PRESS RELEASE, November 4, 2003:

Local Children and Families’ Commission Marks Five Years

Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families presents their annual report to County Board of Supervisors and City Council

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA— Members of the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families are marking their fifth year of advising the localities on building a healthy community for children and families. The director will present an annual report at a meeting of the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, November 5th, 10:00 a.m. and again, on Monday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. at the Charlottesville City Council.

Highlights of this year include completion of three research projects intended to understand children’s and families’ needs and resources, the recruitment of over 200 volunteers on work groups organized to respond to identify human service needs, staff assistance in generating over $600,000 in additional funds to public and private agencies, funding recommendations to the localities for investing in program outcomes at 29 agencies, and the collaborative development of a major initiative to reduce the impact of family violence on children.

The presentation will also profile the Commission’s newest work in progress -- called Target Areas for Children & Families. This report synthesizes the results of over 48 local studies including City and County quality of life surveys, reports on children’s needs, transportation, housing, and substance abuse studies compiled by local organizations and researchers.

This Target Areas work group is recommending, for example, that in order to support the development of Healthy Children and Adolescents, the localities should:

• Improve and extend affordable resources for early childhood development
• Improve student performance
• Extend opportunities for productive activities, especially for non-Caucasian and lower income youth
• Provide effective and efficient services for youth in need, specifically targeting: youth substance abuse; behavior problems and delinquency;
• Address lack of local foster care homes and community based assessment and crisis facilities

At CCF, 22 Board Members, over 200 work group members and a staff of 6 provide information to local leaders to consider the specific needs and resources of children and their families and to advise them on programs and practices to improve conditions. All CCF work, including the annual report, is available at http://www.ccfinfo.org.