Agenda - 08-06-1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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07/25/1990 19:53 FROM A BETTER IMAGE PRINTING TO 19196443004 F•04 BACKGROUND More than 120 Orange County community leaders gathered on November 29,1989 at the Kenan Center in Chapel Hill to participate in a forum addressing poverty in the county. Orange County Commissioners initiated the all -day meeting in response to the 1988 symposium on services for the county's youth. Participants included representatives from community and county agencies and boards, municipalities, area churches, the University, the County Commissioners, and concerned citizens. The morning presentation focused on the general demographics of poverty. Panel discussions followed which addressed poverty issues in three areas of concern: Education, Health and Employ- ment. After a luncheon address by William Friday, Honorary Chair of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Poverty Project, five "break -out" groups met to discuss possible areas to target for the reduction of poverty. The following pages include highlights from the morning discussions, with the perceived needs and /or areas to investigate, and some current initiatives in bullet format. A, brief summary of the outcome of the group session concludes the report. To stimulate discussion in the break -out groups, Professor Andrew Dobelstein of the UNC -CH School of Social Work presented enlightening and somewhat startling statistical data on poverty in Orange County. This information provided a base for determining what might be done to reduce poverty in the county. Professor Dobelstein's report is the source of all education data, health statis- tics, employment /income patterns and duld care statistics included in this report. The following are synopses of the perceived needs identified for the reduction of poverty. These needs relate to education, health, child care and employment. This report represents an in- terim step in the development of goals and resulting strategies for the reduction of poverty in the county.