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4 <br /> OCPYC Next Step Plan <br /> e <br /> ORANGE COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR YOUNG CHILDREN <br /> NEXT STEP PLAN <br /> Introduction: The Making of the Next Step Plan <br /> The Orange County Partnership for Young Children developed its Next Step Plan over the course <br /> of the past six months in concert with many agencies and individuals in the community. The <br /> conceptualization of the plan actually began well before Smart Start through the first Vision <br /> Conference held in Orange County last May when we invited the community to help dream a <br /> vision for young children and families and identify key goals to pursue that vision. This became <br /> the heart of the Next Step Plan and the Partnership's current work. <br /> The Plan's debut was the initial Smart Start application where needs and resources were identified, <br /> and the community indicated their hopes for a new future for young children and families. It <br /> began to take shape in first round funding decisions when the Partnership wrestled with balancing <br /> the pressure for a fast start-up with addressing critical needs in the community that might require <br /> long term support. <br /> It has evolved these past few months in bi-monthly--even bi-weekly-- strategy sessions, eight days <br /> of county collaboration work, and draft after draft to form a consensus document that captures <br /> our present thinking. <br /> For us, the Next Step Plan is but a prelude to a more long-range plan; it provides guidance for <br /> the types of activities we intend to fund as of July 1, 1994. More importantly, it is a marker to <br /> our commitment to ensure the implementation of such a plan. Our own evolution and the plan's <br /> will continue. We now imagine submitting our Next Step Plan in at least two parts: Phase I <br /> which is included here, and Phase II in which we will present some new strategies for pursuing the <br /> vision we hold for young children and families. The work of the Partnership and the Plan <br /> continue even as we submit this document to you for consideration. <br /> A. Key Agencies and Participant_ <br /> First and foremost, the Next Step Plan was developed by the Partnership Board of Directors and <br /> team members who spent countless hours in the development of the plan. See Attachment A for a <br /> list of current Partnership and Team Members. <br /> Since December 1993, the Partnership has participated in the County Collaboration planning <br /> process and developed a broader, long-range plan that has been field tested through our various <br /> communities and constituencies. On March 31, the Partnership once again hosted another <br /> community visioning process that gave us more specific guidance for the future. The Next Step <br /> Plan received the Partnership's "seal of approval" at its March 28 Board meeting. We recognize <br /> the need to gather more input directly from parents, churches, business leaders and others who <br /> have a stake in the plan. We will expand this aspect and develop strategies that will allow us to <br /> reach these groups more directly and intensively over the next few months. <br /> B. The Vision Statement <br /> Our view of future services and programs for children and families is rooted in our community's <br /> history. We have an unusual combination of needs and resources, a record of success at <br /> collaboration, and a long history of developing quality early childhood programs. Through Smart <br />