to children's health and well- being. 18 She referenced the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study and said when 19 children experience these they are more likely to experience mental health issues and 20 substance abuse. She said research is showing that child neglect is worse than child abuse. 21 Colleen Bridger said there is compelling research that shows that these childhood 22 experiences actually affect adult health. She said the Health Department is all about prevention 23 and decreasing these issues in the community, and research shows that intervention needs to 24 start early. 25 She said the department has been looking at programs that address these issues. She 26 said the Harlem Children's zone is an effective model program that creates a pipeline to carry 27 children from birth to college and career. She reviewed the achievements of this program, as 28 outlined on the slide. She said the pipeline for children is undergirded by family and health 29 support programs, as well as community building programs. 30 Colleen Bridger said staff has identified six high poverty zones in the County. She said 31 the four points used to identify these were: types of housing, housing vouchers, children on 32 Medicaid, and health department patients. She reviewed the maps outlining these index point 33 areas, and she noted that this is a very data driven exercise. 34 She said the health department is requesting a new position to plan for the 35 implementation and modification of the Harlem Children's Zone model here in Orange County. 36 She said the United Way has concurrently been discussing this same thing. She said there 37 would be an advisory board to oversee this project in two of the six poverty zone 38 neighborhoods. She said the advisory board would identify community partners and determine 39 which services already exist and where there are gaps. She said the United Way could 40 potentially provide non - profit partners to help fill in the gaps. 41 Colleen Bridger reviewed the timeline slide of next steps and invited questions from the 42 Commissioners. 43 Commissioner Gordon asked if zone 6 is downtown Chapel Hill. She noted that the 44 zone lists Carrboro Elementary. 45 Colleen Bridger said zone 6 spans both Chapel Hill and Carrboro, but it is the same 46 school system. She said Northside is in zone 5, and this is in Chapel Hill. 47 Commissioner Gordon said it would be helpful if the slides could be sent electronically to 48 the Board. 49 Colleen Bridger said the point was just for the Board to know that that staff has a 50 statistical method to identify the zones. She said she is happy to share the details.