https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Youth-Master-Plan-moves-forward-6967581.php
Youth Master Plan moves forward
Published 5:51 am EDT, Friday, June 17, 2011
Community members interested in improving the lives of Midland County youth met last week to dig deeper into the Youth Master Plan.
Almost 130 workshop participants from 71 organizations gained awareness of what others are doing in the community, identified opportunities for collaboration and discussed initiatives to achieve the plan's strategies, according to Dick Dolinski, president of The Legacy Center for Student Success.
It's too early to tell if new initiatives will come out of the meeting, but it's possible, Dolinski said.
"The good news is we have a lot of good ones already going on," he said. "I think most likely it's going to be improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of existing programs, but that's not to rule out new ones."
The Youth Master Plan was introduced by the Health & Human Services Council in November. It focuses on physical health; social, emotional and spiritual health; education; and basic needs and safety.
There are five main goals, which are to enhance parent education, engage and inform the community, provide better access to youth programs and services, create collaboration and partnerships among organizations and to build developmental assets in children.
Workshop participants looked at the goals to identify current youth programs related to them, what new programs may be needed to address them and how to align the programs with the goals and strategies in the Youth Master Plan.
Organizers will review the input from the sessions and identify the next steps in implementing the plan.
"There's an awful lot of energy and a lot of comments people have made," Dolinski said.
Agencies have committed to programs that will help meet goals in the plan, Dolinski said. He said foundations are also going to use the plan for guidance.
Dolinski hopes the workshop will become an annual event to keep the plan fresh and update agencies on progress toward the goals.
To view the Youth Master Plan visit www.unitedwaymidland.org/communitydata.php and click on "2010 Youth Master Plan."