Community Partnership for Children

Building a Community Partnership for Children. A Community Change Initiative of the Brown County United Way

Long-term Outcomes:

• People connect to opportunities to participate in the community.
• Parents get help or information when they need it.
• Families can access a coordinated system of support.
• Gaps in community services are identified and addressed.

Brown County is a wonderful place in which to live and work. However, there are parents who struggle to find resources for their children because our community lacks a coordinated response to their needs. Parents who simply want information or minimal support fall through the cracks.

The Brown County United Way led efforts to establish a system for identifying new parents’ needs. Never before collected in a uniform manner, the data revealed a stunning statistic:

• Of 2,394 babies born between July 2005 and April 2006 in Brown County hospitals, 1,058 or 44% of their parents reported risk factors such as lack of a support system, homelessness, or history of domestic abuse

Local and regional reports also tell us that in Brown County:

• Annually there are nearly 3,000 reports of child abuse and neglect
• The local teen pregnancy rate is one of the highest in Wisconsin
• Nearly one-third of poor families have trouble finding food
• In the 2004-2005 school year, an estimated 600 students in the Green Bay public schools were homeless

Until decisive steps are taken to support and nurture all of our children at the earliest possible age, the complexity of our community’s needs and the resources required to meet these needs will only continue to increase. The Brown County United Way is taking action by building a Community Partnership for Children, which is a plan to develop a coordinated system of family support services, starting at birth.

The United Way is bringing together a broad and diverse range of people, agencies and businesses that are currently focusing on:

• Connecting with new parents when their babies are born
• Ensuring preventive dental care and education for young children
• Making sure all children have a safe place to live
• Helping them to stay in school, and
• Making local resources easily accessible to families and the entire community

For more information on the Community Partnership for Children, contact Sarah Inman at sarah@browncountyunitedway.org.

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